Editorial: Food Oral Processing and Nutrition Through the Lifespan

Abstract

A balanced healthy diet is recognized as essential to prevent several non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases or even some types of cancer. The need to promote shifts to healthier diets is even more relevant in the actual context, where obesity rates are increasing worldwide. Effective nutritional strategies, aimed at promoting healthier eating habits are warranted, from young to old ages. But for this purpose, a good comprehension of the factors involved in food preferences and choices is required. Food oral processing comprises the sequence of transformations that food undergoes inside the mouth and will influence food sensory perception and food digestion. In oral processing, the food structure is first deformed and degraded by the forces applied by the teeth and soft tissues, including the tongue. Following, the fragments formed upon chewing are mixed with saliva, producing a bolus that can be safely swallowed. During this dynamic and synchronized process, the continuous interactions between oral structures, saliva and food produce the multiple sensations that are processed by humans into sensory perception. Moreover, the way the different food structures are broken and the food pieces are mixed with saliva affects (favoring or limiting) the biological availability and absorption of nutrients.