9 Taboos for Men to Take Care of Their Stomachs
1. Avoid excessive drinking
Alcohol can directly damage the gastric mucosa. It can also cause cirrhosis and chronic pancreatitis, which in turn worsens stomach damage.
2. Avoid irregular eating habits
When hungry, the high concentration of gastric acid and protease in the stomach can cause self-digestion of the mucosa. Overeating can also damage the stomach's self-protection mechanism. Excessive expansion of the stomach wall and prolonged food retention can also contribute to stomach damage.
3. Avoid eating unclean food
Infection with Helicobacter pylori is one of the important causes of gastric and duodenal ulcers. In patients with ulcers, the detection rate of this bacterium is as high as 70-90%. After ulcer healing, the bacterium disappears. Ulcer patients can be infected through close contact such as utensils, toothbrushes, and kissing. Unclean food is also one of the causes of infection.
4. Avoid overeating for dinner
Some people tend to concentrate their daily nutritional intake on dinner or eat late-night snacks or have something before bedtime. This not only affects sleep and can lead to obesity, but it can also cause excessive secretion of gastric acid and induce ulcer formation by stimulating the gastric mucosa.
5. Avoid eating too quickly
Food needs to be stored, ground, and digested in the stomach before it can be discharged into the intestines. If food is not chewed properly and is eaten quickly, the rough texture of the food can increase the burden on the stomach and prolong the retention time, leading to damage to the gastric mucosa. Additionally, chewing slowly can increase saliva secretion, which reduces gastric acid and bile secretion and is beneficial for protecting the stomach.
6. Avoid coffee and strong tea
Both coffee and strong tea are central nervous system stimulants that can cause gastric mucosal ischemia through reflex action, disrupting the protective function of the gastric mucosa, and promoting the occurrence of ulcers.
7. Avoid drug abuse
Medications that can damage the gastric mucosa mainly include three types: acetylsalicylic acid, such as aspirin; non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as paracetamol, ibuprofen, etc.; and corticosteroids and other hormone drugs. Therefore, it is advisable to avoid using these drugs as much as possible. If they must be taken, the dosage and duration should be controlled, and it is best to take them after meals.
8. Avoid excessive fatigue
Whether it is physical labor or mental labor, excessive fatigue can cause insufficient blood supply to the gastrointestinal tract, dysfunction of secretion, excessive gastric acid secretion and reduced mucus, leading to damage to the mucosa.
How to take care of the stomach and what are the precautions for stomach care for men
9. Avoid mental stress
When a person is stressed, anxious, or angry, their negative emotions can spread from the cerebral cortex to the autonomic nervous system, directly affecting the function of the gastrointestinal tract. This can lead to excessive secretion of gastric acid and pepsin, contraction of the gastric blood vessels and pylorus, obstruction of gastric emptying, damage to the gastric mucosal protective layer, self-digestion, and ulcer formation.
