A disorder where the stomach does not digest food is called dyspepsia. This pathological phenomenon has many causes and brings a lot of inconvenience.
This disorder is conventionally divided into organic and functional. Organic indicates disturbances in the gastrointestinal tract, functional indicates pathological changes in the stomach and intestines.
Ailments are divided according to types and causes. If dyspepsia is caused by a lack of digestive enzymes, it is divided into gastrogenic, enterogenic and pancreatogenic. If called intestinal infection, then divided into dysentery, intoxication dyspepsia and salmonellosis. If we are talking about the non-digestion of a specific product, a fermentative form is isolated, putrefactive or yeast, fatty or soapy.
Fermentation form
This form of the disorder is caused by excessive consumption of foods, which include legumes, cabbage with fruit, and honey with kvass. Subsequently, acidophilic flora is formed in the intestines, which causes discomfort.
The main features of this form are:
- bloating;
- frequent release of gases;
- frequent urge to defecate;
- the stool is foamy, with a characteristic sour odor.
In this case, abdominal pain is absent or mildly expressed. If we examine feces in laboratory conditions, it contains many starch grains, iodophilic microbes with organic acids and fiber.
The patient does not suffer much from his condition. The solution to the problem in this case is to follow a diet. Ignoring the problem leads to chronic form, which can develop into chronic enteritis, enterocolitis.
Putrid form
The yeast form of dyspepsia is characterized by a disturbance in the breakdown of elements. A decrease in the level of secretion of enzymes such as pepsin and trypsin leads to incomplete protein breakdown. This process is accompanied by the release of methane, hydrogen sulfide, skatole and indole, which irritate the intestines.
This form manifests itself through:
- weaknesses;
- decreased appetite;
- bloating;
- dizziness;
- dark-colored stool with a putrid odor.
Prolonged course of the disorder can lead to chronic hepatitis with colitis, enterocolitis.
Fat form
Soap or fatty forms of dyspepsia are less common. Occurs when consuming large quantities fatty foods. This disorder is associated with impaired fat breakdown - the lipolytic function of the pancreas cannot cope with its work. Also, the reason for this may be a violation of the flow of bile into the intestines, and the rapid passage of food through thin section intestines.
Characteristic symptoms of the disorder:
- rumbling in the stomach;
- bloating;
- weakness;
- frequent urge to go to the toilet;
- diarrhea.
When researching feces is discovered a large number of fatty acids and soap. Unpleasant symptoms soon go away if the problem is not related to anatomical changes in the intestine.
Why does the stomach not digest food?
Common reasons for problems with digestion of food are:
- slow metabolism;
- insufficient amount of enzymes involved in the breakdown of substances;
- the presence of diseases associated with the gastrointestinal tract;
- harmful bacteria are present on the mucous membranes of the stomach and intestines;
- pregnancy;
- alcohol abuse;
- improper and unbalanced diet;
- non-compliance with daily routine and meals.
Signs of poor digestion
When food is not digested by the stomach, this event is accompanied by the following symptoms:
- feeling of heaviness in the abdomen;
- nausea;
- vomit;
- dizziness;
- weakness;
- defecation disorders in the form of diarrhea;
- lack of appetite.
Lack of appetite
When the stomach functions abnormally, a whole range of unpleasant symptoms arise, including lack of appetite. There is no appetite because the body is busy processing previous food. Since for some reason this process is difficult, a feeling of fullness may be present throughout the day, and if pathology is present, appetite may be absent for a long time.
Heaviness in the stomach
The feeling of heaviness is associated with stopping the process of breaking down food. Uncharacteristic for healthy person The symptom of a stomach stone can last up to several hours. In the absence of serious pathology, this phenomenon goes away without a trace.
Pain inside the abdomen
Pain is felt in the epigastric area, which worsens the already bad feeling. They can be short-term or last up to several hours. It depends on what problem or disease provoked the pain syndrome.
Nausea and vomiting
If you feel sick after eating, there can be many reasons for this. Depending on the accompanying symptoms and factors, this phenomenon can be assessed differently. Nausea and vomiting are defensive reactions for eating stale food. This also happens if you have eaten a lot of fatty or meaty foods and overeating has occurred. Overheating, intoxication with tobacco smoke and other unpleasant odors increase nausea.
