Why You Should Eat Slowly

There are several reasons why we tend to eat too quickly, possibly leading to poor digestion, lower satisfaction from food, and weight gain. It can take 20 minutes from when you start eating for your brain to signal that you’ve eaten enough, and doing it too fast can make us ignore this function and take in too many calories.

5-Minute Crafts has some tips to help you slow down your eating and enjoy its benefits.

Why we eat too fast

Eating in a rush can be related to several things:

• Our world is prone to making us live a life where we’re always busy, in a rush, or distracted, which will often make us eat fast and not take the time to properly chew or fully enjoy our meals.
• Some studies have found that it can be related to our birth order if we have siblings, as they tell us that firstborn children are twice as likely to eat faster.
• Another study found that having a meal with a group of people might lead to eating more, as we’ll match the pace and amount of food to how others eat.

How eating slowly affects your body

• It will improve digestion.
  When we see or think about food, we’ll start producing more saliva, which will help break down the food and moisten the mouth for better swallowing. After this, our stomach will get ready for the food by making more acid. If we eat too fast, we won’t give our body the time to go through these reactions that aid digestion.
• It’s better for our health.
  Eating too fast can cause bloating and gas because we’ll naturally swallow more air.
• It will help you make healthier choices and even lose weight if that’s what you want.
  If we’re in a rush, we’re more likely to just grab something and not think about if it’s healthy or not. Studies have also found that eating slower will make you consume fewer calories but also make you feel more satiated, as opposed to eating faster, which, despite leading to higher energy intake, doesn’t make you feel as satiated.

How to eat slower

1. At the beginning of each meal, remind yourself that you want to be eating slowly.
2. If you’re eating in a group, match the speed of the person eating slower and most leisurely.
3. Drink something with your meal. Taking a sip of your drink will naturally make you pause while you’re eating.
4. Switch to your non-dominant hand — if you’re left-handed eat with your right hand, if you’re right-handed eat with your left hand — as research has found that this will make you eat about 30% slower.
5. Put down your utensils between each bite and take a moment to breathe.
6. Use different plates and utensils. A red plate can make you eat slower since the color red naturally slows us down. You can also use chopsticks instead of a fork and knife.

Check the video for amazing life hacks for your health