I Must Eat Slowly, I Must Eat Slowly, I Must Eat Slowly!

I don’t know what’s up with me these days. I sit at the table and engorge food as fast as I can. I just can’t help myself.
I know that this is a wrong thing to do. It’s a bad habit. One that I want to break before it’s too late.
In that effort, I did what my elementary school’s teacher forced me to do when I did something wrong at school. I grabbed a piece of chalk and wrote “I must eat slowly” over and over again on the chalkboard...until I became nauseated.
The same way Bart does in the opening sequence of every episode of “The Simpsons”.


Ok...I didn’t wrote it on a “regular” chalkboard. I used instead a virtual one (that I created from scratch).
But now I think I got it right: I must eat slowly and chew the food thoroughly!
Because it’s really one of the most important things to do, if you want to be healthy:
1) Consume fewer calories. It takes about 20 minutes for our brains to register that we’re full. If we eat fast, we can continue eating past the point where we’re full. If we eat slowly, we have time to realize we’re full, and stop on time.
2) Aid digestion. The more we chew, the less strain and work for the digestive system.
3) Lower stress levels. Chewing relaxes the nervous system and when you chew slowly and longer, you are less rushed and can appreciate the present moment more.
4) Activate anti-bacterial properties. A bunch of bacteria and viruses can’t live in the saliva. Chewing stimulates saliva production, which in turn activates its anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties.
Also eating slowly makes you enjoy your food more. It’s hard to enjoy your food if it goes by too quickly.
“A little less conversation, a little more chewing please!” that’s my new motto!
Or maybe “A little more conversation, a little more chewing please!”, as there’s nothing better than to enjoy a meal with friends and a good chat.