Thirty-two times
Have you ever tried following the advice to chew every mouthful thirty-two times? Counting the number of chews one makes is an odd thing to do. I just did it while eating some toast and each mouthful took about forty-three chews. Presumably, it would be less for refined white bread and much more for pumpernickel.
Chewing is the first stage in the digestive process, beginning the breakdown of food into smaller pieces. Taking longer to consume food can help to reduce the amount we eat and can also aid weight loss. If we eat faster, we tend to eat more, with a consequent intake of more calories than required and ultimately more flesh on our bones.
I had to
smile at the following online advice, even though it makes perfect sense:
When you’re eating, there is a right and wrong way
to chew. Here’s how to get the most out of your meals:
- Don’t overload your spoon
or fork. Food should stay on without falling off. This puts me in mind of
Spike Milligan’s little ditty.
‘I eat my peas with honey,
I’ve done it all my life,
It makes the peas taste funny
But it keeps them on the knife.’
- With food in your mouth,
close your lips and start chewing. Your tongue should move the food from
side to side and your jaw should rotate slightly. The rotating jaw can be
seen clearly in cows chewing the cud.
- Chew slowly, counting to 32
with each bite of food. You may need more or less time depending on the
type of food.
- Once the bite has lost all
texture, you can swallow. It may have lost all flavour
by now, as well.
Further advice includes not drinking coffee
immediately after a meal as it can speed up digestion and may cause heartburn. Doubtless,
tea also has the same effect. Fruit and desserts should be avoided after a
meal, too, because sugary foods are readily digested and can lead to bloating.
Basically, don’t eat too fast or you’ll get indigestion.
Good advice on avoiding heart burn
ReplyDeleteHeartburn is no fun.
DeleteGot some Thai food from a truck recently and suffered heartburn for days and indigestion for a few more. I shan’t be going back. /AC
ReplyDeleteThat's a bad reaction.
DeleteWho did the advice come from?
ReplyDeleteOnline.
Delete"fruit and desserts should be avoided after a meal"
ReplyDeleteSo we should eat those first? 🤣
I find pork and lamb the hardest of all meats to eat, I can chew for what seems like hours but can't swallow it, so I never buy it anymore. Most of my winter diet doesn't take a lot of chewing, with the soups, the mashed potatoes and gravy, casseroled beef and chicken, but summer foods need more, the apples and celery, lettuce etc.
Daft advice, really. I remember school dinners when it was almost impossible to chew the gristly meat enough to swallow.
DeleteI wouldn't be surprised if there's an app out there somewhere to monitor number of chews...
ReplyDeleteCheers! Gail.
You're probably right . . . not on my watch.
DeleteLove Spike Milligan words. So very clever! SIlly Verse for Kids was such a favourite at school.
ReplyDeletexx
I liked that book, too.
DeleteYour post made me think of a little friend of Dario, he had a very old fashioned mother and was a bit lost when he came to stay with us. He wanted to show his best side and chewed 32 times ! We got crazy because it lasted so long. Finally I told him that we have other rules and he can eat more quickly as our food is different too ! Was he happy ! not drinking coffee immediately after a meal I don't agree ! Then all the Italians, Frenchs etc would have heart troubles ! I always have a coffee after meal !
ReplyDeleteI thought the advice about coffee was pretty silly, too.
DeleteIf you feel bloated from eating dessert or fruit after a meal, you have already eaten too much of your main. We cut back on how much we ate at meal times by serving food in dishes to serve yourself, rather than serve a plate of food.
ReplyDeleteMy partner was a fast eater. I am a medium to low speed eater who chews food well, but our Brother Friends were such slow eaters and we were always sitting and waiting for them to finish their meals. They blamed their false teeth.
I can imagine false teeth might make quite a difference, if they don't fit well.
DeleteEven well fitted teeth don't chew the same as real teeth.
DeleteMy husband was a firefighter for 30 years and learned if he wanted a meal he had to eat fast. I bet he still chews maybe 10 times and swallows, lol. Makes his meal go fast and wonders why I'm still working on my green beans.
