Do you chew your food?

Post Reply New Topic

Do you chew your food?

I was reading The Fabric of Autism by Judith Bluestone. She mentioned that some people with Autism don't chew their food properly. Rather, they chew very little and swallow as fast as possible. Because of the food isn't broken down enough and there isn't enough saliva, the food isn't digested properly and this is bad for your health.Her explanation had something to do with the ears, that chewing annoys the ears in some Autistic people.

I haven't heard this mentioned on the boards so far, but I do this all the time. I eat very quickly and I often have stomach aches. I often drink a lot of liquid with my food because I find it hard to produce saliva to chew my food. I find it very hard to put on weight too - though this may be more to do with the fact that I don't eat much.

Is this something common for people with AS? Would anybody like to share advice or information?

yeah i do this all the time,chewing hurts my ears too much,but i try to remember to chew my food but its forgotten 5 seconds later

How could chewing possible hurt your ears?

I chew my food.

Oh wow, I always eat my food really fast but I never knew it had anything to do with autism. This could explain why I feel sick sometimes after I get done eating.

I'm a super fast eater, at restaurants I'd finish way before anyone else.

The nerves in your ear are very close to your jaw, and they're more sensitive than other nerves. Half of the nerve information your brain recieves comes from the seven(?) nerve endings in your face.

There's a sac in your ear usually filled with liquid. This helps with a sense of balance. In autistic people, the sac is more likely not to have liquid - which impairs agility. I think this is why it can be extra sensitive to chewing. I read all this in that book, but I don't know if that's good information or not.

[quote=postperson]I'm a super fast eater, at restaurants I'd finish way before anyone else.[/quote]
Do you have digestive problems?

I don't chew my food as well as I should. Sometimes I get a bad reminder in the form of it being painful getting to my stomach. I'm not exactly a fast eater though, as I have to make sure everything is separated and the like.

I've never noticed having many issues with digestion and I am unsure whether the reason that I don't chew my food properly is because it bugs my ears. The question has never come up. Something to pay attention to in the future.

I can eat quickly if I have to, but am a nibbler by nature. Yes I chew.

I usually chew and swallow quickly. I've been trying to chew more thoroughly since I found a whole french fry sticking out of my stool, but I don't always remember. Chewing doesn't hurt my ears, but sometimes the first few bites will hurt my jaw, but the pain goes away pretty fast.

hmm, nothing outstanding or above average. I have some understanding of nutrition and food from work and study so I probably eat a balanced range of food. I have a pretty strong stomach, like I can go to a restaurant with others and they will get stomach problems from tainted food, but I don't....you know like the next day people ask you if you had any problems and they talk about how the food may have been tainted but I seem to be ok.

I think ASD's correlate with inflammatory joints -- I think you are specifically talking about temporomandibular joint problems. It affects more than just eatting though, I hate gum for this reason.

I chew fast, not properly / eat fast. I've always associated with my TMJ however.

I never chew my food i end up eating far to quickly instead.

I eat too fast and have to force myself to chew. Often have stomach ache and elimination problems. Hadn't thought about it before but yah, chewing hurts my ears. I knew it hurt my jaw but didn't think about my ears. I have TMJ. During an exam my new dentist put her finger into my ear and had me bite up and down. Ear canal hurt a lot. She said that my bite is off and that causes my TMJ and ear pain. She wants to correct my bite and said it will help with my chronic jaw pain - but it will be very expensive. Thousands. Can't afford it right now. I have to wait.

Grandson with AS used to gulp his food without chewing. He would eat so fast that it would cause him to have an instant stomach ache and he would throw up huge chunks of food. His school would send him home because they had a policy that if a child threw up they had to go home. I couldn't convince them that he wasn't sick. Had to work hard to teach him to eat more slowly. We would count chews after every bite. He still eats too fast and doesn't chew enough.

Great topic.

Yeah, I chew my food.

i can't chew my food. i don't really know how, and my face hurts when i do. i find it tiresome, like running. and joints in my jaw make funny and loud noises when i do, people always laugh when i eat because i click all the time. i can't chew even if i try to. i oftem choke because of that.
i also had something wrong with my jaw that made it physically impossible for me to chew properly for a long time, but they fixed it. it didnt help my chewing though, its a little better, but the problem is still there.