Is it easy to lose weight by chewing slowly? Research: Oral stimulation increases the "thermogenic effect of food intake"
Chewing slowly helps gastrointestinal motility and lose weight? Is it related to the thermogenic effect of food intake?
“Chewing slowly” during meals is generally believed to be beneficial to intestinal peristalsis, thereby preventing obesity and weight gain. Past research has pointed out that the chewing process helps food metabolism and increases caloric consumption and is related to the “dietary thermogenic effect” (DIT).
The thermogenic effect of ingestion refers to the increase in energy consumption in the body due to the digestion, absorption, storage and metabolism of food by the intestines and stomach after ingestion of food, which is most obvious when ingesting protein. However, there is no scientific proof of the correlation between how long-term chewing behavior increases the thermogenic effect of food intake.
A research team from Waseda University in Japan published a study in the journal Scientific Reports, providing a causal relationship between slow chewing and the thermogenic effect of food intake. Through three experiments, the research team asked the subjects to eat liquid food to exclude the occurrence of large amounts of food in a short period of time, and to analyze whether the length of time food stays in the mouth will affect digestive tract function and weight problems.
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In the first experiment, the team asked the subjects to swallow 20 ml of liquid food every 30 seconds; in the second experiment, they asked their volunteers to hold the food in their mouths for 30 seconds without chewing, and perform a long period of time before swallowing. Taste. Finally, they studied the difference between the two experiments mentioned above, namely “swallowing” and “tasting”. Variables such as subjects’ hunger, satiety, gas exchange volume, thermogenic effect of food intake, and splanchnic circulation were all measured before the test.
The results of the study found that regardless of the amount of food, subjects who “tasted” the food carefully had very similar scores on satiety and hunger, with almost no difference, compared to the group who swallowed the food immediately. A certain proportion of subjects who swallowed food developed gastrointestinal symptoms such as flatulence and gastroesophageal reflux.
The team measured the second group of subjects and found that the longer the food stayed in the mouth, the gas exchange rate and protein oxidation level would increase. In addition, the intraperitoneal blood flow, which is considered to be closely related to eating behavior, shows a reflux state during chewing. Activity in the upper gastrointestinal tract also increases as arteries continue to supply blood to the digestive organs.
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Study author Dr. Naoyuki Hayashi noted that the findings provide new insights into the thermogenic effects of food intake caused by chewing slowly. The oral stimulation produced by “chewing” and “taste” may be important in increasing the thermogenic effect of food intake.
Hayashi said that good and healthy food sources can indeed reduce weight and improve metabolism. However, from the perspective of increasing the thermogenic effect of food intake, food source may not be as important as people think.
“Not only must you chew slowly, but you must also taste the food through the sense of taste to trigger “oral stimulation.”” Hayashi believes that the longer the food stays in the mouth, the more likely it is that the mouth will be irritated, which can trigger a series of mechanisms. Such as visceral blood flow and protein decomposition, which may be the main reasons for the increase in the thermogenic effect of food intake.
Therefore, chewing food slowly and thoroughly may be an effective strategy for preventing overweight and obesity. Hayashi said that chewing well while eating can increase energy consumption. Although the difference in energy consumption between each meal is very small, the benefits brought by developing chewing habits after a year or more may be beyond imagination.
source:
Chewing increases postprandial diet-induced thermogenesis
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