ReplyDeleteI think people in those sorts of jobs - fire fighters, ambulance drivers, emergency medical staff - all have that sort of relationship with food. It's either that, or starve.
ReplyDeleteI am 83 years old, and my father taught me that poem about peas and honey when I was a child. I thought he made it up. How did an old farmer in southern Illinois, USA hear that one? He was not a reader.
ReplyDeleteI've just looked this up and find that it is attributed both to Ogden Nash and Spike Milligan. I always thought it was the latter, but perhaps it was an old ditty long before either of them.
DeleteI remember this ditty from Spike Milligan. Makes me smile remembering it as I could never eat peas the proper way. They always rolled off my fork. I have been trying to eat slower but it is an ongoing process. I should remember those tips. Thanks for another fun post.
ReplyDeleteI eat too fast, as well. It's a bad habit.
DeleteI wouldn't have the patience to count chews. The same way I never had patience to brush my hair 100 strokes. 🤣
ReplyDeleteThere are more interesting things to do!
DeleteOh my goodness, I definitely don't chew enough and husband certainly doesn't. He has a lot of digestive issues and I'm always saying
ReplyDelete" chew more " and " let your food cool a bit before shovelling it down the hatch" - he won't change, he blames it on having 3 brothers, the competition for food and 'seconds' .
Alison in Wales x
I can believe that having three brothers affects one's attitude to food. Boys have hollow legs - you can never fill them up.
DeleteI've never counted chews. I should. I liked your statistics depending on the kind of bread you're eating. I used to be a fast eater (and I was an only child, so I can't blame it on sibling competition). My husband finally got me to slow down. It does help with digestion.
ReplyDeleteIt's very easy to gobble food in a busy world. We should be like the Italians and savour our food over a long meal time.
DeleteI've always been a slow eater because I read a book at the same time.
DeleteMy grandma used to say the peas and honey rhyme. She had a number of them, like I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream. Chewing one mouthful of food 33 times? Who can even do that? I think we humans are the only ones on the planet of all the animal kingdom who have to get advice about how to eat. Funny how all the other animals seem to know instinctively how, what and how much to eat in order to maintain their healthy weights.
ReplyDeleteWe have too much choice and too much of everything. It's not good for us.
ReplyDeleteI have always been encouraged to 'chew my food properly' but have never counted how many times I chew! Perhaps I will have a count and see!
ReplyDeleteEating slowly is far healthier for you as it aids digestion and can help us lose weight ...
Studies show that people who eat quickly tend to be heavier and gain more weight over time, compared with slower eaters.
One thing I do enjoy is taking time to enjoy a meal :)
All the best Jan
Eating too quickly doesn't allow one to savour the food.
ReplyDeleteTrue that eating slowly let's your perception of fullness keep up with consumption, but I'm a fast eater and just throw long pauses in instead of giving myself jaw ache.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to change the habits of a lifetime and slow down.
ReplyDeleteI'm generally guilty of eating too fast, but counting the number of chews sounds a bit extreme to me ...
ReplyDeleteLove Spike Milligan's little ditty! xxx
There are more interesting things to do! 😎
ReplyDeleteI am always the last one to finish eating in this family. Maybe I'm chewing too much!!
ReplyDeleteMy husband is always the last to finish, but that's because he's always talking.
DeleteI had never heard the rule about how many times to chew your food.
ReplyDeleteI don't know when it originated.
DeleteEating slowly but properly is always a good idea. When I worked in the restaurant industry when I was young it was hard to find time to eat because we were always so busy so I had to remind myself to take my time.
ReplyDeleteFASHION TALES
Being surrounded by food all the time must make it difficult in all sorts of ways.
DeleteI do agree that if we eat faster, we eat more. I don't think I will be counting how many times I chew my food though. Smiles.
ReplyDeleteCounting chews gets boring pretty quickly!
Delete