Design a brief experimental prediction: if a subject chews food thoroughly before swallowing, what immediate effect would you predict on starch digestion in the mouth and subsequent glucose appearance in the bloodstream compared to swallowing without chewing? Apply the principle that mechanical digestion increases enzyme access.

• A. Chewing has no effect because all carbohydrate digestion occurs exclusively in the small intestine via pancreatic enzymes so no difference in blood glucose timing would be expected
• B. Thorough chewing would inhibit salivary enzyme action by diluting saliva with mastication, resulting in slower carbohydrate digestion and delayed blood glucose rise
• C. Thorough chewing will increase exposure of starch to salivary amylase, speeding initial breakdown to maltose and likely accelerating early postprandial increases in blood glucose compared with minimal chewing
• D. Chewing converts lipids into fatty acids immediately in the mouth, which then are absorbed directly into the bloodstream increasing blood lipid levels before reaching the stomach

Answer: (C)