What are the benefits of chewing food slowly?

 Food and eating is usually believed by many to be those processes and reactions that take place in the stomach and intestines, while the digestive process begins mainly in the mouth, with chewing.

Chewing food makes it easier to digest by breaking it into smaller pieces, and it gives more time for food to mix with saliva, which increases the body's ability to extract all the possible nutrients in the food.

The number of times needed to chew food varies depending on what the food is itself. Each food takes a certain number of times to break down and lose its hardness and structure, so that it is easier to digest. The average number of chewing times is approximately 32 times per bite, and the number of times decreases with eating soft and full of water, and foods that need more force to chew, such as steaks and nuts, may require chewing up to 40 times, and other foods such as watermelon need a number of times Much less, up to 10 or 15 times.

Chewing food is the first step in the digestive process, which consists of the following steps:

 

 Food is chewed in the mouth, and in it it mixes with saliva and increases its cracking. After chewing, swallowing comes, and the food moves into the esophagus, which in turn pushes the food into the stomach.

 The stomach secretes enzymes that mix with the food, increasing it to break down and extract the energy in it.

 When sufficiently digested in the stomach, the food moves into the small intestine, and there it mixes with more enzymes, and with it it is further broken down, so the nutrients are absorbed in the small intestine.

 The waste continues its journey to the large intestine, colon, and finally it is disposed of by the body through the rectum and anus, in what is known as the process of defecation.

What are the benefits of chewing food slowly - The processes and reactions that occur in the stomach and intestines after eating - The esophagus pushes food into the stomach

Some people may forget to chew their food, or they may get in the habit of swallowing their food without chewing enough. Some people may not be able to chew enough food due to the small or large bite. Chewing does not stop at being an essential part of the digestive process, but rather is beneficial to the health as a whole. Not slowing down in chewing may result in digestive problems, and you may become more prone to the following:

Suffocation.

 Food enters the airway.

 Malnutrition.

 Drought.

Slow chewing reduces the amount of food you eat in one meal. Therefore, the faster you chew and swallow, the greater the amount of food per meal.

In a study conducted on 30 women, each of whom ate her meal at a different rate than the other, it was found that those who eat their meal slowly consumed less food and felt full faster than the one who ate quickly. In another study, increasing the number of chewing times was found to reduce snacking during the day.

It has been shown that the body's ability to absorb nutrients from foods increases with the number of times the food is chewed. In a study in which volunteers ate almonds, it was found that chewing the almonds between 25 to 40 times increases the body's ability to absorb as much of the nutrients in the almonds as possible.

Most of us are accustomed to drinking water at the time of eating, and such a habit is not considered good at all times, especially for people with digestive problems. Drinking water impedes the digestion process by diluting the enzymes in the stomach, and it reduces their ability to break down food, and the damage is doubly in disease cases such as gastroesophageal reflux. GERD.

In addition, not chewing enough leads to an imbalance in the comfort of the digestive system, and your body may not be able to secrete enzymes to the extent that it digests food efficiently, which may lead to digestive problems such as:

 Bloating.

 diarrhea.

 heartburn.

 Acid reflux.

 colic.

 nausea.

 a headache.

 Excessive irritation.

 Malnutrition.

 Indigestion.

Here are recommended tips to get the most out of your food:

 It is preferable to drink water half an hour before or after eating and not during it, so that the efficiency of digestive enzymes is not affected.

 Avoid drinking coffee immediately after eating, as it speeds up the digestive process and increases your need to have a bowel movement in less time, in addition to being acidic and causing heartburn.

 Avoid eating fruits and processed sweets right after eating, as sugary foods are quick to digest and cause gas and bloating.

 The digestive process requires energy, so you should not exercise immediately after eating, as the digestive process will be less efficient when you exercise.

 Eat fermented foods such as pickled cabbage or pickled cucumbers, as these foods contain digestive enzymes and beneficial bacteria that increase the body's ability to absorb the largest possible amount of nutrients, in addition to their ability to reduce the symptoms of conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, gluten intolerance, and symptoms asthma.

 Vegetables contain high amounts of enzymes and fiber, so it is important to eat vegetables to improve digestion efficiency.

 Taking a walk after a meal helps with digestion, by increasing the movement of food in the stomach.

 Imbalance in the daily routine, such as lack of sleep or disturbed eating times, may negatively affect the digestive process and the digestive system. To solve this problem and restore the digestive system to normal, it is recommended to take probiotics or probiotics - food supplements from live bacteria or yeasts that give a health benefit to the host - and they should be taken under the supervision of a specialist to determine the probiotics that are most appropriate for your body.

We conclude from the above, that chewing has an indispensable role in the digestive process, and if a person's focus increases in the way he chews food, he will eat his food less frequently, and in lesser quantity, and all this will enhance the efficiency of his digestive system.