Chewing. How many times is enough?

I was reading Dr John Briffa blog, as I like his point of view on things, and I respect him a lot. It is good to have doctors that are not narrow minded and understand how the body really works. In his latest blog wrote about something about chewing. I recommend to most of my clients if not all to chew their food well.But how much is chewing well. Usually I say until the food is almost melted in your mouth. Some suggests that you need to chew at least 20 times before ingesting, others 40, and others even more. So I decided to see how long it would take me to melt my food last week-end. Well, for salads, it can take between 20 to 30 chews, and if there are carrots in the salads than might be more. For cooked green soft vegetables, it would take about 15 chews. For fish it would take about 10 chews. For breads, it takes 30 to 40 chews (as it is very gummy). For meat it would take 30 to 40 chews, and it does depend on the meat. For chicken it takes 20 to 30, but I suppose for lamb and beef it would take much longer. I do not eat beef steaks or beef in general so somebody else needs to try that. With fruits it takes 10 chews for the softer ones, but even with apples and pears it takes max of 15 chews. If you have nuts and seeds in your breakfast than it will take about 20 to 30 chews, and this is for almonds and hazelnuts, for other nuts it might take less or more, depends how big they are.So chewing it cannot just be once count for all foods, but instead of counting the chews, I think just chew until what ever you are eating is melted in your mouth, and that would be the best thing. One because is easier on your intestine especially if you have conditions such IBS. Two you enjoy and savor your food much more, and the third reason, you do not eat as much because you feel full at the right time.

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