Reunion of loved ones, family and friends;
It is inevitable to indulge in delicacies, meats and sea foods;
Gorging on food and drink recklessly;
After being overwhelmed and unable to handle the burden,
The stomach and digestive system are most likely to strike.
Why does the stomach and intestines go on strike?
A few days ago, we specially interviewed Zhao Xinkai, Director of Gastroenterology and Endoscopy Department of Hainan Cancer Hospital and expert in gastrointestinal endoscopy of Hainan Chengmei Hospital.
Zhao Xinkai introduced, on each Spring Festival, the most patients received are caughted by digestive diseases, including acute gastroenteritis, pancreatitis, cholecystitis, gastrointestinal bleeding, as well as patients with alcoholism.
The main reason for the high incidence of digestive diseases in Chinese New Year is “eating”.
Zhao Xinkai said that almost all digestive tract diseases during the Spring Festival are caused by eating. In Hainan New Year customs, people would eat big castrated chicken for each meal, which is white cut with a thick of fat and tender taste, or seafood, prawns, big crabs, conch, mackerel.... There are also various fried snacks, glutinous rice baba. They will eat at home, or during visiting relatives and friends, and eat there where they go. These foods are high in fat and sugar, coupled with continuous eating, completely disrupting the gastrointestinal "rhythm" to be overwhelmed, how can they don’t strike?
Furthermore, during Chinese New Year, dishes of every family are particularly abundant, so there are more leftovers. Hainan is cold but sometimes warm, very suitable for bacterial growth, it is quite normal to cause acute gastroenteritis after eating leftovers.
Drinking alcohol and staying up late will also hurt the body particularity. Excessive drinking easily leads to gastrointestinal irritation, fatigue, and low immunity. In particular, alcohol can even cause gastrointestinal bleeding, leading to bad health. Irregular work & rest and diet can lead to gastrointestinal dysfunction and various digestive tract diseases.
How to prevent digestive tract strike during the Spring Festival? Zhao Xinkai suggested:
I. control our mouth
Try to avoid overeating, do not take in greasy, spicy, high sugar food excessively. Take in much fiber-rich foods, such as vegetables, fruits and whole grains to promote digestion; control drinking or moderate drinking to avoid damage to the digestive tract; maintain good sleep habits and do not stay up late. Good sleep helps maintain proper metabolism and digestive function; divide meals into several small portions. Avoid oversatiety to increase gastrointestinal burden and help digestive function run smoothly; match food, including protein, carbohydrate, fat intake, to protect intestinal health. Especially children, the elderly, pregnant women, including cancer patients, should pay more attention to a healthy and regular diet during the Spring Festival.
II. Do more exercise
Keep moderate exercise, such as walking, jogging to promote gastrointestinal peristalsis, improve digestive function.
III. Scientific prevention
During the Spring Festival, we can prepare some commonly used medicine and food to help gastrointestinal digestion; change the cooking style and avoid high-fat food. When cooking seafood, add some ginger, perilla or prepare some mustard, which not only neutralize the "cool" of seafood, but also prevent digestive tract inflammation.
Try not to drink with stomach empty, you can drink milk before drinking to protect the gastrointestinal mucosa. Keep warm and dont get your stomach cold. The stomach cold can also affect the normal work of gastrointestinal function. Try not to drink cold water especially frozen drinks often, drink more warm water or black tea.
Zhao Xinkai stressed that digestive tract diseases would be cure with “thirty percent treatment, seventy percent care", no matter how masterful a doctor is, the treatment will not be as effective as your self-discipline.
Expert introduction
Text and picture(s) from Liang Shan