7 Reasons Why You Should Eat Slowly

By Deepa

| Published: Tuesday, February 4, 2014, 9:03 [IST]

Heard of that age old saying that asks you to chew your food at least 32 times for proper digestion? Well, 32 times simply means you should try and eat your food slowly so that it is good for your digestive system. In some countries, meals are considered to be a family affair. The whole family gathers at the table sharing food and talks and continues this affair for hours before they break away for work.

But, there are some countries where food is just “a meal on the way”. It’s a busy world for them where they can’t afford time for meals. They are mostly working round the clock, travelling for hours to get to work and stuff like that. You would see a lot of obesity complaints and other issues coming from these countries. Such people in such don’t have the time to sit and have their meal, let alone chew the meal peacefully. They are almost always on the run.

There’s a reason why people say you should eat slowly. There are various benefits associated with eating slowly. Let’s take you through reasons and benefits associated with eating your food slowly. Probably that would help you understand it better.

Get To Taste Food

When you eat slowly, you get to taste the food better. The pleasure involved in tasting the various flavors and enjoying the smell of the well-cooked food, gives you an emotional satisfaction. Your taste buds need to enjoy the food for you to feel good after a meal. Eating slowly gives you the benefit of enjoying your meal.

Weight Loss Benefit

When you eat fast, you tend to lose control of your diet. You simply hog on the food. When you begin eating slowly, you notice what you are consuming. You would tend to feel full sooner than you would while eating fast. This way you can keep an eye on your diet and control your weight.

Controls Emotional Eating

When you are a bit emotional, you are driven by food. You tend to eat a lot more than you should as your emotions are causing hunger. When you eat slowly, you can separate the emotional triggers from your eating habits. This would help you control your diet and thus keep a check on your weight.

Social Eating

By being a slow eater, you can actually become a social eater. Meals are splendid ways to catch up with friends. When you eat slowly, the talks and the dinner lingers on. You get to spend more time with your friends and dinner would be a subtle way of handling it. Eating slowly has great social benefits.

Digestion Improved

When you don’t hurry through your meal, your digestive system gets enough time to track the meal and digest it. When the stomach and your whole system gets enough time to locate the food, churn and digest it, the stomach feels good at the end of the meal. When you happen to eat your meals fast, you give less time to your digestive system which can lead to digestion problems.

Stress Reliever

When you eat slowly, you get time to gather your thoughts. Eating slowly is one the best ways to beat stress. You can meditate on good food and spend some time with yourself.

Saves Money

Now, this is one of the best benefits of eating slowly. When you eat slowly, you know just how much to consume. So, you don’t really overeat. This saves a lot of money when you go eating out. You won’t buy what you won’t want to eat and this way you can spend the money on something useful. Sounds like a good benefit, right?

Of course, enjoying the meal thoroughly is one of the spectacular benefits of eating slowly.