2023-07-03 12:00:42
Indigestion… unnecessary suffering
Do you feel full early while eating your meal? Or do you feel so full so quickly that you can’t finish your food, even though you didn’t eat much of your meal?
Or do you feel full after your meal, to an annoying degree, and that feeling of fullness lasts longer than it should? Do you feel discomfort or a burning sensation in the upper abdomen after eating a meal, or do you feel a slight pain in the area between the lower breastbone and the navel?
Or do you feel bloated, or an uncomfortable feeling of tightness, in the upper part of your abdomen? If so, you may be suffering from indigestion (dyspepsia).
Gastroenterologists at the Mayo Clinic add: “People with indigestion may also feel heartburn sometimes. Heartburn is a pain or burning feeling in the center of your chest that may radiate to your neck or back during or after eating. Less common signs and symptoms include vomiting and belching.
Indigestion
Indigestion is a common condition. According to the US National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), “Indigestion is a common condition that affects about 1 in 4 people in the United States each year. Of those people with indigestion who go to the doctor, nearly 3 out of 4 are diagnosed with “functional dyspepsia,” that is, one that is not caused by an organic disease in one part of the digestive system.
And the institute adds, explaining: “Dyspepsia is not a disease in itself and is not always associated with eating. Rather, it may be a sign of some diseases of the digestive system. However, most of the time, doctors don’t know the cause of chronic indigestion. This chronic indigestion, which is not due to a chronic health problem, and without the presence of diseases in the digestive system, is called functional indigestion.
And some medical statistics mention that in 40 percent of indigestion cases, there is a disorder and defect in the “delayed emptying of the stomach” of food after eating a meal.
Although indigestion usually doesn’t have serious complications, it can affect your quality of life, making you feel uncomfortable and causing a loss of appetite. You may miss work or school because of your symptoms. Mayo Clinic doctors add: “Its symptoms may vary from person to person, and may also differ in the same person from time to time. It is also possible for a person to feel the symptoms of indigestion at other times, at intervals, or on a daily basis. But the good thing is that indigestion can be alleviated by making lifestyle changes, eating a variety of foods, and even taking medications.”
Digestive comfort
In fact, giving rest to the digestive system to digest food is essential to feeling comfortable after eating meals. And the comfort of the digestive system to carry out its functions depends on two things: the first is to eat food in a healthy way, with ingredients and cooking, and the second is that the digestive system enjoys good health that enables it to carry out its tasks.
The digestive system consists of two components: a digestive tract that takes different shapes and sizes along its course, and solid supporting organs that are connected to that digestive tract. The alimentary canal is a tube shaped like a series of connected hollow organs, i.e. a long, twisted tube that starts at the mouth and ends at the anus.
The hollow organs are: the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, and anus. The solid organs related to the digestive system and supporting it in completing its work are: the liver, pancreas, and gallbladder.
The sources of physiology and body anatomy add that what directly and indirectly contributes to the success of the functioning and interactions of the digestive system is: the central nervous system (in the brain and spinal cord) and the local nervous system (in the digestive system), blood, And blood vessels (arteries, veins, and lymph channels of the parts of the digestive system), hormonal glands, and friendly bacteria in the intestine.
These scientific sources summarize that the digestive system’s conduct of the processes of assimilation of ingested food, the processes of breaking down pieces of this food, the processes of absorbing nutrients in it, and the processes of neutralizing components that the body does not need from it and that should be emptied from the digestive tube, all of which require harmony and efficiency for the parts of the digestive system to move in the same way worms. It is a method of movement that presses and pushes food from one part to another (from the digestive tube), leading to the excretion of waste. This peristalsis is accompanied by the secretion of various types of digestive juices. That is, from every region of the alimentary canal (stomach, intestines) and from each of the solid digestive organs (liver, pancreas, and gallbladder). By doing these two things, the main nutrients (water, proteins, sugars, and fats) are broken down. Then, the absorption of major nutrients and micronutrients (minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, various groups of food chemical compounds, pharmaceutical compounds, and a number of chemicals in the digestive juices themselves).
eat the food
And the most important step for the success of all this, is to make the right start. That is, eating morsels of food in a moderate size, and over a short period of time between each morsel, and chewing the food well in the mouth, and giving a rest to the tongue in order to push the mass of food into the throat for swallowing, as well as resting the epiglottis in order to prevent food from entering the trachea and directing it towards the esophagus. Here, the salivary glands in the mouth produce saliva, which moistens the food so that it passes more easily through the esophagus into the stomach. Saliva also contains an enzyme that begins to break down starches.
