Do you know your stomach? Don’t have these misconceptions about the stomach

Nowadays, the pressure of life is increasing. Many people often do not eat well due to busy work. Due to irregular diet and some bad eating habits, most people have some minor problems with their stomachs.

There are more and more opinions about how to nourish the stomach, such as: drinking a glass of milk before drinking can protect the stomach, people with stomach problems should eat small meals frequently, drinking porridge can nourish the stomach, people with poor stomachs should not drink tea... Are these stomach-nourishing opinions true?

April 9th ​​is "International Stomach Protection Day". Science Rumor Refutation and Weibo Health jointly launched the "National Chronic Disease Health Science Popularization Plan - Health Rumor Refutation" to help everyone understand their own stomach↓

01

Myth: Eating too much will expand your stomach

The truth: The stomach is a very elastic organ. After a person reaches adulthood, the size of the stomach basically does not change. It is only the stomach that expands and contracts during the digestion process.

We can think of the stomach as a balloon. When you are empty, the stomach is like a balloon that has not been blown up. When you are full, the stomach is like a blown-up balloon. When you overeat, the balloon expands.

The size of the stomach cavity changes only within a certain range. After a person eats food, it passes through the esophagus into the stomach. The stomach wall is elastic, so the volume gradually increases and the stomach wall gradually becomes thinner. Therefore, the size of the stomach is different when it is empty and when it is full.

Eating too much often may temporarily expand the stomach, but the stomach capacity is actually constant. Therefore, the stomach will not expand as it expands, nor will it shrink as it gets hungrier.

02

Rumor: Drinking a glass of milk before drinking can protect your stomach

The truth: "Alkaline milk can neutralize acidic gastric juice, cover the stomach wall, and relieve the damage caused by alcohol." This statement is incorrect.

As an alkaline milk can indeed neutralize the acidic gastric juice, but this is only a temporary effect, and it is difficult for milk to form a protective film in the stomach. Therefore, drinking milk before drinking alcohol will not help to protect the stomach.

On the contrary, if you drink milk before or while drinking alcohol, the calcium in the milk will promote the secretion of gastric acid, put a burden on the stomach, and the condition of gastritis patients will become more serious.

Studies have shown that as long as the alcohol content is above 20 degrees and the drinking volume exceeds 100 ml per hour, the gastric mucosal damage will begin. Therefore, try not to drink or drink less. Friends with poor stomachs should also drink less milk and other dairy products, fruit juice, etc. to avoid hyperosmotic diarrhea.

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03

Myth: People with stomach problems should eat small and frequent meals

The truth: There is no scientific basis for the idea that "eating small meals frequently when you have stomach problems". For people with digestive tract diseases, "eating small meals frequently" not only has no auxiliary therapeutic effect, but also has more disadvantages than advantages. This is because after food enters the stomach, in addition to neutralizing gastric acid, it also strongly stimulates the gastric mucosa to secrete gastric acid, and the secretion of gastric acid will continue for 2 to 3 hours after each meal.

For people with gastric ulcers, "frequent meals" will constantly stimulate the gastric mucosa to secrete gastric acid, which will cause the gastric ulcer to be frequently corroded by gastric acid, which is not conducive to the healing of the ulcer surface.

The diet of patients with stomach problems should be adjusted at regular times and in regular amounts, with three meals a day and a good combination of coarse and fine foods, so that the gastrointestinal tract will be healthier.

04

Rumor: Drinking porridge can nourish the stomach

The truth: For people with gastrointestinal diseases, there is a common saying that "drinking porridge nourishes the stomach." Because porridge takes a long time to cook, the starch in the porridge can be more fully gelatinized and easier to digest, which to some extent reduces the secondary digestion of food in the stomach and reduces the burden on the gastrointestinal tract.

However, there is no clear definition of stomach nourishment itself, and each person's gastrointestinal conditions and physical constitution are different, so the food that suits them is also different. The reactions to the same food (such as millet) are also different. It is unscientific for different patients with stomach problems to eat the same "stomach nourishing food".

