Grandma always said you should chew every bite of food 40 times, and I know that this was quite the health fad at the turn of the (previous) century. Are there any actual benefits?
I’m on a diet and got to wondering about this because it seems as if a lot of diet books advise readers who want to lose weight that eating slowly and thoroughly chewing your food will allow you to feel satisfied after eating a smaller-than-normal meal.
It seems to me that the opposite would be true and that chewing your food as little as possible (theoretically, I mean – if choking and the disgust of your tablemates weren’t factors) would be the way to go, because the unmasticated food would expose less surface area to digestive enzymes and so would sit in your stomach longer, making you feel full for a longer time.
As for actual health benefits, I don’t know. The reason dieting people suggest it, though, is that the extra time spent chewing the fifth bite gives the first four time to work their way down you digestive system and let your body register that there is something in your belly. If you eat quickly, you may have consumed enough to make you full, but in the time it takes for your body to acknowledge this and send a signal for satiety to your brain, you’ve already eaten another half of a hamburger.
Similar idea to drinking a lot of water before you eat, you are playing around with your bodies ability to tell when it has had enough.
“Fletcherizing " was a huge fad in the late 19th century. It arose because Americans always bolted their food…this lead to a lot ofupset stomaches, and ulcers. The idea is actually quite sound-if you throughly chew your food, you have less chance of a gastric upset. In addition, all the time you spend will probably make you LOSE interest in food, so it might help with dieting.
Check out Martin Gardner’s"Fads and Fallacies In the Name of Science”, for a hilarious look at this odd 19th century movement!
Yes. Fletcherize, and give yourself three yogurt enemas a day, preferably after your bowel movements.
(Have to repopulate the intestinal flora, you know.)
