Tips for Choosing Foods for Gastroparesis, so that the stomach doesn't feel full

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Medical Video: Gastroparesis- A Gut-wrenching Condition

Often feel bloated, abdominal pain, and nausea and vomiting? Maybe you have gastroparesis. Gastroparesis is a health disorder that causes slow gastric emptying, causing various symptoms. Well, if this happens of course, whatever activity you do becomes messy. Therefore, to overcome and prevent this condition, you can change, choose, and arrange the right food. Then, what is the food guide for gastroparesis?

Gastroparesis, flatulence due to the stomach that does not go blank

Gastroparesis is a medical condition that causes slow gastric emptying. This occurs because the normal movement of the abdominal muscles which should encourage food through the digestive tract does not function properly or the movement slows down.

Symptoms that occur in patients with gastroparesis are bloating, burning in the chest, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. The severity of this disease can be mild to severe. In mild conditions there will be a slight symptom but in severe conditions will cause complications such as malnutrition, dehydration and irregular blood sugar conditions.

The cause of this disorder is not known with certainty, it is thought there is a connection with nerve signals that are disturbed in the stomach In addition, some cases are also associated with this condition such as lupus, diabetes and bariatric surgery procedures.

Rules for eating and choosing foods for gastroparesis

According to the International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders, treatment for gastroparesis is mainly done with changes in diet, and followed by medication as an additional option.

Eat small portions

With less food coming in, this will help ease the work of the stomach to empty the stomach. This small portion can also help prevent flatulence in people with gastroparesis.

Because food portions must be small, people with gastroparesis need to eat about 6 or more times a day to meet their nutritional needs.

Food must be chewed very well

People with gastroparesis have to chew the food until it's really smooth. They cannot chew like people in general, which is only swallowed a few times immediately.

When the food that enters is still in a large form because it is less chewed, then this will aggravate the work of the digestive organs in the body. Foods that do not decompose properly in the stomach will make it more difficult to transfer food from the stomach into the small intestine.

Avoid lying down during and after eating

Eating while lying down can delay gastric emptying. In fact, you have to wait up to three hours after eating if you want to lie down, so that food can be digested.

The difficulty of emptying the stomach while lying down is caused by the influence of gravity. Lying when or after a meal causes reflux (rise) of stomach acid to the mouth. This condition will further aggravate people with gastroparesis to empty their stomach after eating.

Take daily supplements

Most people with gastroparesis have a high risk of experiencing nutrient deficiencies. Therefore, some people with gastroparesis are recommended to take multivitamin and multimineral supplements daily to prevent nutrient deficiencies, or to keep their nutritional deficiencies getting worse.

Food is liquid

If reducing the size of the meal does not work, softening the food also still causes more severe symptoms, the next step is to crush the food with a blender and make the food until it has a liquid texture. To be more easily accepted by the body and prevent the occurrence of nutrient deficiencies.

People with gastroparesis are easier to tolerate fluids than solid foods. Discharging fluid in the stomach is different from emptying solid food in the stomach so that it is more easily accepted by people with gastroparesis.

Food for gastroparesis that must be consumed

Limit foods containing high fat

Foods for poor gastroparesis are high-fat foods. Because, fat can delay emptying food in the stomach, so this type of food needs to be limited. But that does not mean that it is forbidden to consume fat, fat is still needed, therefore choose foods containing healthy fats.

Liquids containing fat such as smoothies or milkshakes are easier to digest than fats in solid foods. Limiting fatty meat and high fat dairy products can also help reduce the severity of symptoms that arise.

Live a low-fiber diet

Fiber is basically needed by the body. However, this fiber must be considered especially for people with gastroparesis who have digestive disorders.

Fiber delays gastric emptying and binds substances and assembles to form a formation called benzoar, so this can cause blockages in the stomach of people with gastroparesis.

Therefore, you should avoid foods with high and hard fibers such as:

  • Nuts or dried beans (baked beans, peas, lentils, black beans, kidney beans, soybeans, gurbanzo beans, navy beans)
  • Whole grain cereal
  • Fruits (blackberries, clueberries, oranges, strawberries, kiwi, apples)
  • Dried fruit (apricots, dates, figs, plums, raisins)
  • Vegetables (broccoli)
  • Popcorn

Do I have to see a doctor? Or just changing your diet is enough?

When choosing food for gastroparesis it is good and recommended, but the symptoms will not subside so you should see a doctor. Maybe when that happens, your body needs special treatment.

The treatment that will be given is, drugs to speed up emptying the stomach and drugs to reduce nausea and vomiting. You are also asked to avoid drugs that have the effect of slowing down gastric emptying and aggravating symptoms of gastroparesis such as antacids, anticholinergics and narcotics.

Tips for Choosing Foods for Gastroparesis, so that the stomach doesn't feel full
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