In Gastrointestinal Diseases, A Gentle Approach Is Needed

Leticia Celentano Author: Leticia Celentano Time for reading: ~6 minutes Last Updated: August 08, 2022
In Gastrointestinal Diseases, A Gentle Approach Is Needed

CHAPTERS (Table Of Contents)



"We observe mass obesity and in parallel with it a shortage of nutrients in the same individuals ..."

 

- How to change our diet in diseases of the stomach and intestines?

 
A digestive-friendly approach is needed. There should be frequent intake of small amounts of food. 
 
In gastritis, ulcers or after gastric surgery, adequate mechanical and thermal processing of food is important.
 
Mechanical processing is peeling of husks, flakes, skins, removal of seeds, fine cutting, mashing, pureeing, and heat treatment can be cooking, baking, steaming. Fried food should not be consumed.
 
Intestinal diseases generally occur with diarrhea or constipation, which determines our eating behavior. 
 
In case of constipation, the intestinal peristalsis should be stimulated and the consistency of the intestinal contents should be optimized in order to facilitate its movement. 
 
When there is a disorder, it is necessary to limit the stimuli in terms of peristalsis, to reduce the loss of fluids and substances and to compensate for this loss.
 

- What foods and fluids are suitable for this type of disease and why?

 
Depending on the stage of the disease and the severity of the symptoms, the approach is different, but in general the following can be said.
 
In the case of ulcers or gastritis as well as after gastric surgery, it relies mainly on potatoes, rice, slightly drier white bread or rusks, minced meat, soft-boiled eggs, cottage cheese or sour cheese, fresh milk, milk creams and porridges, baked apples or fruit, which are very ripe soft and sweet, not sour, the fruit can also be pureed. It is appropriate to use herbal teas, mineral water, juices with low sugar content.
 
In intestinal diseases with diarrhea or after intestinal surgery, the patient is on a full fast for a day or two, then gradually add rice, mashed potatoes, soups, finely ground or mashed meat, rusks or toast, porridge, fruit purees containing tannin, herbal teas with astringent (astringent) action.
 
Constipation emphasizes plant foods rich in fiber and plenty of fluids. Don't overdo it with carbs, fats and protein foods, but you should have them.
 

- What to exclude from our menu or limit it and why?

 
Stomach diseases stop foods containing fiber, as well as sour, spicy, salty, concentrated sweets and confectionery, too cold and too hot foods and coffee and teas containing tannin.
 
 
 
In intestinal diseases with a disorder, fiber, sugar and sweets, all kinds of spices, canned and salty foods, milk, eggs, carbonated and sweet drinks are stopped.
 

- Is it necessary to follow a diet for a certain period of time, or a complete change in diet?

 
In the various stages of the disease, the dietary approach undergoes changes in terms of types of food, amount of food, mechanical treatment and heat treatment.
 
In principle, you need a diet for a certain period, which provides rest and does not irritate the body to help its recovery. If the causes of suffering are dietary errors, the same eating errors that led to the disease should not be allowed after recovery.
 

- What does a sample menu look like for people with stomach and intestinal problems?

 
It is not appropriate to give a specific menu if it is not tailored to the specific features of the case, because this would mislead patients. The nutritionist, based on the specific disease, the severity of its course and stage, as well as taking into account the taste and preferences of the patient, prepares appropriate dietary instructions. Everything else is just a food list.
 

- Do you recommend nutritional supplements for patients with similar problems?

 
If it is necessary to compensate for any loss of substances, appropriate supplements may be given. Herbal preparations that protect against gas and spasms can also be used. 
Here is the place to pay attention that the optimal composition of the intestinal microflora is of great importance for the proper functioning of the intestinal tract, which in turn affects the condition of the whole organism. Therefore, it is often necessary to take probiotics.
 

- Does the quality of the food matter?

 
If the technologies for food production and animal and plant breeding are followed and if the control system works, there should be no problems with food quality.
The quality of a food is in the presence of all the useful substances inherent in it, as well as the lack of harmful substances. A product that has an excessively low content of its characteristic useful substances can be defined as low-quality or low-quality, even if there are no harmful components.
 

- What is the problem if a food is not harmful, but it is of poor quality?

 
Recently, there has been a debate about the differences in the composition of the same foods sold in our country and in Europe. This is a typical example of lower quality and therefore cheaper to produce food, which is essentially safe to eat, but has a lower content of nutrients that would be present in it if the original technology is followed.
 
Depending on the products used, there are two options.
 
In the first option, such a food item can bring in both less energy than expected and less nutrients. It is obvious that such a product will not fulfill its nutritional functions and we will be deceived in our expectations. And if this is a frequently consumed food that we are used to relying on, over time we will create health problems.
 
However, the other option is more common, in which in the production of such "fakes" instead of valuable raw materials cheap and easily saturating "fillers" such as starch, palm oil, etc. are used. As a final result, we have increased energy content and low nutrient density, ie. we will have an import of a lot of energy and little substances in the body. This leads to a paradox - we observe mass obesity and in parallel with it a lack of nutrients in the same individuals. As a result, the number of diseases related to overweight, as well as diseases due to deficiency of substances, is increasing.
 
The quality of food determines its composition, and the composition of food determines the composition of the body. Externally, this can be understood by whether we sweat easily and how the body smells, how healthy they are and what hair and nails look like, the appearance of the skin and more. However, much more important are the health aspects of body composition such as bone density, the ratio of muscle and fat in the body, adaptability to stress and exercise, immunity, etc.
 

- What mistakes in nutrition does the modern make?

 
The main mistakes are the consumption of foods with high energy density - sweets and confectionery, pasta, fried foods and foods high in fat, especially animal and hydrogenated.
 
Food such as fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products and fish are not consumed enough. 
 
Low salt consumption, added sugar and fat, as well as more moderate alcohol consumption should be observed. 
 
The amounts of food we eat should also be adequate and not overdone just because we have easy access to food. 
 
Easy access to food is considered a sign of a high economic and civilizational level of a country.
 
This also applies to the USA, where, however, most of the food is imported, ie. are produced outside the country, and as described above. Our local producers would not be competitive if they did not apply such a cheap approach. As a result, it becomes quite difficult for our fellow citizens to observe high quality nutrition.
 
It is encouraging that the media and the more alert part of our society are raising the issue of food quality and control more often.
 
 
 

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