The Stomach – The Body’s Gas Station
The stomach is the body’s gas station. The condition of the stomach directly affects the health of your body.
It can:
- Store food,
- Digest food,
- Help the body to absorb nutrients, and
- Produce energy.
Any fuel you put into the stomach will turn into energy to run your body. Here are 5 ways to take good care of your stomach and keep it healthy:
Avoid Consuming Cold Foods Or Drinks
The stomach is a warm organ that is sensitive to cold. Consuming cold food or drinks will lower your stomach’s temperature and it will have to work harder and consume more energy to digest your food. Over time, this will put stress on your stomach which will result in stomach problems.
Avoid Overeating
Overeating will cause your stomach to work harder and longer to process your food. Your stomach processes your food with enzymes, which are only available in a limited quantity. By overeating your stomach will have to produce more enzymes and the food will stay in your stomach longer eventually leading to gastritis, ulcers and weight gain.
Eat On-Time
Do not go hungry. When you are hungry, your stomach will start to produce gastric acid and enzymes in anticipation of food. If there is no food to process, the acid in your stomach will start to eat away the stomach lining causing ulcers and gastritis.
Eat Raw Foods In Moderation
I know, you have heard that raw foods and salads are good for you. You also may like to eat your meat rare and go out for the occasional Sushi meal. But understand that there is a trade-off with those choices. From a Chinese Medicine perspective, health issues occur along with these choices.
If excessive amounts of cold or raw foods are eaten, the body has to waste valuable energy raising the temperature of the food to allow the digestive processes to work. Prolonged or excessive use of chilled or raw food weakens the ‘digestive fire’.
By over-consuming raw foods your body will cool, produce mucus, get congested, get fatigued, and will get depleted of energy. You may also experience abdominal pain, bloating and poor appetite.
Slow Down Your Eating
When you eat slowly you digest better! Most people eat too fast and don’t properly chew their food. There are two benefits to chewing your food more before swollowing.
Chewing your food starts the digestive process and makes it easier and faster for your stomach to finish the process of digestion. Secondly, eating slower will alow your stomach to send the “satisfy signal” to your brain letting it know that you are full.
If you follow these 5 simple rules you will reduce the risk of developing sever and life threatening stomach diseases such as Gastritis, Stomach Polyps, Gastric Ulcers, and Stomach Cancer.
In addition to these life style changes you should get regular yearly examinations.
TCM therapies, such as acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine help to lower gastric acid, adjust esophageal pressure and balance the functions of the digestive organs.