Since the dawn of time, chewing has been the primary way of breaking down food into smaller, more digestible particles that can easily pass through the digestive tract. Different foods take a different amount of chewing to break down, and early hominids likely used their teeth to grind down plants and breakthrough tough meat sources. The way you eat can contribute a lot to your overall health. Making small changes to your diet and lifestyle can add up to weight loss and improved health. One of those changes could be something as simple as chewing more -- that is, choosing foods that require lots of jaw action, along with chewing gum.
The Importance of Chewing
Chewing, or mastication, is more than just breaking down food. It's the essential first step of digestion. When you chew your food, it gets broken down into smaller pieces which are easier to digest. Chewing and saliva break down and mix food together in your mouth. When mixed with saliva, chewing allows your body to extract the greatest possible amount of nutrients from the food you eat.
Chewing leaves food small enough for the gastric juices in the stomach to further degrade it and reduce it to microscopic size. This allows the nutrients and fluids to be absorbed into your gastrointestinal tract.
From there, food goes into your esophagus when you swallow. Your esophagus pushes food into your stomach. Your stomach holds food while it mixes with enzymes that continue breaking down the food so you can use it for energy. When food is digested enough in your stomach, it moves into your small intestine where it mixes with more enzymes that continue to break it down. Nutrients from the food are absorbed in the small intestine. Wastes are sent to the large intestine, known as your colon. The leftover waste is excreted through the rectum and anus.
Benefits of Chewing Food Properly
Weight Control
Chewing food slowly gives the stomach enough time to signal the brain for satiety. Experts say that the faster you eat, the more food you will tend to eat. Chewing food slowly actually reduces food intake between meals, meaning it can be a great tip to help you curb overeating and increase your satisfaction at mealtimes. Slow eating, which involves chewing food slowly and thoroughly, is an effective strategy for controlling appetite in order to avoid being overweight or obese.
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In one study, 30 healthy women consumed meals at different paces. The women who ate slower consumed significantly less food yet felt fuller than those who ate quicker. In another study, chewing more during mealtime was found to reduce snacking on candies later in the day.
Increased Nutrient Absorption
Besides weight control, experts say that chewing your food properly can also help increase the amount of nutrients you get out of your food. In one study, experts found that chewing almonds between 25 and 40 times not only suppressed hunger but also increased people’s ability to absorb nutrients from the almonds.
Improved Digestion
Chewing helps to signal the beginning of the digestive process. As your body releases saliva to help break down food, it also relaxes the stomach ahead of digestion to allow food and nutrients to pass through more easily. Proper digestion begins in the mouth. When eating, be sure to chew your food thoroughly to get the full benefit out of it.
Oral Health
When food particles are left on the teeth, they provide fuel for bacteria that can cause tooth decay. Chewing food well also helps to maintain oral health, because producing more saliva compensates for the acidity of some foods, which can damage the enamel and promote tooth decay. Saliva production is important for oral health because saliva contains buffers, minerals, and antibacterial agents. Increased saliva flow helps to neutralize acids in the mouth and enhances the re-mineralization of the tooth enamel. It also helps clear the mouth of any food debris that may get caught between teeth.
Chewing gum, particularly sugar-free gum, provides oral health benefits by increasing saliva and thus helping to cleanse the mouth of bacteria that can cause decay.
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Cognitive Function
Mastication (chewing) is important not only for food intake, but also for preserving and promoting the general health. Recent studies have showed that mastication helps to maintain cognitive functions in the hippocampus, a central nervous system region vital for spatial memory and learning. Masticatory dysfunction is associated with the hippocampal morphological impairments and the hippocampus-dependent spatial memory deficits, especially in elderly. Mastication is an effective behavior for maintaining the hippocampus-dependent cognitive performance, which deteriorates with aging. Therefore, chewing may represent a useful approach in preserving and promoting the hippocampus-dependent cognitive function in older people.
How to Chew Properly
There's no perfect way to chew your food, as factors like the type of food and the condition of your teeth can affect how you break down what you eat. There are, however, some guidelines to make sure your food has been properly chewed before you swallow.
When you’re eating, there is a right and wrong way to chew. Here’s how to get the most out of your meals:
- Don’t overload your spoon or fork. Food should stay on without falling off.
- With food in your mouth, close your lips and start chewing. Your tongue should move the food from side to side and your jaw should rotate slightly.
- Chew slowly, counting to 32 with each bite of food. You may need more or less time depending on the type of food.
- Once the bite has lost all texture, you can swallow.
You might, for instance, choose a goal of "chews" to hit before you swallow, such as 20. If you tend to eat too quickly (and chew too fast), you can set some rules for eating to help you do so more mindfully. Only eat at prescribed times and while sitting at a table. Make sure you avoid other activities when eating instead of taking the time to focus on your food and your satiety level.
Experts have a lot to say about chewing. One common piece of advice is to chew your food an estimated 32 times before swallowing. It takes fewer chews to break down soft and water-filled food. The goal of chewing is to break down your food so it loses texture. Chewing 32 times appears to be an average number applied to most bites of food. Foods that are harder to chew, such as steak and nuts, may require up to 40 chews per mouthful. Foods like watermelon may require fewer chews to break down - as few as 10 to 15.
