If my toddler chews up and spits out vegetables, rather than eat them fully, will she retain any of the nutrients?

Question

If my toddler chews up and spits out vegetables, rather than eat them fully, will she retain any of the nutrients?

In: 0

Answer 1

No. In order for nutrients to be absorbed by the body, the food has to be mechanically chewed in the mouth; navigate down the esophagus into the stomach to be mechanically and chemically churned further; *then* enter the small intestine where (most) nutrient absorption occurs. That’s a long way to go.

Maybe *some* carbohydrates broken down by amylase in the saliva and absorbed through the oral mucosa, but a *highly* negligible amount.