30 Jul 2023

Katherine Wu: Are you really eating too fast?

From Sunday Morning, 8:30 am on 30 July 2023

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We all know people who wolf their food down, and probably we disapprove. Quite possibly we also find ourselves doing it sometimes, especially with fast food maybe, and we disapprove of ourselves as well.

Certainly in an age of mindfulness we are told to savour each mouthful, send gratitude to the farmer who grew the broccoli, and thank the beasts of the earth and the fish of the sea for their sacrifices. Gulping food down doesn't honour them much, and it is said to promote reflux and impair digestion.

Fast eating is just bad. But what if it's not?

Dr Katherine Wu, a Harvard-trained microbiologist, and now a staff writer for The Atlantic Monthly joins us.