Page 264 - In The Name Of Allah, The All-Merciful And Most Merciful

In the Name of Allah, The All-Merciful and Most Merciful

are independent of one another, yet enjoy a relationship of
perfect harmony. They are designed to press against one an-
other when the mouth is closed. For example, if one molar
were longer than the other teeth or if it protruded too much,
you could not close your mouth or speak and eat as you do
now.

Food is both ground by the teeth and attacked by
chemicals found in one’s saliva. No one really pays attention
to their saliva, whether it is being secreted or not, or in what
amount. But saliva, usually considered a simple secretion, is
actually a special balance of various chemicals. First of all, it
allows us to taste our food by recognizing the food molecules
that give food its taste. Only when these

combine with the tongue’s taste-sensing
nerve endings can we taste food. This is
also why we cannot taste food when
our mouth is dry. The mouth secretes
two kinds of saliva. One of them de-
composes carbohydrates and changes
them partly into sugar. For example,
bread is a carbohydrate. If you put a
piece of bread in your mouth and wait

for a moment without chewing, you
will sense the taste of sugar on your
tongue from the decomposing carbo-
hydrates. The other kind of sali-
va has a dense sticky consisten-

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