To chew food well dey help di brain?

Research don show say to chew food well fit help reduce stress and also support brain memory.

At di end of di 19th and beginning of di 20th centuries, Horace Fletcher forge unique reputation.

Dem nickname am "The Great Chewer," di American go chew single shallot 722 times bifor e go swallow am.

As self-taught nutrition enthusiast, e champion di idea say food supposed to dey chewed almost to liquid state to help di absorption by di body.

According to im calculations, betta chewing for don save di United States ova half million dollars day at di time - nearly $19.5 million today—by reducing di amount of food wey dey consumed.

Fletcher estimate say di average pesin fit consume about 227 grams of food per day.

While im theories fit dey extreme today, dem no dey entirely witout merit. "To some extent, im dey right," na so Mats Trulsson, professor and dentist for di Karolinska Institute tok.

Current research show say proper chewing fit indeed promote digestion, help reduce calorie intake, reduce stress and anxiety, and even support some cognitive functions, including memory and concentration.

Sake of di link between dental health, Alzheimer disease, and cognitive decline, some experts argue say improving patients dental health fit even help slow di rate of cognitive aging.

History of chewing

According to Adam van Casteren, biologist for di Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, human teeth na di product of millions of years of evolution.

Long bifor di emergence of modern humans, our ancestors bin get teeth wey dey similar to dose of today great apes.

Around six to seven million years ago, dis early hominins bin dey live primarily for forest environments wey dey rich in fruit.

"Large fruits bin na essential food source for our ancestors," na so di researcher explain.

But climate change gradually don transform dia environment. Wit di emergence of more open landscapes, savannas, and new ecosystems, early humans get to diversify dia diet and consume tougher foods, such as seeds, nuts, and roots.

Dis dietary shift lead to significant anatomical changes. Teeth become larger and more robust, while jaws and chewing muscles develop to withstand di stress of grinding dis more difficult-to-consume foods.

Chewing play crucial role: e reduce food to smaller particles, wey come help di stomach do im digestive work.

However, wit di rise of agriculture, food processing, and especially di mastery of fire for cooking, di need for intense chewing don gradually decrease.

Today, humans dey spend average of about 35 minutes per day to chew. By comparison, chimpanzees and bonobos dey spend nearly 4.5 hours per day to chew, while orangutans fit spend up to 6.5 hours.

Despite dis dramatic reduction in chewing time ova di course of evolution, di fundamental function still no change.

As Adam van Casteren point out, mammals dey chew primarily to extract di maximum amount of energy from dia food.

By breaking down food into smaller particles, wey dey help di fast absorption of nutrients necessary for bodily functions, heat production, and blood circulation.

Wetin go happun if you no chew food well?

Chewing dey play crucial role for di digestive process. By breaking food down into smaller fragments and mix am wit saliva, e dey help wit swallowing while preparing di body to absorb am.

For Andries van der Bilt, wey don conduct research for ova three decades for di University Medical Center Utrecht, chewing simply na "di first step in digestion."

Professor Mats Trulsson also emphasize say digestion no dey begin for di stomach but for di mouth: "If you no chew, your intestines no dey ready to digest food."

According to Abhishek Kumar, neuroscientist for di Karolinska Institute, breaking down food significantly dey increase di surface area.

Dis go allow enzymes and digestive juices to work more effectively, improving di breakdown of nutrients and dia absorption by di body.

Dis step dey critical for di proper functioning of di digestive system. Wen you no chew food enof, larger particles go reach di intestines. Dem go remain dia longer and go dey fermented by di gut microbiota.

Dis excessive fermentation fit lead to various digestive discomforts, including bloating, a feeling of heaviness or prolonged fullness, constipation, and oda gastrointestinal issues, na so Abhishek Kumar explain.

Chewing help nutrient absorption

Chewing no dey only dey aid digestion but e also dey improve nutrient absorption and fit contribute to weight management.

A 2009 study of 13 healthy adults show say chewing habits directly dey influence di amount of energy wey dey extracted from food.

Dem ask participants to eat a handful of almonds, and to chew dem 10, 25, or 40 times bifor swallowing.

Analysis of stool samples reveal say di longer dem chew di almonds, di more nutrients and fats wey e contain bin dey absorbed by di body.

Researchers estimate say energy extraction fit be about three times greater wen food dey more thoroughly broken down by chewing.

Di effect no stop dia. Participants wey chew each bite 40 times also report feeling full for longer.

Anoda study published in 2013 confam link between prolonged chewing and increased feeling of satiety.

Dis observation dey explained in part by di way di human body dey work. Afta meal, e dey take about twenty minutes for di hormones involved in regulating appetite to signal to di brain say di body don receive enof food.

Eating slowly and taking di time to chew diafor go allow dis biological mechanisms to act bifor we consume excessive amounts of food.

Dis na why many nutritionists and doctors now recommend eating more slowly and mindfully, rather dan gulping down meals.

Dis habit often dey presented as a simple strategy to better control pesin eating habits and to promote weight loss.

Research conduct wit children support dis finding. Study wey dem carry out for Brazil wit 92 young participants show say children wey dey suffer from obesity tend to chew for shorter periods and eat more quickly dan dose wey dia weight dey considered to dey normal.

Dis results suggest say di speed wey we dey eat fit play important role in regulating appetite, managing weight and, more broadly, metabolic health.

A simple way to slow down your eating speed na to choose foods wey require more chewing.

Many studies suggest favoring solid foods over liquid or highly processed products. Eating whole orange, for example, require more chewing dan to drink a glass of orange juice.

Similarly, fiber-rich foods wit thick texture, such as oatmeal or flax seeds, naturally go slow down food intake compared to softer foods like white rice or pasta.

