How many times did you hear from your mother to chew your food? Turns out she really knew what she was talking about. Unfortunately most of us do not chew properly. We live our life’s in this eat and run mode. We treat meals like an inconvenience. In our minds, eating has become a necessary evil. We have gotten into a pattern of speed eating, but how did it start? I believe that good old mom did a pretty good job slowing us down, but I believe that school was our downfall. They hurdle kids into the lunch room like cattle and give them very little time to eat. What makes it worse is recess is usually shortly after, so the quicker you eat, the quicker you can get to the more important tag and dodge ball events outside. You now live your life is a stress mode. If we could cut out eating from out busy schedule, we would. Fast food companies know this. They prey on our stressful lives. They have us right where they want us, with our money in their pockets. Keep in mind, as we go on, that our nutrition is limited first by the proper function of our factory, digestion. Poor digestion means poor health.
What I would like to do is point out some common sense, as well as a bit of technical information on why we should chew our food. Most of us don’t give chewing our food a second thought. We chew just enough to get it down without choking. So right away, our common sense rears its wonderful head with my last statement. That little alert bell goes off in our head. Maybe that is just the old memories of mom telling us to slow down and chew. One thing she left out is, “WHY?”
Let’s see if I can fill that gap. Most people think your stomach is the first step in food digestion. This is not true. I bet you are thinking that I am going to say chewing is the first step. Nope, Wrong again. Your brain is actually the first step. It uses thought in conjunction with the two senses that are sight and smell to begin the wonderful process of digestion. The first phase is called the Cephalic phase. Neurogenic signals that cause the cephalic phase of gastric secretion originate from the cerebral cortex and in the appetite centers of the amygdala and hypothalamus. Say what??? Ya, I had to float some big words past you. Basically your brain prepares your stomach to digest food by churning up the digestive juices. This phase of secretion normally accounts for about 20 percent of the gastric secretion associated with eating a meal.
Now your teeth take over and crush the food into smaller particles. The next question most people ask me is how many times to I need to chew. I am not into the counting thing. I think that is a bit ridicules. I will tell you a better way. The simple rule to follow is if you can identify the food in your mouth by the sense of touch, your teeth have not done their job. Keep chewing. While we are chewing, the food is moving over the taste buds in your mouth. The taste buds are sending signals to your brain which in turn will release the proper digestive enzymes into your mouth and stomach. Different types of foods will need different enzymes. Carbohydrates need the enzyme “salivary amylas” Proteins need the enzyme “proteinase” Fats need fat-digesting enzyme called lingual lipase.
So what happens if you do not chew well?
- The more you chew your food, the less time it needs to spend in your stomach being bombarded with acid. Chewing your food allows your saliva to cover more surface area of what you're trying to consume. If you don't chew as well, these enzymes don't have the ability to break down starches (providing you with energy) or start digesting fats (leaving them partially unprocessed). You’ll receive less energy and feel more sluggish as a result.
- Large pieces of food move through your system allowing for bacteria growth. This in turn creates gas and bad breath. Ask someone that has bad breath if they take time to chew their food.
- If the food is not broken down, much needed nutrients cannot be absorbed by the body
Take time to enjoy your food. Make sure you are not feeling stressed when you do eat. I highly recommend purchasing a juicer. I love mine. I also use the pulp for my salads. Also remember to combine the right foods. I wrote a post on Food Combining Here