It is not recommended for people with excessive gastric acid secretion to drink porridge for a long time. For example, patients with reflux esophagitis are prone to acid reflux and heartburn. Drinking porridge can easily make things worse.

05

Myth: Spicy food can cause stomach ulcers

The truth: In fact, chili peppers contain chili tincture or capsaicin, which can promote appetite and improve digestion. The vitamin C content of chili peppers is as high as 198 mg per 100 grams, which is the highest among vegetables. Whether or not to eat chili peppers and how to eat chili peppers are related to personal constitution. There is no research that can prove that eating chili peppers can cause gastric ulcers.

Most gastric ulcers are caused by infection with Helicobacter pylori or taking certain drugs, such as aspirin, ibuprofen or naproxen. Eating spicy food can cause acute gastric mucosal damage, thereby aggravating gastric ulcers, but it is not the main cause of gastric ulcers.

However, eating too spicy food can easily damage the stomach and intestines. For people with gastric ulcers and hemorrhoids, eating too much chili will make their condition worse. Eating too spicy or salty food can also indirectly induce chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, high blood fat, and diabetes, and affect cardiac conduction, which can lead to worsening of heart disease.

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06

Rumor: Atrophic gastritis will turn into gastric cancer

The truth: Patients with atrophic gastritis are at high risk of gastric cancer, but it does not mean that chronic atrophic gastritis will inevitably develop into gastric cancer.

Precursors of gastric cancer are divided into two categories: precancerous diseases and precancerous lesions. Precancerous diseases refer to benign diseases related to gastric cancer, which have the risk of developing into gastric cancer; precancerous lesions refer to a series of pathological changes that have occurred and are gradually moving towards gastric cancer. If it is simple atrophic gastritis, it is only a precancerous disease, but once it is accompanied by pathological changes such as intestinal metaplasia or atypical hyperplasia, it will become a precancerous lesion.

It takes a long time from the onset of atrophic gastritis to gastric cancer. During this period, timely and correct intervention and regular gastroscopy examinations can interrupt the progression of the disease.

07

Rumor: Eating garlic can kill Helicobacter pylori

The truth: The reason why garlic is said to be bactericidal is related to the allicin (diallyl thiosulfinate) produced when it is crushed or chewed. This substance does have a certain bactericidal effect, and in the laboratory culture environment, it can even significantly inhibit Helicobacter pylori.

But please be clear, it is not garlic that has anti-inflammatory effects, but allicin! "Allicin" is not equal to "garlic". In a whole garlic, the content of allicin is very low or even non-existent. It is really difficult to get "allicin" by eating raw garlic!

In further experiments by scientists, the number of Helicobacter pylori in volunteers who took allicin for 2-8 weeks did not change much, which means that allicin was destroyed after entering the human body because it is a "fragile" substance that is not resistant to acid, alkali or high temperature. In other words, it is not realistic to kill Helicobacter pylori by eating garlic.

Image source: Copyright Library

08

Rumor: People with bad stomachs cannot drink tea

The truth: First of all, it is important to understand that if you have a bad stomach, you cannot drink tea, but you should drink it correctly. How to drink tea correctly?

The first thing is to avoid "strong tea". Strong tea contains too much caffeine, theophylline, etc., which will cause obvious irritation to the gastric mucosa. Frequent drinking may cause inflammation, congestion, edema, erosion, and even gastric ulcers and gastroesophageal burns.

Secondly, if you have a bad stomach, it is best to drink less green tea. Green tea is unfermented and has a high content of tea polyphenols, which has a significant stimulating effect on the gastric mucosa.

In addition, don't be greedy for new tea, as it contains more unoxidized polyphenols and alcohols, which can also be more irritating to the gastric mucosa.

Also, when drinking tea, you must be careful not to drink it on an empty stomach. Drinking tea on an empty stomach will cause greater irritation to the gastric mucosa, dilute the gastric juice, and affect the digestive function.

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