“The Science behind the Importance of Thoroughly Chewing Your Food”

[헤럴드경제=육성연 기자] “Chew and chew again.”

Of course, food is the target, not people. Even though the ‘masticatory exercise’ of chewing food thoroughly increases the meal time, there are quite a few benefits to be gained through this. From disease prevention to dementia and overeating prevention, the effects of masticatory exercise have been scientifically proven.

Affects blood sugar… “Contributing to the prevention of type 2 diabetes”

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If you chew your food well, it will digest better. This is because the more you chew, the more saliva comes out. According to medical experts, saliva contains not only natural digestive enzymes, but also immune substances and toxins removal substances.

Recently, studies related to diabetes prevention have also been published. According to Turkiye’s thesis published in the latest issue of PLOS One, an international academic journal, it was confirmed that masticatory exercise has a positive effect on blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetic patients. As a result of conducting a study on the relationship between masticatory movements and blood sugar, the blood glucose level of the group with the best masticatory movements due to good dental occlusion was the lowest compared to the other groups. The research team explained, “Masticatory exercise helps to absorb nutrients such as dietary fiber, calcium, and magnesium, which are good for diabetes prevention.”

Helps improve cognitive function and prevent dementia by stimulating the brain

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Chewing also stimulates our brain. It is reported that brain functions are activated by increasing the amount of blood and oxygen entering the brain and promoting brain neurotransmitters. According to a paper from Chonnam National University Hospital in 2013, people with poor dental health and a small number of teeth increased their risk of dementia up to 1.7 times compared to others. Even in the study of dentistry at Karolinska University in Sweden in 2021, the elderly who could not chew food well were significantly more likely to induce dementia than those who had no problems with chewing power. It is an analysis that masticatory exercise increases nerve activity in the hippocampus, which is responsible for cognition and memory, and appears as an effect of learning, memory formation, and dementia prevention. In other words, just as we exercise our muscles at the gym, ‘chewing’ is a way to exercise the brain.

Kang Ji-won, executive representative of the Whole Grain Natural Eating Movement Headquarters, said, “If you do good masticatory exercise through foods that can be chewed for a long time, such as whole grains, blood flow to the brain increases and the hippocampus is stimulated through periodontal vibration to activate memory and concentration.”

Prolonging mealtime by chewing a lot can prevent overeating

Overeating is also prevented. In order for us to feel full, the appetite suppressing hormone leptin must come out well, and this leptin secretion is secreted at least 15 minutes after the start of a meal. The longer the meal time is delayed through the chewing exercise, the better it is for the formation of a feeling of fullness.

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