Urban office worker Xiao Lu eats every meal with exceptional grace. After the tablecloth and utensils are set, she gently picks up her food and chews slowly; it's as if she's counting grains of rice when she eats her rice, and a meal never takes less than 50 minutes. Most of her friends are unwilling to have dinner with her, finding her too refined and slow. So, is there anything wrong with eating slowly and deliberately? In fact, from a health perspective, chewing slowly and deliberately is beneficial to the body.
It aids digestion. Chewing slowly has three benefits for digestion. First, it promotes the secretion of gastric juices. Second, it grinds food down, which helps the body digest and absorb it, reducing the burden on the gastrointestinal tract. Third, the saliva formed during chewing enters the stomach and forms a protein film that protects the stomach lining. For people with poor gastrointestinal digestive function, chewing slowly is particularly important.
It prevents obesity. The signal from the stomach to the brain that you are full takes about 20 minutes to arrive. If you wolf down your food, you will often have eaten too much before the brain sends the signal to stop, which can lead to obesity. Therefore, it's a good idea to chew for a longer period, controlling the meal time to about 20 minutes. This allows the brain to receive the signal from the appetite control center on time, creating a feeling of fullness.
It stabilizes post-meal blood sugar. On one hand, chewing slowly can avoid a spike in blood sugar caused by consuming too much food. On the other hand, the food consumed by diabetics is often carefully calculated, and eating too quickly can interfere with the full absorption of nutrients, which is unfavorable for blood sugar control.
It slows brain decline. The part of the brain responsible for learning deteriorates with age, as does short-term memory. The act of chewing stimulates the brain's memory functions, slowing this aging process.
It maintains oral health. The chewing surfaces of teeth are uneven and not easy to keep clean. The friction from chewing allows saliva to wash the tooth surfaces, enhancing their self-cleansing ability and reducing the occurrence of cavities. When chewing, food constantly rubs against the soft tissues of the mouth, especially the gums. This can increase keratinization of the gum surface and improve local blood circulation, thereby increasing the gums' resistance to disease.
It relieves stress. A common method people use to cope with negative emotions like emptiness and anxiety is "stress eating," a habit that begins in infancy. Chewing slowly satisfies the oral drive while also diverting attention and serving as a way to release pressure.
It reduces facial wrinkles. Chewing slowly promotes facial muscle movement, improves local blood circulation, and boosts the metabolism of facial skin and muscles, thereby reducing the formation of wrinkles. Furthermore, chewing stimulates the secretion of parotin, which not only maintains the normal development of bones and teeth but also plays an important role in strengthening the vitality of muscles and connective tissues, and enhancing the elasticity of blood vessels and skin.