Thursday Thoughts

Years ago I was at Grammie Corwin's house.  We were eating a meal together, though I do not know why. I don't remember that being a regular occurrence.  At one point she said, "You need to chew your food."  I guess I was just smashing the food up enough that I could swallow it.  She even sang me a little song to the tune of Row, Row, Row Your Boat.

"Chew, chew, chew your food gently through the meal.
The more you chew, the less you'll eat, the better you will feel."  

I always thought that was a nifty little song she had made up just for me.  Come to find out, she was ahead of her time!  (Sadly, I did not take her advice until very recently!)

This week, or sometime recently:it is hard to keep track of time anymore, things move so fast-- I was listening to a health webinar.  I may not have the details entirely correct, but the essence is accurate.  The scientist doing the speaking said that there are so many good nutrients in the cells of the food we eat. In this case I think he was speaking of sulforaphane which is an important nutrient found in broccoli.  He said that there are several parts that make up sulforaphane but they are in different cells.  If you chew your food, you will break those cells open and the parts of the sulforaphane will mingle together and give you the important benefits that our bodies need for optimal health.  When you just mush up the food in your mouth and swallow it quickly, because you are in a hurry or maybe you don't like the food, well, you do not get the full benefit of that food.

So...Grammie knew some important things, even if she did not know why.  This webinar makes me more conscious of how to eat.  Often we just gobble our food, leave the table, and get on with other things.  In retrospect, that is a poorly-thought-out practice. I guess with was not thought out at all.  

Another area for immediate reformation...!