5 habits that your stomach is afraid of, many people do them almost every day!

The stomach is an important digestive organ in the human body. If something goes wrong with it, it will not only cause discomfort, but will also delay our enjoyment of delicious food.

Diet is particularly important for stomach health. If you eat the wrong food for a long time, the chance of stomach problems will increase greatly. This article will talk about the foods and bad living habits that the stomach fears the most, and will also tell you what we should do to protect the health of the stomach.

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The stomach is most afraid of these 5 things

Nowadays, there are many people who hold their stomachs and complain about stomach pain. Bad eating habits and living habits can easily damage the health of the stomach.

1

High-salt foods

A long-term high-salt diet is not only harmful to cardiovascular health, but is also unfriendly to stomach health.

Excessive salt intake can irritate the gastric mucosa and may cause the parietal cells to fall off. Parietal cells are a barrier that protects the health of the stomach. Once they are damaged, the risk of gastritis increases, and in severe cases, it may even lead to gastric cancer.

Recommendation: Control the salt intake in your diet. It is best to control it within 5 grams per person per day, which is less than the amount of 1 beer bottle cap (with a rubber pad). At the same time, you should also pay attention to eating less pickled vegetables, sauerkraut, ham, sausage, bacon and other foods with high salt content.

Data show that people who often eat pickled foods have a 2.21 times increased risk of gastric cancer.

2

High-sugar foods

Young people today are under great pressure at work and in life, and many of them especially like to eat sweets when they are under stress.

Studies have shown that frequent consumption of high-sugar foods not only easily induces tooth decay, but also increases the risk of stomach problems. Some ingredients in sweets, such as aspartame, sucralose and saccharin, not only destroy the intestinal immune balance and damage the intestinal barrier function, but also break the balance of intestinal microbiota, creating conditions for Helicobacter pylori infection.

In addition, eating too much high-sugar food may also be related to functional dyspepsia.

Recommendation: It is best to control daily sugar intake to no more than 25 grams, and try to use less or no added sugar when cooking at home.

When buying food, look at the label on the package and choose those that do not contain added sugar. For example, if the ingredient list includes white sugar, rock sugar, brown sugar, black sugar, sucrose, glucose, fructose, maltose syrup, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, honey, etc., try to reduce your consumption.

3

Smoking and drinking

Smoking and drinking are both very harmful to health, and both can induce gastroesophageal reflux disease. Smoking can reduce the muscle tension of the lower esophageal sphincter and reduce saliva secretion, while drinking can affect the synchronous contraction efficiency of the esophagus, significantly reduce the pressure of the lower esophageal sphincter, and promote the secretion of gastric acid, affecting its peristaltic function, leading to the decline of gastric and esophageal function, and causing gastroesophageal reflux disease.

Moreover, long-term smoking and drinking are related to the occurrence of gastric cancer. A large number of studies have confirmed that smoking increases the risk of gastric cancer. This is because cigarette smoke contains a variety of carcinogens that can induce gastric cancer; alcohol can irritate the gastrointestinal tract, causing symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain, causing gastric mucosal damage and bleeding, and also causing certain damage to the liver, nervous system, and endocrine system, especially strong alcohol, which is more harmful.

Recommendation: Quit smoking and limit alcohol! It is best not to drink alcohol. If you really want to drink, the daily alcohol intake of adults should be controlled to no more than 15 grams, which is equivalent to the amount of alcohol in the figure below.

4

Unhygienic diet

If you do not pay attention to dietary hygiene, you may be infected with Helicobacter pylori. Helicobacter pylori is an important pathogenic factor of diseases such as peptic ulcer, chronic gastritis, and gastric cancer, which can cause symptoms such as abdominal pain, belching, upper abdominal distension, and acid reflux.

Recommendation: Wash your hands carefully before and after meals, pay attention to hygiene and keep clean; disinfect tableware regularly, implement a separate dining system, and use public chopsticks and spoons. This is an effective way to prevent the spread of Helicobacter pylori.

In addition, it is recommended to have regular physical examinations and seek timely treatment if you find yourself infected with Helicobacter pylori.

5

Certain medications

Long-term use of certain medications, such as aspirin, ibuprofen, etc., can also damage the gastric mucosa.

Recommendation: Consult a doctor before taking any medication, fully understand its side effects, and read the instructions carefully.

Protect your stomach by doing this

In order to keep your stomach healthy, in addition to the ones mentioned above, the following good habits are also important.

