DIGESTION RULES #1

Janelle Klein MSN, ARNP

Refueling a car is fairly basic.  Make sure the correct fuel goes in the correct place and repeat the process before the tank is empty.  It is a purely utilitarian procedure commonly infused with a bit of frustration that it must be done so often!

Refueling our bodies is much more complex.  Humans often forget the refueling aspect and eat merely for pleasure.  While enjoying your food is important, so is a knowledge of the complexity of our bodies.  Over the next several months we will look at just a few aspects of digestion so you will be able to help your body get the best benefit from your fuel. 

The mouth is the only point in your digestive tract where you have complete control of mixing and mashing your food.  The beauty of this is that we can enjoy, taste and feel a variety of textures and types of foods.  The number of chews can be varied, so we can slowly savor the delicious or just "get it down".  Varied sources cite the average number of chews per mouthful to be from 7-15 times.  This might be adequate if preventing choking was the only goal of chewing.  But, chewing has another very important function, mixing your food completely and thoroughly with saliva.   

Your saliva contains numerous chemicals and enzymes which are essential for good digestion.  Two of those enzymes are amylase and lipase.  Amylase starts to break down starch and lipase starts to breakdown fat.  Not only does this help with digestion, it also lets you enjoy the varied tastes of your food as it breaks down from a bland starch to a sweet sugar.

Another amazing refueling process occurs in the back of your mouth, by your tonsils.  Formerly thought to be residual or useless organs, tonsils are now known to detect pathogens, such as staphylococcus, which may be present in the food and begin the process of releasing antibodies to help your body to fight these germs. 

Taking time to chew your food gives your body a head start on digestion as well as utilizing protective immune mechanisms.  So slow down and chew your food, at least 30 times, before you swallow.  Not only will you enjoy your food longer, you will prepare your bodies fuel for its next stop, which is covered in DIGESTION RULES #2.