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9
Surprising Facts About Your Stomach
When it comes to the tummy, experts
say myths abound. How much do you really know about
your stomach?
Colette Bouchez
WebMD Feature
From
those burning, churning feelings that erupt whenever
we eat our favorite foods, to the bloating that
keeps us from zipping up our jeans, to the gas that
can make us the most unpopular person in the
elevator, our stomach can be the cause of some major
inconveniences, if not some outright health
concerns.
Still, experts say most folks know painfully little
about how their stomach and their digestive tract
operates -- one reason that solving tummy troubles
can seem much harder than it has to be.
"There are some very popular misconceptions
concerning stomach health, most of which can really
lead people astray on how to effectively deal with
certain problems," says Mark Moyad, MD, director of
preventive and alternative medicine at the
University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor.
Gastroenterologist David Greenwald, MD, agrees.
"Sometimes what seems like a complex, difficult or
even frightening problem really is a simple one,
with a simple solution, if you can separate the
myths from the facts," says Greenwald, an associate
professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine
and Montefiore Medical Center in New York City.
To
help set the record straight, Greenwald, Moyad, and
NYU director of pediatric gastroenterology Joseph
Levy, MD, helped WebMD prepare the following
gut-busting challenge. Try to separate the myths
from the facts to see how much you really know about
how to keep your tummy healthy and happy.
1.
Myth or Fact: Digestion takes place primarily in the
stomach.
Answer: Myth. The major part of the digestive
process takes place in the small intestine. The
stomach takes in the food, then churns it and breaks
it into tiny particles called "chime." The chime are
then released in small batches into the small
intestine, where most digestion occurs, he says.
Contrary to popular belief, Levy says, foods do not
digest in the order they are eaten. "Everything
lands in the stomach where it's all churned
together, and when it's ready it's released into the
small intestines together," he says.
2.
Myth or Fact: If you cut down on your food intake,
you'll eventually shrink your stomach so you won't
be as hungry.
Answer: Myth. Once you are an adult, your
stomach pretty much remains the same size -- unless
you have surgery to intentionally make it smaller.
Eating less won't shrink your stomach, says Moyad,
but it can help to reset your "appetite thermostat"
so you won't feel as hungry, and it may be easier to
stick with your eating plan.
3.
Myth or Fact: Thin people have naturally smaller
stomachs than people who are heavy.
Answer: Myth. While it may seem hard to believe,
the size of the stomach does not correlate with
weight or weight control. People who are naturally
thin can have the same size or even larger stomachs
than people who battle their weight throughout a
lifetime. "Weight has nothing to do with the size of
the stomach. In fact, even people who have had
stomach-reducing surgeries, making their tummy no
larger than a walnut, can override the small size
and still gain weight," says Levy.
4.
Myth or Fact: Exercises like sit-ups or abdominal
crunches can reduce the size of your stomach.
Answer: Myth. "No exercise can change the size
of an organ, but it can help burn the layers of fat
that can accumulate on the outside of your body.
Plus it can help tighten the muscles in the abdomen,
the area of the body lying just south of the
diaphragm, that houses the stomach and many other
internal organs," says Moyad.
Interestingly, the part of your "belly fat" that can
do you the most harm may actually be the fat you
don't see. It resides in the "omentum," a kind of
internal sheet that lies over and around your
internal organs.
"People who are very overweight often have a lot of
fat between their organs internally. In fact, in
some instances, the liver can become so packed with
fat you can develop a form of hepatitis, and in
extreme cases, it can stop functioning altogether,"
says Levy. The good news: A healthy eating plan can
not only help you shed the weight you can see, but
also the internal fat layers you don't see.
5.
Myth or Fact: Foods that contain insoluble fiber
(which does not dissolve in water) cause less gas
and bloating than foods with soluble fiber (which
does dissolve in water).
