Western medicine
Easy swallowing and chewing is a complex reflex action caused by the sequential contraction of masticatory muscles. When chewing, the upper dentition and the lower dentition contact each other, so that the food is ground and mixed with saliva to form a lubricated food mass, which is convenient for swallowing and passing through the esophagus. If this process is too fast and the food is not fully ground and mixed with saliva, it will cause mechanical damage to the esophagus and gastric mucosa or increase their burden.
There are parotid gland, mandibular gland, sublingual gland and countless small salivary glands in the auxiliary absorption oral cavity. Saliva contains water, protein, amylase, lysozyme and various electrolytes. Saliva can moisten and dissolve food, thus arousing the sense of taste, being easy to swallow, and cleaning and protecting the mouth. Amylase can decompose starch in food into maltose for preliminary digestion. When we chew slowly, we can not only enjoy the delicious food, but also feel the color, fragrance, taste, machine, culture and warmth of the food, which will also cause the excitement of oral mucosa and tongue nerve endings. After the brain integrates the information, it will send instructions to a series of swallowing-related muscles such as oral salivary glands, masticatory muscles and teeth, and start "work" to complete chewing and swallowing. At the same time, it also issued the order to prepare digestive organs such as esophagus, stomach, intestine, liver, gallbladder and pancreas in the next stage to complete physiological activities such as organ movement and digestive juice secretion. These procedures are interlocking and orderly.
From the real nutritional value, it is wrong to drink only fruit and vegetable juice without eating (chewing) fruits and vegetables. Because these foods have not been chewed, processed and digested by the mouth, the absorption and utilization of nutrients will be greatly reduced.
Reduce stomach acid For people with high stomach acid, because the digestive juice secreted by the mouth is alkaline, the more chewing time, the more saliva secreted, and the more alkaline substances enter the stomach with food. They can neutralize excessive gastric acid, balance pH value and reduce the self-invasion of gastric acid on gastric mucosa.
Scratch prevention If the esophagus and stomach are inflamed or ulcerated, the situation will be worse if they are worn or injured by rough food that has not been chewed well. Patients with cirrhosis and portal hypertension will form varicose veins in esophagus and gastric fundus in the later stage, which will cause massive bleeding and endanger their lives once they are cut open. Such patients must chew slowly when eating.
traditional Chinese medicine
Sun Simiao, a famous doctor in the Tang Dynasty who strengthened the spleen, said in the "Daily Singing Song": "Good food must be chewed, but raw food cannot be swallowed." There is also a saying among the people that "it's hard to eat without biting." The earliest existing medical literature in China, Su Wen Bian Jing Lun, records: "If you drink into the stomach, you will overflow the essence; If you drink into the spleen, the spleen will disperse essence; If you drink into the lungs, you will pass through the waterway and then enter the bladder. The water essence is four weaves and the five meridians are parallel. " This paper summarized the metaplasia process and distribution of dietary Shui Gu after it entered the stomach.
Chinese medicine believes that "the spleen opens the mouth" and "the teeth are the kidney". Chew slowly when eating, and knock your teeth up and down 36 times after three meals, which can tonify the kidney and strengthen the spleen and help digestion.
It is also an excellent way to keep in good health to develop the habit of chewing slowly when eating. In the Ming Dynasty, "Yesterday's Unfamiliar Japanese Edition" said: "When eating, you must chew slowly. If you send it with body fluid, the fine taste will be scattered in the spleen and the medium color will be filled in the muscles. Rough and fast only fills the stomach and ears for dross. " If you want to further prove the knowledge of slow food, please open the Talmud, which says, "Slow eaters live long."
Preventing diseases, chewing slowly and surrounding food with rich saliva are not only beneficial to digestion, but also have the functions of neutralizing gastric acid and repairing mucosa, which is helpful to prevent and treat gastric and duodenal ulcers, as well as various chronic gastritis and dyspepsia. At the same time, according to the research, careful chewing (30 ~ 90 times per bite) can also promote the secretion of various digestive enzymes and hormones beneficial to the body, especially parotin has the following functions: ① Make teeth, bones and muscles strong. ② Promote the regeneration of capillaries, make the whole body tissues tend to be younger and keep the rhythm of metabolism. ③ Promote hair growth. 4. It has special effects such as detumescence and moistening dryness.
Detoxification experiments show that salivary gland secretions can be decomposed by contacting with carcinogens such as aflatoxin, nitrosamine and benzopyrene in food for more than 32 seconds. Chewing slowly makes the mouth secrete more saliva and fully contact with carcinogens in food, which can reduce the harm of carcinogens to human body. The more chewing times, the stronger the anti-cancer effect. Peroxidase in saliva can eliminate toxicity. When saliva is in full contact with food for 30 seconds, the toxicity of alkaline substances can be greatly reduced.
Living brain chewing can also activate the brain and activate its functions, so memory, thinking ability and attention will be improved accordingly.
Chewing slowly can also effectively control food intake. Chewing slowly can increase the glucose content in the blood, and the satiety center of the brain will feel full before eating too much food, so it has the effect of dieting and losing weight.
Remind you: the health significance of chewing slowly. This folk prescription comes from the internet. Please follow the doctor's advice before use.