Why Is Extensive Chewing So Important For Digestion?

Extensive chewing not only breaks up food into easy-to-swallow portions but is the first step in the digestive process. Only when chewing thoroughly is the food in the mouth sufficiently mixed with saliva. The enzymes contained therein to set the first stage of digestion in motion.

An enzyme in the saliva breaks down the food as it is chewed. This means, for example, that bread begins to taste sweet after it has been chewed thoroughly: the carbohydrates are broken down by the enzymes in the saliva into sugar, which can be tasted sweet in the mouth before swallowing.

Ideally, you should chew each bite about thirty times before swallowing it. As a result, the food is optimally chopped up and mixed with saliva. In this way, the stomach does not have to catch up on the crushing work and is less burdened during the next stage of digestion. You also swallow less air when chewing extensively, so that there is no feeling of fullness after eating.

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Since you also eat less by chewing thoroughly until you feel full, you usually eat smaller portions, which can have a positive effect on weight. Chewing muscles and gums are also better supplied with blood through the movement during chewing and are strengthened in this way.