Take a quick minute to think of someone that spends FOREVER eating their food. You know, the person who chews each bite like they are running a marathon (i.e. taking a LONG time). I bet at times that person annoys you, because while you are done eating and wanting to move on with your day they are still slowly treasuring their meal. Let me tell you friends, that I am one of THOSE people. I am certain that it drives my husband crazy (probably others, too). I get invited to lunch at our local diner with the cowboys often, and they end up politely spending at least 10 minutes waiting for me to get done. I’m pretty sure that if they have work that they have to quickly get back to, they don’t invite me. And I don’t blame them. It really doesn’t hurt my feelings. I’ve always been a slow eater. Don’t know why. Just a quirk, I guess.
Turns out, apparently, that my quirk isn’t ALL bad. Annoying, possibly. Good for me, also possible. There have been several studies done on how eating slowly helps your metabolism and helps you feel full faster (that is a mouthful…I dare you to say that 10 times fast)! According to a Harvard Health blog post, your brain has to be able to connect with your body when eating in order for you to recognize that you feel full. If one eats too fast, for example, there might not be enough time given for the hormonal cross-talk system between stomach and brain to work. The theory is that eating slowly will allow this “talk” between systems to work, resulting in less food consumed. It takes about 20 minutes from the beginning of a meal for our brains to send out a signal of being full and satisfied. Do your meals last that long? Even as a slow eater, my meals don’t always last that long.
Other benefits of slow eating:
- improved digestion
- unintentional smaller portions, and longer-lasting satisfaction
- better hydration
Am I trying to tell you to eat as slow as grandma (and, yes, I have one of those grandmas! Maybe it’s genetics?!)? Not necessarily. But slowing down at meal time even just a little could have benefits to your health that might have been missing!