By Joyce Wiatroski
Recently, the importance of having enough time to thoroughly chew food was effectively brought home to me as I ate lunch with a friend.
We each had a large bowl of salad with a mix of different tastes, colors, and textures. The type of salad I consider a full meal. Eating a salad that’s filled with a variety of dark greens, shredded cabbage, sliced onions, diced tomatoes, avocado and cucumbers, along with a generous sprinkling of sea vegetables, nuts and seeds requires a bit of time to eat. There are many marvelous flavors to savor and a lot of food to chew.
My luncheon companion wolfed down her plateful in record time. I found myself racing to keep up. I didn’t enjoy the meal, nor did I finish it. The saddest part was that all those nutritious ingredients— so quickly shoveled into the mouth— were then whisked down the esophagus to the stomach, to the small intestine, to the large intestine, and out the back door, in lickety-split, record-breaking time. Barely enough time to change color. Hunks of 
food, improperly digested, don’t offer up much in the way of nutrition.
The experience brought a whole new meaning to quick exit foods!
The lesson I learned is simple. If you don’t have time to sit and chew your food properly, you’ll be much better off if you have a green smoothie, a glass of green juice or a blender soup. Don’t waste a good meal.
Perhaps all the years of eating soft, cooked foods, often on the run, has obscured one of the fundamental rules of eating:
We must chew our food thoroughly before swallowing.
Digestion begins in the mouth. It isn’t simply a case of rendering the pieces small enough to swallow. Chewing begins the process of digestion, changing whole foods into liquid form, or at least a nice smooth paste, as it mixes with the enzymes in our saliva before swallowing.
Chewing effectively also allows us to fully savor the foods we are eating. Longer contact with the taste receptors in our mouth not only allows us to enjoy the myriad flavors of the food, but more importantly, longer contact will prompt our nervous system to relay information to the gastrointestinal system to begin the process of digestion.
If you feel gassy or bloated after eating, it may be the result of not chewing properly. Incomplete digestion encourages bacteria growth when it passes into the colon. That in turn can lead to indigestion and flatulence.
Often one assumes bad food or improper food combining is the culprit of gastric distress, when it may simply be a case of not chewing our food well enough.
So, how many times are we supposed to chew before swallowing?
I remember different numbers being tossed about when I was a kid. Elementary school health classes are a pretty dim memory.
Chew 50 times? 35 times? Until it’s liquid?
After doing a little research, I like the common sense approach that advocates: chew until you can no longer determine what you are chewing by the texture. We certainly will have to chew a piece of apple or a stick of celery many more times than a ripe peach or a banana.
Proper digestion is imperative if our bodies are to benefit from the nutrition in our food. Improperly chewed food will only allow a portion of the nutrients to be released. If our goal is to be filled with abundant health and energy, slim and active all our days, then HOW we eat has to be as important a concern as WHY we eat, WHAT we eat, and WHEN we eat.
Take the time to sit down and consciously enjoy a meal. Take small bites, savor the flavors, and chew adequately. Don’t gobble your food up, don’t inhale it, don’t attempt to play Beat the Clock.
If time really is an issue, have a green smoothie. Save that full meal or big salad for another time—when you can relax and thoroughly enjoy the food. When there’s ample time to chew; you’ll do the meal and your body justice.
Let’s choose to be chew-sy, continually manifesting — 
Like fine wine, women grow better with thyme.
Joyce Wiatroski is the wit and wisdom found on foodiefumblings blog. You can watch for her contributions on the Diva blog on Tuesdays.
By Joyce Wiatroski
Recently, the importance of having enough time to thoroughly chew food was effectively brought home to me as I ate lunch with a friend.
We each had a large bowl of salad with a mix of different tastes, colors, and textures. The type of salad I consider a full meal. Eating a salad that’s filled with a variety of dark greens, shredded cabbage, sliced onions, diced tomatoes, avocado and cucumbers, along with a generous sprinkling of sea vegetables, nuts and seeds requires a bit of time to eat. There are many marvelous flavors to savor and a lot of food to chew.
My luncheon companion wolfed down her plateful in record time. I found myself racing to keep up. I didn’t enjoy the meal, nor did I finish it. The saddest part was that all those nutritious ingredients— so quickly shoveled into the mouth— were then whisked down the esophagus to the stomach, to the small intestine, to the large intestine, and out the back door, in lickety-split, record-breaking time. Barely enough time to change color. Hunks of
food, improperly digested, don’t offer up much in the way of nutrition.
The experience brought a whole new meaning to quick exit foods!
The lesson I learned is simple. If you don’t have time to sit and chew your food properly, you’ll be much better off if you have a green smoothie, a glass of green juice or a blender soup. Don’t waste a good meal.
Perhaps all the years of eating soft, cooked foods, often on the run, has obscured one of the fundamental rules of eating:
We must chew our food thoroughly before swallowing.
Digestion begins in the mouth. It isn’t simply a case of rendering the pieces small enough to swallow. Chewing begins the process of digestion, changing whole foods into liquid form, or at least a nice smooth paste, as it mixes with the enzymes in our saliva before swallowing.
Chewing effectively also allows us to fully savor the foods we are eating. Longer contact with the taste receptors in our mouth not only allows us to enjoy the myriad flavors of the food, but more importantly, longer contact will prompt our nervous system to relay information to the gastrointestinal system to begin the process of digestion.
If you feel gassy or bloated after eating, it may be the result of not chewing properly. Incomplete digestion encourages bacteria growth when it passes into the colon. That in turn can lead to indigestion and flatulence.
Often one assumes bad food or improper food combining is the culprit of gastric distress, when it may simply be a case of not chewing our food well enough.
So, how many times are we supposed to chew before swallowing?
I remember different numbers being tossed about when I was a kid. Elementary school health classes are a pretty dim memory.
Chew 50 times? 35 times? Until it’s liquid?
After doing a little research, I like the common sense approach that advocates: chew until you can no longer determine what you are chewing by the texture. We certainly will have to chew a piece of apple or a stick of celery many more times than a ripe peach or a banana.
Proper digestion is imperative if our bodies are to benefit from the nutrition in our food. Improperly chewed food will only allow a portion of the nutrients to be released. If our goal is to be filled with abundant health and energy, slim and active all our days, then HOW we eat has to be as important a concern as WHY we eat, WHAT we eat, and WHEN we eat.
Take the time to sit down and consciously enjoy a meal. Take small bites, savor the flavors, and chew adequately. Don’t gobble your food up, don’t inhale it, don’t attempt to play Beat the Clock.
If time really is an issue, have a green smoothie. Save that full meal or big salad for another time—when you can relax and thoroughly enjoy the food. When there’s ample time to chew; you’ll do the meal and your body justice.
Let’s choose to be chew-sy, continually manifesting —
Like fine wine, women grow better with thyme.
Joyce Wiatroski is the wit and wisdom found on foodiefumblings blog. You can watch for her contributions on the Diva blog on Tuesdays.