Sunday 26 March 2017

Stomach, Intestine & Aging

Most of our patients and also people whom we know suffer from, "gas", "acidity" or "gastric" and some from constipation! Few common terms used to indicate variety of Gastrointestinal problems.

The problems are seen in young as well as the elderly.

Here we list some common problems and way to avoid them.



Acidity- Ah! we hear this so often. What does this indicate?

Do you know that our stomach secrets a very powerful acid, Hydrochloric acid (HCL), this acid is to help us digest all kinds of food. Now, why doesn't this acid digest our stomach itself?

Well, we have a protective cover called mucus which prevents the acid from injuring the stomach lining.  When the acid touches the stomach wall and injures it or when it goes into the oesophagus, the part above stomach, it causes what we call "acidity".

What are the causes of acidity?

1. Smoking
2. Alcohol
3. Helicobacter Pylori infection
4. Skipping breakfast
5. Having late dinner.  We are built to have our dinner by 7 pm. And if you have dinner by 7 pm, you need to have a healthy breakfast by 7 am!
6. Too much of coffee or tea
7. Lack of physical activity, obesity and a lax oesophageal sphincter.
8. Taking pain killers (NSAID- Non Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drugs).
9. Taking Aspirin
10. Spicy foods
11. Eating large meals
12. Lying down immediately after having food
13. Taking pain medicines for arthritis

It is self explanatory regarding how you can prevent gastritis. Indiscriminate usage of medicines against acidity is not recommended even though they are available over the counter. All anti acidity drugs have long term side effects.
Doing lifestyle and dietary modification is the best way to tackle acidity.

Now some people say they have "gas"

What does having gas mean?

We will cover it in our next post.

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