CHEWING THE CUD

New Zealand Listener, Volume 7, Issue 173, 16 October 1942, Page 6

CHEWING THE CUD

| (Written tor "The Listener" by DR.

MURIEL

BELL

Nutritionist to. the Department of Health)

mine tells how, when he was a child, his mother used to encourage him to chew every mouthful of bread 22 times before swallowing it. Mr. Gladstone, then known throughout the land of Britain as "The Grand Old Man," was quoted as the authority for this advice to those who wished to live a long and healthy life. Mr. Gladstone presumably practised what he preached, and he was certainly a vigorous and phenomenally active man-Prime Minister of England at the age of 82; and 89 when he died in 1898, Dear Reader, I am almost certain that you do not attain to Mr. Gladstone’s degree of enthusiasm for mastication. I can anticipate your saying that chewing the cud may be all right for cows (and you hasten to add that that means no reflection on Mr. Gladstone), but you object to taking advice without reason. Well, let us see what it amounts to in terms of human physiology, The Cow Has The Advantage Putting worst things first, one of the causes of chronic gastritis is stated to be rapid eating with poor mastication. Advice to patients with gastric troubles always includes the injunction to eat foods slowly, and thoroughly masticate. the food, The beneficial effects of thorough chewing are manifold. There is first and foremost, the attitude of the mind. There is no doubt as to the benefits of a peaceful attitude of mind while partaking of a meal. The cow, I should judge, has the advantage over us there. There are certain stomach troubles which are believed to be due to the NO-LONGER-YOUNG relative of

atmosphere of rush and hurry in which

many persons live; according to Canadian figures, there is a greater percentage of recruits suffering from these troubles in the present war than there was in the last. An inner calm has a great deal to do with the proper functioning of the alimentary system; both its motility and its secretions work more harmoniously when the mind is at ease. The act of mastication has both local and remote effects. Its local effects lie in the massage it gives to the teeth and gums; and in children, while the jaws are developing, it adds the further mechanical function of securing the proper action of the jaw muscles, which bring about the widening of the jaws and the proper spacing of the teeth. Well-spaced teeth mean less dental decay. A broad arch to the mouth means more room in the nasal cavities also, and less tendency for respiratory troubles. There are obvious advantages in giving children foods that need chewing, and foods which tend at the same time to cleanse the teeth. The local effects also include the promotion of a good flow of saliva. And this in turn leads on to the remote effects. The act of mastication stimulates also the flow of gastric juice. Finely chewed food, moreover, has no harmful effect on the rest of the alimentary system; with coarse particles it may be quite otherwise. In certain types of disease of the alimentary system, the patient is advised to put all his fruits and vegetables through a sieve. Better to avoid having t6 go to all that trouble in the future by taking a leaf out of the book of the contemplative cow. (NEXT WEEK: "Too Much of a Good Thing," by DR. BELL).