Don't flush nutrients down the toilet: Chew your food

Use your teeth! Chew, Chew, Chew!

Welcome to the Disease Prevention book club.

Eat for Health is Dr. Joel Fuhrman's nutritional prescription for superior health. You may be eating vegetables and other nutrient dense foods, but are those nutrients getting into your bloodstream?

On his website, Dr. Fuhrman states that by just chewing your food, you absorb about 15 - 25% of the nutrients inside the plant's cells. It is safe to assume that the rest are eliminated from the body unused and unabsorbed. Ultimately, they are flushed down the toilet.

Dr. Fuhrman discusses the importance of chewing your food until every mouthful is liquefied. The healthful micronutrients that your body needs are trapped inside food's tiny cells, and it is your job to release them so the nutrients can improve your health.

Chewing slowly is certainly odd to one who tends to scoff down his or her food, but be conscious of how fast you eat.Michio Kushi, author and promoter of the macrobiotic diet, advises people to chew food at least 50 times, preferably 100 times, before swallowing.

Later in the book, Dr. Fuhrman talks about juicing foods, especially salad foods (page 154). He calls them "blended salads." You can read ahead, if you like.