Why is eating fast bad for your health?

Why Is Eating Very Fast Bad For Your Health?

Dt. Tamanna Narang

M.Sc - Dietitics / Nutrition (Delhi University)

Dietitian/Nutritionist • 559 People helped • 3 Years experience

Why is eating fast bad for your health?

Are you a fast-eater? as a child most of us are told to slow down, chew the food well and only then gulp it down. Most of us have been told time and again to slow down and chew while eating. Yet, some people continue with the habit of eating fast. This might change if they knew what their speed of eating can do to their body.

Evils of eating food very fast -

1. Slows digestion - eating and swallowing fast means that the food has not been chewed properly. This delays and complicates the process of digestion. For proper digestion, the food needs to be broken down. Also, when we do not chew properly, the food that goes down the throat, is accompanied by lesser saliva, the enzymes of which are needed for the digestion to begin.

2. Can make you bloated - while eating in a hurry, chances are also there that we swallow air along without food. This makes are bloated and also gives us stomach gas.

3. Makes you eat more - to feel full, the brain and the stomach need to be at the same page to emit the signal of fullness. However, if you don't chew and just swallow, the brain-stomach coordination will break and you will end up eating more than what you need to.

4. Leads to weight gain - overeating will lead to problems like weight gain, indigestion, etc.

5. May choke you - more than thirty different muscles are required to swallow and if eating in a hurry, you increase the chance of food going down the wrong pipe, which can choke you.