Diarrhea
Depending on what caused the violation normal operation digestive system, diarrhea can last up to several days. The most common reasons that provoke diarrhea are overeating, the presence of fatty foods in the diet, failures in the production of enzymes for digesting food, accelerated peristalsis, stress and dysbiosis.
Temperature increase
Due to the fact that the stomach cannot cope with the processing of food, it stagnates, ferments or rots. If this process is started, the body begins to fight harmful bacteria that could provoke this process or arise during the process of decay. This may be accompanied by an increase in body temperature.
Weakness and dizziness
Food is a source of energy, but if it cannot be digested and all the body’s resources are spent on breaking it down, a person begins to feel weak, sometimes along with dizziness. Also, weakness with dizziness can be associated with food intoxication.
How to help your stomach digest food
In order for the stomach to begin to function normally, it is worth finding out the cause of the failure. If this happened once and did not happen again, there is no need to worry. If gastric constipation occurs periodically, you need to consult a doctor who will prescribe treatment and diet.
Nutritional Features
To restore stomach function, you should follow some nutritional recommendations:
- eat food in small portions;
- chew food thoroughly;
- do not drink a lot of liquid before meals;
- practice separate nutrition (take protein and carbohydrate foods separately from each other);
- Do not eat near the TV or on the go.
In addition, dishes should look appetizing, as this helps to release gastric juice. This is especially true if the cause of gastric stoppage was insufficient enzyme levels.
If we are talking about fermentative dyspepsia, it is worth excluding carbohydrates from the diet for several days. After two days, increase the consumption of proteins in the form of cottage cheese, chicken breast, turkey and boiled fish. You can include some meat broth white bread. Afterwards, you can eat porridge cooked in water, drink fruit jelly and eat fruit puree.
If putrefactive dyspepsia is diagnosed, they fast for the first day and then eat carbohydrates for the next day. You can also eat crackers for 2-3 days, drink fruit juices and eat apples in quantities of up to one and a half kilograms. Next, turn on the rice, semolina porridge, also boiled in water. You can start adding meat and fish to your diet only after 5-7 days of the diet.
Fatty dyspepsia requires restrictions in the form of fatty foods and carbohydrates. Include cottage cheese (low-fat), boiled fish and lean meat. Transition to the previous diet gradually, excluding frequent use fat.
Drug therapy
Depending on the cause of the disorder, the list of prescribed medications may vary. The main unpleasant symptoms are relieved with the help of antispasmodics, enzyme preparations, histamine blockers and proton pump blockers.
The former eliminate pain, making you feel better; enzyme preparations stimulate the digestive process in the stomach and duodenum. Histamine blockers work to reduce acidity, and the latter are taken to eliminate sour belching and heartburn.
Occurs with the help of calcium carbonate and magnesium perhydrol.
Treatment with folk remedies
As folk remedies Chamomile tea, mint decoction, infusion of eucalyptus and celery are effective.
- For cooking chamomile tea use 2 tablespoons of dry raw materials and 200 ml of boiling water, infuse and filter. During exacerbations, drink 50 ml;
- For mint decoction you will need 50 g of mint leaves, 200-250 ml of boiling water. Drink half a glass every 4 hours;
- Pour half a liter of boiling water over dried eucalyptus leaves. Cool the liquid, drink 50 ml 3 times a day;
- For celery infusion, use a spoonful of dried plant root per liter of boiling water. After 8 hours, drink 50 ml every hour.
Physical exercise
Eliminate painful sensations will help physical exercise:
- lying on your back, pull your legs up to your head, trying to touch the floor with them;
- in a lying position, pull your legs bent at the knees to your chest, sway slightly, rounding your back;
- stroke the belly in the epigastric area clockwise for 5 minutes.
Features of diagnosis for indigestion of food
At the first stage of diagnosis, the specialist collects data on the intensity of pain, location of discomfort and accompanying symptoms. Examines the patient and palpates the abdomen.
Next comes a series instrumental methods diagnostics such as ultrasound or computed tomography and electrogastroenterography. Last method allows you to monitor intestinal motility and detect disorders. X-rays are performed if a tumor is suspected. Diagnostics of the surface of the organ is carried out using an endoscope. In addition, blood and urine tests are taken.
Possible complications
Possible complications include the occurrence chronic diseases organs involved in the digestion of food. Depending on whether there were any previous diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, the situation becomes more complicated and the likelihood of complications increases.
Also, the likelihood of complications increases if unpleasant symptoms are ignored, or disruptions in the functioning of the stomach become systematic.
