The low down on healthy digestion involves chewing, more specifically healthy chewing. While this is one task that is often taken for granted, its importance cannot be stressed enough.
The Best Way to Chew Food: According to 1926 physician Leonard Williams, the best way to chew food is to make sure that every morsel is properly broken down to mash and thoroughly covered in saliva. For these reasons slow, and even measured, mastication is often recommended.
Why is Saliva Important: Saliva contains substances that helps in digestion. Not only that, but saliva also eliminates germs in the mouth, keeps the breath fresh and is essential to maintaining healthy teeth. Saliva contains proteins and minerals that are necessary in protecting the teeth from decay and the gum from diseases.
How to Slow Down When Eating: A few exercises designed to help in slowing down through a meal have been proven successful. However, different methods work with different people. Samples of such techniques include: setting a target number and counting each chewing motion; putting utensils back on the table between mouthful. Why is slowing down important? This allows the brain time to register the act of eating and trigger a sense of fullness once an individual has consumed enough food. A little-known fact is that saliva production is at peak during late afternoon and lowest during the night.
Where Does Food Go After Chewing: The mashed and saliva drenched food travels down the esophagus when swallowed and mixed with digestive acids in the stomach. Any undigested or partially digested food goes out of the body as a waste product.
Why Do Some Waste Products Still Look Like Food: Most food, especially those with protective coating as legumes, seeds and kernels, that have not been chewed well or at all keep the outer covering even while in the stomach. With the covering still in place, the stomach acid is unable to penetrate the food for digestion.
Does Chewing Gum Help in Digestion: In as far as the chewing motion in chewing gum stimulates saliva production, chewing gum aids in the digestive process.
However, chewing gum has other benefits such deflecting unhealthy and habitual craving and snacking by acting as a substitute. A study from the University of Rhode Island showed that participants who chewed gum burned 5 percent more calories than those who did not chew any gum.
See Also:
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- 9 Best Calcium Sources That are Not Dairy: Seaweed, Tahini, Edamame and More
- 9 Best Probiotics Sources Around the World: Kimchi, Kefir, Cheese and More
