Does Eating Slowly Help With Weight Loss?

If you are like most busy adults who are crunched for time you may eat on the go, condense your lunchbreak to make it to the next meeting or eat dinner in the car. Eating meals quickly may be slowing down your weight loss. Research shows that fast eaters are more likely to be obese than slower eaters and tend to gain more weight over time. Chewing food well and slowly helps you absorb more nutrients from your meal, improves digestion and lessens indigestion/heartburn symptoms after meals. Chewing slowly also promotes a health weight by decreasing hunger and increasing satiety signals. Saliva contains ptyalin and lipase, which help digest carbohydrates and fats instantly. Poor chewing habits compromises this process leading to weight gain, acid reflux and constipation. People who do not chew their food well before swallowing can put themselves at risk for choking, malnutrition, dehydration and choking. As a rule of thumb chewing food 30 to 50 times with each mouthful to give saliva an adequate amount of time to breakdown food and aid with digestion.