Preventing poor stomach digestion
If your stomach cannot cope with digesting food, you should follow preventive measures, the list of which includes:
- limiting the consumption of fatty and spicy foods;
- reduce salt intake;
- exclude adherence to strict diets;
- give up fast food;
- reduce sweets in your diet;
- eliminate bad habits;
- avoid stress;
- undergo regular examinations.
Digestive problems can be resolved on your own or by consulting a doctor. In most cases, they occur once, but frequent occurrence ailments requires specialist advice.
What is important to know about your stomach:
Pain, seething and transfusion in the abdomen, belching and nausea. Flatulence occurs due to increased gas formation and disruption of the process of gas removal. Abdominal pain occurs due to high blood pressure in the intestines or as a result of spasms. In the latter case, they subside after defecation. Digestive insufficiency syndrome is often accompanied by loss of appetite and weight loss.
Description
Digestive insufficiency syndrome manifests itself in almost any disease of the gastrointestinal tract. Moreover, either parietal digestion or cavity digestion can be disrupted. Parietal digestion is disrupted due to a lack of intestinal enzymes and impaired adsorption of pancreatic enzymes. Cavitary digestion is disrupted when the production of pancreatic enzymes is impaired, bile acid deficiency and insufficiency of hydrochloric acid and pepsin in the stomach. With such disorders, food cannot be digested normally, since proper breakdown of proteins, fats and carbohydrates at various stages of digestion is impossible.
Maldigestion syndrome can occur even without the reasons listed above. It can develop as a result of impaired motility of the gastrointestinal tract. So, if food moves too quickly through the digestive tract, no matter how well the liver and pancreas work, it will not have time to be digested. And if food moves too slowly, then the intestinal microflora is more active than usual in the digestion process, forming a large amount of toxic substances that irritate the intestinal mucosa, thereby accelerating intestinal motility. This contributes to improper further digestion, fermentation, and intoxication of the body.
Digestion in the stomach can be disrupted with gastritis, decompensated pyloric stenosis, and stomach cancer. In the intestines it can be disrupted when inflammatory diseases small intestine. Insufficient digestion syndrome can develop with diabetes mellitus, hyperthyroidism, Crohn's disease, and intestinal diverticulosis. The cause of this syndrome may be the use of antibiotics or cytostatics.
Diagnostics
To diagnose insufficient digestion syndrome, a stool test is performed, which usually reveals steatorrhea (fat in the stool). X-rays are used to determine which part of the digestive tract is affected. To do this, a study is carried out using a contrast agent. It is also necessary to do a clinical blood test, urine test, and glucose tolerance test.
Treatment
The main thing in the treatment of maldigestion syndrome is diet. It should be selected taking into account the stage at which the process of food digestion is disrupted. But in any case, food should be gentle and contain an increased amount of proteins and carbohydrates.
If digestion is impaired due to disruption of the pancreas, enzyme preparations are prescribed.
If the cause is liver dysfunction, enzyme preparations and bile components are prescribed.
If maldigestion syndrome has developed as a result of impaired motility of the digestive tract, medications are prescribed to improve peristalsis.
Drugs are also prescribed to treat dysbiosis, which almost always develops with digestive insufficiency syndrome.
Prevention
To prevent insufficient digestion syndrome, you must first of all. It is also necessary to maintain hygiene, both personal and when preparing food.
It is important to promptly treat diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, such as gastritis, enteritis, liver and pancreas diseases.
If the stomach regularly rejects food, then this phenomenon very often indicates a disease of the digestive system. The condition when the digestion of food by the stomach is affected is called dyspepsia, which is accompanied by nausea and vomiting after eating. In rare cases of nausea, a single gag reflex may be a symptom associated with a poor diet.
Causes of vomiting
- consumption of poor quality food - poisoning of the body occurs toxic substances, entered the body with food;
- gastritis and gastric ulcer;
- disease of the pancreas and gall bladder;
- gag reflex after eating in stressful situations - due to a nervous disease;
- binge eating;
- drinking significant amounts of alcohol;
- stomach reaction to taking certain medications;
- the presence of a volumetric process in the stomach;
- acute appendicitis, accompanied by abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting;
- diseases of the central nervous system– volumetric process or brain injury;
- the first months of pregnancy;
- diseases of the vestibular apparatus - “motion sickness” when driving in transport;
- viral infections;
- helminthic infestations;
- chemotherapy for cancer.
