New research confirms previous findings indicating when people chew their food longer, they eat less food. Lead researcher Jie Li’s team found that when persons chewed their food 40 times instead of the average 15, they consumed 12% fewer calories.
The researchers also looked to see whether chewing more would affect levels of blood sugar or certain hormones that regulate appetite. They found that additional chewing was associated with lower blood levels of ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates appetite, as well as higher levels of cholecystokinin, a hormone that has a role in reducing appetite.
What to do: While this was a small study, considerable research points to a connection between chewing more and feeling full on less food. Whether this is due to actual chewing or simply consuming food more slowly remains somewhat unresolved although there is also evidence that eating solid foods contributes more to fullness than liquid foods. In practice, patients find it challenging to consciously increase the number of times they chew each bite. Rather than counting chews, make a conscious effort to eat mindfully and slow down the general pace of intake. Try making your first bite of any snack or meal very slow and deliberate, noticing as much as you can about the food.
Information adapted from Reuters. Research Source: http://bit.ly/mTVbpm American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, online July 20, 2011.
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