From belching and heartburn to hemorrhoids
More than 3.5 million Dutch people regularly have digestive complaints. We selected eight common complaints that you probably didn’t know could be caused by the digestive system.
A hectic lifestyle, insufficient drinking or too little exercise can cause digestive problems. The complaints below are common and can be largely prevented if you keep your digestion smooth and your intestinal flora in balance. Sufficient exercise, plenty of fluids and healthy, varied and fiber-rich food can help.
1. Farming
Belching is the ‘venting’ of the stomach through the esophagus and mouth. We swallow air all day long. This happens while eating, drinking, talking or breathing. This creates an accumulation of air in the stomach, causing the stomach to expand. When the stomach expands, a signal is sent from the stomach wall to the brain. This signal then causes the sphincter between the esophagus and stomach to relax. The air present in the stomach can then escape through the esophagus and mouth.
Farming can occur as a complaint to, among others, heartburn. However, it can also be caused by a wrong diet. It can help to eat and drink more slowly, with the mouth tightly closed. As a result, you take in less air. Also avoid chewing gum and carbonated drinks.
2. Heartburn
With age, the sphincter, the sphincter between the esophagus and stomach, weakens. This allows the gastric juice to easily flow back into the esophagus. This is called heartburn, heartburn, or reflux. The esophagus cannot withstand this and becomes irritated or even inflamed. This unleashes a burning sensation or a pressing pain behind the sternum and sometimes between the shoulder blades. If the gastric juice reaches the throat, it can also cause complaints there, ranging from an irritated or inflamed throat to coughing complaints.
Do not eat anything for three hours before going to bed. An empty stomach reduces acid production and prevents the risk of problems at night.
3. Blockage
We speak of constipation if you can go to the toilet less than three times a week, or if you suffer from hard, dry stools. This is because the stool stays in the colon for too long. It can be caused by the muscles of the colon no longer being able to move properly. The result is that the stool is pushed too slowly through the large intestine and too much fluid is extracted from it. In many cases, constipation is related to an unhealthy diet or a wrong lifestyle.
4. Hemorrhoids
Those who suffer from constipation have to make a lot of effort to squeeze the faeces out of the body. This can cause hemorrhoids. These are locally swollen, highly perfused areas of the mucosal lining of the last part of the rectum and anus. Hemorrhoids can be very painful. A fiber-rich diet and adequate fluids help prevent hemorrhoids. Don’t sit on the toilet for too long and don’t squeeze too hard.
5. Diarrhea
Strange as it may sound, diarrhea can be caused by constipation. This is called ‘overflow diarrhea’ or ‘paradoxical diarrhoea’. Hard stools close the rectum, making it overcrowded. Thinner stools then leak out through the droppings.
Also with diarrhea: eat fiber rich, healthy and varied. Provide sufficient moisture; this is often forgotten in diarrhea and can lead to dehydration.
6. Bloating
Bloating is also known as dyspepsia. It generally occurs right after eating. Bloating can be caused by the food not being digested properly and gases are created. Not drinking enough can make the problems worse, as fluids are needed for the digestion of food. Bloating is often accompanied by flatulence, rumbling in the stomach and sometimes nausea. Eating fatty foods worsens bloating; try to avoid this.
7. Diverticula
Diverticula are small bulges of the intestinal wall in the abdominal cavity. They will give complaints if food remains are left behind. Bacteria multiply in this and the chance of inflammation increases.
Diverticula can be found anywhere in the gastrointestinal tract, but they are most common in the last S-shaped portion of the colon, just before the rectum. This part is also called sigmoid. Complaints that indicate diverticula are abdominal pain, nausea, fever and sometimes blood in the stool. Adequate exercise is important to prevent diverticula. Drinking enough is also essential, in addition to a healthy and varied diet.
8. Stool Incontinence
When you can no longer hold your stool properly and lose stool at random times, we call it stool incontinence. Women suffer from this more than men. It can be caused by damage to the sphincter from years of hard straining during a bowel movement or because the sphincter of the anus becomes less powerful. A heavy delivery can also result in damage to the sphincter.
Sometimes training the pelvic floor muscle can offer a solution. In addition, it is important to keep the intestine as healthy as possible by exercising a lot, eating a diet rich in fiber, not smoking and drinking enough.
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