Why do doctors, weight loss experts, and mothers everywhere advise us not to eat too quickly? Eating your food more slowly can have several benefits, including weight loss.
5 Reasons to Eat Slowly
- Eating slowly reduces your appetite. It takes 15 to 20 minutes for your brain to receive the signal from your stomach that you’re satisfied or full. When you eat slowly, it gives your brain a chance to receive the signal that you’re eating so that you no longer have an appetite to continue eating.
- Eating slowly helps you practice portion control. Because eating slowly helps you get a handle on your appetite, you’ll be better able to resist eating too much food. When you eat slowly, your body feels satisfied on less food, so practicing portion control is less likely to feel like deprivation.
- Eating slowly can help you lose weight. With your appetite in check and your portions smaller in size, you’re taking in fewer calories and will be more likely to lose weight. Plus, eating slowly to lose weight means you won’t feel like you’re eating less! Research has actually shown a direct correlation between the rate at which someone eats and their BMI, with faster eaters being more likely to be overweight or obese.
- Eating slowly helps with proper digestion. Your body begins to digest food as soon as it enters your mouth. The act of chewing, as well as the saliva it produces, helps break your food down so that the nutrients can be better absorbed by your body.
- Eating slowly can help prevent heartburn and acid reflux. People who suffer from frequent reflux are advised to eat more slowly and eat smaller meals (which often happens as a result of eating more slowly). This reduces the amount of stomach acid that’s produced and the pressure put on the valve between the esophagus and the stomach, which prevents acid reflux when it’s functioning properly.