It's Not What We Eat But How We Eat It That Can Make the Difference

   By SheSpeaksTeam  Aug 17, 2014
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If you’re tired of following strict diet guidelines that tell you what you can and can’t eat, you will probably be interested in some new research that purports it’s not what we eat but how we chew that keeps us healthy. Counting the amount of bites we take in a day and how much time we take to finish our meals can weigh heavily on the amount of food we consume.

The Wall Street Journal reports about the growing research and tech products that help us understand how important the way we eat and chew our food truly is to our daily diets.

Over the last couple of years some tech products have come out to help us be more mindful about the way we eat. The Hapifork we reported about last year tracks your bites and reminds you to slow down if you tend to eat too fast. A wrist band called the Bite Monitor and a “talking plate” also help measure how fast we eat and are expected to be on the market soon.

With all of the latest health tech toys, the trend of counting our bites certainly seems poised to take off in the near future. But is the way we chew really that important for our overall health? Growing research points out that eating a little slower may be key to putting a stop to overeating habits. Kathleen Melanson, director of the University of Rhode Island's Energy Balance Lab, explains how eating slower and chewing longer is a surefire way to get fuller with less food. Melanson says, “There's very strong evidence pointing to the importance of chewing. The nerves that feed into the muscles in the jaw connect to satiety areas in the brain.”

Though there are no hard and fast rules laid out by researchers, about 10 to 20 chews per mouthful is a common recommendation to help someone who wants to consume less calories. If you want to hit that recommended daily calorie intake for women (which is 1,100 calories based on a low-calorie diet according to National Institutes of Health standards) research has found that 100 bites of food per day usually will get you there. Eric Muth, a Psychology professor at Clemson University Eric Muth warns, “One-hundred bites is really an average starting point. It's not going to work for everybody.” And of course there is a difference if you take one hundred bites of salad versus one hunded bites of cheese burgers. Dr. Muth explains, "Our premise with the bite-count diet is we're trying to get you to push the plate away a little bit. You can do a lot with bites. It's very simple and people understand it."

What do you think of the new research that focuses on healthy eating based on how fast we chew and how many bites we take?


 

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Jennyfr by Jennyfr | FOND DU LAC, WI
Sep 24, 2014

I have heard for years now that we should eat slowly, chew and enjoy the flavor and take our time! My husband is practically done eating before I get my plate ready and sit down! He claims it goes back to being in the Army but I think anyone can change eating habits and he just won't. I don't always adhere to good eating habits but I DO try and I agree with this article and loved reading it!

Mauserati by Mauserati | BAKERSFIELD, CA
Sep 09, 2014

I saw a video of a nonagenarian who was very fit and spry. During the early history of the Korean Republic, he was poverty stricken. He learnt to survive on 2 kimbap (rice rolls wrapped in seaweed) per day. Even today he buys 2 kimbap and takes over an hour to eat them. He chews each slice thoroughly and pauses between pieces before taking another slice. Eating quickly is a huge problem for me. Even when I try to be aware of each bite, I end up chowing down after just a few minutes. I grew up in a poorer Japanese American family with 3 older brothers. All the meals were served "family style", so if I didn't grab and wolf down my food, I might not have gotten anything other than my bowl of steamed rice.

lickysplitnik by lickysplitnik | MEMPHIS, TN
Aug 19, 2014

Great idea I always thought it was calorie control or portion control