Rare attacks of the gag reflex that occur when overeating or consuming any foods require mandatory adjustments to the diet. But if the stomach does not accept high-quality food, after eating which nausea appears, and then a gag reflex, this is a direct indicator for contacting a doctor. It is necessary to find out the cause of this phenomenon and carry out treatment.
Important! Vomiting after eating, which becomes systematic, is a symptom signaling a disease of the digestive system. A mandatory examination by a gastroenterologist is necessary to exclude diseases of the stomach or intestines.
An important indicator of the state of the digestive system is the characteristics of vomit, by the nature of which the doctor can already determine a preliminary diagnosis. Vomit, depending on the disease, can be:
- with streaks of fresh blood - like this clinical picture gives gastric bleeding due to rupture blood vessel at peptic ulcer, malignant tumor stomach, liver cirrhosis, polyps, as a complication during treatment hormonal drugs. This acute condition, life-threatening patient and requiring immediate hospitalization of the patient;
- dark-colored vomit – vomiting occurs when there are problems in digesting certain dark-colored foods or medications, for example, activated carbon. It is quite rare. Sometimes dark color vomiting is a reaction to general anesthesia;
- vomit of undigested food - characteristic of food poisoning, allergic reactions to a food allergen;
- vomit mixed with bile - characteristic of cholecystitis and pancreatitis;
- the natural color of gastric contents is characteristic of overeating, or if the gag reflex is provoked by a stressful situation.
- there is a continuous contraction of the muscular walls of the stomach, abdominal wall and diaphragm;
- The food bolus moves under pressure through the esophagus into the mouth and is thrown out.
As a rule, the gag reflex is preceded by nausea, accompanied by weakness, “lightheadedness,” and tachycardia. But sometimes this reflex can occur spontaneously, without previous nausea, for example, during pregnancy.
In vomit, regardless of the type and nature of vomiting, bile is necessarily present in small quantities, which has a bitter taste after removal of gastric contents from the mouth. But if copious amounts of vomit are colored yellow and there is a pronounced bitterness in the mouth, then in this case this will be vomiting bile.
This symptom most often indicates gallbladder disease, that is, cholecystitis or the initial manifestations of pancreatitis.
The gag reflex is a symptom of some disease. Therefore, in order digestive system the body worked well, first of all, it is necessary to find out the reason for the appearance of this unpleasant phenomenon, and why the stomach does not accept food. Only by eliminating the cause, that is, the disease, will the functioning of the stomach be restored.
Any pathology accompanied by vomiting requires mandatory examination and treatment by a doctor. Compliance with the daily routine and diet are an integral part of the treatment process.
Depending on the pathological process to cause a gag reflex, the following medications are used:
- pathology of the vestibular apparatus, accompanied by nausea and vomiting when riding in public transport or rocking at sea, can be relieved by taking Meterazine;
- food poisoning, accompanied by nausea and a gag reflex, is relieved by the use of adsorbent drugs that bind toxins that enter the body with low-quality products. The most accessible and frequently used is activated carbon;
- treatment of vomiting, which is a symptom of a disease of the stomach or intestines, is carried out comprehensively and is aimed primarily at eliminating the main cause of the pathological process;
- inflammatory processes in the body, accompanied by a gag reflex, require anti-inflammatory drug treatment prescribed by a doctor;
- The stomach's rejection of food against the background of neurotic manifestations requires treatment for neurosis, which is prescribed by a neurologist.
It must be remembered that vomiting is only a sign of some disease. Once the cause is eliminated, the symptom will also go away. You should not self-medicate with such a pathological state of the body, so that the disease does not take longer. severe form or did not cause complications. Only full examination and the course of treatment prescribed by the doctor will be given positive result and forecast.
Poor nutrition, snacks on the run or large meals at night - all this can lead to the stomach not digesting food. What to do when the stomach cannot digest food and how to restore the functioning of the organ worries many.
Basic information about the disease
The stomach is the place where food is digested. Its volume in an adult is approximately 2-3 liters. Food enters the stomach through the esophagus, where it is broken down into its components: proteins, carbohydrates and fats. When the body feels the need for food, it gives a signal and the amount of hydrochloric acid increases, which helps break down food. The speed of this process is different: carbohydrates are completely processed in 2 hours, while a similar process for fats takes up to 5 hours.
