Touting the tongue
The room burst into laughter. Here we were, a bunch of doctors, sticking our tongues out towards the little mirrors that the speaker had handed out to each of us, and then she said "Now, are you going to let that little piece of meat ruin your health?" We laughed, but became more serious as she continued. The tongue, as it turns out, is quite the deciding factor in our health.
It may be just a chunk of meat, but it holds a lot of power. We have about 10,000 taste buds on our tongue, and a single taste bud contains 50-100 taste cells. They represent not only tastes such as salty, sour, sweet, bitter and umami (savory), but also sensations such as kokumi ("mouthfulness" and "heartiness"), piquance (spicy or burning), coolness, calcium (chalky), metallicity (like sucking on a penny), carbon dioxide (fizziness) and fat (creamy, satisfying).
Fat. It conjures up images of obesity, the demon being the fat in the foods we eat. Since reducing fat in our diets, we have skyrocketed obesity-the opposite of what was expected when fat-free marketing went into overdrive. Some researchers believe this is because fat is satisfying. Without the satiating effects of fat, the mass population started consuming sugar instead. Now, as we are learning more about our body, and our tongue in particular, we realize there are receptors on the tongue that detect fat as it comes into contact with them. This, in turn, may have a powerful satiating effect on the brain, actually reducing the amount of food consumed.
That's not surprising. According to Linda Bartoshuck, a physiological psychologist at the University of Florida, "Eating fat is encouraged by our brains to have us survive." Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis stated that our tongues apparently recognize and have an affinity for fat. In the recent study, subjects who had higher sensitivities to fat ate fewer fat calories than those with low sensitivity; people with lower fat sensitivity on their tongues tend to eat more before becoming satiated.
Kokumi also contributes to satiation, something where salads alone just don't cut it. In this world of obesity, dieting and eating disorders, satiation is everything. The good news is that we can take advantage of this piece of permanent meat!
First and foremost, EAT SLOOOWLY! The longer food sits on your tongue, the more receptors are activated. Not only for fat and kokumi, but we also have receptors that communicate with the brain, letting it know that protein, vitamins, minerals, enzymes and other wonderful nutritional co-factors are on their way down the pipe.
If you chew your food to a liquid before swallowing it, you not only activate the satiation receptors in the tongue and brain, but are more likely to perceive satiation quicker from the brain, not from an overly full stomach. Furthermore, you activate enzymes better to help you digest and assimilate those nutrients better. Hail the tongue!
Holly Carling is a Doctor of Oriental Medicine, Licensed Acupuncturist, Doctor of Naturopathy, Clinical Nutritionist and Master Herbologist with more than 32 years of experience. Carling is currently accepting new patients and offers natural health-care services and whole food nutritional supplements in her Coeur d'Alene clinic. Visit Carling's website at www.vitalhealthandfitness.com to learn more about Carling, view a list of upcoming health classes and read other informative articles. Carling can be reached at (208) 765-1994 and would be happy to answer any questions regarding this topic.