Key takeaways:
Chewing your food more can help with digestion and feeling more comfortable after meals.
When you chew your food more, you are less likely to overeat. Instead of counting every chew, focus on mindful eating to help make sure you are slowing down.
You can practice mindful eating by avoiding distractions during meals, eating more slowly, and paying attention to all your senses as you eat.
While eating is something you do daily, it’s easy to forget the importance of the simple act of chewing your food. Chewing plays an important role in digestion. But is it important to count your chews? Or should you aim to chew for a specific period of time? And how can you take a mindful approach to chewing your foods better? Here’s the breakdown.
How many times should you chew your food?
There’s no set quota for the number of chews recommended to best digest your food. And each food may require a different number of chews. For example, you’ll need to spend more time chewing crunchy foods like crackers than you will yogurt. And if you’re eating something like carrots, the number of times you need to chew a fresh carrot will be different than if it’s steamed.
But research has shown that chewing your food more can improve your digestion. It can also improve your feelings of fullness. You don’t have to count every time you chew. But if it helps, aim for 20 to 40 chews for each bite. Once you get some practice, chewing more will become more natural.
Is it bad if you don’t fully chew your food?
If you don’t fully chew your food, it can lead to problems with digestion. This is because digestion starts in your mouth. Chewing physically breaks down food through mechanical digestion. It also triggers the release of enzymes. Enzymes are chemicals that help your body break down carbohydrates and fat.
In addition to improved digestion, some research links more chewing to fewer calories consumed at a meal. When you chew your food more, you are less likely to overeat. This can help you feel more comfortable after a meal, and may also help you maintain a healthy weight.
Signs you’re not chewing enough
Because chewing has a role in digestion, signs of indigestion could mean you need to chew more. Signs of indigestion include:
If you're not chewing enough, you may also notice that you’re eating past the point of fullness. And by the time you realize you’re full, you feel uncomfortably “stuffed.”
Distracted eating often leads to inadequate chewing as well. Consider practicing some mindful eating strategies to improve your number of chews.
Tips for mindful eating and chewing
If you think you’re doomed to counting your chews for life, fear not. There are many ways you can practice more mindful eating and create better chewing habits. Here are a few to start with:
Be present and limit distractions. When you’re distracted, it's easy to take a few quick bites, without giving it much thought. But, when your mind and body aren’t connected to the food you’re eating, your digestion can suffer.
Slow down your pace. Slow down while you eat meals and snacks. This gives your body time to register hunger and fullness, and the food is more enjoyable. There’s no need to eat at a snail’s pace. Just be mindful of the moments when you tend to eat quickly — like when you’re rushed for work, or when you’re extra stressed. Rather than eating on the go, sit down and give yourself more time to eat at a relaxed pace.
Pay attention. Mindful eating is about noticing the sensations you are experiencing as you eat. It’s not just about the taste. Notice how the food looks. Pay attention to how it smells and how it feels in your mouth. Notice what your body experiences as you eat. You might find that paying attention to the sensory experience of a meal makes eating more pleasurable.
Chew more, but don’t count. It may be unrealistic — and unnecessary — to count your chews. And the goal is not to chew each bite endlessly either. One study found that excessive chewers rated their meal as less enjoyable afterward. You can improve your digestion with this easy mindful eating tip: Chew your food until you feel the urge to swallow. Then, challenge yourself to chew five more times before swallowing.
Trick your brain. If traditional methods of mindful eating aren’t working, there are other tricks to slow down your eating. Try eating with your non-dominant hand, or putting your fork down between bites.
Put away your phone. If you eat while using your phone to get work done or scroll through news, you’re not alone. But you might notice how different — and good — it feels to eat without the distraction of your phone. You’ll be more likely to chew slowly and focus more on the meal in front of you.
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The bottom line
While there’s no magic number of times you should be chewing, chances are you should be chewing more. Practice mindful eating by being present, and taking time to chew your food. This can help with digestion, and reduces your chances of overeating. Mindful eating looks different for everyone. Whether it’s slowing down, or eliminating distractions, find what works best for you.
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References
Borvornparadorn, M., et al. (2019). Increased chewing reduces energy intake, but not postprandial glucose and insulin, in healthy weight and overweight young adults. Nutrition and Dietetics.
Miquel-Kergoat, S., et al. (2015). Effects of chewing on appetite, food intake and gut hormones: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Physiology and Behavior.
Nelson, J. B. (2017). Mindful eating: The art of presence while you eat. Diabetes Spectrum.
Zhu, Y., et al. (2014). Chewing thoroughly reduces eating rate and postprandial food palatability but does not influence meal size in older adults. Physiology and Behavior.
Zhu, Y., et al. (2014). Increasing the number of chews before swallowing reduces meal size in normal-weight, overweight, and obese adults. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
