What causes bloating and gastroesophageal reflux disease, constipation and other digestive disorders?

Common gastrointestinal problems include indigestion, bloating, gastric acid reflux, constipation, and more.

To better understand the causes of digestive problems, let's first look at the steps of digestion and absorption of food.

Food digestion begins in the mouth and by chewing

Chewing physically causes food to decompose, so we need to chew each bite at least 10 to 15 times, which most people do not chew enough when chewing food with saliva that contains the enzyme amylase. They are combined to prepare for digestion in the next steps.

Small amounts of some nutrients are absorbed through the mouth and enter the bloodstream during chewing, including sugar, alcohol, some vitamins, and minerals.



After swallowing, food passes through a long tube called the esophagus and enters the stomach, where it combines with strong acids and digestive enzymes. If you do not chew food well, at this stage more pressure will be put on your stomach to digest food. The stomach and its enzymes play an important role in the breakdown and digestion of proteins, especially animal proteins such as meat, which is why many people who have difficulty digesting food turn to vegetarianism because their digestive system is digestible. It is not easy to eat meat. Of course, I think this is a wrong decision, people may experience less digestive problems for a while by following a vegetarian program, but over time, more acute problems with new discomforts such as increased gastric reflux, constipation and Or they will experience bloating.

Food enters the small intestine after the stomach, where bile from the liver and other digestive enzymes from the pancreas are added to the digested food to complete the digestion process. There are also thousands of beneficial bacteria in the small intestine that help They fully digest food.

Food absorption

Food continues to move in the small intestine until the digestion process is complete. The small intestine has millions of villi in which blood flows and the nutrients in the digested food are absorbed through them and enter the bloodstream. .

After the small intestine, food enters the large intestine to absorb the remaining nutrients and water in it. This stage, especially the absorption of residual water from food, is an important part of the digestive process, if the large intestine absorbs a large amount of residual food water. You suffer from constipation and if you do not absorb enough, you will get diarrhea, so the large intestine must do its job properly so that defecation can be done easily and without any problems. Eventually, the rest of the unused food goes to the end of the large intestine to be excreted in the feces.



Problems with the stomach and small intestine

Stomach, liver and pancreas Some people do not produce enough digestive enzymes and bile, so food is difficult to digest and stays in the stomach and small intestine for a long time, causing bad symptoms such as bloating, gastroesophageal reflux disease. Excessive gas production in the intestines, constipation, etc. Also, in some people, because digestive enzymes are produced in very small amounts by the pancreas, the stomach is forced to produce more acid for digestion, and problems such as gastric reflux, heartburn, etc. occur.

What causes gastrointestinal problems?

The stomach, liver, and pancreas use vitamins and minerals called coenzymes to produce digestive enzymes and bile. For example, more than 100 enzymes in the body need zinc to produce more than 400 enzymes. They are magnesium, other vitamins and minerals used to produce digestive enzymes include chromium, manganese, calcium and B vitamins.



Deficiency of any coenzyme in the body reduces the ability of the gastrointestinal tract to produce enzymes and easy digestion of food and causes a variety of problems in various stages of digestion from bloating and gastric reflux to constipation, as well as an increase in some minerals in The body, such as iron, copper and cadmium, cause liver and pancreas dysfunction, leading to digestive problems.

Many medicines and pills are prescribed by doctors for gastrointestinal problems such as ranitidine, famotidine and dozens of other drugs. In my opinion, these drugs are not a cure and regulator of the digestive system and can only be used as long as you use them. Is slightly reduced digestive problems.

For treatment, first the amount of minerals and vitamins in the body should be measured and checked through blood tests, which deficiency or excess of which substances cause disorders in the digestive system, and by adjusting their amount and balance by modifying the diet and using supplements. Proper nutrition Most digestive problems are easily and completely eliminated.



General recommendations for increasing the efficiency of the digestive system

1) Avoid overeating in one meal, try to increase the number of meals and reduce their volume, and reduce stress and pressure on your digestive system by reducing the volume of food in one meal.

2) Do not drink fluids for half an hour before and up to an hour and a half after eating because they dilute digestive enzymes.

 3) Lighten your last meal before 8 pm and at least 2 hours before bedtime, provide the necessary desire and opportunity to rebuild and relax the gastrointestinal tract.

4) Antibiotics kill beneficial bacteria in the gut to avoid unnecessary consumption as much as possible, and if used after the end of the antibiotic course of probiotic supplements that contain beneficial digestive bacteria Use for a week.

5) Eat fruits on an empty stomach and at least an hour away from food.

7) Drink plenty of water throughout the day.