Refusal from a full breakfast, snacks on the go, fatty foods at night - unfortunately, many of us eat this way. From such a diet, not only excess weight can appear, but also unpleasant sensations in the stomach - heaviness, a feeling of overflow, nausea. This suggests that the stomach does not digest food. And if you do not take any action, the food stagnates, problems with stool appear. As a result, the body is clogged with slag. This article will talk about why food is not digested in the stomach, and how to solve the problem.
Stomach: what is it like?
This is a place for digesting food, which is located on the left side of the abdomen. The capacity of the stomach is 2-3 liters. Food gets into it from the esophagus. The main task of the stomach is to disassemble the food received in it for fats, carbohydrates, proteins. All that remains after that, from the stomach will fall into the duodenum. When we have a feeling of hunger, or we begin to eat, it produces hydrochloric acid, due to which food is broken down and digested. The walls of the stomach are covered with a special shell, which reliably protects it from the action of acid. Food is digested for several hours. About five hours, fat is absorbed; it takes two hours to fully process carbohydrates.
Why does pain occur?
If the stomach hurts after eating, then the food was heavy, greasy or spicy. Excessive drinking can lead to pain. Under the influence of alcohol, a large amount of gastric juice is released, pressure on the mucous membrane increases, and, as a result, pain appears. Also, digestion of food in the stomach can be difficult due to hormonal imbalance (a common occurrence in pregnant women). In addition, insufficient secretion of gastric juice can be triggered by disorders of the secretory gland.
How much food is digested in the stomach?
Water drunk on an empty stomach instantly enters the intestines.
15-20 minutes are required for the absorption of broths, fruit and vegetable juices.
Mixed salads are digested for 20-30 minutes.
20 minutes is necessary for the absorption of melon, oranges, grapes, grapefruit.
40 minutes is required to digest cherries, apples, pears, peaches and other semisweet fruits.
30-40 minutes are necessary for processing vegetables that go to the salad raw, such as cucumbers, lettuce (leaf, red, Boston, garden), tomatoes, green and red peppers, celery and other juicy vegetables.
40 minutes require for their assimilation, vegetables cooked in water or steamed, as well as greens (cabbage, spinach).
45 minutes broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, boiled corn are digested.
The body needs 50 minutes to process root crops such as parsnips, turnips, beets, carrots.
About an hour is required for the assimilation of starchy vegetables - these are pumpkin, acorns, chestnuts, Jerusalem artichoke, ordinary and sweet potatoes.
For 60-90 minutes starchy foods such as refined rice, millet, buckwheat, oatmeal, cornmeal, quinoa, and barley are digested.
90 minutes is necessary for the assimilation of legumes - lentils, chickpeas, lima and ordinary beans, etc.
120 minutes soy is digested.
Approximately 2 hours will be required for processing sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin, melon pear.
2.5-3 hours nuts are digested, such as hazel, almonds, raw peanuts, pecans, cashews, Brazil and walnuts.
90 minutes are required for the digestion of cottage cheese, cheese, cheese.
2 hours processed cottage cheese from whole milk.
5 hours is necessary for the assimilation of hard cheese (M'enstrer, Swiss).
30 minutes are required to digest the egg yolk, 45 minutes to process a whole egg.
Flounder, common shallow cod, halibut fillet are processed for half an hour.
45-60 minutes are necessary for the absorption of more fatty fish (herring, tuna, trout, salmon).
1.5-2 hours, the chicken is digested without skin.
2 hours - skinless turkey.
3-4 hours is required for the assimilation of beef and lamb.
4-5 hours are necessary for processing pork.
What happens to food after we eat it?
In order for food to bring the necessary energy and benefits, it must turn into chemical elements that are absorbed by the body. This complex process begins even in the mouth, when the teeth are ground, and saliva dissolves the food. Then in the stomach it is affected by gastric juices and acid. Then, through the capillaries, it is absorbed into the blood, which passes through the liver. It contains thousands of enzymes that neutralize any poison (for example, alcohol), while retaining useful vitamins, glucose, and iron. How much food is in the stomach? After a full meal, the food is in the stomach for 2-4 hours. Then it enters the small intestine. Here, digestion lasts another 4-6 hours. Then the digested foods enter the colon. There they can be for another 15 hours, then water and semi-solid sediment exit the body. If the stomach does not digest food, then this process stops, and discomfort appears.
How to normalize the condition?
If your stomach hurts regularly after eating, you must adhere to the following recommendations:
eat small meals;
limit the use of fatty, heavy, spicy foods;
have dinner three hours before bedtime;
drink fluid in between meals.
Food for pain in the stomach should not be too cold or hot. Products should be eaten boiled or baked.
If a the stomach does not take food at all, and after eating immediately begins vomiting, then this most likely indicates an ulcer. In this case, you must immediately contact the hospital.
Separate nutrition for normal digestion
If the stomach does not digest food, separate nutrition will help normalize the condition. With such a diet, the body’s digestion costs are reduced and it becomes possible to determine which foods cause the disorder. According to the theory of separate nutrition, carbohydrates and proteins cannot be combined in one meal, but fats can be combined with carbohydrates and proteins. This is a basic rule, but not the only one. With separate nutrition, many nuances must be taken into account. Do not forget about the time that is necessary for the assimilation of certain products, and do not use at the same time different food for the duration of digestion. So, if you eat almonds with oranges, in addition to the difficulty in selecting the necessary enzymes, not fully digested fruits will be in the stomach with nuts for 2-3 hours. Also, if you add oil to the vegetable salad, this will increase the residence time of food in the stomach by 2-3 times.
How to improve the absorption of food?
To start eating should only be in a good mood. It is also not recommended to be distracted by reading newspapers and watching TV.
It is necessary to observe a diet. Full should be breakfast, lunch and dinner. So the load on the stomach will not be too strong, it will be able to work in normal mode.
Eat several times a day in small portions. It is recommended to get up from the table with a slight feeling of hunger.
Two days a week should only eat lean dishes. This will provide an opportunity to "rest" not only the stomach, but also the liver, pancreas.
ethnoscience
If the stomach does not digest food, you can use proven folk recipes to normalize the condition. For example, for two weeks, drink infusions of medicinal herbs that normalize the work of the stomach (centaury, wormwood, etc.). You can also pour a glass of boiling water over a dessert spoon of cinnamon, boil for five minutes and use the resulting broth half an hour before meals (no more than four tablespoons). A light five-minute massage of the abdomen will help to alleviate the condition, it is recommended to alternate soft stroking and stronger pressure.
Remember that any problem is easier to prevent than to solve, so eat properly and regularly, without waiting for stomach problems.