It is in the mouth that digestion begins. Chopping your food well is good for your health, satisfies your appetite, deflates your stomach and makes you train better
Like many other actions, chewing is also carried out by most of us almost mechanically and without paying any attention to it. In reality, however, chewing is an important activity. In fact, if it is not done correctly, your overall health can suffer. And that’s not all, because not chewing bites enough and consuming meals too quickly can also have negative repercussions on sports performance.
FIBROUS FOODS MUST BE CHEWED FOR A LONG TIME
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The attention of the media and society is particularly high on what we eat, but much less on how we eat. In fact, if institutions, associations and individuals are heavily involved in raising awareness aimed at promoting a healthy and balanced diet, it is very rare that the topic of chewing is addressed. “Chewing represents the first part of the digestive process and is the only one in which the person can play an active role” observes Dr. Antonella Rigante, head of the Gastroenterology and Digestive Endoscopy Service of the Zucchi Clinical Institutes of Monza. Chewing well, slowly and repeatedly, is therefore an excellent premise for good digestion. In fact, digestion begins with the production of enzymes secreted by the salivary glands which, together with chewing, help bring the food bolus to a level of fragmentation that facilitates the processes that will subsequently occur inside the stomach. It is difficult to indicate the number of chewing actions to be performed with each bite, as a lot depends on the consistency of the food eaten: if very fibrous foods require long chewing, softer foods can be chewed less.
YOU SATISFY YOUR APPETITE
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In addition to giving you the opportunity to enjoy food better, chewing bites for a long time promotes the feeling of satiety, which begins to appear approximately 20 minutes after you start eating. Other useful actions to reduce appetite during meals consist of consuming them sitting down and without rushing, taking time between one bite and another, always putting the cutlery down after putting the food in your mouth. Furthermore, chewing food carefully limits the risk of suffocation due to the food bolus entering the airways instead of the digestive canal. This good habit also helps to preserve the health of both the mouth and the esophagus. On the contrary, if you eat on the run, distracted by your smartphone or television, while walking or by swallowing one bite after another, not only will your hunger not be satisfied, but digestion will also slow down. In fact, these bad habits make digesting more complicated. “In particular, if food reaches the stomach without having been well chewed first, at the gastric level there is a greater draw of blood, of which the other organs and tissues are deprived” underlines Dr. Rigante.
IT ALSO DEFLATES THE ABDOMEN
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Since the muscles are also penalized by the greater draw of blood towards the organs involved in digestion, insufficient chewing also has negative effects on those who practice sport regularly, who struggle to express themselves to the maximum of their potential, as even for a long after the meal you may feel tired and sleepy. For athletes it is very important to chew well also because, by limiting the appetite, this habit helps to keep body weight under control. “Proper chewing also promotes better absorption of the nutrients contained in foods, which will be precious when physical activity takes place” adds Dr. Rigante. Finally, by facilitating digestive processes, good chewing also decreases the production of air in the intestine, reducing abdominal swelling.
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2024-01-21 09:29:10
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