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Whether it be from lack of hard foods, requiring prolonged chewing, or from the nervous hurry of modern life, or from other causes, it is undoubtedly a fact that most people in America eat too rapidly. The correction of this habit will go far toward reforming an individual’s diet in every way.

Thorough mastication means masticating up to the point of involuntary swallowing. It does not mean forcibly holding the food in the mouth, counting the chews, or otherwise making a bore of eating. It merely means giving up the habit of forcing food down, and applies to all foods, even to liquid foods, which should be sipped.

Evils of Insufficient Mastication

The consequences and evils of insufficient mastication are many, and may be enumerated as follows: Insufficient use of the teeth and jaws (and hence dental decay as well as other and worse dental evils); insufficient saliva mixed with the food (and hence imperfect digestion of the starchy substances); insufficient subdivision of food by mastication (and hence slow digestion); the failure of the taste nerves to telegraph ahead, as it were, to the stomach and other digestive organs an intimation of the kind and amount of digestive juices required (and hence indigestion); the overseasoning of food to make it relishable even when bolted (and hence overeating and irritation of the mucous lining); the excessive use of meat and eggs and like foods, which can be eaten rapidly with relative impunity, and the corresponding neglect of other foods, like bread, grains, vegetables, and salads, which require more mastication (and hence intestinal poisoning).

Prolonged Relish of Food

The habit of insufficient mastication is subtle, because it has become “second nature” with most of us. To free ourselves of it we must first of all allow plenty of time for our meals and rid our minds of the thought of hurry. A boy’s school in which the principal is endeavoring to fight the habit of food-bolting has wisely ordained that no boy may leave the dining-room until a certain hour, even if he has finished eating long before. In this way the boy soon learns that there is nothing to be gained by fast eating, and, in fact, that the pleasantest way of spending the meal-time is to prolong the relish of the food. It would be well if all of us would adopt a similar rule for ourselves. Mr. Gladstone did something of the sort and was noted for the slow mastication of his food. Latterly Mr. Horace Fletcher set such a rule for himself, and revived the interest of the public in the subject.

The First Three Mouthfuls

At first one must give some conscious attention to his efforts to reform; but if one will merely attend carefully to the first three mouthfuls of a meal, the slow pace can often be established for the rest of the meal without further thought.

Careful Tasting

Slow eating is important not merely as a matter of mastication, but also as a matter of taste and enjoyment. Food must have a pleasing taste and flavor and then must be enjoyed in order to be most readily assimilated.

Increased Enjoyment

There is a mistaken notion that the hygiene of food means “giving up all the things that taste good.” While it is true that, in many cases, sacrifices have to be made, the net result of reforming one’s diet is not to diminish but to increase the enjoyment of food. In general, it is extremely unhygienic to eat foods which are not relished. Experiments by Pavlov and others have shown that the taste and enjoyment of food stimulate the flow of digestive juices.

Choosing Foods

Finally, slow eating is a great aid in the proper choice of foods. Some suggestions have already been given as to the wise choice of foods, but no rules can be formulated which will completely insure such a choice. Even the wisest physiologist can not depend altogether on his knowledge of food values, while, to the layman, the problem is so complicated that his main reliance must be on his own instincts. Animals depend exclusively on instinct except when under domestication. Civilized man should not and can not altogether depend upon instinct, but his food instincts are far more keen and correct if he obeys the rule of eating slowly than if he bolts his food.

“Good” and “Bad” Foods

In the choice of foods it is as difficult to distinguish absolutely between what are “good” and “bad” foods as it is to classify human beings into “good” and “bad.” All we can say is that some foods are better than others, remembering that it is usually more important to be satisfied, even if the foods are not “ideal,” than to be unsatisfied with what in the abstract seem “ideal” foods.

Among the best foods for most people are fruits, potatoes, nuts (if well masticated), milk, sour milk, and vegetables. Among the worst foods are putrefactive cheeses, sweetbreads, liver, kidneys, “high” game or poultry.

But a fastidious study of foods will find some faults as well as some virtues in almost any food. The best way to help the ordinary man choose his foods is to advise him to use as much as possible of the “better” and as little as possible of the “worse” without attempting to draw a hard and fast line between the “good” and “bad.”

Salt, Pepper, Spices

Salt, pepper, and hot condiments should be used very sparingly, if at all.

Sugar and Candy

A great cause of ill health is overuse of sugar in concentrated form, candy, etc., especially by the sedentary. One reason why sugar has a high food value is that it is readily utilized for combustion, and if taken between meals greatly increases the calories and may lead to overnourishment.

Water with Meals

There is, for normal people, no objection to drinking a moderate amount of water at meals—say one or two glassfuls—provided it is not taken when food is in the mouth and used for washing it down.

The Digestibility of So-called “Indigestible” Foods

The science of dietetics will develop rapidly in the future, and in a few years it will probably be possible to be more definite than we have been here. At present there is much unknown, especially as to how far our rules have to be modified for the particular individual. Personal idiosyncrasies have to be taken into account. Sometimes “What is one man’s meat is another man’s poison.” On the other hand, many have mistaken ideas as to their own idiosyncrasies. For instance, many people think that nuts never agree with them, when the trouble really is that they do not masticate them properly. Many think peanuts indigestible, not realizing either the importance of mastication or the importance of avoiding over-roasting. The ordinary peanuts are over-roasted. Peanuts very slightly roasted and very thoroughly masticated seldom disagree with one. Others believe that bananas never agree with them, when the fact is they eat them too green. The banana vender usually finds that the ignorant public buys his fruit best when its color is an even yellow, and he puts aside for himself the only bananas ripe and fit to eat, namely those which are mottled with black.

Avoidance of Fads

Each individual must use his own intelligence and common sense, avoiding so far as he can the mistake of following a “fad” and accepting a theory without sufficient evidence; and the opposite mistake of accepting as hygienic the customs about him simply because they are customs, and thus mistaking for fads any conclusions of science which are discordant with current custom.

Necessity of Medical Examination

It is a good idea to consult a physician in regard to one’s diet, and endeavor intelligently to follow his advice and not insist on one’s own diet, selected from the standpoint of mere self-indulgence or custom. Moreover, since many, without being aware of the fact, are affected with Bright’s disease, diabetes, etc., in their early stages, in which dietetic precautions are especially necessary, it is well, even for those who are apparently in good health, to be medically examined as a preliminary to a rearrangement of their diet along the best lines.