Have your parents ever told you not to eat so quickly? And have you paid attention? If you haven’t, that’s a shame, because there is mounting evidence that eating fast increases the risk of weight gain and type 2 diabetes.
Swallowing your food also means swallowing a lot of air, which can cause bloating and gas.
The reason eating quickly leads to weight gain is that it affects the release of hunger-suppressing hormones such as glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), a natural version of drugs like Ozempic that are causing so much excitement in people right now. the world of weight loss.
If you eat more slowly, your body has more time to tell your brain that it has eaten enough. That’s because after eating, it normally takes about 30-40 minutes for food to move from your stomach to your small intestine, where there are receptors that sense the food’s arrival and release GLP-1. This then tells your brain that you have had enough. If you eat quickly, you can consume many more calories before you realize you are full.
The idea that eating slower is beneficial is hardly new, although it has been promoted by chewing each bite more.
Former Prime Minister William Gladstone claimed in 1885 that chewing food 32 times, once for each tooth, would aid in ‘good digestion’.
Eating at a leisurely pace gives your body more time to tell your brain that it has eaten enough
This claim was adopted in the early 20th century by Horace Fletcher, a writer who suffered from heartburn and obesity. He became known as ‘The Great Masticator’, due to his claims that chewing food 32 times would not only help reduce overeating, but also lead to better overall health.
I’m not convinced that it’s necessary or desirable to chew your food until it’s almost liquid, but Gladstone and Fletcher were certainly on the mark when it comes to the benefits of eating more slowly.
In a study published in BMJ Open in 2018, researchers from the Kyushu University Graduate School of Medical Sciences in Japan looked at the medical records of nearly 60,000 people who had regular health checkups over a five-year period.
In addition to weight, waist circumference and blood tests, they had to complete detailed questionnaires, including whether they usually ate their meals quickly, normally or slowly.
It found that, compared to those who admitted to gobbling up their food, the slow eaters were 42 percent less likely to become obese. The same study also found that snacking after dinner and eating within two hours of bedtime (things I try to avoid) were also strongly linked to gaining weight.
A similar study, published in 2023 by Professor Tim Spector and other researchers behind the Zoe nutrition app, showed that people who eat fast not only eat more, but also have higher blood sugar spikes.
The study, which involved healthy, middle-aged volunteers, found that fast eaters were on average 6.9kg (just over a stone) heavier than slow eaters and showed a greater rise in their blood sugar levels after eating.
How do we define ‘fast’ or ‘slow’ eating? Although there is no clear definition (it obviously depends in part on the size of the meal), a study on different eating speeds, published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism in 2010, could provide some guidance.
Volunteers were asked on two separate occasions to eat a large bowl of ice cream, which contained 675 calories. Sometimes they had to eat it in five minutes, other times they were encouraged to wait and take 30 minutes. When they ate more slowly, there was a significantly greater increase in levels of GLP-1 and PYY, another hunger-suppressing hormone. So what can you do to intentionally slow down the rate at which you eat? Try to eat as many of your meals as possible at the table first, as you are less likely to swallow your food when sitting than when eating on the go.
It’s also a good idea not to eat while watching TV, as there is plenty of evidence to suggest that you eat more when you are distracted.
Compared to those who admitted to gobbling up their food, slow eaters were 42 percent less likely to be obese, a study found
Try to cook from scratch as much as possible and avoid eating a lot of ultra-processed foods (UPFs), as these are low in fiber and easier to swallow, encouraging you to eat more in less time.
In a famous experiment published in 2019 in the journal Cell Metabolism, volunteers were housed in a laboratory and spent two weeks eating home-cooked meals, followed by two weeks eating ultra-processed foods, or vice versa. When eating UPFs, they ate an average of 500 more calories per day.
Then try to drink a large glass of water with each meal, taking sips between bites, as this will prolong the meal and ensure that you get enough fluid. As a fast eater, I find this a more effective way to slow down my eating than, say, putting my fork down between each bite, which is sometimes advised.
And finally, pay attention to what you eat and really enjoy the food. Eating should be a pleasure, not just a way to gain strength.
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How bird watching can boost your mood
I love being in the forest early in the morning and I especially enjoy seeing and hearing red kites. There’s something magical about watching them fly through the air and make their terrifying call: it really gets me ready for the day.
Now a study has shown that bird watching is a great way to improve mood.
Published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, it compared a 30-minute nature walk or birdwatching session with a control group: the walkers and birdwatchers experienced a positive mood, but it was the birdwatchers who came out on top.
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Can a bra filled with tennis balls beat snoring?
Chronic sleep deprivation doesn’t just make you feel dizzy and possibly bad-tempered: it can have a lasting impact on your memory – especially if you have a common sleep disorder called obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
OSA often occurs when you sleep on your back and your tongue falls back and blocks your airways. Because your oxygen level then begins to drop dangerously low, your brain wakes you up. This can happen more than twenty times a night – symptoms include sniffling, gasping and pauses in breathing – although you may not even notice it. But the next morning you will feel devastated and suffer from morning headaches and have difficulty concentrating at work.
Around 25 percent of middle-aged Brits are affected, but less than 5 percent of people with OSA have been diagnosed, let alone treated (worrying, as it is linked to type 2 diabetes and heart disease).
For mild sleep apnea, sewing a tennis ball into a bra and wearing it backwards can keep you from rolling onto your back
Now research from the Boston Medical Center in the US has shown that it is linked to memory or thinking problems. Researchers asked more than 4,000 people to complete a questionnaire about sleep quality and brain function (such as periods of confusion or difficulty making decisions). The people with apnea symptoms were 50 percent more likely to have memory or thinking problems.
This follows a review of studies, published in 2022 in the Journal of Sleep Research, which found that people with OSA were 28 percent more likely to develop dementia. The lack of oxygen seems to be mainly the cause; OSA can also interfere with our brain’s ability to make new connections during sleep, which is so important for recording new memories.
If your partner says you have stopped breathing at night, or if you wake up repeatedly, it may be a good idea to see your doctor. For mild sleep apnea, losing weight can help, as can sewing a tennis ball into the back of your pajamas to keep you from rolling onto your back. One reader told me he sleeps wearing his wife’s bra backwards, with a tennis ball in each cup. He said it felt a little strange at first, but it’s effective. No word yet on what his wife thinks.
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You could say that Donald Trump has the broad face of a conservative, while liberal Vince Cable’s chin is slightly smaller?
Can you really know what someone’s political beliefs are just by looking at them? If you’re an artificial intelligence system, the answer seems to be yes.
In a recent study, researchers at Stanford University “trained” an AI system by showing it photos of people along with their political beliefs. The AI was then able to predict with more than 70 percent accuracy how a new group of faces would vote based solely on their photo.
It seems that liberals tend to have smaller chins and downward-pointing noses, while conservatives have larger, broader features.