Is a Lack of Chewing Causing You to Gain Weight?
Food digestion begins in the mouth, which is why how you chew your food can have an impact on not only digestion, but weight as well.
Chewing causes the mechanical breakdown of large food molecules into smaller particles. This increases the surface area of food exposed to digestive enzymes, such as salivary amylase that begins the digestion of carbohydrates in the mouth. A lingual lipase is also released in the mouth to begin the breakdown of fat.
How long do you chew your food?
Now, think about how long a bit of food stays in your mouth. Is it basically one or two bites and you’re swallowing? If so, does that give the digestive enzymes salivary amylase and lingual lipase very much time to do their job? Does that give you adequate time to break your food down into small particulars for increased surface area exposure? If you are like most people, probably not.
How does chewing impact your weight?
