What changes will happen to your body after you overeat? (Besides getting fat)

Hey guys, have you ever had a moment like this?

Faced with the temptation of delicious food, you can't stop yourself from eating too much and end up with a bloated belly? Or you eat when you are happy, you eat when you are unhappy, you eat when you are sad, you eat when you are nervous...

In this issue, let’s talk about what changes the body will experience after overeating once, and the health risks that may be caused by overeating for a long time.

Overeating once, the "adventure" of the body

1. The Adventure of "Stomach Expansion"

Imagine that your stomach was originally a comfortable "little house", but too many "guests" suddenly poured in, and it had to expand desperately to accommodate these "uninvited guests".

After eating too much, the stomach will secrete more gastric acid and digestive enzymes to cope with this "feast", but this may also cause discomfort such as bloating, burping and even acid reflux.

2. Daily “overtime” work of the intestines

After food is digested, the intestines become the next "battlefield".

Overeating means that the intestines have to work overtime . For a normal meal, the stomach can process the food in about 2 to 4 hours, turning the food residue into feces and excreting it out of the body, returning to its original small state. However, it takes at least 6 hours to process a large meal.

But if there is too much food, the intestines may become "confused" and cause constipation or diarrhea.

3. Sleep troublemakers

Want to have a good sleep after eating too much? I'm afraid it's a bit difficult!

Your stomach is bloated and you feel uncomfortable no matter how you lie down. Digesting food requires energy, making you feel tired and difficult to fall asleep.

4. Mood fluctuations

If you feel unwell physically, your mood will also be affected.

After overeating, you may feel irritable, anxious, and even a little self-blame. In fact, it is not a big deal to overeat occasionally. The key is to adjust your mentality and pay attention next time!

Image source: Dingxiang Doctor

Overeating for a long time may cause many health risks

Although overeating once in a while won’t cause much harm to your body, overeating for a long time is a different story. Authoritative research shows that long-term overeating may lead to the following health problems:

Obesity: If you eat too much for a long time and consume more calories than your body needs, the excess energy will be converted into fat and stored in the fat tissue of the abdomen, buttocks or thighs, leading to weight gain. Obesity not only affects your appearance, but is also a risk factor for many chronic diseases (such as diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease).

Digestive system diseases: Long-term overeating will increase the burden on the gastrointestinal tract, leading to digestive system diseases such as gastritis and gastric ulcers. Excessive food can also affect gastrointestinal motility, causing symptoms such as indigestion and abdominal distension.

Metabolic disorders: Long-term overeating can easily lead to large fluctuations in blood sugar levels and increase the risk of insulin resistance. High-fat, high-sugar eating habits can also lead to dyslipidemia and increase the risk of arteriosclerosis.

Acute pancreatitis: If you have gallstones or long-term alcoholism, hyperlipidemia or other problems, overeating may cause pancreatic juice to be blocked in the pancreas and induce acute pancreatitis, which may cause acute abdominal pain at the mildest and life-threatening at the worst.

Cardiovascular disease: After overeating, blood will be concentrated in the stomach, reducing the blood supply to the heart and other organs. If this continues for a long time, it may increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease and high blood pressure.

So, how to avoid overeating?

1. Chew slowly

Give your brain enough time to receive the signal of "fullness". Chewing each mouthful of food more than 20 times is a bit exaggerated, but you can remind yourself to chew 5 more times per mouthful.

2. Choose a sequence for eating

When there are both meat and vegetables, eat vegetables first, then meat, and finally staple food. For staple food, try to choose more whole grains, cereals, beans, etc.

3. Drink water in small amounts and frequently

You can drink more boiled water, green tea or lemon water in small amounts and multiple times, up to 2000-2500 ml, to accelerate the excretion of sodium in high-fat and high-sugar foods.

4. Listen to your body

When your body says "enough", it's really enough, don't force it!

Remember, eating too much is not a sin, but eating healthy is the way to go! When facing delicious food, remember to be "rational"~