And if one continues in this way to eat and swallow food, then the digestion process becomes automatic, as the brain directs the muscles of the esophagus to start pushing food towards the stomach, and when the food reaches the end of the esophagus, the sphincter muscle ring at the bottom of the esophagus relaxes to allow the passage of food into the stomach. Then the stomach muscles mix the food with the digestive juices of the stomach, and this continues between 40 minutes and 4 hours (depending on the quality of the meal components). The stomach then slowly empties its contents into the small intestine.
In this way, an “important part” of feeling comfortable during and after eating a meal is obtained, and often does not suffer from indigestion.
Causes of indigestion
In most cases, indigestion symptoms arise as a result of a complex interaction between 4 factors, namely:
– Increased neurointestinal sensitivity.
Delayed stomach emptying and overeating with a meal.
Poor stomach acceptance of food, even if it is in a small amount.
Having a mental disorder, such as anxiety.
Therefore, there are several possible reasons for suffering from indigestion, including what is related to several behaviors in daily life, including what is related to the way meals are eaten and their components. Common causes of indigestion include:
Eating very quickly.
Eat big meals.
Eat foods rich in fat, grease, or rich in hot spices.
Consuming a large amount of caffeine, chocolate or soft drinks.
Lack of drinking enough water for the body’s need.
– smoking.
Stress or anxiety.
– Receiving treatment with some types of antibiotics, pain relievers, or iron pills.
However, there are also other causes of indigestion related to functional or pathological disorders in the parts of the digestive system itself, including:
Irritable bowel syndrome, or irritable bowel syndrome, is a very common cause of indigestion.
– Gastritis.
Ulcers of parts of the digestive system (esophagus, stomach, duodenum, and colon).
– The presence of infection with Helicobacter pylori (stomach germ) related to infections and stomach ulcers.
– Gallstones.
Chronic or frequent constipation.
In addition to the above, there are rare causes, such as pancreatitis, stomach cancer, bowel obstruction, or decreased blood flow in the intestines (intestinal ischemia).
In addition, a number of other diseases may cause indigestion, such as:
– diabetes.
– Laziness or increased thyroid activity.
Indigestion… When is it worth seeing a doctor?
Mayo Clinic doctors say: “Mild indigestion is usually nothing to worry about. Consult your doctor if the condition persists for more than two weeks.
But they also explain: “Call your doctor immediately if the pain is severe or is accompanied by:
Unintentional weight loss or loss of appetite.
Repeated vomiting or vomiting blood.
Dark black stools.
Difficulty swallowing that gets progressively worse.
Fatigue or weakness that may indicate anemia.
They also add: “Seek urgent medical attention if you experience any of the following:
Shortness of breath, sweating, or chest pain radiating to the jaw, neck, or arm.
Chest pain with exertion or stress.
Approximately 3 out of 4 people are diagnosed with functional dyspepsia, which is not caused by an organic disease in one part of the digestive system.
Types of foods and their approximate duration of stay in the stomach
The stomach is the first place where food enters and settles temporarily. And because the speed of food coming out of it is one of the reasons for the feeling of digestive comfort, it is useful to know that the types of foods differ in the duration of their “natural” stay in the stomach bowl.
To begin with, the duration of food stay in the stomach depends on the size of the meal, the speed of eating it, and the quality of its nutritional components, especially the amount of fats and proteins.
Roughly speaking, for the types of foods and drinks, water moves directly from the stomach to the intestines, if it is drunk on an empty stomach. In order to leave the stomach, it takes 20 minutes for fruit juices, 20 minutes for watermelon slices, 30 minutes for salad greens and oranges, 40 minutes for apple slices and leafy greens, cooked beans and squash, boiled eggs and grilled fish 45 minutes, and root vegetables such as carrots and beets 50 minutes, potatoes and low-fat white rice. Cooking 60 minutes, oats 90 minutes, lentils, chickpeas, peas and grilled chicken two hours, nuts two and a half hours, full-fat yellow cheese, beef, lamb and fatty foods such as rice with meat, oriental sweets and fried foods 4 hours.
Therefore, regardless of the components of the meal, the period of stay of the meal in the stomach often does not exceed 4 hours. This is noting that the passage of a meal through the small intestine takes about 4 hours, and through the large intestine between 30 and 40 hours. But the problem with feeling indigestion sometimes occurs, and for some, when overeating, eating quickly, eating foods rich in fats or grease, or adding a lot of spices.
• Consultant in internal medicine
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