Chew, chew and just chew
Cooking quickly and eating food even faster is the pattern of modern times. There is no time to chew, so food is mostly swallowed, and it is prepared so that it can be swallowed quickly. However, in this way we throw out one important part in the food digestion chain, which is chewing.
Chewing is just as important as the quality of the food we eat. By chewing food, we improve our immunity, that is, the power of healing. We even rejuvenate our organism. During chewing, the digestive enzyme ptyalin is secreted in the saliva, which greatly helps in dissolving food and helps the entire digestive tract to break down food as well as possible.
In case of insufficient chewing, undigested food goes directly to the bottom of the digestive tract, swallow a grain of corn for example, and the next day the whole grain will be found in the stool. If we do not chew our food enough, we burden the stomach first of all, the result is a feeling of heaviness in the stomach and gas. These small problems can lead to bigger ones.
The most common reasons for stomach disorders are overeating, swallowing large pieces of food that stay too long in the stomach and create acids. By chewing, we rejuvenate the body, because saliva contains the hormone parotin, which stimulates cell metabolism and thus renews the entire body. By chewing well, we strengthen our teeth and gums.
Chewing also increases the number of T-cells, that is, a type of white blood cells produced by the thymus gland, which are fighters against various enemies of the body, including malignant diseases. Chewing has many more positive effects on our health, for example, it improves the water balance in food, recognizes the poisons in it, we feel the taste of food, etc.
Longer chewing also has a relaxing effect on the body, because it slows us down, relieves stress, makes us stop and relax, which again leads us to good health.
Is it clearer to you now how important it is to chew for a long time? If you are healthy, you should chew each bite at least thirty times, that is, until the food in your mouth is well mixed with saliva and becomes like mush. People who have health problems should chew each bite longer, at least a hundred times. Mahatma Gandhi said: "Chew your water and drink your food"
But as in every rule, there are exceptions - once or twice a month, do not chew well, of course if you have accepted proper chewing, because it is good for the stomach and small intestine.
Try long-term chewing and you will feel its benefits yourself - improvement of the general condition of the body, immunity, weight loss, etc. It is always good to try everything yourself, because the experience is immeasurable, everything else is stories.
Cvijeta Mesic, Authorized instructor macrobiotic cooking by School of Healing Arts, San Diego, USA