Poor nutrition, snacks on the run or large meals at night - all this can lead to the stomach not digesting food.
Deterioration of the stomach, in which it practically stops digesting food, is called dyspepsia and may be accompanied by unpleasant sensations: attacks of nausea, heaviness in the stomach and a feeling of fullness. If you do not take timely effective measures, the consequences will be very serious.
Symptoms of dyspepsia may include the following:
- feeling of fullness in the stomach;
- bloating, distension;
- symptoms of peptic ulcer: vomiting, nausea, heartburn, “hunger” pain;
- belching;
- after eating, a burning sensation may occur in the chest area;
- heaviness and pain in the upper abdomen not associated with eating;
- pain in upper section spine;
- sometimes vomiting occurs, causing relief for a short period;
- loss of appetite, rapid satiety (associated with undigested food in the stomach).
The disease may develop different ways: according to the ulcerative, dyskinetic or nonspecific variant. The dyskinetic variant involves the appearance of a feeling of rapid satiety, overcrowding, and discomfort. With peptic ulcers, signs of peptic ulcer disease are observed, that is, belching, “hungry” or night pain, heartburn. The nonspecific variant combines signs of both ulcerative and dyskinetic course of the disease.
Causes of the disease
The most common causes of dyspepsia are poor diet and lack of food culture. Dry snacks in conditions of constant stress and haste will certainly affect your health. The selection of foods can affect the functioning of the stomach. There are a number of products that, depending on individual characteristics human, the stomach does not perceive.
The most common causes of dyspepsia are poor diet and lack of food culture.
Discomfort may occur from fatty, heavy or too spicy foods. Alcohol can also cause problems, as it stimulates the production of hydrochloric acid, thereby increasing the load on the walls of the stomach.
IN in some cases Gastric dysfunction may be caused by hormonal imbalance– this phenomenon is often observed in pregnant women. Finally, the secretion of gastric juice may be a consequence of disorders of the secretory glands.
In some cases, poor health may occur in the morning. This suggests that the person is abusing late meals. Like all human organs, the stomach must have time to rest.
There are other causes of dyspepsia:
- decreased metabolism;
- the appearance of bacterial colonies in the gastric mucosa;
- insufficient concentration of gastric juice;
- gastritis.
Regardless of the reasons why the stomach does not digest food, it is necessary to urgently begin treatment and seriously reconsider the diet and selection of foods.
Types and forms of the disease
There are two main groups of the disease: organic and functional. Organic dyspepsia is a syndrome in which there are no serious disturbances in the structure of the gastrointestinal tract, only functional ones, that is, related to the functioning of the organs. Functional dyspepsia is characterized by the appearance of structural pathological changes gastrointestinal organs. In this case, the symptoms will be observed more clearly and over a long period of time.
The main types of disease are determined depending on the reasons that provoked their occurrence.
Dyspepsia caused by intestinal infection can be of several types:
- salmonellosis – characterized by an increase in temperature to 39°C, the appearance of vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness and headache;
- dysentery - usually affects the large intestine, the main manifestation is considered to be stool mixed with blood;
- intoxication – develops as a result of poisoning due to influenza, acute infectious diseases, poisoning.
Dyspepsia associated with a lack of digestive enzymes can be of the following types:
- gastrogenic;
- hepatogenic;
- pancreatogenic;
- enterogenous.
Nutritional dyspepsia is caused by an unhealthy lifestyle and has 3 subtypes, characterized by an excess of any component.
Putrefactive disease develops when eating too many carbohydrate-containing foods, that is, meat, fish, and eggs predominate in the diet. The disease may develop due to eating stale meat products.
Fatty dyspepsia is caused by an excess of fats in the diet, especially refractory ones - lamb or pork fat.
The fermentation form is caused by an excess of carbohydrate-containing foods in the diet, such as bread, legumes, cabbage, sugar and some others, as well as fermented drinks (these include beer and kvass).
Diagnostic methods
Stopping digestion of food in the stomach may be a symptom of another, more serious disease, so if signs appear, you should consult a doctor.
First of all, the doctor collects an anamnesis. It is necessary to describe all complaints as accurately as possible: how long ago and how severe the pain has been, when it appears, whether there is heartburn, whether there are other diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
After this, the doctor can prescribe both instrumental and laboratory tests.
