Medical Alert: Eating in 20 minutes or less can be harmful to health

You can have everything you want and eat it too, but do it calmly.

Experts usually focus on the types of foods you can eat to improve your health. But the speed at which you devour your dinner is equally important. Eating too fast carries risks: think of stuck food and the possibility of Eating in excess Before your brain tells you to stop. (Cowing the food also runs the risk of bothering your dinner companions, who eat at a slower pace, or the person who took the time to cook).

Here are some scientist tips on how to reduce the rhythm and Adopt a more aware approach when consuming your diet.

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How fast is too fast?

If you are the type of person who can end up regularly breakfast, lunch or dinner in less than 20 or 30 minutes, you are eating too fast.

The stomach takes about 20 minutes to communicate to the brain, through a series of hormonal signals, which is full, ”explained Leslie Heinberg, of the Cleveland Clinic Behavioral Center.

Why is this a problem?

People who eat fast tend to swallow more air, Heinberg said, which could cause swelling or indigestion. Chew foods badly can also affect digestion, which means that all food nutrients are not obtained. The pieces of food without chewing could also get stuck in the esophagus.

Some previous studies have suggested that people who eat quickly have the greatest risk of obesity, while those who eat slower are those who are less likely to be obese.

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How can we reduce the pace when eating?

To start, turn off the TV and leave the phone.

If you eat while watching television, people tend to eat until there is an announcement or ends the program, ”said Heinberg, adding that people are less likely to pay attention to the signals that the body gives that they are full.“ When we do things while we eat, we eat less attention. And that often leads us to eat more. ”

He said that when people focus exclusively on eating, they tend to enjoy food more.

Heinberg also acknowledged that the rhythm that is eaten is usually an entrenched habit, but said it is still possible to change. He suggested things how to use the non -dominant hand To eattry utensils that are not usually used, such as Chinese sticks, or take a break to drink water when the dish is partially empty.

If you have a busy life, it may be inevitable to lunch at a working meeting or chop something while you do errands. But Sarah Berry, chief scientist of the British Nutrition Company Zoe, recommends, whenever possible, “Take into account the taste and texture of the food”.

“If we are not completely present, it is very easy to eat faster and not realize how much we have consumed,” Berry said.

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Chew your food, as mom told you.

One of the simplest things we can do is increase the number of snacks we give, said Helen McCarthy, a clinical psychologist of the British psychology society.

“If you chew each bite a little more, you will eat more slowly”said.

The type of food you eat can also make a difference, pointing out that it is much easier to eat ultra -processed or faster meals, because they normally have a softer texture.

It is difficult to eat vegetables and proteins at the same pace as something highly processed that requires less chewing, ”said McCarthy.

Some of his patients also reported an unintentional side effect when they started eating more slowly, such as a woman who used to eat A tube of french fries nightly. When McCarthy told him to eat each potato individually, his patient told him that “it was like having his mouth full of sticky chemicals.”

“They didn’t like (fried potatoes),” said McCarthy.

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