Chewing creates swallowable bites and is much more than reducing the size of food in the mouth. It is the first step in the digestive process and is critical for healthy teeth and an intact gut.
What is chewing?
Chewing creates swallowable bites and is much more than reducing food in the mouth. It is the first step of the digestive process. In the mechanical chewing process, food is positioned between the rows of teeth, crushed by rhythmic jaw movements, crushed, and ground by the teeth. Chewing initiates the digestive process with the help of saliva and enzymes. The lower jaw moves up and down and, to a limited extent, sideways. After chewing, the food pulp is swallowed and passes through the esophagus into the stomach, where digestion continues. While most vertebrates cannot chew, the more highly developed mammals are equipped with chewing organs. The human jaw has powerful grinding teeth in the form of molars, and more pointed fangs in the form of incisors and canines, which are used to bite off and coarsely grind food. The type of food determines the chewing process. Solid foods such as meat require intensive chewing to chew, and for vegetarian foods, the chewing process also depends on the nature of the plant. Cellulosic plant parts are hard and need to be chewed well so they are not heavy in the stomach.
Function and task
Those who use the body’s functions as effectively as nature intended use a minimum of energy and produce maximum efficiency. This is particularly evident in chewing. Thorough chewing is an elementary part of healthy eating and important for good digestion. Nevertheless, in our fast-moving times, we attach less and less importance to it. In order for digestion to function properly, each bite should be chewed at least 30 times before swallowing. Because vigorous chewing in a healthy person also stimulates the flow of saliva, the food can be mixed even better. The better we chew, the less work the stomach and intestines have to do later. Digestive problems and pain therefore occur less frequently. The risk of swallowing air is also reduced by chewing vigorously. Good salivary mixing has a favorable effect on the organism’s insulin production. Medical studies showed that thorough chewers had lower insulin and blood sugar levels after eating than hasty eaters. Slow and concentrated chewing thoroughly washes the tongue with food pulp. The taste buds of the tongue are activated and stimulate the senses so that people perceive the smell and taste of food more intensively. The saliva contains immune cells that fight harmful invaders such as bacteria. People who chew well are less likely to catch colds and other illnesses. The jaw also benefits. Enzymes such as amylase and minerals contained in saliva strengthen tooth enamel and make teeth more resistant. Already in the oral cavity, the enzymes break down carbohydrates, which can then be absorbed more easily by the blood. The food pulp is not digested further until it reaches the small intestine, which relieves the pancreas considerably. Slow chewing also means that the feeling of satiety occurs later than with hasty eating, without more food being absorbed. This is particularly desirable when dieting. When chewing, the teeth are loaded evenly and the jawbone and tooth retention apparatus are strengthened. Because all cells in the oral cavity are now optimally supplied with oxygen, the supply of nutrients is also better and waste products are more easily removed. Vigorous chewing also massages the gums, which are better supplied with blood as a result. This can prevent diseases of the periodontium, such as periodontal disease. Strengthening the chewing muscles also has a positive effect and prevents age-related temporomandibular joint arthritis. Only when the food pulp is almost liquid is the right time to swallow.
Diseases and complaints
Because chewing is so natural for us, we pay far too little attention to the process. Those who eat hastily forget to enjoy the food. In addition to poor chewing, improper diet is the main reason for premature tooth loss or diseases of the teeth, gums and jaw. Caries, bleeding gums and diseases of the periodontium lead to impaired food intake and can be associated with severe pain.Although proper dental care is very important, chewing should not be neglected. Herb training can prevent a number of dental diseases. Proper chewing releases immune fluid in saliva so that more defense cells are activated in the gastrointestinal tract. Although the stomach can eventually break down food with the help of stomach acid, it has to work hard to do so. It is likely that the food will be surrounded by gastric acid for an unnecessarily long time and its valuable ingredients will be destroyed as a result. If excessively large pieces of food enter the intestine, they are also poorly utilized and often begin to ferment. This is accompanied by unpleasant symptoms such as flatulence and heartburn. To enable the villi of the small intestine to break down food properly, the food mush should be as liquid as possible and contain only small particles. Proper chewing is thus an easy way to control and reduce weight. Hasty eating and poor chewing actually increase abdominal fat and can thus promote arteriosclerosis, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic diseases and also cancer. Doctors have also shown that thorough chewing reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Overweight people with dietary ambitions benefit particularly strongly from thorough chewing; thanks to the constant blood sugar level, they do not suffer from cravings even when the amount of food they eat is reduced and can reach their dream weight more easily. With balanced sugar levels, weight remains stable over the long term. Thorough chewing thus increases the quality of life and makes you healthier.
