Chew Food Well helps to Gain More Energy

A study by Harvard University analyzed "how the man was changing his way of eating". Although currently it chewed less, according to experts is more effective and has a significant energy value. Like eating cooked food.

Did you know that our close cousins, chimpanzees, half the day chewing passed? We, however, thanks to the processed food every time we chew less time and with less force. But what is better for your health?

Million years ago, the man , which spent much of the day chewing the food - began hunting or spend less time on this activity to include more meat diet and some stone tools used to "process" food . So says a study conducted by Harvard University , which analyzes the benefits of chewing food properly.

"What we saw is that when processing the food, especially meat, before eating, humans not only decrease the effort required to chew but we do it more effectively," said Katherine Zink, who works with Daniel Lieberman, a professor of Science Biology.

When processing food and include 33% of meat in the diet, man reduced the chewing effort by 20%.

More chew, the more energy we gain

However, unlike most animals like reptiles eating food bite, "the evolution of the ability to chew food into small particles gave mammals a share of extra energy as small particles allow digestive enzymes to digest food more efficiently, "says Dr. Lieberman.

Another study , led by Rachel Carmody, Department of Evolution of Human Biology at Harvard University , analyzed the power of cooking food: cook meat and other foods provide greater energy value of the diet.

Something similar was shown in analyzing whether vegetables are more nutritious cooked or raw. He explains an article from the University of Florida "many people believe that vegetables are higher from the nutritional point of view. However there is not enough research that support that idea. In contrast, many studies support the hypothesis that cooked vegetables provide more nutrients to the raw diet ".

Chew more, cook food, both actions would bring more energy to the diet each day. There remains the challenge of finding the right balance so that the caloric intake is adequate and not excessive, to prevent obesity. "As biologists who study human evolution, always we think about winning power as something positive-and allows us to grow, and keep reproductions-. But in the modern world there is another question: if we now have the problem of excess as opposed to deficit, then this is still something positive "reflects Carmody.