Lose Weight By Chewing More
'"Let your knife & fork do the work of your teeth and let your teeth do the work of your stomach""
When people think digestion they most often think of intestines and their stomach. The truth is that the digestion process actually begins in the mouth. The process of chewing is a vital component of the digestive process. The action of chewing mechanically breaks down very large amounts of food molecules into smaller particles. This results in food having increased in surface area, an important contributing factor to good digestion.
Chewing your food well allows the food to be exposed to your saliva for a longer period of time. Food’s being in contact with saliva is not just important because it helps to lubricate the food, allowing for less stress on your esophagus, but because saliva contains enzymes that contribute to the chemical process of digestion. Carbohydrate digestion begins with enzymes in your saliva breaking down some of the chemical bonds that connect the simple sugars that comprise starches. Also, the first stage of fat digestion begins in your mouth with the secretion of enzymes by glands located under the tongue.
Chewing your food well allows the food to be exposed to your saliva for a longer period of time. Food’s being in contact with saliva is not just important because it helps to lubricate the food, allowing for less stress on your esophagus, but because saliva contains enzymes that contribute to the chemical process of digestion. Carbohydrate digestion begins with enzymes in your saliva breaking down some of the chemical bonds that connect the simple sugars that comprise starches. Also, the first stage of fat digestion begins in your mouth with the secretion of enzymes by glands located under the tongue.
So what are some benefits to chewing your food thoroughly?
- Aids in the proper transport of nutrients in your body.
- Helps start the important digestive process which is important to being healthy.
- You are more than likely to not eat as much by eating thoroughly. When you are eating slower, your brain can tell you that you are full, causing you to eat less.
- Helps to prevent the heavy feeling that sometimes follows a meal and it also will help you lose body fat since you are not eating as much
What are some of the side effects of not chewing thoroughly?
- Poorly digested food means poor absorption of the vitamins and nutrients that the foods you are eating provide.
- Eating rapidly and swallowing large mouthfuls contributes to the reflux which can damage the lining of the throat and esophagus. About 44% of Americans experience reflux or heartburn at least once a month, 20% have it every week and 7% suffer from it daily.
- Other side effects include flatulence, indigestion, heartburn, gas, IBS, and other discomforts. Chewing each bit thoroughly allows less air to enter in which decreases gas and burping. With an increasing number of individuals with IBS, constipation, abdominal spasms and bloating, chewing food could possibly prevent a number if these daily discomforts.
"There's real science to this chewing business; in his wonderful book, The Power Eating Program: You are how You Eat, Lino Stanchich talks about the enzyme ptylin which is released in the saliva after some vigorous chewing. This enzyme, critical to the breakdown of carbohydrates, is released only in the mouth and without it, all the other digestive enzymes-which are secreted at different points in the G.I. tract-don't work so well. So when it comes to eating carbohydrates-grains, vegetables, beans, fruits, bread, noodles-if you ain't chewing, you ain't really eating!
When a complex carb is broken down in the mouth with ptylin, it converts to glucose-right there in your mouth! This glucose is then absorbed easily into the bloodstream to become blood sugar. "Big deal" you say and, well, it is a big deal. You see, your brain uses more sugar than any other organ in the body. Because your brain is totally bathed in blood, the quality of that blood is vital to your mental health. When your blood is low in sugar, your brain is like "I hate my life... what's on TV?" and when your brain is bathed in good-quality blood sugar, it's like "WHAT'S NEXT, BABY?" and gets all excited to play ball with life. Low blood sugar has been associated with moodiness, depression, fatigue-even dizziness and the shakes.
Even cravings for sweets-or food in general-are caused by low blood sugar because your brain is constantly yelling "FEED ME!!!!" When you chew your food one hundreds times per mouthful, and those carbs become glucose, and your blood sugar rises and the brains gets bathed in the sweet, sweet stuff it says "AHH... I love you". All nice like that. And the cravings disappear.
Well-chewed saliva is alkaline, and therefore reduces the acidity of any food you are eating. That's unbelievably cool because if acidity isn't buffered in the mouth, it gets buffered by minerals in the blood and bones. This can lead to weak blood and even bone loss.
