Key point: According to statistics, more than 70% of "office workers" have poor stomach health, mostly among young and middle-aged people. Office workers live on fast food and eat irregularly; such poor eating habits inevitably cause stomach damage and lead to gastric diseases. Therefore, caring for the stomach is urgent. How can one nourish the stomach?

According to statistics, more than 70% of "office workers" have poor stomach health, mostly among young and middle-aged people. Office workers live on fast food every day and eat irregularly; such poor eating habits inevitably cause stomach damage and trigger gastric diseases. Therefore, caring for the stomach cannot be delayed. How can one take care of the stomach?

The best ways to care for the stomach

Brisk walking

Brisk walking can improve digestive function and increase gastrointestinal motility, thereby reducing the occurrence of constipation. Regular aerobic exercise is a good way to relieve constipation, such as moderate-intensity brisk walking, cycling, swimming, and jogging. The process of aerobic exercise helps stimulate the natural contraction of intestinal muscles and accelerate the elimination of feces.

Sit-ups

Sit-ups are a simple and effective exercise; they not only build firm, toned abdominal muscles and burn belly fat, but also help improve digestive function and prevent or relieve gastrointestinal motility problems such as abdominal bloating, a feeling of fullness in the stomach, and constipation.

Deep breathing

Practicing deep breathing can exercise the abdominal muscles and improve blood circulation to the stomach, which helps regulate spleen and stomach function, improve appetite, promote digestion and absorption, and relieve discomforts like indigestion or stomach pain caused by emotional factors such as stress.

Moderate Alcohol Consumption

On one hand, drinking small amounts of low-proof alcohol can increase blood flow in the stomach; on the other hand, long-term or heavy episodic drinking of strong spirits can directly damage the gastric mucosal barrier, causing mucosal congestion, edema, erosion, and even bleeding. Therefore, it is acceptable to drink small amounts of low-proof beverages such as rice wine, beer, and wine, but avoid drinking large quantities of baijiu or binge drinking.

Dietary Restrictions

Most stomach illnesses are caused by poor dietary habits, so to prevent gastric disease you should pay attention to your diet. For example, avoid raw, cold, and spicy foods; do not overeat or binge; quit smoking and abstain from alcohol. Pay attention to food hygiene: prevent disease at the source. Wash your hands after using the toilet and before meals. Rinse raw fruits thoroughly. Avoid food contaminated with pathogenic bacteria. Do not eat spoiled or moldy food.

Take medications with caution

Drugs such as aspirin, analgesics, bupropion? (Note: 保泰松 is "potassium-based anti-inflammatory"?), paracetamol, prednisone, and similar medications can directly damage the gastric mucosa, disrupt the mucosal barrier, stimulate secretion of gastric acid and pepsin, reduce gastric mucous secretion, and weaken mucosal protection. Long-term use of certain traditional Chinese medicines (for example, overuse of very bitter-cold or pungent-warm drying formulas and toxic substances) can also cause gastric mucosal injury. All of these can lead to gastric disease. Therefore, avoid or minimize use of irritating drugs that harm the gastric mucosa whenever possible. If long-term use of irritating medications is necessary, take them after meals to reduce their irritation to the stomach, and simultaneously take agents that protect the gastric mucosa.

Quit smoking

Smoking causes constriction of gastric blood vessels and reduces blood supply to the stomach, while also suppressing gastric mucus secretion, worsening mucosal damage. Smoking can lead to incomplete pyloric closure, causing alkaline bile reflux into the stomach and damaging the gastric mucosal barrier, lowering its defensive function and precipitating gastric disease. Therefore, one should quit smoking.

Keep a pleasant mood

When a person is nervous, upset, or angry, those negative emotions can affect the autonomic nervous system, directly causing gastrointestinal dysfunction and leading to peptic ulcers.

Avoid excessive fatigue

Whether physical labor or mental work, excessive fatigue can cause insufficient blood supply to the gastrointestinal tract, disordered secretory function, excessive gastric acid and reduced mucus, damaging the gastric mucosa.