According to Abhishek Kumar, di texture of food directly dey influence di feeling of fullness.

"Di texture of food fit influence di feeling of satiety and, diafor, for help pipo wit obesity lose weight by reducing dia food intake," e explain.

But di benefits of chewing dey far beyond nutrition. Researchers increasingly dey interested in wetin dem call di "chewing-brain axis," wey dey explore di links between chewing activity and brain function.

"Interest in di chewing-brain axis, wey dey suggest a direct link between chewing and brain health, dey grow," Kumar point out.

Several studies don highlight di association between oral health and cognitive performance. Tooth loss, for example, dey regularly linked to higher risk of developing neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer disease or oda forms of dementia.

Memory abilities also appear to dey affected. Large study of more dan 28,500 pipo ova di age of 50 in 14 European kontris show say participants wey maintain good chewing ability—or no need dentures—perform better on several cognitive tests.

Dem particularly excel in word recall, verbal fluency, and mental arithmetic tasks, compared to those wit chewing difficulties.

Similar results also dey observed in anoda study of 273 adults aged 55 to 80. Researchers find say participants wit more natural teeth perform better in semantic memory—di type of memory wey dey store general knowledge—as well as long-term memory.

Dis research no necessarily prove say chewing dey directly protect di brain. However, e suggest say good oral health and maintaining efficient chewing function fit help to preserve certain cognitive abilities wit age, topic of growing interest in aging research.

Wetin be di link between chewing and memory?

Scientists currently dey try to understand di biological mechanisms wey fit explain di observed link between chewing and cognitive performance.

One of di main hypotheses concern di neural connections between di masticatory apparatus and di hippocampus, brain region wey dey essential for learning and memory formation.

Dis area na also one of di first to dey affected by Alzheimer disease.

Oda researchers suggest say active chewing fit stimulate cerebral blood flow. Experiments wey dem conduct for Japan, in particular, don show say chewing substances of different textures dey increase blood flow to certain brain regions.

According to Mats Trulsson, one theory compare chewing to a kind of biological pump. "Chewing dey act like a pump wey dey send blood to di brain," e explain.

Improved blood flow fit contribute to maintaining alertness, concentration, and proper cognitive function.

To further explore dis topic, di research team led by Trulsson currently dey conduct study to determine weda improving chewing ability fit get direct impact on brain health.

Researchers dey replace missing teeth in some patients wit dental implants and dey assess dia cognitive functions bifor di procedure and again during di following year.

Di study also dey use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to observe di state of di brain white matter.

White matter dey play a role wey dey comparable to a wiring network, wey connect different brain regions and ensure di transmission of information throughout di nervous system.

Di researchers dey particularly interested in white matter lesions, wey dey occur wen nerve fibers dey damaged or wen dia protective sheath deteriorate.

Dis alterations dey generally considered as markers of poor cerebral vascular health and dem dey frequently associated wit aging and cognitive decline.

Di aim of dis study na to determine weda restoring effective chewing function wit dental implants fit improve cerebral blood flow and reduce certain signs of age-related brain deterioration.

Di results fit lead to a better understanding of di long-underestimated role of oral health in maintaining cognitive abilities throughout life.

Increased concentration

Several studies also suggest say di act of chewing fit get immediate effects on attention and mental performance.

Experimental work don show say chewing gum during certain intellectual tasks fit improve concentration and alertness.

Meta-analysis wey combine di results of 21 studies conclude say participants wey chew gum during demanding cognitive exercises dey generally more attentive dan dose wey no do so.

Nite say di study dey funded by Mars Wrigley, one of di world leading chewing gum manufacturers, wey suggest say di results suppose dey interpreted wit caution.

Oda independent studies don reach similar conclusions. One study of 80 participants show say dose wey chew gum exhibit approximately 10% higher levels of alertness wen performing cognitive tasks.

Dem also perform better on certain tests wey assess intellectual abilities.

"Scientists neva fully understand di mechanisms wey dey at play," na so Mats Trulsson explain.

"Howeva, di link between chewing and improved attention seem to particularly strong."

But di researchers, howeva, raise important caveat: di observed effects appear to dey temporary.

"Dem probably no go last more dan 15 to 20 minutes," Trulsson specify, even though di exact reasons for dia limitation still remain poorly understood.

For anoda experiment, dem ask young participants to perform four computer tasks simultaneously.

One group chew gum during di exercise, while di oda perform di same tasks without chewing.

Di results show say di participants in di first group bin dey about 20% more attentive.

Di researchers also observe anoda unexpected effect: dis improved performance dey accompanied by a reduction in anxiety, stress, and cortisol levels, a hormone commonly used as a biological indicator of stress.

Reduce stress

Di benefits of chewing fit also extend to stress management in evriday life, far beyond di experimental conditions of laboratories.

A study wey dem conduct for Turkey wit 100 nurses preparing for a midterm exam show say dose wey chew gum for at least 30 minutes a day get lower levels of stress-related anxiety dan dia colleagues wey no do so.

According to Jianshe Chen, a researcher for di Agency for Science, Technology and Research, dis phenomenon fit dey explained by a widespread human behavior in response to stress.

"Some pipo unconsciously deyclench or grind dia teeth wem dem dey under pressure," e observe.

Dis behavior, known as bruxism, dey use di same jaw muscles as those used during chewing. E dey estimated to affect about one in ten pipo and e dey frequently associated wit stress, anxiety, or psychological tension.

For some researchers, dis close relationship between chewing and bruxism fit indicate say repeated activation of di jaw muscles dey involved in certain natural stress regulation mechanisms.