Posted on 05/25/2015 7:32:49 PM PDT by rickmichaels
From the minute we take our first bite of food, enzymes in saliva start breaking it down. Tiny openings on our cheek secrete saliva even at the thought of food. It has a host of other purposes, too, which is why other openings under the tongue secrete saliva continuously - up to a litre a day.
Saliva is basically blood without the red cells. It contains calcium to help harden our teeth, hormones including oestrogen and testosterone, and perhaps most surprisingly, a natural painkiller, opiorphin, that is stronger than morphine.
This explains why a sore throat often feels better after a meal. There are even a handful of studies showing that opiorphin has antidepressant properties (a new theory is that this painkiller is partly responsible for the reassuring effects of comfort eating).
Saliva also protects the mouth from too many bad bacteria - it contains proteins known as mucins, which envelop our teeth and gums in a protective net.
We shoot out mucins like Spider-Man shoots webs from his wrists. These microscopic nets can catch bacteria before they have a chance to harm us.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Interesting article. Thanks for posting.
finally I learned something new ..to me today!!
Thank you!
we are indeed “earfully and wonderfully made”.
Huh.
Well, I guess I didn’t know spit.
Yes, good info.
I always had a gut feeling saliva had a lot of properties. Pun not intended but not going to not use it now!
Neat article!
My doc says it sounds like a train going through.
Like George Carlin put it, belly noise is basically saying “Weeeere Pooooor.....Weeere Poooooor.”
Neat. Thank you!
My family will testify that I am the “Flatulator King”! My wife says the way she knows I’m waking up in the morning is the rumble under the covers.
it seems like I learn something new on FreeRepublic everyday. Science military politics history you name it. fascinating stuff. this article was great.
This has not been my experience.
Who knew that the human stomach had a self-cleaning cycle built right into the sucker!
This study was years intestine. Bah-dah-bum.:)
actually after reading the whole article it was very informative and will keep me away from fast food more often.
so a rumbling stomach is really the prelude to a backfire ?
so a rumbling stomach is really the prelude to a backfire ?
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