30 May 2023 , 13:00
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It can be tempting to raid the fridge and eat everything in sight after a long day at work, but health experts have warned that this can cause havoc for your health.
Eating at a slower pace has been linked to improved digestion, healthier teeth, and also keeps serious medical conditions at bay.
Speaking on the ZOE Science and Nutrition podcast, Dr Sarah Berry has warned that gulping food down is “not good for us” and “there’s a lot more to eating rate than just how it interacts with our weight”.
Chatting to host Jonathan Wolf, Dr Berry explained: "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."
She highlighted that eating slower and chewing your food increases the response of appetite-regulating hormones, which can help you maintain a healthy weight.
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Eating too quickly can cause havoc for your health (Getty Images)Consuming food rapidly means it’s easier to eat more food than you actually need, which over time can lead to weight gain and obesity. It can also cause serious diseases, including type 2 diabetes, and increased visceral fat.
Dr Berry explained this is a "type of fat that sits inside your abdominal walls and surrounds all of your organs".
Research has associated increased visceral fat with poor cardiometabolic health - which could lead to a heart attack and stroke. Dr Berry also touched on a 2017 study, carried out by a cardiologist from Hiroshima University in Japan, which found "fast eaters were almost twice as likely to develop metabolic syndrome".
According to the NHS, metabolic syndrome is the medical term for a combination of diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity. What’s more, fast eating was linked to greater weight gain, a larger waistline, higher blood sugar, and high cholesterol.
Dr Berry added: "There's been other research that's been published as well that has drawn a link between eating faster and a higher risk also of type two diabetes.
Fast eating was linked to greater weight gain and a larger waistline (Getty Images/iStockphoto)"And studies have shown that this may be because chewing more slowly stimulates more insulin release, which means better glucose control.”
She said this might be because if you chew for longer, you have more saliva uptake, and this causes an earlier insulin and glucose release. Eating too quickly may also cause acid reflux and poor digestion, but research into this has been observational, highlighted Dr Berry.
She said: "But what that does is it does give us [is] that kind of first clue that something interesting is going on."
Fast eating can put you at risk of three health conditions, these include:
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Obesity
Type 2 diabetes
Metabolic syndrome.
To hear more about different health subjects, from menopause to the health hazards of trans fats, tune into ZOE CEO Jonathan Wolf's ZOE Science and Nutrition podcast.