Eating too quickly doubles the risk of high cholesterol, on the contrary having lunch and dinner while sitting at the table for at least 20 minutes helps metabolism and allows you to keep caloric intake and therefore weight under control. According to a research from the Federico II University of Naples, currently being published in the Journal of Translational Medicine, which confirms the benefits of chewing slowly and dedicating time to meals.
The study investigated the eating habits of 187 people with obesity, showing that those who eat meals in less than 20 minutes are doubling the odds of having high cholesterol.
"Cholesterol is a known risk factor for cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke, but it is not the only metabolic element that gets worse with a too hasty meal", explains Annamaria Colao, president of the Italian Society of Endocrinology (SIE), in a note. who coordinated the research. "Previous studies have shown that eating too quickly is associated with increased food consumption and our work confirms this." Colao points out that "among the foods that can be eaten faster there are ultra-processed ones (such as some sausages) which, in addition to being very caloric and unhealthy, also make us less able to control calorie intake".
"Eating differently, respecting slower rhythms and acquiring awareness of what we are eating, would help us a lot in preventing metabolic diseases" underlines Colao, according to which "it is therefore necessary to regain possession of time and experience the moment of the meal as a daily cuddle ".
