Chewing for a Longer Life

Can chewing food for longer add to your lifespan and health span?

Chewing more makes more of your food.

To begin with, it means that you can enjoy each mouthful for longer.

I like to express thoughtful thanks for the sources of my food by imagining it in its natural state. I see the plants growing or the fish swimming in my mind's eye.

I think most people, especially in the west, have learned to take food for granted because of its easy availability. There is an abundance, evidenced by the choice on supermarket shelves.

Reverence for Food

There is this romantic idea that people can live off the land as we did in our distant past, yet many studies and documentaries have illustrated just how difficult this is to do in reality.

Having a greater appreciation for our food is a way of giving thanks for our existence. When I think about my existence, it seems to me to be the culmination of an extraordinary series of happy accidents, stretching back billions of years.

Paying more attention to our food has many health benefits. First, the more you chew the greater the nutritional benefit that your digestion can extract from what you eat.

Chewing more slows our consumption and reduces the amount we eat by allowing more time for our bodies to signal that we have eaten enough. It helps people maintain a healthy weight which in turn improves general wellbeing.

Eating more slowly by chewing food for longer can reduce your calorie intake by more than 10%! This is a conclusion from a study written up in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Chewing more is a way of being in the moment, appreciating our food, and giving thanks. This contemplation has to have a positive impact on mental well-being.

Will the simple act of chewing more add time to your lifespan?

Yes, absolutely, to my mind.