1

Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables

Fresh fruits and vegetables are not only rich in vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber and water, but also provide our bodies with rich antioxidants, such as carotene, lycopene, anthocyanins, vitamin C, etc. These ingredients can help us reduce the body's inflammatory response and protect stomach health.

Studies have shown that although vegetable intake has nothing to do with the risk of gastric cancer, allium vegetables and cruciferous vegetables have a protective effect on preventing gastric cancer. Increasing the intake of fresh fruits can also reduce the risk of gastric cancer.

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A comprehensive analysis of data from 17 related studies around the world as of 2020 showed that the risk of gastric cancer was reduced by 62% for people who consumed fruit ≥3 times a week compared with people who consumed less than 3 times a week; the risk of gastric cancer was reduced by 38% for people who consumed vegetables ≥3 times a week compared with people who consumed vegetables less than 3 times a week.

Therefore, we must try our best to increase the intake of vegetables in our diet. Vegetables should account for half of the plate at each meal. We should choose more dark vegetables and eat cruciferous vegetables regularly. As for fruits, 2 to 3 fists of fruits per day are enough.

2

Eat soy products regularly

Soybeans, tofu, yuba, vegetarian chicken, dried tofu, tofu shreds and other soy products are rich in soy isoflavones. Studies have shown that soy isoflavones can induce apoptosis of gastric cancer cells and have the effect of preventing and resisting gastric cancer.

3

Don’t eat too much, chew slowly

Control the amount of food you eat at each meal, don't eat too much, just eat until you are 70% to 80% full to avoid adding burden to the gastrointestinal tract. Chewing slowly and thoroughly can help control the amount of food you eat and avoid overeating. Chewing each mouthful of rice a few more times can help the food be chewed more fully, increase the contact area between the digestive juice and the food, make it easier to digest, and reduce the burden on the gastrointestinal tract.

4

Maintain a healthy weight

To protect the health of the stomach, you also have to control your weight. Obese people generally have higher visceral fat. An epidemiological study on the risk of gastric cancer showed that visceral fat is a high-risk factor for cardia cancer. In addition, obesity is associated with the risk of multiple cancers and plays a role in promoting the development of gastric cancer.

Body mass index (BMI) is a widely used indicator to judge the degree of fatness or thinness of the human body. If BMI ≥ 24, it is considered overweight, and BMI ≥ 28 is considered obese. BMI = weight (kg) / height (m) squared. In addition, if the waist circumference of an adult male is ≥ 90cm and that of a female is ≥ 85cm, it is considered abdominal obesity. Even if your BMI is within the normal range, but your waist circumference is excessive, you still need to lose weight!

Controlling weight and preventing overweight and obesity are not only for a good figure, but also for the health of the body.

Summarize

Nowadays, many people suffer from stomach problems, and even young people’s stomachs are slowly collapsing. A “stomach protection action” is imminent.

Usually, we should put an end to bad eating habits and have regular physical examinations, especially those who have Helicobacter pylori infection in their families. If you often feel stomach discomfort, you must pay attention to it as soon as possible, and don't ignore the "stomach disease signals"!

References

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[3] Gastrointestinal Motility Group of the Chinese Society of Gastroenterology, Chinese Society of Gastroenterology, Gastrointestinal Functional Diseases Collaborative Group. 2022 Expert Consensus on Diagnosis and Treatment of Functional Dyspepsia in China[J]. Chinese Journal of Gastroenterology, 2023, 43(07): 433-446.

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[6] Li Yong, Fan Liqiao, Ma Jianhua, et al. Clinical analysis of the site of gastric cancer onset and related factors - with analysis of 12525 cases [C]//China Anti-Cancer Association, Chinese Medical Association Oncology Branch. Proceedings of the 8th China Oncology Academic Conference and the 13th Cross-Strait Oncology Academic Conference. Department of Surgery 3, the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University;, 2014:1.

[7] Chinese Nutrition Society. Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents[M]. People's Medical Publishing House. 2022

[8] Ma Jixiang, Su Junying, Li Huiqing, et al. Study on the effect of soybean isoflavones on inducing apoptosis of gastric cancer cells[J]. Chinese Journal of Public Health, 2003, 19(4): 434-436. DOI: 10.3321/j.issn:1001-0580.2003.04.023.

[9] Cui Guifang, Miao Wei. Research progress on the application of visceral fat in gastric cancer[J]. Progress in Clinical Medicine, 2023, 13(12): 20585-20594

Planning and production

Author: Xue Qingxin, registered nutritionist

Review丨Zhang Yu, researcher/PhD, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, national health science expert