Don’t read while you eat.
Do read while you eat.
Coffee is bad for you.
Coffee wards off Alzheimer’s.
Did anyone else notice that some of the health advice you’ve heard completely contradicts the advice others have heard? Recently I came across a really funny one:
“When you eat a food—for example, an almond—chew each one 25-30 times.”
So I tried it… not because I actually care, but simply because I was curious.
Who ever heard of counting how many times he/she chewed something! Weird, right? The whole time, I was thinking of that owl commercial with the Tootsie Pops.
How many licks does it take? Did you ever try counting how many licks it took to finish a Tootsie Pop? I definitely did!
But back to this ridiculous notion of counting almond chews. Let me tell you, there is no way you can chew an almond 30 times! Unless maybe it is the king kong of almonds… Or perhaps I just have super-fast chewing capabilities???
While I understand the reasoning behind it—to make people slow down when they eat—the whole idea of counting chews sounds like a way to guarantee one thing, and one thing only: that you will take all the enjoyment out of the act of eating.
unusualpassions says
I find that when I read during eating, I stop thinking about what I’m eating so I don’t really register it. But for me, the best way to slow down is to eat while talking with someone – plus, it’s more fun to be with people! 😀
I can’t imagine counting my bites, either. Wow.
todayslady says
Awww thanks for giving a shout out to my advice!! So sweet!!
I definitely tried to count how many licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie pop…… I never found out! Its so not fun counting licks!!
Gabriela (froyolover) says
Hahahahaha, amazing post, Katie!
I tried to count how many times I chewed once… Not enough, I can tell you!
Hahahahah 😉
Have a great week, girl!
Delicious eats, as always!
Brazilian XOXO´s,
Gabriela
foodlovingpolarbear says
HAHA. I almost fell of my chair becaue of laughing so hard here at work while imagining you chewing an ALMOND for 30 times 😀 so funny. Not possible! 😀
HVL says
I really enjoying reading your blog and do agree that a lot of ‘rules’ are silly, but a lot of them do have a solid reasoning behind them and have simply been distorted (through word of mouth and the ‘rule’ changing). A lot of commenters saying that ‘rules’ are silly say that people just need to stick to a healthy diet and listen to their body – but a lot of people struggle with that (or think their body is craving a burger and fries). ‘Rules’ aren’t meant for everyone – I get the impression that most are made for people who struggle with weight loss (and bingeing). For some people who struggle with not having the willpower to break bad habits and eat a healthy, balanced diet, having a ‘rule’ to stick to might help them. A sensible one, of course, like savouring your food and eating at a slower pace – not ones about eliminating whole food groups or only eating a cracker a day, or some other nonsense (the ‘rule’ should still help and encourage eating a healthy, balanced diet).
I agree with Rachel’s last post. Slowing down eating and not being too distracted when you eat is a good thing. It’s good to eat at a slower pace so that you recognise when you feel full up, rather than wolfing everything down and perhaps eating more than you need to. I’m not saying that people need to count each and every chew (30 chews for an almond? How silly!).
Krysta says
I think the chew your food 30 times thing is more of a guideline. Actually the first step of digestion occurs in the mouth during chewing where your saliva starts to breakdown the food. So I think the logic isn’t just to encourage people to slow down, but also to aid in proper digestion. I would venture to say that most people (me included) don’t really chew their food thoroughly enough. However, let’s be realistc, counting every bite of food you eat to make sure you are chewing 30 times is totally impractical. But I think the overall purpose is to remind people to be mindful of eating, rather than to mindlessly scarf down food.
But man, there are some pretty silly “rules” out there. It often seems like for one ” healthy rule” there is an equal and opposite ” healthy rule.” It’s the law of silly food physics 😉
Kayla says
Haha. Food chewing. Thank God my OCD is chilling out. I used to cut my food into 33 pieces, chew each bite 33 times, take a drink of water after each bite, and leave one piece of each food item on my plate. When I was little, I ate my food in alphabetical order. xD