Abdominal pain, colic, gas, heartburn, constipation are signs of digestive problems. To free yourself from them, you need to know that the digestive system is a precise mechanism composed of closely cooperating organs. When one of them fails, ailments appear. What to do to make each of its parts run smoothly and not have problems with digestion?

The digestion processis long and complicated. Many internal organs and the enzymes they produce take part in it.

Esophagus - the gate to the stomach

When food is swallowed through the esophagus, it ends up in the stomach. It is made possible by muscles which, by contracting, move the food mass in the right direction. There is a sphincter inlet between the esophagus and the stomach, which "lets in" food and prevents it from regurgitating. When the sphincter refuses to open or is leaky, the mass moves back into the esophagus and reflux disease develops. Frequent irritation of the mucosa causes inflammation and erosions of the esophagus.

Advice:Avoid overeating and swallow small bites to prevent food regurgitation. Do not lie down immediately after a meal, because the lying position promotes the return of gastric contents into the esophagus.

Biting stimulates taste receptors

Digestion begins when food enters the mouth. Here we bite them and mix them with saliva to create an easy-to-swallow bite with the help of teeth and lingual papillae. Under the influence of the enzyme contained in saliva - ptialine - some carbohydrates and glycogen present in the meat are initially broken down. The action of this enzyme is inhibited in the acidic environment of the stomach. Biting stimulates taste receptors, which provoke the intense secretion of saliva, gastric and pancreatic juices, preparing subsequent sections of the digestive tract for digestion before the food mass reaches them.

Tips:Try to bite slowly, mixing the food and saliva thoroughly. Thanks to this, the well-grounded mass will go to the stomach, which will facilitate further processing. You will also allow the digestion of some carbohydrates in the mouth and stimulate the secretion of gastric and pancreatic juices. To bite properly, take care of your teeth - fill in the gaps, correct the bite. By swallowing large bites, you can injure the esophageal mucosa. Better not to drink your food, butdrink still mineral water between swallowing bites. Digestion is not good for talking during a meal, because we gulp the air with each bite.

How the stomach works - the power of digestive acids

The stomach is lined from the inside with the mucosa, from the outside it covers the serous membrane, and between them there is a muscle. The mucosa houses the mouths of numerous glands that produce hydrochloric acid and enzymes that are part of gastric juice, as well as large amounts of mucus, which facilitates the passage of food and protects the gastric membrane against the irritating effect of gastric juice. When too much hydrochloric acid is present, it can cause erosions, even ulcers. Protein, caffeine and alcohol stimulate its production. Thanks to the rhythmic contractions and relaxation, the food is mixed with gastric juice and further crushed. Hydrochloric acid destroys the bacteria that entered the stomach with food and stimulates the duodenum to produce intestinal hormones responsible for the production of pancreatic juice and bile. Fluids stay in the stomach for a short time, quickly enter the duodenum, a light breakfast - 2 hours, an average lunch 4-5 hours, a hearty meal of hard-to-digest dishes - even more than 8 hours.

Tips:Eat more often, but in small portions, preferably 5 times a day. Eating irregularly and overeating disturb your digestion. A metabolic memory is built up by the cyclicality of meals: the digestive enzymes peak at me altimes and the food is quickly converted into energy.

The stomach has a limited capacity (it can increase the volume from 1.5 to 6 liters) - when given a large portion, the walls will stretch and weaken, so digestion will take longer. There will be a feeling of heaviness in the abdomen, flatulence or heartburn. Avoid very hot foods and drinks (they irritate the esophagus and have a bad effect on the stomach) and very spicy foods (they promote acidity).

Small intestine - food factory for tissues

From the stomach, the food mass moves in portions to the small intestine, where further digestion takes place. In the duodenum (first section of the small intestine), sugars, fats and proteins are broken down under the influence of pancreatic enzymes, those produced by the walls of the small intestine and bile from the liver. Amino acids, glucose and fatty acids are ready to be absorbed and penetrate the villi of the intestine into the lymphatic and blood vessels.

