Sara Marín, nutritionist: "Eating quickly can be dangerous."

In Spain, we love to meet up with friends and spend a whole day with them , without thinking about our daily problems and disconnecting from our work duties for a few hours—or a whole day, especially if it's on vacation . We also have a great time when we go out to eat at a restaurant or to someone's house who's prepared a delicious meal. It's in these kinds of situations when time doesn't matter . However, much to our chagrin, it doesn't happen every day.

When the clock isn't on our side when it comes to food, we tend to eat things at an abnormally fast pace . This may seem harmless, but some experts have confirmed that it can cause health problems .

Many experts have spoken and studied the topic in various aspects , including the reasons why some people eat their meals at maximum speed. Eating quickly is something we shouldn't make a habit of, as we've discussed, because it can cause conditions such as abdominal bloating . Nutritionist Sara Marín also spoke about this in a video posted on Instagram.

The effects of eating fast according to a nutritionist

"When you eat quickly , too much air enters your stomach, causing gas, bloating, and abdominal pain," the expert begins by explaining in the video she posted on Instagram. She also warns that this action can lead to weight gain.

The reason these effects appear is because there's a connection between the brain and the stomach . This connection, according to Marín, is called the "vagus nerve." "When you eat, the stomach begins to distend and sends a nerve signal to the brain" to tell it that it's full. He notes that it takes 15 to 20 minutes for the message to arrive.

"So if you gobble down food at top speed, your brain doesn't know anything, and you keep eating until your stomach explodes ," the expert explains. The negative effects of this phenomenon are weight gain and the other problems we highlighted at the beginning.

Maintaining good digestion is key to taking care of our body , but there are some tips to keep in mind to achieve this. Sara Marín highlights some in the post of the same video, such as chewing food 20 to 30 times, drinking water between bites, reducing distractions while eating, such as watching television or holding your phone , eating small portions, and not going to bed immediately after eating, but waiting 10 minutes at most.