The moistening of the food with saliva is likewise important to good digestion. As a matter of fact, without it even the act of swallowing would be impossible. One can easily prove that insufficient moistening prevents swallowing by eating a rather large quantity of a very dry food, like crackers. A common habit of people is to moisten the food with water which they drink instead of waiting for it to be properly moistened by saliva. Contrary to popular belief there is absolutely no objection to drinking water at mealtime. In fact, the presence of the additional liquid in the alimentary tract is probably beneficial rather than the reverse; there is, however, a very serious objection to using water for washing down half-chewed food. The best possible way to judge whether the food is sufficiently chewed is by observing whether it has been sufficiently moistened so that it will be swallowed easily. If so, the chances are that the chewing has been sufficient. Between mouthfuls as much water may be taken as one desires, although if ice water is drunk, it should be held in the mouth until the worst chill is taken off before being swallowed, so that it will not chill the stomach. Since the comfort of drinking ice water is in the cooling of the mouth and throat and not at all in the cooling of the stomach, this increases rather than diminishes the enjoyment one gets from a glass of it on a hot day. So much satisfaction can be obtained by proper drinking habits, that it is a pity to allow the health to be injured by improper habits to such an extent as to necessitate, as frequently happens, the complete abandonment of water drinking with meals.