Chewing.. the secret is out!

Chewing comes up in all of my initial conversations with clients. It's on my list of questions.
How is your chewing?
You can learn a lot about how a person lives their life by watching how they eat their food.
We digest food, we digest experience. The two are pretty interrelated.

I found this article in the NY Times today: REALLY? The Claim: To Cut Calories, Eat Slowly

Though I don't generally preface my question about chewing with a claim about cutting calories, it is true and chewing simply needs all the attention it can get! I tell people it is like planting a seed, and that it takes time and care to cultivate - the act and practice of chewing.

Amylase is the first digestive enzyme that works to break down carbohydrates in our mouth. It is generated in our saliva and does not exist elsewhere in our body. If we do not chew our food and rev up our amylase production, we simply put a lot more work on the rest of our digestive organs. It hardly seems fair.
Then there's the idea (thank you great humble teacher Lino Stanich for your wisdom) that our 32 teeth (unless we've lost some) are energetically connected to our 32 vertebrae. When we connect our teeth as we do when we chew, we stimulate our vertebrae that send rebalancing messages to all of our organs. Think of it as a homeopathic dose of chiropractic care offered three times a day - for free!

Chewing makes for easier digestion, and it also makes for deeper breathing. And if amylase is good for you, believe me oxygen, is even more so. When we take time to chew our food, we suddenly have time to smell it, to notice it, to think about it. We have time to consider all that went into the making of it. Maybe even all that went into growing it. Maybe we notice how it feels in our bodies. Maybe we notice that we are full, sooner than we would have guessed. Maybe we discover that the food we are eating, we actually don't like very much. Or maybe we discover just how much we love it.

Slowing down can feel like an overwhelming life task. It helps to start small.

Chewing, is a small step you can start and restart at least three times a day.

Whether you are looking for less calories, or you are looking for a bit more peace of mind and a peaceful digestive process, search no more. It's yours for the taking, at every next meal.

Gluten free oats, I stand corrected

It was hard for me to believe it. It took a dear client insisting for me to go back and check it out. Afterall, I'd been reading about gluten and gluten free grains for over ten years now. There was always controversy around oats. On some people's gluten list there it stood, right along wheat, rye, barley.. but on other lists it was left out. Being a gluten sensitive person myself, I did the time tested elimination diet to test it. I found that if I ate oats every so often I would be symptom free, but a few times in one week, and my elbows would start to itch.
Going back to look this up felt a little like going to confirm that carrots are in fact full of beta-carotene. Do we really need to go back over this one?

Clearly, yes.

So it turns out that oats are so often contaminated with gluten because they are processed on machines that are also used to process glutenous grains like wheat. Some have gotten wise to this and we who care can now buy at our local food store, gluten free oats. It feels a bit like a miracle.

Here's what wikipedia has to say on the topic:

Coeliac disease, or celiac disease, from Greek "koiliakos", meaning "bowel-related", is a disease often associated with ingestion of wheat, or more specifically a group of proteins labelled prolamines, or more commonly, gluten. Oats lack many of the prolamines found in wheat; however, oats do contain avenin.[6] Avenin is a prolamine that is toxic to the intestinal submucosa and can trigger a reaction in some celiacs.[7]

Further information: Avenin-sensitive enteropathy
Although oats do contain avenin, there are several studies suggesting that oats can be a part of a gluten-free diet if it is pure. The first such study was published in 1995.[8] A follow-up study indicated that it is safe to use oats even in a longer period.[9]

Additionally, oats are frequently processed near wheat, barley and other grains, such that they become contaminated with other glutens. Because of this, the FAO's Codex Alimentarius Commission officially lists them as a crop containing gluten. Oats from Ireland and Scotland, where less wheat is grown, are less likely to be contaminated in this way.[citation needed]

Oats are part of a gluten-free diet in, for example, Finland and Sweden. In both of these countries there are "pure oat" products on the market.

To you who insisted, I thank you. To those who have gone without - indulge!
Oats - steel cut and rolled, are high in magnesium, iron, protein and goodness.
Can you think of a more satisfying breakfast on these coldest of winter mornings?