Advice:Eat products with probiotics (yoghurts, drinks) - they improve digestion and absorption of nutrients and inhibit the growth of pathogenic bacteria in the intestines. Fermented milk products and silage are beneficial.

Liverproduces bile and retains toxins

The liver continuously produces the bile necessary for the digestion of fats. Unused bile flows into the gallbladder (it is dense and ten times more concentrated than hepatic bile). The body uses the reserve to digest large and fatty meals. The blood, flowing through the liver, absorbs nutrients, and leaves toxic metabolic products and harmful compounds that we introduce ourselves into the body every day.

Advice:The liver is harmed by alcohol, as well as caffeine, sugar and trans fats. Therefore, if you drink coffee, do not reach for Coke that day. After you eat a piece of cake, don't eat chocolate. Fried foods lead to excessive secretion of gastric juice and burden the liver, so replace them with boiled, baked in foil, on a wire rack.

Large intestine - the last stage of digestion

What you cannot digest ends up in the large intestine. Here, water, electrolytes, vitamins are absorbed, and vitamin K and some vitamins are produced. Unused waste is processed by the bacteria and moves towards the anus. As a result of a nerve impulse, the bowel movements increase, the anal sphincter opens and a bowel movement occurs. Most foods take 24 hours to digest. The time it takes for the food to pass through the intestines is, however, an individual matter. Constipation is when you have bowel movements less than twice a week.

Tips:Eat plenty of fiber-containing foods (vegetables, fruit with skin, coarse grains) and drink at least 2 liters of fluid a day. Move more - exercise is constipation's enemy. Make time to "sit". Pausing your bowel movements makes your reflex disappear. Therefore, the toilet should be used when the body requires it.

Pancreas regulates sugar levels

Without this gland, digestion would be impossible. It produces enzymes and hormones (glucagon and insulin) that regulate sugar metabolism. When the pancreas is working poorly, there is not enough insulin in the body and diabetes develops. The end product of sugar processing, i.e. glucose, is absorbed into the villi of the small intestine. From there it travels to the liver and is distributed through the bloodstream throughout the body. The liver can use the excess glucose to synthesize glycogen. When the excess lasts a long time, it converts it into fatty acids. Along with the blood, they go to the cells of adipose tissue and as the so-called Neutral fats are a reserve in the body. Pancreatic lipase is responsible for the breakdown of fats. Since this enzyme dissolves in water and fats in water do not dissolve,it can only digest particles on the surface of fat nuggets. Bile comes with help in decomposing them.

Advice:Choose products with a low glycemic index (GI) - coarse grain products and raw vegetables and fruit (cooking increases GI). Better to eat a carrot salad than boiled carrots with peas. Eating low GI slowly releases glucose into the bloodstream and produces a small amount of insulin. Such products usually contain a lot of fiber, make you feel full quickly, so you eat less without overburdening the digestive tract. The pancreas doesn't like beer!

Brain - Digestive Control Center

Digestion is controlled by the nervous system and the hormones that are secreted by the digestive system. Thanks to specialized nerve centers, the mere sight and smell of tasty food stimulate the salivary glands to produce saliva, and the stomach - to produce gastric juice. The nervous system is responsible for the feeling of hunger and satiety, and controls excretion. As the stomach stretches, gastrin is produced - a hormone that activates the work of gastric glands that produce the digestive enzyme - pepsinogen. During the digestion of fats in the small intestine, cholecystokinin is released, which is responsible for the production of bile.

Advice:Take care of the aesthetics of the dishes. Eating is supposed to be fun. Nervous tension causes the release of a large amount of adrenaline (it disrupts the production of digestive enzymes, disrupts the work of the stomach and intestines). Excessive gastric juice irritates the lining of the esophagus and stomach, causing gas and heartburn. This can lead to peptic ulcer disease, gastritis, and chronic constipation. Rapid (under stress) muscle contractions of the stomach, gallbladder and intestines cause abdominal pain and diarrhea.

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Category:

Gastrology