Ever been told by pals that you’re a really fast eater? Always the first one to finish a meal at the dinner table? According to the Zoe Health Study, you could be affecting your health by eating just a little bit too quickly.
On their latest podcast, hosts Jonathan Wolf and Dr Sarah Berry asked what eating rate is and if the rate we eat impacts our health and here are their findings.
Your Brain Needs Time To Realise It’s Full
While many of us are used to eating quickly before a zoom call or scoffing down breakfast on the rush out of the house, Dr Sarah Berry says that we’re not giving our brains time to fully digest (pardon the pun) the fact that we have eaten and our stomachs are full.
She said, “Essentially, your brain needs time to realise it’s full, and studies have shown that it takes between five or even up to 20 minutes for your mind to catch up with your belly, and research also tells us that eating more slowly increases the response of appetite-regulating hormones.”
Basically, if you’re eating faster, it’s easier to keep eating because you’re not fully aware that you’re not eating anymore.
Eating Quickly Can Make You Gain Weight
This may seem counterintuitive because surely whatever you’re eating will only cause weight gain if it contains the ingredients that cause it? Apparently not. According to Dr Berry, researchers found that “a higher eating speed is correlated with greater weight gain, correlated with higher blood sugar, higher levels of LDL cholesterol, which is our bad cholesterol, and also a larger waistline.”
Eating Too Quickly Puts You At Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes
Dr Berry warned that research has found that has “drawn a link between eating faster and a higher risk also of type two diabetes. And studies have shown that this may be because chewing more slowly stimulates more insulin release, which means better glucose control. And we think that this might be because if you chew for longer, you have more saliva uptake, and this causes an earlier insulin and glucose release.”
Dr Berry added that eating too quickly can cause acid reflux and digestive issues.