Chewing is extremely important to your health. You can do your body a lot of good just by processing your food the right way — from the first bite. Chewing is the first step in the digestive process, and if it’s not done correctly, your digestion can really suffer.
An important aspect of the chewing process is the act of physically breaking down your food into smaller pieces. If the food pieces are too big when they get to your stomach, the next part of the digestive process doesn’t work properly. The result is that you won’t absorb the nutrients in your food nearly as well.
To make sure you get the most out of the nutrients in your food, take the time to chew your food into smaller and smaller pieces until it’s essentially a liquid before swallowing.
The interaction that your saliva has with your food is also very important. Your goal should be to make sure that saliva touches every last surface of your food. If you can accomplish that, you can be confident that you’re starting your digestion off right because your saliva contains digestive enzymes.
You can also feel good about reducing your risks for irritating or damaging your esophagus. If you don’t take the time to mix plenty of saliva in with your food when you chew, you can harm the surface tissue of your esophagus when you swallow.
When you’re eating, take your time and chew slowly. Taking plenty of time to chew is a great way to ensure that you’re breaking your food down into small enough bits and also saturating it with adequate amounts of saliva.