How do you eat?

When your fingers, fork or spoon reach your mouth, what happens? Do you rush to get your food inside your stomach or take time to taste every morsel?

Do you talk and eat? 

Do you actually taste your food?

Does eating make you feel good?

I have a list below of suggestions that might be relevant to you, but I know that there are many more. 

Quickly

In a rush - lack of time

Don’t chew well

Some chewing

Lots of chewing

Slowly

Talk and eat at the same time

In a stressful situation

Very relaxed

Whilst reading

Whilst doing puzzles

Whilst watching the TV/ Internet

Alone

In a group

With family

Mindfully - being aware of the food

Not noticing what you are eating

With mouth open

With lots of liquid

Slowly to make food last longer

Does it matter how you eat?

When we eat, the teeth and saliva in your mouth get to work to start the process of digesting your food (1). The more we chew, the more satisfied with the amount of food eaten, we may feel (2).

Eating with other people may result in discussing memories and laughter (3)!

Eating slower, by tasting and chewing more, may support better movement of food through your intestines (4).

If you would like to know more, please arrange a consultation with me.

References

1. https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/digestive-diseases/digestive-system-how-it-works
2. Sophie Miquel-Kergoat, Veronique Azais-Braesco, Britt Burton-Freeman, Marion M. Hetherington, Effects of chewing on appetite, food intake and gut hormones: A systematic review and meta-analysis, Physiology & Behavior, Volume 151, 2015, Pages 88-96, ISSN 0031-9384,
3. Dunbar, R.I.M. Breaking Bread: the Functions of Social Eating. Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology 3, 198–211 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40750-017-0061-4
4. Hamada Y, Hayashi N. Chewing increases postprandial diet-induced thermogenesis. Sci Rep. 2021 Dec 9;11(1):23714. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-03109-x. Erratum in: Sci Rep. 2021 Dec 23;11(1):24483. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-04257-w. PMID: 34887466; PMCID: PMC8660770.