healthy stomach

People who are overweight are more likely to suffer from digestive problems. Whatever your weight, though, regular exercise can help alleviate stomach pains like gas and bloating. In a study involving 983 people participating in a weight loss program, the more physical activity people got each week, the fewer GI symptoms they had. Aim for at least 20 minutes of moderate activity each day.

In addition to losing weight and not eating before bedtime, eating less fat can make your stomach less irritable. Fat softens the sphincter muscles that close the lower esophagus, making it possible for stomach acids to back up into it. Avoid marbled meats and whole-milk products.

Your digestive tract is also intimately involved in some intensely emotional business: We rely upon our gut instinct to tell us the right thing to do. We have a gut reaction to people who offend or delight us. We do a gut check when facing a challenge and congratulate ourselves when we display the intestinal fortitude, or guts, to take it on.When you think about it, you wont be surprised to learn that your gut, or second brain, is synced up with your real brain. Just think about how a bout of intense fear or panic can liquefy your innards or, more commonly, when a cramp or brief wave of nausea alerts you to a nagging anxiety your mind had been working so hard to suppress. Theres a good reason your gut and your first brain communicate so seamlessly: Every class of neurochemical produced in the first brain is also produced in the second.

Smoking can weaken the muscle that controls the lower end of the oesophagus (gullet) and allow acid from the stomach to travel in the wrong direction back up the oesophagus, a process known as reflux.Reflux causes the symptoms of heartburn (a burning sensation in the chest) and can bring on or aggravate peptic ulcers and inflammatory conditions of the bowel. Smoking is also an important risk factor for stomach cancer.

It is very easy to spend our working lives eating on the move or at our desks, gulping down food between meetings and then crashing out in front of the TV with a takeaway in the evenings. But eating this way can play havoc with our digestive system.Following some basic rules can prevent problems:Don

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