Does chewing slowly really help with better digestion?

None of the available studies directly investigate whether chewing more slowly improves digestion in healthy people. The available sources cover chewing efficiency with tough foods, chewing problems in sleep apnoea, and the relationship between chewing status and fatty liver. A direct clinical test of 'slower chewing = better digestion' is simply absent.

There is, however, a striking association found in a Japanese study of 450 people: those who chewed poorly had nearly nine times the odds of having a fatty liver compared with good chewers, even after accounting for weight and blood sugar. That is a large association, but it is a snapshot in time. Whether poor chewing causes fatty liver, or whether there is a shared underlying cause, cannot be determined from this.

How long and how often you chew is largely determined by the food itself: hard or sticky foods automatically lead to more chewing movements. Chewing speed, however, appears to be more of a personal trait, one that does not automatically change when you choose firmer foods. Consciously chewing more slowly is therefore an active choice you have to make yourself.

Chewing problems are also seen in people with sleep apnoea or snoring, such as chewing on one side or chewing too quickly. But that research is based on only fifteen people and says nothing about healthy people who simply want to digest their food better.