From a western (scientific) perspetive, one reason that thorough chewing of food is regarded as beneficial is that food gets mixed with copious saliva which assists in digestion.
Just wondering what role Daoism holds that saliva plays in digestion (and in health generally)?
I know that in Daoist spiritual practice, saliva can be imbued with various energies but, for the moment, I’m more interested in the Daoist perspective on the role of saliva prior to any spiritual practice.