A new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that people eat up to half as fast when they chew more, leading to about 20% less food consumption. Eating foods with hard, crunchy, or chewy textures may help you lose weight by slowing down the eating process and ensuring satiety sooner.

According to the New York Post, researchers from Wageningen University in the Netherlands discovered that people who had crunchier meals in their study consumed 26% fewer calories regardless if the food was highly processed or not since the texture made it  harder to eat quickly.

Soft meals given to the study participants included mashed potatoes, fish bites, canned mangoes, and flavored yogurt. Harder meals included a crunchy salad, apples, a chewy chicken breast and lumpy tomato salsa.

All lunches had the same number of calories and taste quotient, but the participants who had the harder lunches consumed about 300 fewer calories due to eating less of the food provided, because they had to chew more and the rate at which they ate the meal was slowed down by half.

“We now have more than a decade of evidence that people choosing textures which encourage them to eat more slowly, like crunchier, harder or chewier foods, can help them to consume fewer calories while still feeling equally satisfied,” said Ciarán Forde, senior author of the study and a professor in Sensory Science and Eating Behaviour in the Division of Nutrition at Wageningen University, according to Earth.com. “What is appealing in using meal textures to change behavior and intake is that people can still enjoy the foods they like, while reducing the risk of overconsumption. It means people can still enjoy a meal and eat until comfortably full, without having to feel restricted.”

Dr. Gabe Mirkin, author of The Healthy Heart Miracle, points out that people with diabetes who have lost teeth and cannot chew properly have significantly higher blood sugar levels than those who can chew their food well.

“Fixing damaged teeth will help you chew your food well, which can also encourage you to eat more fiber-rich foods,” says Mirkin. “If this is an issue for you, check with your dentist.”