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Theme page 7. The DSB, the TSB and biting, swallowing, eating and eating disorders and the senses of taste and smell

The muscular tension caused by the DSB can twist the courses of masticatory muscles. It can cause malocclusion, gnashing one's teeth in sleep and consequently, problems with teeth which may wear unevenly and/or cause nerve pain. With years, muscular tension may weaken muscles in the mouth and throat and the drying of mucous membranes can also hinder swallowing. Because of the hypersensitive sense of feeling in the larynx granular food (and pills) may be difficult to swallow. That's why the nourishment of aged people can change into baby food. In case of a bad cold with a lot of coughing, tensed muscles in the larynx may be cramped and block breathing, which is a dangerous situation. (First aid: quickly inhale cold air from a fridge, freezer or outside in cold weather to make the muscles in the larynx contract and let the air in)

Dysfunction in the respiratory muscles can hamper swallowing and that's why food often goes into the windpipe. Because of problems with the cooperation of biting, swallowing and breathing muscles, food may be badly chewed and swallowed in big bites too quickly causing e.g. wind colic.

Disturbances in the fluid-salt metabolism caused by the DSB may cause drying in any parts of the digestive tracts and organs. In the mouth it can change the amount and composition of saliva, which affects teeth, the tongue and mucous membranes. The sense of taste is involved in this process, too. It may get very sensitive when very little amount of spice is enough. In the other extreme, the insensitive taste demands much more spicy food, which is likely cause problems with e.g. too much salt or sugar. Insensitive taste together with the insensitive sense of smell can also predispose to a lack of appetite.

Because of the DSB, more and more adrenalin increases blood sugar and slows digestion. That's why the body may not recognize hunger for a long time. In the meantime, there will also be more and more insulin (and cortisol) in the blood. Finally, this may make a person devour a lot of food, which in worse case contains a lot of sugar. Because cortisol makes mucous membranes thinner (and drier) digestive organs aren't able to deal with the food, which makes the person feel sick. This type of uncontrolled hunger and eating is likely to cause bulimia. It may also be a counter effect of mental stress, which is called comfort eating.

 Now, there seems to be several physiological reasons for bad appetite, all of which are obviously originated or strengthened by the DSB. Without knowing this, one tries to find some "logical" reasons for not eating or eating very (i.e. too) little. This eating disorder called anorexia may be mixed with a twisted picture of one's body (in the mirror) which in turn, may be due to problems with visual perception. And one more thing, this eating problem often arises during the juvenile years of rapid growth and changes in hormone secretion but both eating disorders may also be due to mental or/and physical stress.

 Nowadays it's easy for persons with anorexia to find "good" excuses for their way of life: e.g. to keep herself fit, healthy and attractive  by avoiding overweight by any means or by being aware of which food or how much food is healthy. These people seem to control their life as if it was continuous performance and competition in school, sports or other interests or in social life. This attitude is one of the features of compulsive behavior or activity to support one's weak self esteem by trying to be the best in whatever branch one has chosen.

The following chapter Theme page 8. The DSB, the TSB and digestion, the function of intestines and the bladder