Can drinking porridge nourish the stomach? Here are some common misunderstandings about drinking porridge.

Flu is prevalent recently. When you recover from an illness, you will often hear people who care about you say: Have some porridge. After all, porridge is thin and soft, which makes people feel that it is easy to digest. Chinese people like to drink porridge for breakfast. There are many varieties of porridge, and the taste is different. Sometimes a bowl of white porridge, with salted eggs or pickles, can also be eaten with relish. However, how nutritious is porridge? Can drinking porridge really maintain health?

Can drinking porridge nourish the stomach? Many people believe that drinking porridge can nourish the stomach and maintain health, because porridge is very thin and soft, giving people a feeling of being easy to digest.

However, drinking porridge to nourish the stomach is not recommended.

The water content of porridge is usually above 80%, and it is cooked quite soft. When the stomach is uncomfortable, drinking porridge may be a little beneficial. But for normal people who have no stomach problems, it is better not to drink porridge for a long time.

In fact, the stomach needs regular "exercise". If you eat easy-to-digest porridge, soft rice, or mushy noodles for a long time, your stomach will not exercise regularly, and its digestive ability will degenerate and become worse.

For normal people, if there is no problem with gastrointestinal function, there is no need to rely on special food to nourish the stomach. Eating and drinking normally, chewing slowly, and ensuring nutrition are good for the stomach. There is no need to specifically "nourish the stomach".

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The misunderstanding that drinking porridge can nourish the stomach

Myth 1: White porridge, millet porridge, and noodles can reduce the digestive burden of the stomach

Porridge and noodles are mainly gelatinized starch, low in protein and almost no fat. The softer the noodles and porridge are, the easier they are to digest.

Well, doesn't that just reduce the digestive burden on the stomach? Actually, this doesn't make sense.

Some foods may require a little effort to digest, but this is still within the normal working intensity of the stomach.

The stomach has enough capacity to complete its digestive task and does not need more rest.

Myth 2: Not all stomach discomfort can be treated with porridge

When the stomach is upset, most people's first reaction is to drink porridge. Porridge is usually cooked very soft, easy to digest, and will not increase the burden on the stomach. In this way, it is indeed "stomach-nourishing". But not all stomach discomforts can be treated with porridge!

People with healthy stomach

Can't drink porridge for a long time

Because the stomach function is of the nature of "use it or lose it", if you drink porridge for a long time, the stomach's digestive ability will degenerate and deteriorate.

People with stomach obstruction and bloating

Do not add beans to porridge. Do not add soybeans, mung beans, etc., as they are not only difficult to digest, but also easy to produce gas and aggravate bloating.

People with sensitive gastrointestinal tract

Add sticky food to porridge

Such as yam, lotus seeds, etc., can reduce irritation to the gastrointestinal tract.

People with indigestion or recovering from illness

You can drink porridge

People who have indigestion and those recovering from surgery or illness have insufficient gastric motility and insufficient gastric acid secretion. Drinking porridge can promote gastric acid secretion.

People who are prone to acid reflux and heartburn

Can't drink porridge

This type of people secrete too much gastric acid, and drinking porridge will aggravate their condition.

Diabetic population

Can't drink porridge

Porridge is easy to digest and absorb, but it can cause blood sugar to rise rapidly after a meal. Try to eat dry food instead of watery food.

Myth 3: Milk porridge is more nutritious

Many people believe that milk can neutralize stomach acid. For people with digestive diseases, cooking porridge with milk is more beneficial to health. Studies have also shown that milk can promote the secretion of stomach acid in the human body and help digestion.

However, for people with gastric ulcers and lactose intolerance, cooking porridge with milk cannot help digestion. Instead, it will irritate the stomach and intestines and cause physical discomfort. Although cooking porridge with milk is nutritious, it should be consumed by different people.

How to drink porridge healthily? First of all, a reasonable combination is the key. Drink a small bowl of porridge, a meat bun, some vegetables, an egg, a glass of milk and a fruit. The overall combination is also very nutritious.

Secondly, the type of porridge is very important. The nutritional value of white porridge is low, but it does not mean that all porridge is bad. As long as you pay attention to the combination, porridge can also be made healthy. For example:

Multigrain porridge

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If the ingredients of porridge are cleverly matched and processed, and beans, other cereals or potatoes are added, the nutrients contained in a bowl of porridge can be greatly enriched. For example, it can supplement sufficient dietary fiber and other nutrients, and the sense of fullness is stronger, so that the amount of food intake can be better controlled.

Moreover, cooking whole grain porridge may also be beneficial for people to eat whole grains. Although whole grains and beans have high nutritional value, they are not refined and generally have a tight texture. When cooking rice, many people find it hard to chew; after cooking porridge, the texture of the ingredients is soft and more acceptable to more people. For children, eating whole grain rice may be too hard and rough, but drinking whole grain porridge is easier to accept.

Oatmeal

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Nowadays, many people use milk or yogurt, add some whole-grain cereal, and some dried fruits and fresh fruits to make oatmeal porridge in the morning. The content of protein, dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals in this porridge is also greatly increased, and the overall nutritional value is improved by more than one level.

Please note that the cereal here is recommended to be pure oatmeal, not snack oatmeal.

Meat porridge

There are also some meat porridges, such as lean meat porridge and shrimp porridge, which add some meat and some vegetables, and the overall nutritional value is greatly improved.

Therefore, not all porridge is inedible. The key lies in the type and combination of porridge.

Whether you eat at home or out, if you want to drink porridge healthily, it is important to do the following:

1. Drink porridge in moderation

Porridge has a lot of water and a large volume, so drinking porridge easily takes up space in the stomach. If you drink a large bowl of porridge, you may not be able to eat much other food, which can easily lead to unbalanced nutritional intake. Therefore, when eating porridge for breakfast, try not to eat too much, just a small bowl to leave some room for other foods in the stomach.

2. Try not to add salt, sugar and alkali

Salt and sugar are not good for health, and alkali will destroy the B vitamins in porridge. Therefore, try not to add sugar, salt and alkali when cooking porridge.

3. Cook porridge with high nutritional value, not just plain porridge

It is recommended that when cooking porridge, you might as well try a variety of combinations of ingredients, and don’t always cook plain porridge limited by traditional ideas. This way, the porridge will be more delicious and healthier.

4. Pay attention to the "date pit perforation" when drinking porridge

When the elderly and children drink porridge, there is one extra thing they need to pay attention to, which is the hard things in the porridge, such as beans and date pits.

Especially the date pits, which are generally thin and long, hard in texture, and very sharp at both ends. If they are swallowed accidentally, they can easily injure the gastrointestinal tract, causing perforation, suppuration, heavy bleeding, and even life-threatening.

Source: Chongqing Tianji Network Co., Ltd.

Source: Dingxiang Doctor, Kuaixian Doctor, Science Panda, Science Popularization China

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