Bad Digestion - Dyspepsia

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it is an essential process for the life of man and of many other living organisms. Eating is not only an instinct, but a pleasure, an indispensable ritual aimed at the socialization and survival of the species itself.

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Over the millennia our organism has been subjected to a continuous process of adaptation necessary to face climate and environmental changes. Among these, a role of primary importance was played by the diet.

From hunter and gatherer of berries and tubers, primitive man gradually moved on to agriculture and breeding, radically modifying both life and food habits.

If on the one hand all this has allowed a greater availability of food, on the other it has decidedly limited the variety of foods present in the diet. From then until today, cereals have in fact constituted the essential basis of human nutrition.

Over the centuries, as social and economic conditions improved, additional foods were associated with these crops. Let's think, for example, of the introduction of corn and potatoes in the period following the discovery of America. Despite the evolution of agricultural knowledge, however, it is necessary to wait for the industrial revolution to be able to appreciate the first significant changes in the food sector.

Since the first post-war period, the economic wave that has swept through the most industrialized countries has suddenly expanded the availability of food. Over the course of a few years, the food industry has literally revolutionized the dietary habits of millions of people. In addition to the countless benefits of this food boom, however, the foundations have been laid for many of the digestive problems that afflict millions of people around the world every day.

Overeating and improper eating habits are among the main factors behind digestive problems.

Digestive difficulties, grouped under the generic term dyspepsia (from the Greek "dys-pepsia", or "indigestion"), are responsible for symptoms such as loss of appetite, stomach heaviness, fatigue, drowsiness, belching, halitosis, flatulence.

the spread of this problem in industrialized countries testifies to how dyspepsia is a disorder linked to the lifestyle and dietary habits typical of the Western world.

Symptoms

Typical symptoms of dyspepsia are located in the upper abdomen and may include:

Heartburn
Acid regurgitation;
Belching;
Halitosis;
Pain in the upper abdomen;
Sense of long and laborious digestion;
Intolerance to fats, fried foods, meat and eggs.

For further information: Indigestion Symptoms

Causes

Causes of dyspepsia can be:

Use of medicines (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDs such as acetylsalicylic acid, iron, theophylline, etc.);
Helicobacter pylori;
Gastric (stomach) ulcer;
Gastritis (inflammation of the inner lining of the stomach);
Poor nutrition (diet);
Obesity;
Gastroesophageal reflux disease.

To these symptoms are added other less common symptoms such as headache, cough, difficulty in swallowing (dysphagia) and sometimes food vomiting. In order of importance among the causal factors of dyspepsia in the first place there is the "Helicobacter pylori followed by NSAIDs and smoking and alcohol abuse.

Treatment

Carry out a specialized medical examination that allows to obtain a precise diagnosis (eg gastroscopy, opaque meal, blood tests, etc.);
Treat any organic diseases such as ulcers, gallbladder and biliary tract stones, celiac disease, etc.
Eliminate or at least reduce risk factors such as the intake of NSAIDs, obesity, smoking, alcohol, sedentary lifestyle and overweight.

If all these problems are removed, digestive difficulties remain, we speak of functional dyspepsia, or a form of disease not linked to organic causes (dyspeptic disorders of a benign nature). In any case, there are very effective pharmacological treatments specific to the symptoms felt.

or food intolerances, our body is perfectly capable of digesting any food deemed edible.

Digestion is however a complex process, which requires a lot of energy from the organism (about 15% of the daily caloric requirement). For this reason, the restriction of calories is essential to ensure a good digestion of food.

The division of food into different meals has the purpose of making digestion easier while at the same time preventing the appearance of uncontrollable hunger pangs. Condensing all the food in a single meal would instead be like concentrating the work of a whole day in a few hours, surely the performance would be very low and the nerves would not withstand the stress.

On the contrary, allowing yourself a regenerating break every now and then would help you regain energy and concentration to better face your work commitments. The same result can be obtained by consuming 3 main meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) possibly accompanied by one or more snacks. In this way, digestive problems disappear or at least are considerably reduced.

The maximum amount of food that can be ingested in a single meal must therefore also be calibrated according to the commitments following the "intake of food. If, for example, a strong" hole in the stomach "is felt one" hour before starting a "very physical or mental activity. intense it is good to consume a quick, easily digestible and not too caloric snack.

For a normal weight subject of 75 kg, a meal should generally not exceed 600-800 kcal. However, a particularly active person such as a sportsman may not be able to respect this constraint even dividing calories evenly in the three main meals. In this case, the consumption of snacks is the only solution to better redistribute the caloric intake throughout the day.

It is interesting to note that calories and not grams are used to quantify the maximum amount of food that can be consumed at each meal. It is no coincidence, generally, that it is precisely the most caloric foods that cause the greatest digestive problems.