When we were children, we were often told to chew food adequately, unaware of its benefits. While eating, you might think about all the processes our food undergoes in the intestines and stomach. But do you know that the entire digestive process starts in your mouth while chewing your food?

While chewing, it breaks down into small pieces, which are very easy to digest. When the food is mixed with saliva, chewing helps your body extract the maximum amount of nutrients from the food you are eating. There are a lot of things that experts say about chewing. The most common advice is to chew food 32 times before swallowing the food. It takes only a few chews to break the delicate and water-filled food items. Chewing aims to break down the food so that it loses its texture.

Here are a few benefits of chewing food in a proper manner

• Properly chewing food helps decrease the stress on your esophagus and assists your stomach in digesting the food. When you chew, a lot of saliva is produced, which consist of digestive enzymes that aid in beginning the breaking down of food and help in the absorption of various nutrients.

• Chewing food slowly and adequately helps in managing your weight. It is because when you chew food for a long time, it decreases the meal intake, and snacking after a few hours also gets reduced. Chewing food very slowly offers your stomach a lot of time to signal your brain about getting full. It reduces overeating and enhances your satisfaction level during mealtimes.

• Any food particles left in your teeth fuel bacteria that can lead to tooth decay. Chewing food for a long time helps in the production of more saliva that clears your mouth as well.

• Chewing helps in disintegrating the food in your mouth. It is also open to several digestive enzymes which assist in breaking down the food particles. Our salivary glands produce an enzyme called lingual lipase under the tongue that helps break down fats. When fat is not broken completely, it causes indigestion.

• Chewing properly enables proper nutrient and energy absorption from food. Protein is one of the essential nutrients, broken down into amino acids required for muscle growth and development. What makes them so vital is we never make or store amino acids in our body. When you chew your food correctly, it helps in the digestion of protein and makes sure there is proper digestion and absorption of amino acids.

• Chewing food is good for your teeth. Chewing for a long time supports the production of more saliva that assists in mineralizing teeth and restoring the pH levels in your mouth when you eat sugars and acids. It decreases the chance of tooth decay.

Now when you have a good idea of the benefits of chewing your food correctly, let's learn how to chew food properly.

• Do not burden your spoon or fork with something more than what you can chew. If you see food falling off from the sides, it's too much.
• Chew your food by keeping your mouth closed and moving your tongue to move the food from one side to another with your jaws rotating slightly.
• Chew slowly and consistently up to 32 times in each bite. Before you swallow your food, make sure the food loses all its texture.
• Wait till you finish all the food in your mouth before drinking your fluid. Drinking a lot of juice while eating slows down the whole process of digestion as it dilutes the enzymes in your body that break down the food.

If you do not chew your food correctly, your body will not produce the digestive enzymes required to break down the food. This leads to digestive issues like

• Bloating
• Indigestion
• Headaches
• Nausea
• Gas
• Heartburn

Remember that digestion starts with chewing your food, not when it is in your stomach. It might take time for your body to adjust to food hygiene practices. Still, later the payoff is great in the form of enhanced athletic performances, good body composition, and good physical and mental resilience.

Focus on eating slowly and chewing many times. This enhances your digestion process, assists you in eating less, and increases your whole eating experience. Other than that, do not forget to go for routine dental checkups. MyDentalPlan is one of the best places to find a skilled and experienced dentist.

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About the Author:

Suprithi Choudhary, M.Pharm (Pharmacology) Medical Content writer

Suprithi is a Pharma Professional working as a medical content writer and previously worked as a Research Scientist and Senior Research Analyst

Education

• C.M Academy
• Attended the Panjab University- Chandigarh, Pharma post-graduate in Pharmacology

Special thanks to Dr Deepak Kulkarni, a dental surgeon with over 23 years of experience who proofread this blog. He graduated from the H.K.E's Dental College, Gulbarga, and has certifications in ACHS International Accreditation Education Plan; Advanced Rotary Endodontic - Restorative Continuum; and Leadership, Team Building and Customer Service Leadership from the Oscar Murphy International.