Lately I have been spending a fair amount of time thinking about what I want to share with you in the future and I continue to land on one subject, digestion. Digestion is such an important part of our health. Digestion breaks food down into usable vitamins, mineral, amino acids, fats and more! A healthy digestive track is important to a healthy immune system because 80% of our immune system is located in the gut. Having a robust microbiome with plenty of good gut bacteria, will produce even more vitamins as it works to process food. The list goes on and on!
An easy way to help digestion is to chew your food well, I mean really, REALLY well!! The more you masticate your food by chewing it, the less work your digestive tract as to do to be able to put all those nutrients to good us and to fuel us. Here are a few tips to ensure proper chewing:
- Take small bite
- Set your fork down between bites
- Chew each bite 20 – 30 times
- Focus on your meal – this means no TV, computer, no driving or whatever else you might do while eating!
All of this may sound a bit odd….and impossible to do…but if you do each of these for a few days, it becomes second nature and you will do it without thought. You can even make a little game out of it, take a bite and chew normally while counting your bites. How many bites did you take? Now, take another bite, but this time chew 30 times. How did the food change? Did it turn nearly to liquid in your mouth? It should have!! All the chewing triggers the production of saliva.
Saliva not only moistens food for easier swallowing, it also contains enzymes that begins to break down carbohydrates. If this process doesn’t begin in the mouth it will cause more issues further downstream. In the small intestine, pancreatic enzymes finish the breakdown of carbs, but these enzymes are not able to perform the entire process. They need saliva to begin the breakdown so they can finish it. A lack of salivary enzymes means undigested carbs are reaching the small intestine, creating an imbalance of unhealthy verses healthy gut bacteria, referred to as dysbiosis. These good gut bacteria do things such as helping to digest food, regulating our immune system and have even been linked to our brain health!! Keeping the balance is critical for overall health!
As you can see, not chewing your food properly can have a much broader effect on health then you may have guessed. Digestion is a north to south process, beginning in the brain. A few weeks ago, I shared on Facebook the importance of being in a relaxed state while eating. Once in that state, it is then important to take the time to chew. So, slow down, enjoy your meal, talk and laugh with those eating with you and chew your food!! Heck, maybe even take time after your meal to talk even more, giving your body time to start the next steps in digestion….you know you want to be an overachiever!! 😉
Let me know below how many bites you normally take and the difference you noticed once you chewed your food 20-30 times. I look forward to hearing your results!
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