Everyone already explained that chewing breaks food down into smaller pieces which are easier to digest (which is true). But there's more: the first digestive enzyme that has contact with food is im your saliva. It's called amylase and breaks down carbohydrates into sugars. That's why bread starts to taste sweet if you chew it for a really long time. Also, chewing and swallowing send out signals to your stomach/ bowels so that it can prepare for the arrival of food to digest
StrangeDimension2 t1_iuddk4e wrote
Reply to ELI5: what is the point of chewing food thoroughly if your stomach will digest everything anyway? by Dacadey
Everyone already explained that chewing breaks food down into smaller pieces which are easier to digest (which is true). But there's more: the first digestive enzyme that has contact with food is im your saliva. It's called amylase and breaks down carbohydrates into sugars. That's why bread starts to taste sweet if you chew it for a really long time. Also, chewing and swallowing send out signals to your stomach/ bowels so that it can prepare for the arrival of food to digest