Answer: Fact. According to Moyad, most folks are
astounded to discover that what they perceived as a
"gentler" form of fiber -- the soluble kind found in
foods like oat bran, beans, peas, and citrus fruits
-- can actually cause more gas and bloating than
insoluble fiber, found in foods like whole-wheat
bread, wheat cereals, cabbage, beets, and carrots.
"It is true," says Moyad. "And the reason is that
gas and bloating result from intestinal flora that
is needed to digest soluble fiber." Since insoluble
fiber is not digested at all -- it goes right
through you -- there is no interaction with
intestinal flora; consequently, no gas is formed.
One
caveat to keep in mind: While insoluble fiber won't
give you gas, it can increase the frequency and size
of bowel movements.
6.
Myth or Fact: One way to reduce acid reflux is to
lose as little as 2 to 3 pounds.
Answer: Fact. "The less acid that flows back up
into your esophagus, the fewer problems you will
have clearing it. And believe it or not, losing just
2 pounds of weight from the abdominal area can make
a difference -- and pregnancy is about the best
example of this," says Moyad. As the baby grows and
pushes against the internal organs, heartburn
increases; but once the baby is born and the
pressure is relieved, the heartburn is, too. "In
much the same way, losing even a little bit of belly
fat can provide similar relief.
The
really good news: Moyad says most people lose weight
in the belly area first, so you should see some
positive results on your heartburn within a few
weeks after starting a weight loss plan.
7.
Myth or Fact: Eating before bed can make you gain
weight faster than if you eat the same foods during
the day.
Answer: Myth. Most experts agree that we gain
weight when we take in more calories than we burn
up. And while it seems logical that foods we eat
during an active day will burn more quickly and more
efficiently than foods we eat right before going to
sleep, Moyad says weight gain is not based on a
24-hour clock. "It's the total amount you take in
over a period of time compared to how much you burn
that determines if you will gain weight. There is no
science to show that eating at a specific time of
the day can influence weight gain on its own," says
Moyad.
That
said, Levy reminds us that when we are fatigued or
stressed, eating right before bedtime can make
digestion more difficult and may cause more gas,
bloating, and heartburn. "There is a 'brain' in the
gut that helps to make sure that food is moved
through the digestive system at the right pace, in
the right amount," says Levy. When we are fatigued
-- like most of us are at the end of a busy day --
that 'gut brain' is fatigued as well. So, says Levy,
there is a decrease in the number of contractions
that move food through the system.
8. Myth or Fact: A 200-calorie
snack of peanut butter and crackers is more likely
to control your appetite than just eating 200
calories' worth of crackers.
Answer: Fact. The reason: "Fats digest much slower
than carbohydrates, and they remain in the stomach
longer, which means we naturally feel full longer
after eating a snack that contains at least some
fat," says Levy.
Additionally, Moyad points out that simple
carbohydrates (like crackers, bread, or cookies)
elicit a quick rise in blood sugar and insulin
levels, which subsequently drop just as quickly,
causing dramatic shifts in both mood and appetite.
"In short, you find yourself edgy and hungry," says
Moyad.
9. Myth or Fact: Beans cause
everyone to make excess gas, and there's nothing you
can do about it.
Answer: Myth ... sort of! Beans are high in a
kind of sugar that requires a certain enzyme to
properly digest. "Some people have more if it, some
people less. And the less you have, the more gas
that will be produced during digestion of beans,"
says Greenwald.
What
can help: Studies show products like Beano, which
add more of the enzyme needed to break down the
sugar in beans as well as other traditionally gassy
vegetables, can help if taken before you eat. After
the fact, you can reduce the gas that forms by
taking a product containing simethicone, which, says
Greenwald, is a true bubble buster, releasing the
surface tension on gas bubbles that form as a result
of eating foods that are hard to digest.
©
WebMD. All rights reserved.
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"most people lose weight in the belly area
first, so you should see some positive results
on your heartburn within a few weeks after
starting a weight loss plan." |
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