Chewing your food is the first stage in our digestive process and is the only part of our digestive system that we can actively take control of. Think of chewing like Yoga for your digestion. Take the time to enjoy every mouthful of food as this is not only more satisfying but will stimulate the body’s absorption and elimination process.
Count the number of chews that you do for every mouthful when you have your next meal. You will find that most people chew about 5-8 times per mouthful.
Chewing your food for improved digestion is more like 20-50 chews per mouthful. It sounds a lot but the mouth has a lot to do in that time. During the chewing process the teeth smash and crush the food into smaller pieces which encourages the production of digestive enzymes that help breakdown our food. So chewing helps to neutralise our acidic body wastes which keeps our bowels healthy.
Not chewing your food thoroughly means that the rest of the digestive system has to work harder to break down your food into smaller pieces. When the body works too hard in these areas we feel that our belly’s are bloated, gurgling with wind, we fart and irregular bowel movements.
Chewing your food correctly has other positive health benefits. It gives you the time to enjoy the flavours of your meal and your tummy time to know that it is full. This means that you will eat to satisfaction because you know when you are full. Chewing is calming for the nervous system as it reduces the secretion of adrenaline in the body.
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