Health Tips

Chewing, Swallowing, And Processed Foods

August 10, 2009
By J White

Processed foods for the most part are calorie dense, low nutritional food substances. Because they consists of an abundance of calories, consuming them easily adds pounds to your waist.

However, it is not just the calorie density of these foods that leads to excess weight. It also has to do with the composition of the food as well.

Processed Foods Composition

Processed foods have much, and in many cases, all the fiber removed. What’s left is a matter that is easily chewed and swallowed. Because you do not have to do too much chewing before swallowing, this lets you consume more of the food more easily. It is this characteristic, along with its high caloric density, that contributes to the excess weight on your body.

If you have to chew longer, you are likely to eat fewer calories. Research has shown that subjects in studies experienced a greater sense of satiety and reported experiencing less hunger when they chew longer.

Decreasing Calories From Processed Foods

Therefore, as a means to counter the ease at how these foods breakdown in your mouth, you need to chew longer. Given that you cannot control the content of these foods, you can at least control how you eat them.

A more permanent solution would of course be to stop eating processed foods all together. For many of you, though, this would be asking too much. However, you should at least add more unprocessed foods to your diet. These foods cause you to unconsciously chew more before you swallow. Plus, by their nature, they are also less dense in calories.

So the next time you take a bite of a piece of cake or any type of processed food, remind yourself that these foods are easily swallowed and that you need to be aware of how easily it is to overeat them. And if you can’t say no to them, at least make sure that you chew on them longer.

Share and Enjoy: