2023-11-06 12:40:02
Digestion begins in the mouth and this stage determines its quality. In the elderly, it can be impaired not so much by a decrease in the mass and strength of the masticatory muscles as by a deficient oral and dental condition, which is common (loss of teeth, decreased salivary secretion, weakening of motor coordination and tongue mobility). A team was interested in its impact on the digestion of bread 1 (ordinary baguette), consumed by nearly 98% of French people and at more than 120 grams per day for those over 55. Bread is in fact an important source of carbohydrates and proteins.
For that, she studied the appearance and composition of the food bolus in vitro 2, in two steps. In the first, this food bolus was obtained by means of a masticatory apparatus whose performance is comparable to that of in vivo chewing, whether normal or deficient. In a second, it was obtained by an artificial system mimicking gastrointestinal digestion. It had previously been verified that the performances of the masticatory apparatus and the artificial digestive system were comparable to those of the digestive system alive. The bowl was analyzed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (technique for analyzing a solid sample so as not to modify it).
In the event of a deficiency in the oral and dental state, the food bolus obtained at the end of the oral stage had glucose contents lower than normal, linked to an insufficient breakdown of the food matrix. The presence of many large food fragments probably made it more difficult for salivary α-amylase to access the starch, which hydrolyzes it. Furthermore, this delay in digestion was reflected at the stomach level by a change in the content of simple sugars in the bowl: more maltose and less glucose.
Poor chewing also resulted in a lower degree of protein hydrolysis at the gastrointestinal level. Spectroscopy analysis showed a more compact appearance of the protein structures, probably making the activity of stomach hydrochloric acid and intestinal peptidases and proteases more difficult.
This work therefore demonstrates the importance of the oral stage for the quality of digestion in elderly people, particularly with regard to starch and proteins. Good chewing and sufficient saliva secretion are essential. The doctor must therefore examine the mouths of elderly people to identify possible deficiencies, more due to poor oral health than to a loss of mass and strength of the masticatory muscles.
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#Bread #mouths #elderly
