Cebu City – It is a fact that all of us love food, and all of us enjoy the thought of eating. There are instances where people tend to forget to chew their food or have a habit of swallowing the food even before fully chewing it. Little that people know that chewing is the initial phase of digesting the food you take and has an overall effect on our health. 

The process of chewing the food in your mouth is a simple act. It helps break down the large food into smaller ones. It also reduces the workload of your esophagus and helps other organs of the gastrointestinal tract digest or metabolize the food. Since digestion is a very complex process of your body, it requires aid in pre-digestion. The practice of slowly chewing your food gives you the benefit of improving digestion and reducing the risk of constipation and bloating.

So, we ask ourselves how many times should we chew? Studies have indicated that the average chewing time is about 20-30 times. This is ideal to fully support the digestive process of the gastrointestinal tract.

Another healthful benefit of slowly chewing your food is what everybody wants – achieving a healthy weight. Slowly chewing your food or eating slowly helps you to eat less because you get the feeling of satiety/fullness much quicker. Hence reducing the risk of eating more and the subsequent weight gain. // NO I Gab Flores, RND