Recently I was in a restaurant where I saw two cute young boys sitting next to each other and I heard one of them say, "I bet I can beat you done!" Their conversation sent me down memory lane pointing out the many times I silently encouraged that kind of race to the finish line with my own children's mealtime.
As I've journeyed through spring on the way to summer, there are lots of memories that flash through my mind of evenings spent at the baseball field for practices and games. My oldest son, Jacob, played baseball for about a dozen years so we spent a lot of time hanging out at the ball field. Because the season starts when school is still in session, we also spent a lot of late afternoons juggling homework and speedy meals so we could get to the scheduled game or practice. Trying to get four kids fed, shoes on, snacks packed, and out the door was a hustle. I can remember saying many, many times, "Hurry up and eat dinner because we need to leave in a few minutes!" I encouraged my children to gulp down their meal at record pace so we could move on to the next activity. Wow.....my perspective has certainly changed significantly regarding the pace of eating and the importance of slowly enjoying a meal!
God designed the human body to eat a variety of foods. Unless you're drinking a smoothie or consuming food that's been pureed, the first step of digestion requires chewing. To properly breakdown foods, we have a mouth full of teeth. Aside from looking pretty, our teeth serve a very functional purpose. The moment any food enters our mouth, the process of digestion begins.
Step 1 begins when the food enters our mouth. When the food doesn't remain in our mouth long enough to be well chewed, we've shortchanged our digestive system of this very important first step. The mouth is equipped to provide a variety of digestive assistance. The parotid glands under the tongue send messages to the brain and to the digestive tract forewarning them of what to expect. The salivary glands in our mouth begin to secrete saliva which contains three different enzymes used to break down the variety of foods: Amylase breaks down carbohydrates, Protease begins protein digestion, and Lipase initiates fat digestion. These three enzymes along with enzymes in the food itself begin the digestion process.
As we thoroughly chew each bite of food, the enzymes are ground into every surface of the food which should become "mush" before it's swallowed. Chewing longer increases the surface area of the food while it is in the mouth. I'd like to say that I chew thoroughly and completely every bite that goes into my mouth. But.....that's far from the truth! I'm working toward thorough chewing but I'm not there yet. My daughter, Elizabeth and I had a chewing rule: 50 chews! That number may be way more than what is required for some foods like an avocado but it may not be enough for a piece of meat or a raw vegetable. At the time, having the number 50 seemed more concrete than just "chew until the food is mush".
One of the hardest times for me to remember the importance of chewing is when I'm drinking a smoothie or eating a creamed soup. The high powered blender has already pulverized the food so it's definitely mush but quickly swallowing doesn't give my mouth the needed time to secrete the digestive enzymes, alert my brain, and alert my digestive tract. If I swallow too quickly, I'm shortchanging my body of the much needed first step so I consciously prompt myself to hold the smoothie or soup in my mouth and swish it around or gently chew even though it's already smooth. Amazingly, while holding the smoothie in my mouth, I'll feel my mouth fill with saliva. At that point, I'll swallow knowing the food now is accompanied by the necessary enzymes. Try doing this yourself and you might be amazed!
Digestion is some of the hardest work our bodies perform so any help we can offer by chewing well will benefit our body. We will get more nutrients from the nutrient-dense foods we are eating and free up energy that the body can use for other tasks. Thorough chewing leads to easier digestion which generally results in less bloating and gas (flatulence). When we chew very well, we assist our body with every step of digestion and our body gets the maximum amount of nutrition from the foods consumed.
If you're like me and your digestion has not been optimal, you might benefit from eating a combination of cooked and raw vegetables. In years past when I was constipated, I would think that I needed to eat a salad for some good roughage. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that raw vegetables are more difficult on the digestive tract. Eating raw is great because none of the vitamins and minerals are destroyed by cooking. But cooked vegetables are much gentler on the digestive tract so you might benefit from eating about half your daily vegetables cooked and the other half raw. Eating a variety of vegetable soups, minestrone soup, stew, or roasted vegetables with the skins left on are great ways to give your body lots of nutrients in an easily digestible form.
Making minestrone soup always makes me think of my mom. I made this soup for her often. Hopefully, you'll enjoy this recipe and remember to CHEW those vegetables and lentils until they are mush! Making this minestrone soup with homemade vegetable broth increases the nutrients you will be consuming and it's gentle on your digestive tract.
(See my Save Money & Time post for the Homemade Vegetable Broth recipe - posted 4/30/19).
