Could Chinese Food Help you lose weight?

Chinese food may not help you lose weight, but eating with chopsticks will.  Despite not always being the easiest, eating our Chinese, or any other food with chopsticks, forces you to go slow, and that is where the benefit comes in.    If you are one of the 1% who happens to be very good at picking up food with chopsticks, then you’ll notice your eating is unhurried compared with fork, spoon or knife meals.  Have you ever tried to get a lot of food in your mouth using chopsticks?  It’s virtually impossible.  You are forced you to slow down, and take smaller bites of food – giving your stomach time to process that you are eating and getting full. This way you end up eating less over a longer period of time.

Let’s take a close look at some of the benefits of eating more slowly:

·       Eating slowly makes you feel fuller, thereby eating less

·       People who eat fast are more likely to be obese

·       Eating slowly is good for digestion

·       Appetite reduction

·       Portion size control

·       Weight control

·       Reduces risk of heartburn and acid reflux

It is an amazing concept to be able to eat the food you love, but make it healthier just by the way you eat it.  Some studies have even shown that eating with chopsticks initiates a much lower glycemic response in the body. Taking your time means blood sugar levels don’t spike as they wood when eating with regular utensils. It’s likely you will only eat about half as much as at a time with chopsticks than a fork.  This is good because when your blood sugar levels spike to unhealthy levels, this can lead to a condition called diabetic ketoacidosis, coma, seizures and even death – particularly if you are diabetic.

Other studies have suggested that eating slow could also reduce your risk of chronic disease.  One such study was conducted by scientists at the National University of Singapore and the Clinical Nutrition Research Centre in Singapore, who found that is not only what you eat but how you eat it that matters.  In the study groups analyzed, blood sugar levels rose at a much slower rate for those who ate a bowl of rice with chopsticks compared to those who ate with spoons or hands. According to earlier studies a lower glycemic response can reduce your risk for Type 2 diabetes and other chronic diseases, like obesity and heart disease.