The Powerful Benefits of Eating Slow
The power of focus can provide some tremendous benefits when it comes to the art of eating.
As I try to impart in these blog posts, there are literally hundreds of strategies to be aware of when it comes to optimizing our health. Sometimes the littlest of things, like the way we eat, can make a huge difference.
I’ve had a particularly busy week, running from one thing to the next … and when that happens, it’s easy to eat fast, or eat while we’re doing other things at the same time. Eating almost becomes another task of the day … something to get through. I’m shoveling the food in, as I walk through my kitchen or office, and onto the next thing on my schedule.
And for a gal who loves her food, not savoring every morsel as it’s eaten - is honestly disappointing and wasteful.
On one hand, it’s wasteful because I’m not taking the opportunity to embrace some downtime and enjoy the meal time ritual in my day that allows me to nourish my body with delicious food, while I also destress a bit. Relax. Maybe get recentered.
Sharing the meal with others, and having meaningful conversations, is another huge bonus.
Without overdoing it with too much technicality, I want to share what happens when we approach our mealtimes in a mindful way.
First, the initial phase of digestion, called the cephalic phase, kicks in with just the sight, smell, thought or taste of food in our mouths - way before our food gets into our digestive system. This phase triggers the body to release 20% of our digestive acids - the preparation phase of digestion essentially.
Activating these acids is what primes our digestive system to get ready to break down and absorb nutrients from the food we are about to digest. A pretty important process.
Interestingly, this process also engages our parasympathetic nervous system. Our parasympathetic nervous system, known as the “rest and digest” response, promotes a calmer state of being. Our heart rate slows, our gastrointestinal tract receives more blood flow and it’s easier for us to relax.
Think of this in contrast to our sympathetic nervous system, or “fight or flight” response, which impairs our digestive functioning by slowing down blood to our GI tract, slowing our digestion, and decreasing nutrient absorption.
Unfortunately, my sympathetic nervous system is what is engaged as I’m carrying my bowl around the house shoveling the food in as I multi-task. It's really stress-inducing to our bodies.
Another interesting fact to be aware of is that we need to spend enough time with our food to engage our hunger hormone, called ghrelin.
After a meal, our gut suppresses ghrelin, and releases fullness hormones that tell our brain that we are full, helping us to stop eating. When we take our time (at least 20 minutes) this enables these hormones to send the signal to our brain that we are satisfied and full.
When we rush, this feeling of satiation does not occur until it’s too late. We are probably more tempted to get up and serve ourselves a second helping. And if we’ve rushed, and probably overeaten, we’re probably not feeling nourished and satisfied, but gross, bloated and uncomfortable.
That nice feeling of energy that we can take away from our meals if we’ve had just enough is absent.
This is where things get really interesting though. Eating too fast is also wasteful, because by rushing, and not chewing thoroughly, we are not maximizing the nutritional benefit of our food.
Chewing thoroughly breaks down our food in a way that can be easily absorbed by our digestive system.
Take a look at the powerful phytonutrient, sulforaphane, as an interesting example of why it pays to chew and chew and chew.
Sulforaphane is found in all cruciferous vegetables, like kale, broccoli, cauliflower, bok choy, cabbage, etc. It has many amazing benefits - like neutralizing toxins and canceling out free radicals that find their way into our bodies (via pollution, UV rays, food additives and preservatives), that damage healthy cells in the process.
Sulforaphane also reduces inflammation and has impressive anti-cancer benefits.
The funny thing is - sulforaphane is not present in these vegetables unless we chew them thoroughly. The chewing process activates an enzymatic process which creates the sulforaphane in the first place.
Isn't that pretty cool? In fact, lots of cool beneficial stuff happens when we eat slow. By doing so, we
- Reduce our level of stress - creating a sense of feeling calmer and in control
- Become aware of when to stop eating
- Improve our digestion
- Maximize nutrient absorption
- And just plain increase the enjoyment of our meal
So remember that voice of your mother in your head. The one that was typically telling you to “slow down” and “chew your food.”
Her overwhelming worry with this directive was to most likely prevent you from choking.
But now you know there are so many benefits to slowing down, enjoying every morsel, and reminding ourselves that slow eating is just one more important strategy to optimize our health.