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Chewing : A Lost Art?
John Morley, MBAcC, MSocBiolMed, MMAA, MA, BSc, BAc |
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Chewing is probably the most important of our daily choices as far as the immediate difference it makes to our energy and our body's function. This is because if we don't chew, or don't chew well enough, then no matter how well we eat we won't assimilate the good nutrients from the good food that we eat.
When we chew we mix our food with saliva. Saliva is alkaline. The more we chew the more alkalinised is our food before it goes down into our stomach. Down there in our stomach it is very acidic, the most acidic place in the body, except for the duodenum, and so the more we chew the more we promote a complete chemical reaction in the stomach. Acid and Alkaline. They react and promote a more complete breakdown of the food and a more complete using up of the stomach acidity. This means that there is less food left undigested in the small intestines, more nutrients absorbed in the same small intestines, and more stomach acidity used up and therefore less left over to seep into our blood and tissues and make us acidic in our whole body biochemistry.
 One more crucially important point about chewing is that if we are stressed when we eat then our saliva is likely to be acidic too. This upsets the whole process. It means that standing up to eat and eating on the run is a waste of time. If we eat on the go, so to speak, or stand up to eat, we are not relaxed and the result is that, whether or not we chew, the food going into our stomach is not alkaline and there will not be a very complete biochemical reaction in the stomach.
Some eating situations do not promote good chewing. One is the chaotic family meal scenario in which there is competition for food or where young children do not want to eat or dominate the occasion. Another is the "eating with friends in a social situation" in which the tendency can be to chew quickly and swallow so that you can be ready to say something funny.
Encouraging children to chew well is one of the best habits that a parent can promote, and it is not easy. Leisurely eating is the best way.
Chewing juice is a good idea. Swishing the vegetable juice around in your mouth makes it more alkaline and even easier to process in the upper and lower digestive system.
© Copyright Wholistic Research Company 2001
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