Eat Slowly

So why slow down our eating?

Learning to eat more slowly is one of the simplest yet most powerful things we can do to improve overall health. The mental and general well-being benefits of eating slower can include:

• Food enjoyment – greater appreciation of flavour, textures etc.
• Calming down – a meal creates a structure and space for a pause in the day and can be a ‘circuit breaker’ for stress
• Connecting to loved ones over meal-times
• Space to think and clear our heads, if we’re eating alone
• A greater sense of satisfaction and feeling of fullness, (without being over-stuffed!). This can leave us with a sense of calm and happiness.

The physical and health benefits of eating slower can include:

• Better digestion. Our gut simply works better when we eat slower
• Better hydration. Studies show we are likely to drink more if we eat slower
• Easier weight loss or maintenance – more on this below
• Greater satisfaction with our meals, meaning we are less likely to snack when we don’t really need to.

Conversely, eating quickly can lead to:

• Poor digestion
• Increased weight gain
• Lower satisfaction with the meal, making us more likely to snack fairly quickly afterwards

Snacks are not necessarily bad! They can be a healthy part of meeting our nutritional and energy needs. However, ideally we should have snacks when we really, physically need them and they should be nutritious most of the time. Occasional treats are OK too!

Let’s look at a few of these points in more detail to really understand why slowing down our eating can be so beneficial to our health…

1.  It gives your body time to recognise that you’re full

It takes about twenty minutes from the start of a meal for the brain to send out signals of satiety. Most people’s meals don’t even last that long!

Consider the impact of the additional calories we might take in that our body didn’t need.

Eating slowly can leave us feeling satisfied, mental and physically, with our meal. This is different to feeling over-full.

2. Improved digestion

Think of digestion as a chain reaction. As soon as we see, smell, or think about food (step 1), we start salivating. Saliva contains enzymes that break the food down, and it moistens the mouth for easier swallowing.

Meanwhile, digestive steps 3, 4, 5 etc. have to get ready to work. Our stomachs start to secrete more acid. Our small intestine starts to get ready for some peristalsis to push food through the digestive tract. If we rush this process, we force our gastrointestinal tract to deal with food before it’s fully prepared

Large bites, not well chewed will be more difficult for the stomach to process and pass through rest of the digestive system. This often leads to indigestion and other potential gastrointestinal problems

3. Smaller portions, without trying

Eating slowly can help us to eat less, which can be especially useful if we’re trying to lose or maintain weight.

In studies where this has been practically tested out, participants who are directed to intentionally eat quickly report more hunger an hour later than they did after eating intentionally slowly

Often, slow eating means less food consumed but more long-lasting satisfaction. This can be really helpful for people who have tried portion control as a way of maintaining or losing weight but find that hasn’t worked well. Slow eating can be a great step in the right direction.

4. Better hydration

Good hydration is absolutely vital to good health and feeling well and energised. It helps maintain the balance of our body’s fluids, energises muscles, helps our kidneys and bowels work more efficiently, and improves the appearance of the skin. Studies indicate that eating slowly increases water consumption during meals.

Firstly, because we can be intentional about it, by pausing to take a sip of water between every bite. The end result? We drink more water than we would have if we ate quickly, without pause.

The positive effect works both ways. Drinking a bit more water often helps people consume less food than they might have done because it slows the activity down and gives them a chance to appreciate what they’re eating and notice when they’re getting satisfied.

A good amount of water with our meal also helps with comfortable digestion – another great bonus!

So, eating slower is definitely good! But is eating quickly really so bad?

There is strong evidence to suggest that eating too quickly promotes unwanted weight gain and makes it difficult for people to feel in control of their eating.

Both large-scale population studies and research on smaller groups, (such as fire fighters), who habitually eat quickly arrive at the same conclusion: fast eaters gain more weight over time than slow eaters.

If weight loss or maintenance is your important to you, slow down your eating.

The relationship between binge eating or compulsive eating and eating speed.

Slowing down can be a helpful strategy for binge or compulsive eaters too. When we talk about binge eating, we don’t mean enjoying a treat or indulging in the odd craving. We are talking about a powerful, uncontrollable or virtually uncontrollable urge to get food in as fast as possible. Research shows that one of the hallmarks of binge eating is rapid eating speed.

People who suffer from compulsive eating often feel out of control of their eating behaviour. After a binge or episode of over-eating, they feel guilty, ashamed, and regretful.

The good news is that  a binge or over-eating episode can be alleviated simply by slowing down. If a person finds themselves in the grip of a binge or an over-eating episode that feels overwhelming, they can just try to slow down as soon as they realise what’s happening.

They might not be able to stop eating right away but this strategy of ‘binge slowly’ can often shift their attention, re-focus, and help them regain a sense of control.

What can we do to eat slower?

• Sit down to eat in a calm environment with minimal distractions.
• Choose high-fibre foods that take more time to chew, such as fresh fruits and vegetables.
• Put down your utensils between bites. Take a moment. Breathe.
• Try setting a minimum number of chews per bite.
• If you find yourself rushing, that’s OK. Take a minute to re-focus. If slow eating isn’t yet a habit, it takes a little practice.
• Pace yourself to the slowest eater at the table.
• Set aside time to eat, ideally at least 20-30 minutes per meal, as often as you can rather than grabbing food ‘whenever’. When life is busy this isn’t always easy, but if we can make an effort to do this at least some of the week, it will help. You’re fuelling your body and maybe spending quality time with family or friends. That’s deserves an appointment!

This article is abridged and adapted from ‘All About Eating Slowly’, Brian St Pierre, MS RD, Precision Nutrition. https://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-slow-eating

I am a Precision Nutrition Certified Coach, (PN1)