Hmm...raw beauty=more chewing=more refined facial muscles???

[ciarac]

I am chewing happily (just finished) on some raw mature coconut. Now my jaw hurts a smidgen. It occurred to me, as I'm sure it has occurred to all of you, that we chew SO darn much. I think its natural, but starting out, its not something we are used to.
Raw beauty certainly comes from within, with that raw glow we've all heard of, but the thought just hit me; does the raw beauty also come from increased facial muscle tone from increased chewing?

Hmmm...
Pause for thought...

[trinity082482]

Ive been chewing since I had teeth lol :D

[ciarac]

Right, and you're hot! Point proven!

[jenjen]

i was wondering the same thing. facial muscles are exactly the same as body muscles except they are attached to skin and bone where body muscles are only attached to bone. so when our facial muscles are toned and stronge they are lifted, which is what lifts the skin.
interesting eh?


j

[subbacultcha]

Interesting...I consume a lot of liquids, maybe I should start chewing more if this is true...

[Tirza]

I see that Victoria Boutenko addressed that issue in her smoothie book. She was going to be bringing out a "jaw exerciser" thing since there is not near as much chewing in the diet if you get a lot of your greens from smoothies. I thought that was a little odd. One thing about a lot of chewing though-it can wear your jaw joint, and it can wear your teeth. I have wondered if besides being good for your facial muscles, if it might also make those "puckery" lines from the lips more likely to appear or deepen. .........

[ciarac]

Well, I gotta say I believe the opposite Tirza. Sure, more chewing is more stressful on the jaw but that's what exercise, and hence, muscle tone is. When you stress your muscle it gets stronger. If we all believe that this is the NATURAL way to eat then we have to also believe that it is natural to chew more, and thus, yeah, it causes extra stress but this stress leads to stronger muscles and bones. I'm all for green smoothies (I have one beside me right now...siiiiip) but if I were to get all pernickety/persnickety (btw, here's a useless piece of information for y'all: pernickety is the original word which came from a Scottish dialect but about a century ago American's added an s after the r and it became persnickety for folks in the US but pernickety is still used on my side of the Atlantic), I would say that drinking smoothies isn't in the least bit natural so anything that comes out of that can't really be hailed as natural or 'how it should be'. We really can't find flaw in chewing maw (more).

[Tirza]

You're right, ciarac - I was kind of throwing thoughts around. Yet, even as I was typing I was thinking of how smoothies are in no way natural or the "original" way to get our nutrients.
I guess we do smoothies for a lot of reasons to do with our present culture. Back in the days when they were hunters, they were also "gatherers" so they must have been eating lots of vegetation as well, not just buffalo (speaking as a North American) :) The native American's staple when on the move was pemican, which was dehydrated berries, etc. CHEWY
I was at a dentist who wanted to do implants for me to replace my dentures because my jaw joints are all worn down too far.
I was also thinking of my poor knees that have spots where there is no cartilage now :eek: - OUCH! My doc says that one way to help my knees is to strengthen the quads and hamstrings so they will support the leg better and reduce the impact on the joint. So exercise is good. Impact isn't. No marathons for me. I have to conserve the function I have. When I was in school I was in top shape - basketball, swimming, running and track and field sports, etc. So at one time those muscles were in great shape.
Maybe all this comes because we are living longer and have more time to suffer wear and tear on those joints.

[baltochef]

I can remember as a young child my parents, mother primarily, telling me to chew my food more, as not chewing it enough was bad for me..

I always used to think that the chewing advice was an "Old Wife's Tale" ..

Now as an adult with a long history of digestion, heartburn, constipation, & gas issues that go back to my pre-teen years, I now know that her advice was well founded..

Chewing each bite of food completely so that ample amounts of saliva mix in with the well masticated food, before swallowing the food, is now known to be an ESSENTIAL component for proper digestion..

The enzymes in human saliva are absolutely necessary for proper digestion, as they facilitate the breakdown of food in our stomaches..

NEVER properly chewing my food is one of the major reasons that I've suffered so many problems with my digestive system..

I can count on the fingers of one hand, with several fingers left over, the number of people in my lifetime that I've met & observed who properly chew their food..

Proper mastication is virtually a "Lost Art" in our modern, so-called civilized world..

We are so busy that we have forgotten what it is like to sit down & slowly chew and enjoy our food..

For most modern families to do so would put an almost intolerable time burden upon their busy lives..

One of my long-term goals as a raw foodist is to reach the point where every mouthful of food is properly chewed, each & every time I take a bite..

If I ever achieve my goals of long-term 100% raw, and chewing all my food properly, I'll truly be able to pat myself on the back & say, "Well done!!"..

Bruce