Everyone was probably told to “slow down and chew your food” more than once growing up, and while our parents were teaching us this golden rule with the hopes that we would be polite and not get a stomach ache at the table, they probably didn’t know that it could help us keep our weight down too!

Chewing food and weight loss, but what’s the connection, you ask? Chewing your food helps you eat more slowly, and as a recent report stated, 32 chews lead to 12% less calorie intake! By eating slowly and making sure each bite is fully chewed before swallowing, you allow your body time to digest the food you are taking, preventing you from the risk of overeating.

When you think of your typical day, how often do you just grab something on the go? A quick coffee and muffin here, a hurried sandwich and juice there-it is amazing how often people eat take-out and fast food, or simply eat on their way to their next commitment (work, kids, rehearsals, practices, meetings, sports, the list is never ending) and don’t take time to actually sit and have a meal.

In this fast-paced world we are living in, fast-paced eating is not unusual. But stuffing our faces in the car, or as we run out the door can actually lead to weight gain, not to mention an unbalanced eating plan!

While it may seem difficult to carve out an actual sit-down meal time, it can truly benefit your waist and your level of happiness! Sitting to enjoy a meal is much more pleasant than speedily inhaling whatever food you happened to find or were able to buy quickly, and by giving your body the time to register the food going in, you will eat less in the end.

What many people don’t know is that the digestion process begins in the mouth, and is an essential part of digestion. The longer your food has contact with your saliva, the better, as the saliva works to break the food items down. Chewing your food also releases hormones that help your brain determine when to start and stop eating.

Slowing down to eat a meal also gives you the time to realize exactly what, and how much you are eating. If you’ve ever sat in front of the Television, opened a bag of chips, and by the first set of ads, realized they were already gone, you’re not alone! It is far too easy to overeat while we are being distracted by the TV or computer, so eating at a table and eating slowly is key to eating less.

Making sure to chew your food can not only cause you to eat less calories, it can also prevent a number of other side effects of eating too quickly, including:

Poor digestion Poor absorption of vitamins and other nutrients Reflux or Heartburn (according to a report, 44% of Americans suffer from heartburn once a month, 20% suffer once a week and 7% suffer on a daily basis!) Indigestion Flatulence IBS

If you are always eating in a hurry, or eat too quickly, keep in mind that this could be causing you to eat more than you actually need, and over a period of time, you will gain weight. The good news is, cutting up your food into bite sized pieces and chewing longer is an easy change to make, and will have a huge impact on your health!

Try it today, for your next meal, chew your food at least 40 times!

Have a healthy day!