From the ease of digestion, porridge does not require the stomach to do too much grinding work, it can directly turn into chyme, and amylase can fully act on it, without the need to chew, it melts in the mouth and is very easy to digest and absorb. It brings less burden to the digestive system and is less likely to cause allergies or food intolerance reactions. Therefore, porridge has a certain function of nourishing the intestines and stomach. However, not everyone, nor all patients with gastrointestinal diseases, are suitable for nourishing the stomach with porridge.Can infants drink porridge?
Some patients with stomach problems should not drink porridge
Different treatments should be given based on the condition of patients with stomach problems.
People with atrophic gastritis often feel bloated and have no appetite due to insufficient gastric acid secretion. They feel full after eating. Drinking porridge can promote gastric acid secretion, help digestion, and also raise blood sugar, which has the effect of nourishing the stomach.
Patients with reflux esophagitis who do not exercise after meals for a long time will have a large amount of gastric fluid reflux into the esophagus, causing symptoms such as heartburn, chest tightness, and throat obstruction. This type of patient is not suitable for drinking thin porridge because drinking porridge will increase gastric acid secretion and because porridge is a non-solid food, it is more prone to reflux. For such patients, drinking porridge cannot nourish the stomach, but will worsen the condition.
Patients with gastric ulcers or superficial gastritis should drink soft and mushy porridge, mainly made of fine grains, but should not drink a large amount of porridge. Because porridge can stimulate excessive gastric acid secretion, a large amount of gastric acid will severely stimulate the gastric mucosa and ulcer surface, which is not conducive to ulcer healing. Putting some baking soda in the porridge can neutralize gastric acid, which is suitable for patients with these diseases.
Infants can drink fine grain porridge
The gastric mucosa of infants is not well developed. Rice porridge and rice soup are rich in nutrients and are easier to digest and absorb than other foods, which is beneficial to the development and health of infants; drinking porridge can stimulate gastric fluid secretion, aid digestion, and promote the absorption of fat. It can also cause the casein in milk powder to form loose, soft clumps, making it easier to digest and absorb. Therefore, using rice soup to mix milk powder or as a supplementary diet for infants is relatively ideal.
