What water and how to drink in the morning for healthy digestion, said the doctor

Is it good to drink water on an empty stomach? Is the fear of accidentally swallowing gum or bone justified? What causes sudden drowsiness after a heavy lunch? To find answers to these questions and dispel myths correspondent of the agency "Minsk-Novosti" helped doctor-gastroenterologist of the highest category Tatiana Tkachenko.

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From swallowed gum to dangerous seeds

Since childhood, we were scared, they say, swallow gum - it will harm the intestines. Tatiana Alexandrovna hastens to reassure: in the vast majority of cases, our body successfully removes inedible trifles in a natural way.

- Gum is not the most dangerous option. In order to have real problems, it must either be swallowed in huge quantities, or a person must have serious diseases, such as adhesive bowel disease, as the consequences of surgical intervention. And so to suffer about this is definitely not worth it, although specifically swallow it, of course, should not, the doctor explained.

Much more serious is the case with objects that have sharp edges or aggressive chemical nature. We are talking about small metal parts, pieces of glass, especially batteries and magnets. According to the gastroenterologist, in medical practice there were cases when 28 magnets had to be removed from the stomach of a child at once! Attracting to each other, they create conglomerates, cause inflammation and damage to the mucosa, which can lead to perforation (rupture) of the organ. In such situations, emergency endoscopic or surgical intervention is required.

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If you accidentally swallowed a cherry or apricot bone, there is nothing to panic about either. Yes, they contain the substance amygdalin, capable of secreting poisonous compounds. But we usually do not chew whole bones, and under the protection of an intact dense shell they are absolutely safe. The swallowed bone will simply safely leave the body in a natural way.

However, even if you eat an apple with seeds, the concentration of the toxin in the latter is negligible: according to scientists, to have a real risk of poisoning, you need to carefully chew about 200 pieces.

The danger lies elsewhere. A ingested bone can create purely mechanical problems - for example, accidentally falling into the appendix (the cecum). If it gets stuck in its lumen, it is theoretically capable of provoking inflammation. For the same reason, people with diverticulosis (when special protrusions are formed on the walls of the intestines like pockets), gastroenterologists are advised to avoid whole nuts and seeds or chew them as thoroughly as possible - literally to the state of mush.

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Can I have lunch

The myth that a glass of water during meals “dilutes gastric juice and interferes with digestion”, the gastroenterologist refutes: nature wisely foresees this moment, and it is simply impossible to dilute gastric juice with ordinary moderate drinking in practice.

The need to drink food depends only on the composition of the dishes. If you eat soup or a balanced lunch, the body may not need extra fluid. But if there is a habit of eating dry, the diet consists of sandwiches, then it is simply necessary to drink them. Only in this case, you should think about the quality of the food itself.

Formally, a person needs at least 1.5 liters of liquid per day, and soups, tea and coffee are also included in the overall classification, although they have their calorie content. And yet, experts call the main component of the drinking diet pure water at room temperature.

A great habit, which came to us from oriental medicine, is a glass of clean (can be filtered) water, drunk on an empty stomach - about 30 minutes before breakfast, it gently prepares the gastrointestinal tract for work. The important thing is that the water should not be boiled. When boiled, useful minerals and trace elements precipitate, so such water loses most of its benefits.

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Lemon water. Benefits or harms

Many people like to add a slice of lemon to the morning water. Such a drink is pleasantly acidified and perfectly stimulates the production of digestive enzymes, but it is suitable only for owners of an absolutely healthy stomach. With high acidity or hidden diseases, lemon juice begins to work as an aggressive irritant. T. Tkachenko recalled a case from practice: a patient with a perfect biopsy and a complete absence of Helicobacter infection had erosion of the stomach mucosa, and the reason was precisely the fact that the woman every morning on an empty stomach drank water with lemon.

As for the total volume, in case of kidney disease or heart failure, the daily rate of water consumption is usually limited to one and a half liters. A healthy person can safely drink two, and two and a half liters, focusing primarily on the natural feeling of thirst, but you do not need to force yourself to pour three liters of water.

What about the soup

What about Grandma's daily soup rule? As the doctor notes, people who regularly consume warm liquid foods are really less likely to encounter gastrointestinal diseases. Warm soup is easily digested, helps the proper breakdown of fats, carbohydrates and facilitates the work of the intestines. The main thing is that the broth is not excessively spicy or oversalted.

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Why do you sleep after eating

Many people have noticed that after a hearty dinner, they sleep. This is explained by simple physiology: the body redirects blood resources to the abdominal organs to digest the resulting volume of food.

- The famous "Iron Lady", British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, never ate before responsible speeches in Parliament to keep cheerful and clear thoughts. The brain works more efficiently on an empty stomach, since resources are not spent on digestion, the gastroenterologist shared an interesting fact.

By the way, going to bed or taking a horizontal position immediately after eating is not quite right. Between the stomach and esophagus is a special valve - cardia. When a crowded stomach is in a horizontal position, food containing gastric juice begins to press on the valve, causing belching, heartburn and acid throwing into the esophagus. Constant repetition of this process leads to reflux esophagitis and the development of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). The correct approach is to eat 3-4 times a day in moderate portions, after eating, sit a little or walk around, and organize the last meal 3 hours before bedtime.

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Fasting coffee

Another common mistake is to start the morning with a cup of coffee on an empty stomach. Coffee serves as a stimulant of hydrochloric acid production. If there is no food in the stomach, hydrochloric acid begins to corrode its own mucosa, causing inflammation, erosion and ulcers.

Therefore, the gastroenterologist advises to change the sequence: first a hearty breakfast and only then coffee - as a pleasant bonus. This approach allows not only to cheer up without harm to health, but also to protect the stomach from excessive stress from the very morning.