Be a Pacesetter

March 25, 2018 – 

NOPE, not what I’m talking about.  But when I think of the definintion of a pacesetter… that is what I think of.  And with the big event (NASCAR that is) just past and the Indy500 just around the corner, I wish to use the word in a different way, as a nutrition tool.

A pacesetter is someone who is in the lead during part of a race or competition and therefore decides the speed or standard of the race or competion for that time.  In the case of nutrition … eating is NOT a race!  Stop eating fast and eat slowly rather than chomp and gulp food.  If you are sitting with a group you can be the pacesetter, you can slow an entire group of people down by just slowing down your eating.  Otherwise, with most people in a hurry, they will devour a meal and force everybody else to do the same … slow it down!  Make your meal time an enjoyable experience and take the time to taste your food (my wife calls this mindful eating).

We have teeth for a very good reason, to masticate food.  Bite off an appropriate bite of food and get it into your mouth, some foods might melt and get utilized by your body, but for the most part your teeth are designed with ridges and grooves to perfectly grind food into mush.  I can make a mouthful of steak have the same cosistency as apple sauce in less than 3 minutes with my jaw strength and pearly-white chompers!  If nobody ever told you, I’m telling you now … slow down when you eat and chew your food throughly so the body can break it down faster.  My Mom would say “chew your food 30 times before you swallow it.”  My sister and I made it a game actually with smiles on our faces and food in our mouths chewing chewing chewing and gulping at 30!

Gulping a mouthful of mush puts bolus into your stomach.  Bolus is a mothful of masticated food, mush.  Mush will breakdown faster and enter the small intestine in less time than it will take for bile (acid your body makes in the stomach to break down food small enough to process) to disolve it.  OH by the way, when food sits in your stomach breaking down it does create gasses that your system expels via your throat and mouth, this is cronic halitosis also better know as bad breath.  Meats, cheese and dense food items like pastas or desserts take a very long time to process and the gas is obvioius.

Be the slowest pacesetter ever!!  And a winner in my book!

In good health,

Bob

“If you ain’t first, your last!”  – Ricky Bobby