When you hear the word chew, you probably remember your childhood, when your mother used to tell you to chew your food thoroughly and slowly. That, of course, if you were not late for school!
Surely, you have also heard many times from your macrobiotic counsellor, or your nutritionist or cooking teacher that chewing is really important.
Perhaps you have been recommended to chew 30, 50 or even 100 times every bite.
And surely you know Gandhi’s phrase “Drink your food and eat your drink“, so, chew!. Chew your food until it is almost liquid and you can drink it and chew your drink as if it was food.
And the reason for all this is that good chewing is one of the keys to good health.
The digestive process begins with chewing. And this is perhaps the most important piece for healthy digestion. This is why:
- When we chew, we produce saliva, an alkaline, essential substance for a good digestive process. The more we chew, the more salive we produce; and the more saliva we have, the better digestion and absorption of food.
- Without enough saliva, it is easier that tooth decay and oral infections occur. So producing saliva by chewing well, will protect the health of your teeth.
- Chewing activates the parasympathetic nervous system which governs digestion and relaxes us. The parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for giving orders to start secreting the gastric juices which we need for proper digestion. And it also helps us relax. You have surely realize that eating relaxes, well, this is one of the reasons.
- By moving the mouth, you stimulate the meridians of the organs involved in the digestive process. When we chew and move the upper jaw, we are stimulating the stomach meridian. And when you move the bottom of your mouth, you do the same with the meridian of the intestines, thus preparing for the digestive process.
- When you chew you adjust the water content of food. Consumption of crackers, rice or corn biscuits and dried fruit requires a more intense chewing to hydrate the food. If you chew properly, you will generate enough saliva to moisturize the dry foods you eat. Otherwise, you will feel uncomfortable and need to drink plenty of liquids after taking these foods.
- In addition, chew will help you balance your weight. Studies show that chewing your food 40 times, reduces the amount you eat by 12%. This is because chewing has an effect on hormonal levels: On one hand, the amount of hormone Ghrelin we produce is reduced, this is the hormone responsible for stimulating appetite. By reducing their production, we will reduce the desire to eat. On the other hand, it increases the amount of the hormone CCK, responsible for reducing appetite.
