The modern world is a strange place: we have access to entertainment that only medieval kings could imagine, we can buy many more clothes than our grandparents could, and it is easier than ever to travel to the other side of the world. However, it seems that time is the scarcest resource. Everyday things like sitting down to eat peacefully have become rare. How many times have we sat down in front of a plate of food and finished it in less than 10 minutes, as if we were in front of a Guinness World Record judge? Before we know it, we’ve finished the last crumbs on our plate without stopping to savor what was in front of us.
Although eating in a hurry may seem trivial, it does have real consequences for our health. The good news is that a change in the way we eat—without necessarily changing our diet—can have positive consequences for our health. There’s no need to be strict, count calories, or spend hours at the gym. It’s how we eat, rather than what we eat, that matters.
The famous 20-minute signal
A change in our routine, or rather our eating habits, can help us improve digestion and control our weight. First of all, we need to explain what the “satiety signal” is: it is a complex hormonal communication between our brain and our digestive system. When the food we are eating enters the digestive system, the intestine begins to release various hormones, which act as messengers of satiety. Their job is to travel to the brain to let it know that there is enough food.
This is precisely where the problem of eating too quickly lies: this communication is not instantaneous, but rather the hormones take an average of 15 to 20 minutes to be fully registered by our brain. If we eat our meal in five to 10 minutes in a hurry, this signal has not yet reached its destination. That’s why your brain often thinks you’re still hungry, and you continue eating or go back for seconds.
The result: you end up consuming significantly more calories before you actually feel full. This biological lag sabotages your efforts to control your portions and, without even realizing it, you’re hindering your digestion.
Although we were taught at school that digestion takes place in the stomach, this is actually false: digestion begins the moment you take a bite of food and put it in your mouth. Our saliva and teeth are the first to start breaking down food so that it can be digested in our stomach and intestines. If you’ve ever eaten very quickly without chewing much, you’ll have noticed that your digestion was very heavy. The best thing to do is to stop and chew your food several times—making sure there are no large pieces left—before swallowing.
In fact, Buddhist monks use lunchtime as a meditation routine: they make sure to chew each bite 30 times to ensure that they appreciate every piece of food. Although you don’t have to chew 30 times (it would take you forever to eat!), we do recommend chewing each bite 15 to 20 times before swallowing. This will improve your digestion, and your satiety hormones will have time to reach your brain.
Lunch routine that combat metabolic diseases
Eating quickly not only causes indigestion, but can also have a lasting impact on our weight and metabolism. Studies show a direct correlation between the speed at which we eat and body weight; people who eat quickly are up to 115% more likely to be overweight than people who take their time and eat without anxiety.
The metabolic risk is even more serious: when we eat food too quickly—especially carbohydrates—the food reaches the intestine too quickly, causing glucose to be released into the bloodstream all at once. This causes higher and more sudden sugar spikes, which cause your body to release large amounts of insulin to counteract it. In the long term, this constant exposure to sugar spikes contributes to insulin resistance, which is a precursor to more serious problems such as type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
How to eat slower
Here are some tips to help you start eating slower:
- After each bite, put your fork down on the table, and don’t pick it up again until you’ve chewed and swallowed completely.
- Use slightly smaller plates than you’re used to, so your brain will think the standard portion looks bigger.
- Don’t watch TV—or any other screen—while you eat. All you’ll do is distract yourself and not focus on your food. It’s better to be alone with your thoughts and your plate.
- If you finish eating and are still hungry, wait just 10 minutes. The feeling of fullness will probably take a while to kick in, and you’ll find that you were full from the start.