The Cephalic Response: A lost past time…
Nov 14, 2024
The mouth is like a high-tech jacuzzi, with jets of saliva shooting out in demand to the cephalic response.
It is the mouth where delicate digestion begins and if you miss this then you will be sure to have some digestive upsets further down the tract! Before you read on just open a packet of salt and vinegar crisps or cut open a lemon or smell some vinegar! If you have done that or even just thought about it you may have also started to feel your mouth fill up with saliva. That’s what we in GUT health circles refer to as The Cephalic Response! First mission accomplished.
Just the thought of your favourite food sends signals to your brain to release saliva where the digestive enzymes are found to further break down your food. If you do not have this orgasmic like thought process then you miss the cephalic phase and the most important phase of digestion.
Smell food, look at it, prepare it with your own hands all of which stimulate the cephalic response. It’s taking on the saliva reaction, starting your gastric juices, the smooth muscle action moves the food towards the digestive tract etc. If you have constipation, for example, it’s wise to be better organised and more practised in creating a good environment. The question is is it a constipated bowel or a constipated mind?
In the world we live today the cephalic response is not high on the agenda as bosses devalue the lunch break, breakfast is lost for the snooze button and dinner is late and boozy.
It is no wonder, based on the essentials for optimum digestion to occur that most problems escalate with speed into some form of chronicity, yet start with the simple action of slowing down to allow saliva to marinade around your mouth.
The digestive system takes on new terrain from the silky saliva of the mouth to the ancient acid baths of the stomach, the rollercoaster twists of the small intestines, and through the arduous long journey around the mote of the large intestine to where light is seen at the exit of the colon. This is a system not to be messed with and is integral for the elimination of waste and toxins that the liver and the detoxification system have to deal with via the hepatic portal vein and subclavian vein, the two key players in sending intelligence in the form of nutrition around the body.
So try this next time it's time for you to eat:
- Ask yourself are you hungry
- What do you fancy eating or not eating
- Set the table
- Switch off all electronics
- Chew your food to liquid
- Sip water throughout
- Make sure there is something green on your plate
If you do these things then you will have better digestion and a stronger immune system as your immune system lives in the gut and the absorption of food is essential to turning food into energy to be used by you.
Do you have an issue with digestion? Bloating, acid reflux, constipation, pain, nausea, loss of appetite?
Schedule a call with me now and let’s see what we can do together.
Here’s to good guts,
Hannah x
