A chemistry lesson in chewing – goodbye to the gulp!

It can be quite astonishing to discover that the three pairs of salivary glands found in our mouths, together secrete about one litre of water per day. Let’s not waste this water!

Gulping our meals will result in poor absorption of the nutrients we need to produce energy, as well as abdominal distention, pain and bloating. Chewing the food we eat is just as important as the type of food we decide to place in our mouths. Impairment of nutrient absorption, due to insufficient chewing, means that proteins, fats, minerals and vitamins are absorbed more slowly and in smaller amounts.

Saliva not only contains the digestive enzyme amylase, the water in saliva provides a medium for dissolving foods so they can be tasted and therefore initiate other digestive reactions. The salivary amylase in the swallowed food continues to act on starches for another 15–30 minutes in the stomach.

Another enzyme, lingual lipase secreted by the glands beneath the tongue is also found in saliva. This enzyme, which is active in the stomach, digests as much as 30% of dietary triglycerides into fatty acids. Chewing well not only physically breaks up our food into small easy to handle particles, it also ensures that saliva and enzymes are mixed well with the food and protects the mucosa of the pharynx and oesophagus as it makes its way down to the stomach. Thirty chews per mouthful is a good place to begin. Concentrate on everything you put into your mouth, taste it, chew it, savour it, and relax at the same time.

Eating in a calm, relaxed manner enhances digestion and automatically slows our individual eating style. I recently watched in horror from the bench of an inner city café, as a young man literally shoved spoonfuls of meat and pasta into his mouth at a startling rapid rate. He certainly didn’t seem to be enjoying it, it was simply fuel. Within five minutes the contents of a very large plate had been shoveled in, completely by-passing his salivary enzymes. I can guarantee this young man would return to work with a belly ache, bloated, tired and would have absorbed precious little of his gigantic meal. (He polished his lunch off with a can of coke, which would have ensured and completed the gaseous abdominal mess well!)

Indeed our vocabulary and choice of words reflects our postmodernist, busy attitude to meals and eating behaviour. How often do we hear ourselves saying, “I am just going to grab a bite to eat”? Grabbing lunch does not install visions of sitting peacefully. As human beings we have the luxury of making food a lifestyle choice. Sitting down with friends over a relaxed meal with good food and conversation, or sitting alone, with a candle burning, giving thanks and thought to the food we are slowly eating and enjoying is a civilized and sensible approach to meals. A far cry from the shovel technique!