EATING LESS AND LIVING LONG-HOW CAN THIS BE POSSIBLE?

It is a universal principle in health science that more food one eats higher will be the chance to be over weight and eventually becoming obese. The body requirement for energy comes from carbohydrates and fat to a large extent though proteins also do contribute. 2000-3000 kC energy need is correlated to the basal metabolism and the extent of physical work carried out in a day and any thing surplus is channeled to fat deposits in different parts of the body. If this is so why do human being splurge on food with no self control? One explanation is that good food is a food addictive too and under certain circumstances the control of food intake is just not possible. if recent reports are to be believed, slow eating can significantly reduce food consumption and if calorie intake is slowed down, the potential for long living is enhanced. Here is a take on this new perception proven by scientific studies.  

"It may seem a little obvious, but one way to eat less is to take smaller bites. Researchers from the Netherlands published a study Wednesday in the journal Plos One that looked at what happened when 53 people ate soup, taking various size sips – when they were focused and when they were distracted. People who took small bites consumed about 30% less than those who took big sips and those who decided the size of their sips. And, those who took larger sips underestimated how much they ate. "Consuming small bites rather than large bites involves more bites for consumption of the same amount of food. Due to a relatively higher number of bites … small bites may lead to lower food intake," the researchers wrote. It's also possible, they said, that lower intake results from diners' beliefs about how much they are eating. "These findings stress the importance of cognitive factors on satiation," they said. So if you think you are full, that makes a difference. But if a diner's attention is distracted, those factors are also affected, and several studies have shown that people eat more while they are distracted by TV or other things".

The classical studies with animals have proved that a limited calorie diet prolonged life very significantly though how the body can meet its daily calorie needs under such a condition is still a mystery. There are many gray areas in health and nutrition science and the complexity of human body is still not understood completely. What is known unambiguously is that excess food can definitely be injurious causing a host of disorders, some of which can be debilitating and even fatal. The slow eating regime makes sense because one is giving sufficient time to the body to synchronize satiety control and the hormonal signaling system. Mechanical eating without focusing on the act of eating can obviously lead to consuming more food than what is really required. Probably slow eating habit must be inculcated among children at very early stages of life and hurrying mothers valuing their time more than the interest of the child are not helping their kids in the long run. Whether lunch or dinner a family must keep aside a minimum time for sitting together and enjoying the meal in a relaxed way!

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
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