Instrumental studies may include ultrasound and computed tomography. Using electrogastroenterography, disorders of gastric motility are detected, that is, its ability to move food mass. If more serious diseases (tumors) are suspected, the patient may be prescribed radiography. The inner surface of the stomach is analyzed using an endoscope, often with a simultaneous biopsy. Tests are carried out for the presence of the pathogen Helicobacter pylori.
TO laboratory research include biochemical analysis blood, stool test for the presence dietary fiber and hidden blood.
Therapeutic measures
If the disturbance of digestion in the stomach is caused by the development of another disease (influenza and other viral diseases, ulcers, gastritis, pancreatic diseases, duodenitis, etc.), it is this that is treated first.
To treat direct indigestion in the stomach, the patient is prescribed medications different directions. For constipation, the patient is prescribed a laxative, but not for continuous use - only until the stool returns to normal. If diarrhea occurs, the patient should take antidiarrheal medications.
The patient is prescribed some medications designed to eliminate the main symptoms of the disease:
- Enzymatic – improve digestion, the functioning of the stomach and duodenum.
- Proton pump blockers - prescribed for increased acidity stomach, manifested in the form of heartburn and sour belching.
- Histamine blockers are medications that reduce stomach acidity, but have a weaker effect than proton pump blockers.
- Painkillers - antispasmodics that reduce painful sensations in a stomach.
Non-drug treatment consists of simple measures. After eating, it is recommended to walk for at least 30 minutes. During treatment, the load on the abs is eliminated: twisting, lifting or bending the body.
Since one of the reasons that food is poorly digested is poor nutrition, it is reasonable to try to improve the condition with the help of diet. Therefore, at least for the duration of treatment, you need to give up fast food, fried, fatty, and semi-finished products, since all of these products contain a large amount of simple fats.
It is important to have a positive attitude - it helps improve the production of gastric juice. Therefore, while eating, you do not need to plunge into dark thoughts or be distracted by watching TV, reading a newspaper or watching news on the Internet.
The main rule is to seriously reconsider your diet. It is important to give preference to natural and high-quality food. If the stomach does not accept any food, then you can switch to separate meals, since a diet selected in accordance with the rules allows you to relieve the digestive system and identify a product that is not accepted by the gastrointestinal tract.
Separate nutrition requires following several rules. The main thing is that you should not mix carbohydrates and proteins in one meal, since their processing requires different concentrations of gastric juice. In this case, fats can be combined with both proteins and carbohydrates.
It is important not to mix food that takes a lot of time to digest. different quantities time. For example, nuts take longer to digest, so you shouldn't eat them at the same time as an orange.
You also need to be more careful with liquids. It is not allowed to drink hot coffee or tea immediately after eating. To avoid problems, you need to drink water 15 minutes before meals and at least an hour after meals.
Gone are the hungry times when people earned their food through hard work, but the habit of people to eat enough for future use remains. The need to know how to quickly digest food in the stomach becomes important for the prevention and treatment of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Slow digestion contributes to constipation, which provokes inflammatory processes in the intestines, which can serve as a manifestation serious illnesses internal organs. Food that stays in the intestines for a long time rots, poisoning the body.
It is difficult to answer definitively the question of how long it takes the stomach to digest food. Nutritionists have compiled an extensive table depending on the length of the process on the predominance of vital nutrients. However, the table loses sight of many related factors: diet, method of preparing food, metabolism, type of activity, mental state, age and gender of the person.
For example, if you swallow a fatty piece of fried meat while walking, wash it down with a glass orange juice, the gastrointestinal tract will not digest the food received, but will send it straight to the cecum. Boiled meat breaks down faster than fried meat, fatty meat slower than lean meat. Meat eaten at breakfast is digested more slowly than lunch meat.
Taking certain medications, the presence of pathologies or diseases of internal organs significantly affect the rate of food processing, accelerating or slowing down the effect of gastric juice and the overall performance of the gastrointestinal tract.
Types of assistance
There are many ways to help quickly digest what you eat at the table:
- change in diet and attitude towards nutrition
- lifestyle change
- drug
Chewing correctly
Chewing thoroughly helps to digest food. Prolonged exposure to food oral cavity saturate it with salivary enzymes, which have a beneficial effect on digestibility. Grinding food into small pieces greatly increases the surface area of contact of the consumed product with gastric juice, and the rate of breakdown and absorption increases. The loss of teeth, especially molars, leads to the fact that the gastrointestinal tract does not digest food well.