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What experts recommend is to begin by taking smaller bites which easily fit into the mouth and don’t require you to “open wide”. The next step is to chew consciously, slowly and thoroughly, until the food loses its original texture and can be passed almost effortlessly. It is also a good idea to set down your fork between each bite, not to bring food to the mouth until the last mouthful has been swallowed and not to drink anything until you have fully passed all food.
When food is not thoroughly chewed, the body responds in a delayed manner and does not “give the signal” that we have eaten enough already. The result is that we will eat more food than if we had chewed properly.
Eat slowly and take your time with every bite. Count an average of 30 chews per every bite. Of course, the number of chews will depend on the type of meal you are eating. Choose small bites for every mouthful. Try not to overload your spoon or fork. Eating is a truly social activity, but try not to talk while you’re chewing. Talking while chewing usually makes you engulf your food after chewing less. If you are having a nice dinner conversation with someone, try not to rush your swallowing so you can continue chatting. Sometimes the habit of moistening food with sauce or beverages can cause us to swallow bigger bites. And last but not least, try not to drink liquids while you are eating. It is better to either drink liquids 15 to 30 minutes before and after you eat. Changing eating habits are very difficult at first, but setting your mind to it and committing to a goal can truly lead you to establishing new and more healthy habits. But you have to consider, of course, that it takes time and practice!
The Role of Crunchy Foods
Crunchy foods like pretzels, carrots, apples, and celery also give your mouth and jaw a workout that can be energizing. These snacks fill your belly, and may help you feel more alert during a midday slump.
Crunchy foods like pretzels, carrots, apples, and celery also give your mouth and jaw a workout that can be energizing. These snacks fill your belly, and may help you feel more alert during a midday slump.
So the next time you reach for a meal or snack, think crunch -- top yogurt with a handful of nuts or whole-grain cereal, layer sandwiches with sliced vegetables, have a bowl of popcorn -- to help give you the feeling of fullness.
Chewing Gum and Appetite Control
Emerging research suggests that chewing sugar-free gum might also help with appetite control. Chewing gum may help satisfy the urge for something sweet. Studies have shown that chewing a piece of gum before snacks appears to reduce the desire for, and intake of, sweet snacks throughout the day.
Chewing a piece of gum while cooking can help keep you from sampling the meal. It can also be a diversionary tactic to keep you from impulse snacking when you're bored or tired.
Mindful Eating and Satiety
Appetite is complex, and many factors affect which foods we choose and how much we eat. The first few bites of any food are really the best, from a sensory perspective. The pleasure we get from food slowly decreases during the meal. This phenomenon is called the "satiety cascade," and it influences how much you eat at a meal and when you'll eat your next meal. Understanding what influences the satiety cascade can help us identify what triggers overeating.
One such influence is "mindful eating," or focusing on the food you're eating. Enjoy the aroma, savor every bite, eat slowly, and chew each mouthful thoroughly for maximum pleasure. Slow eating releases more flavors from food and extends the time the food lingers in your mouth. And because the food is in contact with your taste buds longer, it boosts your feelings of fullness and satisfaction (sometimes called satiety).
Mindful eating can help reduce the total amount you eat at any meal. For example, when you eat in front of the television, your attention is diverted from the food. That can result in "unconscious" overeating.
Mindful eating is slower eating. And because foods with crunch and texture take longer to eat, they may lead to greater satisfaction than softer foods.
Historical Perspective: Horace Fletcher and Fletcherism
Horace Fletcher (1849-1919), nicknamed “The Great Masticator,” was a well known and influential food and health enthusiast. Fletcher strongly believed that chewing every bite of food 100 times would prevent overeating, cure obesity, lead to better systemic and dental health, helped to reduce food intake, and consequently, conserved money. Doing so helped him lose 40 pounds (18 kilograms). He cautioned people not to eat except when they were “good and hungry,” and to avoid eating when they were angry or worried.
The Impact of Mastication on Diet-Induced Thermogenesis (DIT)
Slow eating, which involves chewing food slowly and thoroughly, is an effective strategy for controlling appetite in order to avoid being overweight or obese. Slow eating also has the effect of increasing postprandial energy expenditure (diet-induced thermogenesis). Diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT), which is also called the thermic effect or a specific dynamic action of food consumption, can be defined as the increase in the energy expenditure above the basal fasting level associated with the digestion, absorption, transport, metabolism, and storage of food.
Oral stimuli (i.e., the duration of tasting liquid food in the mouth and the duration of chewing) significantly increased diet-induced thermogenesis after drinking liquid food. This result demonstrates that the increase in diet-induced thermogenesis is due to oral stimuli rather than the influence of the food bolus.
Mastication and the Hippocampus
Mastication or chewing helps to maintain the hippocampal function. The sensory information from the oral cavity including teeth is transmitted through the trigeminal sensory nerve to the trigeminal sensory nuclei, cerebellum, hypoglossal motor nuclei and the brainstem reticular formation. The reticular formation and the ascending reticular activating system are necessary for arousal of the brain for attention, perception and conscious learning.
Evidence from neuroimaging studies suggests that masticatory dysfunction induced spatial memory and learning deficits associated with structural and functional reorganization of the hippocampus.