Chewing stimulates the salivary glands to release ptyalin , an alkaline enzyme, which mixes with carbohydrates and begins to break them down into simpler sugars. Carnivorous animals, and people who eat animal products frequently have a tendency not to chew well, since chewing is not as important for protein metabolism as it is for starch digestion. If fiber is removed from grains and other carbohydrate foods, the chewing mechanism is no longer stimulated adequately. Because they are easily swallowed, such foods are not held in the mouth long enough to be adequately alkalized and digested. Thorough chewing, eating properly, getting enough oxygenated air into our lungs through aerobic exercise, work or play are all vital to health maintenance and restoration.
Carnivorous teeth cut and tear flesh into chunks small enough to be swallowed without choking.
No digestion of protein occurs in the mouth. Carnivorous animals must eat quickly, or lose their prey to other, stronger or swifter competitors. Chewing takes time, a luxury carnivorous animals cannot enjoy. Taking time to chew leaves carnivores vulnerable to attack by other equally hungry species. Nourishment, and hence survival, depends on the ability to devour prey quickly.