mastication
インドで16年間もハンガーストライキをしている女性が取り上げられております。16年間も飲まず食わずでは，餓死するかと思われますが，女性は鼻から栄養を摂取する鼻腔栄養を通じて生きております。今後彼女は，ハンガーストライキをやめて，政界進出を目指すようですが，普通の食事ができるまで数週間はかかるとのことです。
記事の中で気になった単語は"mastication"です。『Wisdom英和辞典第三版』(第三版)によると「そしゃく」という意味がありました。Oxford Dictionaries.comには"masticate"で"Chew (food)"と定義されております。"chew"と"masticate"の意味はほとんど変わらないようです(What is the difference between 'chew', 'crunch', 'munch' and 'masticate'? - Quora)。(Ume)
How do you end a 16 year hunger strike safely?
Can she eat normally again?
People who have not consumed solids in more than a decade will have to be careful when they go back to eating normally.
"Ms Sharmila will have to slowly graduate to a solid diet. Since she's not eaten orally for long, her chewing can be slow, and her muscle of mastication used for chewing may have wasted a bit. So she will have to begin with semi-solid food and graduate to solids," says Dr Guleria.
Doctors have to keep a close watch on her during this period. Doctors say she could suffer from acidity and gastric problems if she consumed too much solids too soon.
"Ms Sharmila should be under the supervision of a nutritionist as she returns to a normal diet," says Dr Rommel Tickoo.
