The Power of Chewing – February 7th, 2016

 

Nutritional Endocrinology Practitioner Training (NEPT)
Clinical Pearl
February 7th, 2016 

 

The Power of Chewing

Last Wednesday, we had Donna Gates speak to us as part of the post-SHINE VIP Guest Expert series. The replay is HERE:

http://events.instantteleseminar.com/?eventid=80200479

It was a whirlwind of great information, and I captured several pages of clinical pearls. The most impressive one, because it’s so simple, is on chewing.

As you know, I talk about the importance of chewing a lot; however, few people actually really take the time to chew their food. Chewing activates neuropathways in the brain. According to Donna, there are quite a number of studies that link lack of adequate chewing with weight gain.

Chewing activates insulin receptors, so when you don’t chew your food well, it causes blood sugar to go up, which, as we know, leads to the dread accumulation of belly fat.

Chewing activates the vagus nerve, which is critical to proper digestion. The vagus nerve controls the proper motility of the digestive tract, which helps to cleanse toxins and decrease infections. Lack of chewing also causes an increase in ghrelin, the hunger hormone. So improper chewing can lead to excessive hunger.

If you’re having a hard time getting your clients to grasp the power of chewing, perhaps linking it to their excessive appetite and fat accumulation will hit them where it motivates.

Donna did an excellent job explaining the value of chewing on the call, so be sure to listen:

http://events.instantteleseminar.com/?eventid=80200479