---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sat, 14 Oct 1995 11:19:10 -0500
From: forrest thye <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Cc: [log in to unmask]
Subject: chewing food for infant
This is a note to me from my brother-in-law, back at the start of the
pre-chewing discussions.  Thought it was worth passing on. - Diane Wiessinger

        Just to clear up, a bit, what I think I said to you earlier (years
ago?) was that most people don't chew their food long enough to add much
salivary amylase to the food for partial digestion of the starch.  Salivary
amylase production is not low,  people just don't chew enough.   Your idea
that if a mother were to *thoroughly* chew the food before giving to her
child she would add a significant amount of saliva and salivary amylase to
the food to help the infant digest (pre-digest) the starch is good.  One
other thing.   The infants stomach should be less acid than the adult
stomach if still receiving only or primarily milk.  The salivary amylase
can continue to work in the stomach when the contents are less acid as in
the milk fed infant.  (The infant does not need salivary amylase if
receiving only milk - no starch to digest)  The adult stomach contents are
acid, not only because most food and particularly most beverages,other than
milk, are acid, but also because gastric secretions (called gastric juice)
are very acid.  Therefore the salivary amylase,  which operates best at a
pH of 7 (neutrality), is knocked out of commission by the acid environment
of the stomach of the adult or child receiving significant amounts of solid
foods.  The acid denatures most of the protein entering the stomach
including digestive enzymes and including enzymes such as exogenous lactase
(to combat lactose intolerance).  However, some of the enzymes will get
through to continue to work in the small intestine.

Forrest

F.W. Thye
Department of Human Nutrition and Foods
233 Wallace Hall                                  Phone: 540-231-6620
Virginia Tech                                       FAX:    540-231-3916
Blacksburg, VA  24061-0430              E-mail: [log in to unmask]