Chewing Your Food

[Wandering Hermit]

I was thinking about this....

I imagine that much of my continuing issues with non-normal stools is a manifestation of lingering malabsoption. I also tend to wolf down my food without chewing it very much.

I recall reading that by chewing food thoroughly, it introduces more digestive enzymes in the saliva, and aids with digestion (also having smaller food partilces obviously is going to help - more surface area to volume). So I am now trying to force myself to chew, chew, chew.

Has anyone else experimented with this?

[Rachel--24]

It's a fact that chewing food more aids in digestion. I've read this a million times...its just hard to remember when I'm eating though. I think its better for everyone...not just people with celiac disease...to chew their food more thouroghly. You should try it. I've read you should chew the food till its almost liquid and this will greatly improve digestion. Thats alot of chewing though.

[Guest katzmeow21]

I was thinking about this....

I imagine that much of my continuing issues with non-normal stools is a manifestation of lingering malabsoption. I also tend to wolf down my food without chewing it very much.

I   recall reading that by chewing food thoroughly, it introduces more digestive enzymes in the saliva, and aids with digestion (also having smaller food partilces obviously is going to help - more surface area to volume). So I am now trying to force myself to chew, chew, chew.

Has anyone else experimented with this?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

chew each mouthful 25 times. think about how the food will feed your body in a positive way while you are eating it. It is totally true and proven that allowing the saliva in the mouth to be well mixed with the food sends other signals to the stomach etc to tell it what it needs to help further the digestive process. There are enzymes and other things that are initiated in the mouth. So definitely chew more. When we consider how much time and energy we celiacs have to put into thinking about what we can eat I think it equally important to take time to eat and not rush through our meals. Good advice I can use myself

[Elliot]

Hi, everyone.

My name is Elliot. I joined because my wife has celiac disease. She is extraordinarily sensitive to gluten. She also has serious osteoporosis, and that, along with the diagnosis of celiac, has caused me to do research on chewing and digestion.

My wife and I found a well-credentialed physiotherapist who specializes in working with people who have osteoporosis. She says that "ultimately, chewing your food well does not aid digestion."

I think that has to be incorrect. Here is a simple test: Take two glasses of water and put ice cubes in one and crushed ice in the other. Observe what happens. Wouldn't the same thing happen using hydrochloric acid, with chunks of food in one glass and particles of food in the other?

I checked pubmed.gov to see if anyone had published research about chewing and digestion, but nothing turned up.

By countermanding my "swallow mechanism," meaning the point at which the back of my tongue is ready to take the chewed food down my throat, I can chew my food 100 times if I wish.

Chewing something 100 times is certainly excessive, but I think it is a good thing to chew greens and other fibrous foods as well as possible.

One thing I find impossible to chew well is spaghetti. (I mean gluten-free spaghetti, of course.) It will not allow itself to be chewed thoroughly, and it slides down my throat regardless of what I do. But I think spaghetti is probably very easy for the digestive system to deal with.

One other food I have considered is gluten-free oatmeal. It has always seemed to me that oatmeal, particularly coarse oatmeal (another item I find difficult to chew well) probably does not digest well. Because of that supposition, I use a small coffee grinder to make it into "cream of oats" before I cook it. If you decide to cook oats in such a manner, be sure to put both the water and the oats into the pan at the same time. If you add the ground oats to boiling water, they will turn into a big nasty lump!

Thanks, folks. Best of health to all of you!

Elliot

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cyclinglady]

Hey Elliot!

Chewing your food well can aid in digestion, but if your wife’s celiac disease is still active, then it does not really matter.  A damaged small intestine can not absorb nutrients or often release enzymes necessary to aid in digestion.  How long has your wife had celiac disease?  Has she had follow-up testing to help determine if she is getting hidden amounts of gluten into her diet?  

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How is your wife handling osteoporosis?  How many bone scans?  Any improvement?  I have osteoporosis and have had a few fractures.  I decided to treat with hormone replacement my first year since I just had entered menopause and bone building exercises.  My scan shows that I am holding steady and I have not had a fracture in five years.  I am happy with my progress as are my doctors.

So nice to have a concerned husband!  

[Ennis-TX]

It makes digestion easier...I like to blend my meals and cook them like blending veggies into my eggs with coconut flour and almond flour, almond milk to keep it moist and cooking it slow and low or in a microwave to make super soft egg dishes that do not need to be chewed much, or blended soups, porridge made of nut meals, etc. I turn to these when my stomach is being disaggreeable. I also take digestive enzymes to help break down food to get more from them. Jarrow makes porcine enzymes that are much the same as human pancreatic enzymes.

PS you should probably avoid oatmeal, and gluten free processed foods if she still has digestion issues. These processed foods do cause issues for many of us new to the diet or dealing with complications. Oats and dairy for one are suggested to be avoided for months til we heal enough. Oats are commonly contaminated and some of us even react to oats the same as gluten. Diary is a issue due to the damaged villi not producing the enzymes to break down lactose, so we suggest avoiding it and removing it from the diet. gluten-free processed foods are normally loaded with starches, gums, emuslifers etc. Not really a healthy food or something to eat while still having digestion issues so a whole foods diet free of processed foods is best for now.....note on the pasta...try a rice risotto in marinara with ground burger instead...much easier on the gut...might even blend into a soup.