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Water is life
Sufficient moisture intake reduces the likelihood of constipation because... how it softens the stool.
A glass of water taken before lunch stimulates digestion, saliva production, and stabilizes water balance body. However, fluid intake during administration should be kept to a minimum. Liquid drunk during meals dilutes gastric juice, worsening digestion properties.
Water is of paramount importance for the normal functioning of the body and the digestive organs in particular. When eating dry foods, an increased amount of acid is released. Sodium bicarbonate, produced in the stomach, protects the organ by neutralizing acid in the mucous membrane. Excess salt obtained during chemical reaction, when dehydrated, changes the structure of mucus. It becomes heterogeneous, acid gets on the walls, causing pain. A constant lack of fluid leads to erosion of the walls, turning into an ulcer.
Not all milk is healthy
After forty years, the stomach does not digest milk well. Characteristic manifestations are bloating, diarrhea, or, conversely, difficult bowel movements. You should limit your consumption of the product by replacing it with fermented milk derivatives - kefir, cottage cheese (preferably low-fat), yogurt, etc. Lactic acid bacteria stimulate the production of saliva and gastric juice and normalize intestinal function.
Acting as antagonists of putrefactive bacteria, they suppress their reproduction. You need to know that the use fermented milk products Contraindicated in patients with pancreatitis, ulcers due to the additional load due to the production of lactic acid by lactic acid bacteria.
We crush and recover
To answer the question of how to make the stomach serve a person for a long time, without causing trouble, split meals will help - reducing portions with increasing approaches. The volume of food eaten remains the same, and the digestive system, which is not overloaded, functions without failures. The likelihood of constipation with this diet is low. It is recommended to eat at least 4-5 times a day in reduced portions. What you eat is absorbed faster, and your weight stabilizes.
Fractional meals have a beneficial effect on the performance of its duties by the transition of the esophagus into the stomach. The task of the specified place is to prevent the exit, eaten back. Stomach acid, which, together with the remains of what was eaten, rushes back, corrodes the walls of the esophagus, causing pain. Constant exposure to the transition of an acidic environment gives rise to erosion of the surface of the mucous membrane, which, without necessary treatment develops into stenosis or chronic ulcer of the esophagus.
Physical education for health
Regular exercise and sports help normalize the functioning of the digestive system. Particularly useful are leisurely walks, recreational jogging, skiing and skating. It is recommended to conduct the training 2-3 hours after lunch or breakfast, when the initial processing of consumed products occurs.
More on the topic: Why do you have metallic taste in the mouth?
By accelerating the breakdown of food in the stomach, exercise reduces its presence in the colon. Fecal water is less absorbed by the body, feces acquire a plastic consistency and bowel movements are less painful.
Let's rest properly
Organized rest is important for the gastrointestinal tract. Sleeping immediately after a heavy dinner interferes with the restoration of digestive organs. It is recommended to lie on your left side. Processes in the stomach occur more efficiently as the pressure on the organ decreases. You should go to bed after a pause of 2-3 hours. In this case, the body receives complete rest.
You can't do without enzymes
The gastrointestinal tract processes kilograms of food every day. The problem of how to make the stomach act for the benefit of the whole body is solved by digestive enzymes. A lack of enzymes leads to functional disruptions of the gastrointestinal tract and digestive system disorders.
For normalization, medicine offers a varied range of drugs (Pancreatin, Abomin, Mezim, Somilase, Acidin-pepsin, Nigedase), etc. Long-term use enzymes can only be used under the guidance of a qualified specialist. It is advisable to take medications in capsules that deliver active substance to your destination.
Such different problems
The activity of the gastrointestinal tract of people of different age categories has its own characteristics and differences.
Special attention to children
The gastrointestinal tract of infants is sensitive to changes in diet. Loose stool, belching part of what has been eaten is a frequent occurrence in a baby’s life. Special attention Parents should pay attention if the child does not digest food for a long time. Manifests bad mood and part of the undigested food in the feces. A sure sign that the baby needs to be examined by a doctor. A knowledgeable specialist will be able to determine the cause of the infant’s digestive upset.
Old age is not a joy
A characteristic feature of old age is the deterioration of the body. General performance decreases; the stomach in older people functions more slowly due to a decrease in metabolic rate. Despite the reduction in the amount of food eaten, constipation and intestinal blockage are a common occurrence, requiring enemas at least once a week.
