I know, I know . . . We’ve all been told that we need to chew more. We’ve heard it from our grandmothers, our gurus, and the internet. It’s old news.

So, why am I writing about it now?

Because, in my teaching, I’ve found that most people have never really chewed in a life-changing way. They’ve never broken through to an experience of energy, peace, and power that I’ve enjoyed now for over twenty years. And that’s too bad. Our bodies are capable of much more than we are typically aware of, and I believe chewing is one way to begin unlocking some of that potential.

Why haven’t more people chewed in the way I’m about to describe? Many individuals carry at least one misconception about chewing, and these can hold them back. I’m here to challenge those assumptions.

Assumption: Chewing Requires Mindfulness

Nope. You don’t have to meditate on each grain of rice to properly chew your rice. You don’t have to be grateful or contemplative, or pay special attention to your efforts. You can chew while watching TV, driving your car, or even paying your bills—I don’t care. You don’t need to be mindful to chew.

That’s not to say you can’t or shouldn’t also practice cultivating gratitude, contemplation, and attentiveness. Chewing and mindfulness can definitely intersect. They can even intersect on the back end. When I thoroughly chew complex carbohydrates, I feel afterward as if I have sent peaceful pulses of glucose to my brain and created an effortless mindfulness. Don’t believe me? Give it a try and see for yourself.

Assumption: Chewing Is a Waste of Time

When was the last time you went to the gas station and sprayed several gallons of gasoline over your car? You would never do something so ridiculous. Making sure the nozzle is in the right place is the first step to refuel your car, and chewing your food is the first step to refuel your body. It is where digestion begins.

By not chewing your food, you fail to cooperate with the body’s naturally efficient systems, which have evolved to digest food in a certain way. Even if we could extract energy and nutrients from unchewed food, we help our systems operate more smoothly when we don’t fight against nature. Anecdotally, I have also noticed that chewing thoroughly helps people reduce digestive discomfort and produce less, ahem . . . odor.

Think of it this way: when you chew properly, you help release the nutritional goodness contained in your whole food, plant-based lifestyle. Nothing could be less of a waste of time.

Assumption: All My Digestive Organs Are below My Neck

Nope—not all of them. The mouth contains parotid glands, salivary glands located at each side of the mouth that secrete a digestive enzyme specific to carbohydrates (amylase).[1] It’s also where your molars are, which are critical for crushing grains and other fibrous foods.

The mechanical process of grinding and mashing, mixed with amylase, helps break down complex carbohydrates, which, if you have a WFPB lifestyle, make up a large part of your diet. This action can only take place in your mouth. Although your pancreas also produces amylase, there aren’t any teeth down there.[2]

(Learn more about human anatomy and digestion: “Are Humans Herbivores or Omnivores?”)

Assumption: Chewing Is Dumb

Okay, I realize you probably don’t actually think that, but I needed an excuse to discuss how intelligent chewing is. I could cite several examples. Here are just a couple: (1) Chewing properly can support a healthier immune system by stimulating a specific type of immune cell, the Th17 cell,[3] and (2) chewing helps you feel full “by influencing appetite, intake and [gut] hormone release,” effectively preventing you from overeating.[4] One study found that eating slowly resulted in less caloric intake but higher satiety.[5] Individuals trying to lose weight could potentially learn a lot from this finding!

Of course, those suffering from diet-related diseases need to do more than simply adjusting their chewing—they also need to overhaul their diets. No one can chew their way to healthier outcomes if all they’re eating are Doritos. But supposing they are already choosing a healthier diet, why not eat it properly and get the full benefits?

Okay, How Do I Do It?

Many people think of chewing as hacking away at a mouthful of food until they are reasonably sure they will not choke.

For me, that’s not chewing.

I’m talking about mashing complex carbohydrates and mixing them with saliva for a while—up to thirty seconds or even a minute. For me, chewing well involves my molars chomping down on my green bean, brown rice, or tofu dog . . . fifty times. You read that correctly—fifty times. And on better days, even as much as one hundred.

Yes, this transforms what appeared to be an attractive, delectable item into a sweet, liquidy mush in your mouth before you swallow it. Yes, it takes practice. Yes, it will seem strange and awkward at first. It might even seem antisocial, if you’re chewing so much that you have difficulty responding in a conversation during a meal. But I believe it’s worth every single jaw-flexing chomp.

Here are some tips:

1. Start alone: Feeling the pressure to engage in conversation can reduce your saliva. Plus, you might initially feel self-conscious about your new intensive chewing. Once you begin to feel the benefits of chewing alone, you’ll be able to take your practice out into the world.
2. Chew the last third of your meal: It can be hard to chew when you’re really hungry. Let yourself wolf down the first third of your meal, enjoy the second, and chew the heck out of the third. You will get all the benefits, minus feeling light as a feather in the tummy. When you want to feel that, chew everything.
3. Use a pickle: In my experience, adding a tiny bit of a dill pickle, an olive, or some sauerkraut to your first few bites of food can help stimulate saliva and make chewing easier.
4. Keep the back of your mouth closed: Think of how you might sip wine, paying careful attention to its tasting notes. When you do that, you naturally close the back of your mouth. You want to do the same thing when you chew, so that all the food goes down in one big swallow after your fifty chomps are done. You may not be good at this at first; the swallowing reflex is pretty unconscious. But with practice, you’ll get better.
5. Lean forward if you have to: Tilting your head forward can help interrupt the swallow reflex. Yes, it’s weird. But hey, you’re not eating meat and dairy these days—your friends already think you’re weird!
6. Count on your hands: I count my chomps by counting to ten and extending a finger on one hand. Then I count to ten again and extend the next finger. This way, I never have to count beyond ten, and I can swallow when all the fingers on one hand are extended.
7. Treat sweets and fruits differently: Most fruits are hard to chew fifty times, so don’t worry about them so much. They are high in simple sugars and water, and they break down in the mouth much more easily anyway. Stick to practicing your chewing with grains, vegetables, and beans.

Once you’ve gotten the hang of it, try chewing every mouthful you eat—at every meal—for seven days. I call this the 7-Day Chew Challenge. It might seem like a lot, but this experiment can show you whether you want to chew this way for the rest of your life.

You might find that you have more energy, feel as light as a feather, access a calm mental focus, and poop like an Olympian. You might feel only some of those benefits. But there’s no harm in trying. And, at a minimum, you’ll have a better idea of what you—and whole foods—are capable of.