Dr Salgaonkar explains why eating too fast is sabotaging your weight loss

The speed at which you consume your meals could be as significant to your health as the ingredients on your plate.

Dr Hrishikesh Salgaonkar, a consultant surgeon at Fortis Hospital, has warned that "scarfing down" food disrupts the body’s natural ability to regulate hunger, leading to unintended weight gain. The primary issue lies in the gut-brain axis, which operates with a biological lag.

The twenty-minute delay

According to Dr Salgaonkar, the human body possesses a built-in satiety system that is far from instantaneous.

“We know that the human gut-brain axis works with quite a delay, usually taking almost twenty minutes for satiety hormones such as PYY and CCK to get to the hypothalamus,” he explained.

When a high-calorie meal is finished in under ten minutes, the body effectively ignores its "stop" signal, causing individuals to overeat before they even feel full.

The processing paradox

The surgeon also highlighted the "processing paradox," where the convenience of soft, ultra-processed foods encourages faster consumption.

These items are often eaten three times faster than whole foods, leading to "quick, sharp jumps in blood sugar and insulin."

Two simple preventive hacks

To combat this, Dr Salgaonkar suggests two practical lifestyle changes:

Sensory Engagement: Spend thirty seconds smelling and looking at your food to trigger digestive enzymes.

The Chewing Rule: Chew each mouthful thirty times and place utensils down between bites. “This lets the stomach's stretch receptors send signals to the brain as it happens,” the surgeon noted.

Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.