20
The mouth is a digestive organ. It digests part
of the food and prepares the rest for digestion in the
stomach and other parts of the digestive tract. The
teeth and the tongue together divide the food into
finer particles; saliva secreted in the rnouth gets
intimately mixed with the food and converts starch
into sugar. There are no teeth in the stomach.
Grinding of the food should be done by the teeth.
To tax the stomach with work which it is not meant
to do is a crime which is deservedly punished with
digestive disorders.
Once the food leaves the mouth/ we have
absolutely no control over the process of digestion.
It is always prudent to be careful where it is in our
control. Let us choose well and chew well.
Foods which are dry compel chewing. But soft/
watery foods have a tendency to slip in without
being chewed. The diet of the rice eater is defec-
tive in this respect. The South Indian makes it
worse by mixing buttermilk or rasam with rice.
Water is necessary, but it should be drunk at
lea£f an hour before tfre njeal. The meal should be
as dry as possible. This is especially so in the case
of people who are habituated to ' rapid fire' lunches.
Many people are accustomed to washing down
each mouthful with water or some other drink- This
is a very bad habit. Food must be moistened not
by Water, but by saliva in the mouth.
Some people may not like dry food. This is
because their, mouths are dry, there is not. enough
saliva. If their mouths are dry it is an indication that
they are not hungry. They must wait till they get
hungry. Or the dryness may be due to thirst. Let
them sip water slowly and wait for some time; the
tnouth will then begin to water.