The role of saliva:
(1) Moisturizes the mouth and food, making it easy to speak and swallow.
(2) dissolve food, and constantly remove food particles from taste buds, so as to constantly taste the taste of food.
③ Clean and protect the oral cavity.
④ Antibacterial effect.
5 digestion.
Advantages of saliva: it contains carbonate, phosphate and protein, which can bring chemical protection to teeth; Amylase contained in it can help digestion; The ingredients can fight bacteria; Can clean the mouth; Cancer and AIDS can be detected by detecting saliva.
Disadvantages of saliva: saliva can also spread diseases through people with germs.
The health care function of saliva has been valued and affirmed since ancient times. When the ancients began to write, the word "living" meant water on the side of the tongue, which meant that water (saliva) on the side of the tongue could maintain the vitality of the human body. In order to emphasize its importance, physicians and health experts of past dynasties named it "Jinjin", "Yu Ye", "Qiongjiang", "Ganlu", "Bai Weiling" and "Huachi Shenshui".
"Compendium of Materia Medica" records: "If a person is sick, the heart and kidney do not meet, and the kidney water does not go up, the body fluid is dry and the true qi is consumed." Li Shizhen pointed out: "Body fluid is transformed from human essence." Ancient medical scientists believed that "body fluid" was transformed from "essence" and was full of essence, so the kidney water rose, turned into body fluid, and the body fluid was swallowed again, which could moisten the heart, prevent heart overflow, and meet fire and water. Yin Pingyang was secretly called "self-drinking longevity wine". Therefore, the ancients often swallowed body fluids to achieve the effect of eliminating diseases, strengthening the body and prolonging life.
Normal people secrete about 1000 ~ 1500 ml of saliva every day, which is a mixture of three pairs of large salivary glands in the mouth, namely parotid gland, submandibular gland and sublingual gland. Normal saliva is colorless, odorless and almost neutral (pH 6.6 ~ 7. 1). The main component is water, accounting for 98.5% ~ 99%, and the rest is salt plasma containing sodium, potassium, calcium, chlorine and sulfur, amylase, lysozyme and mucin.
The basic physiological function of saliva is to moisten and clean the oral cavity, eliminate bacteria that produce tartar, dissolve substances harmful to teeth, soften swallowed food, decompose starch and have digestive effect. If the amylase in saliva is weakened, it will affect the digestion of food, and it will easily lead to gastrointestinal inflammation or ulcer because it can not protect the gastric mucosa from the damage of gastric acid.
Generally, people with strong physique are rich in saliva secretion. Old and weak people often have insufficient saliva secretion, such as dry mouth, dry skin, decreased physical strength, tinnitus and hard of hearing, facial loss of luster, constipation and so on. Keeping in good health by swallowing saliva can regain youth and resist aging.
As the old saying goes, "Qi is the medicine to prolong life, while body fluid is the medicine to prolong life." The most attractive substance in saliva is parotid hormone discovered by Japanese doctor Ogata Saburo. This hormone is secreted by parotid gland, and many scholars think it is a kind of "rejuvenation" hormone. Parotid hormone can increase the vitality of muscles, blood vessels, connective tissue, bones, cartilage and teeth, especially strengthen the elasticity of blood vessels and improve connective tissue.
Vitality As long as the parotid gland hormone is full, the functions of blood vessels, skin stroma and connective tissue will be strengthened, and the elasticity of skin will be maintained. But when people reach middle age, the parotid gland begins to shrink, and the hormones secreted gradually decrease. Frequent swallowing and body fluid movement can delay the atrophy of parotid gland.