Chewing Your Food Properly May Prevent Diabetes

It seems your parents were on to something when they told you to chew your food properly. Scientists have learned that people who chew for a long time and don't rush mealtimes not only avoid indigestion but also improve their chances of avoiding diabetes.
Researchers have discovered that those who don’t wolf down their meals are two-and-a-half times more at risk of contracting the problem. The theory is that this happens because eating very quickly encourages weight gain which can trigger the illness.
The study was conducted by researchers in Lithuania who studied 702 people, including 234 who had just been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. They answered detailed questionnaires about their lifestyles and subjects such as diets, exercise and whether they smoked.
Lead researcher Dr Lina Radzeviciene from Lithuanian University of Health Sciences said: ‘The prevalence of type 2 diabetes is increasing globally and becoming a world pandemic. It appears to involve interaction between susceptible genetic backgrounds and environmental factors. ‘It’s important to identify modifiable risk factors that may help people reduce their chances of developing the disease.’
The scientists - who presented their study at the International Congress of Endocrinology and European Congress of Endocrinology in Florence, Italy - did not explain why eating fast appeared to be linked to type 2 diabetes.However, it is generally accepted that obesity is a primary cause of the illness. It’s not the first study that has indicated that the modern habit of eating too quickly is causing problems in the modern generation. 
A study last year warned rising numbers of children are being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Figures suggest up to 1,400 have type 2 diabetes - a few decades ago there were virtually no sufferers.
But David Speigelhalter, a professor in the public understanding of risk at Cambridge  University, warned that the study was too small to extract any definite conclusions.: 'This is one of those many small studies that raise an interesting question but don't prove causation. It is a huge and unjustified jump to say that eating slower reduces your risk of getting diabetes.'