Why Is Chewing So Important?

When we eat it may not occur to us how important chewing is. Food impaction is when a morsel of food is blocking the oesophagus or needs to be taken out because it hasn't been broken down correctly via chewing. Jonathan speaks with a gastroenterologist about why chewing is both necessary and important. Gastroenterologists are doctors who are trained to diagnose and treat problems in your gastrointestinal tract and liver. These doctors also do routine procedures such as colonoscopies, which look at the inside of your colon. They get 5-6 years of specialized education after medical school. Marianna Arvanitakis is an Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Gastroenterology, Erasmus University Hospital, Brussels and specialises in pancreatic disease, nutrition and endoscopy. Dr Shane Bergin of University College Dublin & Dr. Lara Dungan also joined Jonathan to go through the top science news stories from the week in Newsround. Listen and subscribe to Futureproof with Jonathan McCrea on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.    Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App.     You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.