One key to good digestion is good chewing habits! Can you believe it? The cows definitely have something to teach us in this department (except it is ok to keep your mouth closed).

When you chew your food well, not only are you making it easier on the rest of your system, but you’re mixing up all those lovely food particles with the miracle that is digestive enzymes. Each digestive enzyme works on a particular type of food, whether it’s carbohydrates, proteins, or fats.

Your saliva contains digestive enzymes that help break down your food before you send it on down to your stomach. The more you chew, the less your body has to work to digest your food. It also gives your body time to rev up for the digestive process, since once you start chewing, your body knows what comes next.

Chewing your food well also forces you to slow down a bit, which means you’ll be able to feel when you are full and you’ll be less likely to overeat. This can prevent bloating, heart burn, acid reflux, and help you lose weight. Chewing your food slowly is also a great exercise in mindfulness. Phew! Who knew there were so many benefits of chewing your food?!?

  So let’s get started! Here’s your action item:

First do an experiment. Take a bite of food and see how many times you chew it before swallowing (without consciously trying to change it).

Now, take another bite and at least double that number. What’s that like?

Try to see if you can chew your bite 50 times.

The funny thing I learned about chewing is that junk food tastes awful when you chew it for a long time, whereas natural whole foods can taste even better the longer you chew them. That’s some food for thought 🙂

Happy chewing!

Samantha