mastication and BMI, drinking water and BMI

[THECOUCH at aol.com]

Liz,

Regarding the question about chewing.  I have never run across any direct 
studies that answer the question you ask.  However, one thing I HAVE run 
across, and which I use in my presentations, is the fact that the trigeminal 
nerve, which is attached to the jaw muscle, is a serotonin-mediated nerve.  
Practitioners working with disordered eaters (and that includes weight 
management, in my opinion) often observe the tendency to want to chew on 
either gum, ice cubes, fingernails, pencils, or "crunchy" foods.  It may be 
that these chewing activities help to elevate serotonin, which is 
hypothesized to be low in at least a subpopulation of disordered eaters.

My guess is that the reason this is recommended in weight loss programs is 
not for the complex neuroendocrine reason I just mentioned, but because the 
slower one eats, the more mindful one is, and the more mindful one is, the 
more opportunity there is to pay attention to natural hunger and satiety 
cues.  Again, this is not something that has been researched, at least what I 
have run across (and I am pretty much a Pub Med nerd!).  But it would be 
really interesting to see what such studies would elucidate.

Hope that helps,

Monika M. Woolsey, MS, RD
http://www.afterthediet.com