Finally, when you chew your food, your body doesn't have to work so hard. It isn't sitting around processing big rocks and chunks of food. Chewing is like mainlining food, and that makes for a very smooth ride. I find that my thinking, my emotional life and even my general consciousness becomes very clear and un-neurotic when I chew. Life gets simple. So-called "problems" (usually just created in my mind) go "poof"!
Hunger signals tell us when to eat, what to eat, and when to stop. There are three types of hunger signals:
- Hunger is a sensation (stomach growling, feeling hunger pangs) that makes you want to eat. It is partly controlled by a region of your brain called the hypothalamus, your blood sugar level, how empty your stomach and intestines are, and certain hormone levels in your body.
- Fullness is also called satiety (say "suh-TY-uh-tee"). It's a feeling of satisfaction. Nerves in your stomach send signals to the brain that the stomach is filled. Increased blood sugar, the activity of the hypothalamus, and the presence of food in the intestines all lead to this feeling of fullness.
- Appetite is a desire for or an interest in food. It is linked with the sight, smell, or thought of food. Appetite can override hunger and satiety, such as when you continue to eat even after you feel full. You can also have no appetite for food even though you are hungry, which may happen in a stressful situation or during an illness.
Use a hunger scale
A hunger scale can help you learn how to tell the difference between true, physical hunger and hunger that's really just in your head. Psychological hunger is a feeling of hunger that is caused by emotions, like stress, boredom, sadness, or happiness.
When you feel hungry even though you recently ate, check to see if what you're feeling is really a craving brought on by something psychological.
When you start feeling like you want something to eat, rate your hunger on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being starving and 10 being so full you feel sick. A rating of 5 or 6 means you're comfortable—neither too hungry nor too full.
- 1—Starving, weak, dizzy
- 2—Very hungry, cranky, low energy, lots of stomach growling
- 3—Pretty hungry, stomach is growling a little
- 4—Starting to feel a little hungry
- 5—Satisfied, neither hungry nor full
- 6—A little full, pleasantly full
- 7—A little uncomfortable
- 8—Feeling stuffed
- 9—Very uncomfortable, stomach hurts
- 10—So full you feel sick
To eat naturally, the way a baby does, eat when your hunger is at 3 or 4. Don't wait until your hunger gets down to 1 or 2. Getting too hungry can lead to overeating. When you sit down to a scheduled meal, stop and think how hungry you are. If you feel less hungry than usual, make a conscious effort to eat less food than usual. Stop eating when you reach 5 or 6 on the scale.
When it's time to eat, make healthy choices
For your body to be truly satisfied, your meals need to be balanced. This means that each meal should contain:
- Carbohydrate. You get this from grains, fruits, and vegetables.
- Protein. You get this from meat, fish, eggs, milk, yogurt, cheese, dry beans, and nuts, or from protein powders
- Fat. You get the kinds of fat that help you stay healthy from:
- Fish, walnuts, and flaxseeds and flaxseed oil. These have omega-3 fatty acids.
- Olive, canola, and peanut oils; most nuts; avocados; and olives. These have monounsaturated fats.
- Safflower, corn, sunflower, sesame, soybean, and cottonseed oils. These have polyunsaturated fats.
Your meals should contain tastes that you like and want. This also helps you feel satisfied.
Learn when to stop eating
Try to stop eating before you get too full. Too full is uncomfortable. It means you ate too much.
Get in touch with what "satisfied," or "pleasantly full," feels like for you.
- Relax before you start eating, and then eat slowly. Remember that it takes about 20 minutes for your stomach to tell your brain that you're full.
- Stop a quarter of the way through your meal, and check your hunger level. If you're still hungry, keep eating, but stop again at the halfway point. No matter what your parents taught you, you don't have to clean your plate.
- Learn what proper portions are. We're used to restaurant portions, but restaurant portions usually contain much more food than we need, when your waiter delivers your meal ask for a to-go bag and cut your meal in half and put it in the bag for take home. This will discourage you from overeating while socializing at dinner.
