Verywell Health: How to Chew Your Food for Better Digestion, According to Doctors

Verywell Health recently interviewed gastroenterologist Rashmi Advani, MD, an interventional and bariatric endoscopist at Cedars-Sinai, about how chewing food thoroughly and eating slowly can improve digestion and overall wellness.

Advani told Verywell Health there is no universally recommended number of times to chew food, although chewing is a crucial first step in digestion.

“Chewing changes the way we approach the communication between our brain and the gut when it comes to eating food,” she said. “Then we store that food in our gastrointestinal tract for it to be processed.”

Advani told Verywell Health that because some foods have a tougher texture than others, she recommends chewing until the food is soft enough to be properly broken down in the body, which may mean about 20 to 30 chews for tougher items.

She emphasized that the pace of eating is more important than the number of chews and suggested pausing during meals to assess whether you still feel hungry or are comfortably satisfied.

“We’re often trying to finish our meals quickly so we can get to our next task,” Advani told Verywell Health. “But for your personal wellness, sitting down an additional 10 minutes and slowing down your pace of eating is the best way to go. It helps you feel fuller faster and then helps you extract the nutrients that you need to.”

She suggested spending about 15 to 20 minutes per meal, setting down the fork between bites, putting away distractions such as phones, and focusing on taking smaller bites.

Read the complete article from Verywell Health.