Do humans chew cud?
ONLY ruminant animals with divided hooves –– not man –– chew the cud. Cows and goats hardly chew their grass when first eaten.
By Carol Natukunda
ONLY ruminant animals with divided hooves –– not man –– chew the cud. Cows and goats hardly chew their grass when first eaten. They swallow it and it goes into a special stomach where the food is partially digested. Then it is regurgitated into the mouth, chewed again, and swallowed into a different stomach.
Some people have certain illnesses that force food back into their stomachs. Dr. David Nyenje of Mayo clinic says when human beings suffer from Gastro Oesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), this can happen.
“Constant exposure to stomach acid can irritate the lining of the oesophagus and cause other medical problems, including GERD,†he says. Nyenje says when the acid refluxes, some food particles and fluid come back to the mouth, making one to ‘chew the cud’.
He says GERD is a result of severe heartburn caused by stomach acid refluxing or splashing up into the oesophagus.
He, however, says that the mechanism, in which human beings do it, is different from the way animals do it. “Human beings do not have four stomachs like ruminants,†he said.
So, the problem should not be referred to as ‘chewing of the cud’ because that is an animal thing.
Nyenje says that the disease needs a physician to take medical history before the diagnosis. This would involve an x-ray examination of the oesophagus and stomach before medication can be prescribed accordingly.
If the problem is too delicate to be dealt by medication, Nyenje says, surgery may be needed to strengthen the muscular ring called the lower oesophageal sphincter.
For those with this problem, Nyenje recommends having meals early, avoiding eating anything within three hours before bedtime, desisting from eating large portions of food and bending over after eating.
There is also need to restrict diet since there are various foods that produce gas.
ONLY ruminant animals with divided hooves –– not man –– chew the cud. Cows and goats hardly chew their grass when first eaten. They swallow it and it goes into a special stomach where the food is partially digested. Then it is regurgitated into the mouth, chewed again, and swallowed into a different stomach.
Some people have certain illnesses that force food back into their stomachs. Dr. David Nyenje of Mayo clinic says when human beings suffer from Gastro Oesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), this can happen.
“Constant exposure to stomach acid can irritate the lining of the oesophagus and cause other medical problems, including GERD,†he says. Nyenje says when the acid refluxes, some food particles and fluid come back to the mouth, making one to ‘chew the cud’.
He says GERD is a result of severe heartburn caused by stomach acid refluxing or splashing up into the oesophagus.
He, however, says that the mechanism, in which human beings do it, is different from the way animals do it. “Human beings do not have four stomachs like ruminants,†he said.
So, the problem should not be referred to as ‘chewing of the cud’ because that is an animal thing.
Nyenje says that the disease needs a physician to take medical history before the diagnosis. This would involve an x-ray examination of the oesophagus and stomach before medication can be prescribed accordingly.
If the problem is too delicate to be dealt by medication, Nyenje says, surgery may be needed to strengthen the muscular ring called the lower oesophageal sphincter.
For those with this problem, Nyenje recommends having meals early, avoiding eating anything within three hours before bedtime, desisting from eating large portions of food and bending over after eating.
There is also need to restrict diet since there are various foods that produce gas.