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Slow Down

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Eating until you’re close, but not completely full, may help you live a longer, healthier life.

Lately, I’ve been experimenting with splitting my dinner into two meals. I’ve found that eating ¾ of my food prior to the “red light time,” followed by the remaining ¼ after my television segment is done leaves me sharper and more energetic.

This likely has to do with digestion. The thermic effect of food is essentially the amount of energy used by your body to digest, absorb and make waste of the food you ingest. Obviously then, the more energy currently being used in digestion, the less energy is available to focus on the task at hand.

My aforementioned personal experience at work inspired me to explore the idea that eating a slightly smaller meal may produce other benefits. I found Okinawa.

The indigenous people of the Ryuku Islands, Okinawa in particular, are best known for having the world’s longest life expectancy. Theses folks have a rule known as “Hara Hachi Bu,” which essentially translates as eat until you’re 80% full. They generally enjoy better health than we western cats do. From okinawa-diet.com:

In Okinawa, Heart Disease rates are 80% lower, and stroke rates lower than in the US. Cholesterol levels are typically under 180, homocystein levels are low and blood pressure at goal levels. Rates of cancer are 50-80% lower - especially breast, colon, ovarian and prostate cancer. Hip fractures are 20% lower than mainland Japanese and 40% lower than in the US. Dementia is rare.

I’m not suggesting that by splitting up our meals a little more, we’ll cure all of our health problems, nor do I suggest you follow the diet that site advocates. However, slowing down our meals and being more present while eating them simply makes sense. The “stretch receptors” in our stomachs take roughly 20 minutes to signal to our brains that we’ve ingested enough. That delay means we often get the signal to hit the brakes on the shoveling later than we need. Additionally, taking a break from cramming in more food gives the hormones in our digestive system time to work. From Harvard Health:

leptin, produced by fat cells, is an adiposity signal that communicates with the brain about long-range needs and satiety, based on the body’s energy stores. Research suggests that leptin amplifies the CCK signals, to enhance the feeling of fullness. Other research suggests that leptin also interacts with the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain to produce a feeling of pleasure after eating. The theory is that, by eating too quickly, people may not give this intricate hormonal cross-talk system enough time to work.

I eat fast. Too fast. Clearly, it would serve me well to slow down. Consequently, I’ll still be producing posts at kaplifestyle.com when I’m 100 years old. That thought makes me tired.

Kidding,

Kap

  • Shawn

    Fellow fast eater here Kap! I’ve learned recently that I function better eating less but more often much like you mentioned above and have had great results in minimizing the energy spikes i formerly encountered from eating 3 (large and rapidly consumed) squares a day. Not to mention as a heavy lifter and carnivore, the slower pace affords the optimal protein digestion and all but eliminates the notorious “protein emissions” from ones backside…

    • Gabe Kapler

      Ha. Good stuff, Shawn.

  • Ed H

    Looking at that concept deeper could be quite enlightening. (Warning, the rest here is just my speculation) Did evolving man slow down his eating… or maybe his eating slowed him down? It takes a lot longer to eat 100 calories of greens than it does 100 calories of cheese cake. Evolving man probably ate a lot more vegetation and raw kill, both of which take much more time to chew and swallow compared to a cheeseburger with fries.

    Could the Okinawans have realized their diet included greater efficiencies and were smart to include the slow down into their culture? Why did fat become enemy #1? Was it because someone discovered it had about triple the calories per gram than carbs and proteins, but failed to realize it might have less calories per volume?

    This post is why I check in every day. Something different and well worth thinking about.

    • Ed H

      My guess of fat having less calories per volume than sugars is off. Fat is roughly three to one per gram but two to one per tablespoon….

    • Gabe Kapler

      You’re the best, Ed. Thank you.

  • Mike B

    A lot of what you talk about in your blog is similar to what I have recently read in “It Starts With Food” by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig. They are proponents of the Whole30, which is a focus on eating whole foods, cutting out processed foods, and thereby making yourself healthier. The book details how food affects you psychologically, hormonally, and how it affects our immune systems. Really interesting stuff and right in line with everything you preach in your blog. I have just begun my Whole30 (cutting out dairy, sugars, grains, and alcohol for 30 days) and draw inspiration from what you write every day. I recommend the above mentioned book to anyone who is interested in making themselves healthier and understanding how the body works.

    Thanks for all the great posts.

    • Gabe Kapler

      Thanks for the book recommendation. Appreciate the feedback.

  • http://www.twitter.com/nice__marmot_ Nice__marmot_

    My wife is a dietitian and we are both “slow down when you eat” enthusiasts. We find that when we all make time to talk during a meal, we take longer to eat and also drink more fluids.

    If I have to eat at my desk or at work, I try to make conversation with coworkers or pace myself by checking emails, even replying to emails between bites. I’m sure you’re busier than I, but it’s served me well.

    • Gabe Kapler

      Like the email idea. Thank you for chiming in.

  • dbreer23

    Recently I’ve had to learn to (1) eat smaller meals more regularly, and (2) eat them at a slower pace. Not an easy adjustment, as I feel hungrier more often during the day, though the severity is less than if I were consuming 3 squares a day…and the blood sugar swings aren’t nearly as hellacious!