4 – Eating Slowly
As the platoon guide (head squad leader) in Marine Corps boot camp, I was last in the chow hall and had to be the first one done. I learned to eat fast, very fast. I could easily inhale my entire tray of food in less than 3 minutes, 13 weeks of that developed a habit that lasted a long time.
When I went to college after the Marines, the other kids were wondering if I had learned my eating habits in prison. It took a conscious effort to slow down and chew my food properly instead of swallowing each mouthful of food whole like a carnivore. To this day I have to continually remind myself to eat slowly and for good reason.
Chewing your food well and eating it slowly has several health benefits. Chewing is important as it breaks down the food in the mouth. This is where the first step of digestion takes place, where the food mixes with saliva. If you tend to eat very quickly, without really chewing well, a lot of gas bubbles get trapped in the food. This gives you the ‘bloated’ feeling, resulting in the production of gas, and belching.
How long should we chew our food? Ayurveda tells us that we should chew each bite or mouthful 32 times before its completely swallowed. Having your meal slowly can ensure you eat less. But how do you feel full by eating smaller servings? By eating your food slowly & chewing it well. This takes full advantage of the fact that it takes around 20 minutes for the stomach to let the brain know that it is full. Which means that if you eat fast you will tend to consume more food and end up being quite full long before your brain realizes it. As a result, you may have eaten too much which will leave you feeling bloated later on.
If you eat a meal and find yourself still hungry, its probably because you’ve eaten too fast. Slow down and count the number of times you chew your food try and get to 32 chews for each mouthful. Once you’ve swallowed your food take a pause and smile and if you’re enjoying your meal with others dazzle them with your clever conversation.