Lets take a step back. The other day I posted about heartburn and on reflection realised I missed a massive and very important part of digestion. Ironically, this is something many of us miss out too – CHEWING properly, the bit between thinking about food and it entering the stomach.
How often do you chew your food so it is like a liquid before you swallow it? Are you fully present when you are eating? Are you tasting every morsel and bite, savouring the deliciousness of it? If the answer is no to any one of these you could be missing out on a key part of digestion.
Chewing helps two fold –
1) manually breaking down food to smaller bits using your jaw muscles & teeth
2) By starting the breakdown of carbohydrates (one of the main contributors of energy to the cells) into smaller molecules by mixing saliva, containing important digesting enzymes, with your food.
If you miss out these key actions the stomach has to work harder and it doesn’t have teeth!
If you eat when you are distracted (watching TV, scrolling through your phone, etc) you will most likely not be chewing enough. By being fully present with your delicious meal you will chew well, eat slower (swallowing less air = less internal gas) and potentially feel the need to eat smaller portions.
Take note when you next have a meal as to whether you are a speed eater or a slow grazer. Slow and stead is much better when it comes to your digestion.
Caroline Westoll Nourish & Nurture 