I. Physiological functions of the stomach and intestines
The understanding of the physiological functions of the stomach and intestines was clearly recorded in the Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine more than 2,000 years ago, and because Chinese medicine is characterized by a “holistic concept” and “discriminatory treatment”, the functions of the stomach and intestines are often included in the spleen and stomach, such as the Suwen The Spleen and Stomach is the official of the granary, and the five tastes come out of it,” said the Secret Discourse of Linglan. Another example is the “Ling Shu Yu Ban Lun”, which says: “The person who receives gas is also the grain; the grain is also injected by the stomach; the stomach is also the sea of water and grain, gas and blood. And “Suwen Yu Ji Zhen Zang Lun” is that “the five organs are endowed with gas in the stomach; the stomach is the essence of the five organs”.
From the modern medical physiological anatomy, the stomach is located in the upper abdomen of the human body, shaped like a bag, the inner surface of the stomach has many rugged, hilly mountain depressions shaped like mucous membrane. The stomach can secrete a large amount of strongly acidic gastric juice, which contains pepsin and hydrochloric acid, and has the role of promoting the digestion of proteins and protecting the gastric mucosa. After the food enters the stomach, through peristalsis, stirring and mixing, the action of digestive enzymes in gastric juice, the food becomes porridge-like chyme and enters the small intestine.
The small intestine is coiled in the lower and middle abdominal cavity, with a total length of 7-8 meters, and consists of duodenum, jejunum and ascites. The lumen of the small intestine is covered with villi and microvilli, and its total area reaches 200 square meters, which is equivalent to the size of a small tennis court. The duodenum at the upper end contains pancreatic juice from the pancreas and bile from the gallbladder as well as various digestive enzymes produced by the small intestine itself. The chyme entering the small intestine is decomposed into glucose, amino acids, glycerol and fat by the action of the above enzymes and is absorbed in large quantities in the small intestine, and the absorbed food residue enters the large intestine through the ileocecal valve.
The large intestine is about 1.5 meters long and can absorb water and temporarily store the digested residues, and a large number of harmful and beneficial bacteria can multiply in the large intestine. The residue entering the large intestine becomes feces after absorbing water, and the stimulation of feces on the wall of the large intestine causes the brain to produce stool and make it excreted.
Second, the common causes of gastrointestinal disease.
1, mental factors
Mental factors cause disease belongs to the category of “seven emotions” cause disease in Chinese medicine, referring to the “joy, anger, worry, thought, sadness, fear, shock” seven excessive emotional changes, including excessive “worry, thought, anger” on the The occurrence of gastrointestinal diseases is the closest, such as worry and thought hurt the spleen and stomach, spleen and stomach gas stagnation, gastric distension, inability to eat, causing gastritis; depression and anger hurt the liver, liver gas offends the stomach, stomach distension, nausea and vomiting, causing gastritis, peptic ulcer, etc.; liver gas offends the spleen, spleen loss of health, abdominal pain and diarrhea, causing acute and chronic enteritis, etc. It is clinically proven that when a patient with gastrointestinal disease is suddenly stimulated mentally, the disease he suffers from will be suddenly triggered or aggravated.
2, diet factors
Bad dietary habits are the direct cause of gastrointestinal disease, the common ones are: too hungry, too full, overeating, eating unclean or spoiled food; or wanton eating cold fruits and melons, too fatty, sweet and greasy products; or long-term consumption of rough, dry and hard food, or eating too hot, too salty, too spicy and other stimulating food; or addicted to smoking and alcohol. All of the above factors can lead to the occurrence of gastrointestinal disease, causing acute and chronic gastritis, acute and chronic enteritis, and even peptic ulcer and gastric cancer. Therefore, the “Suwen Paralysis” has “diet since the times, the intestines and stomach is injured” theory.
3.Genetic factors
Most scholars believe that genetic factors are more certain in the development of gastric cancer, and gastric cancer is obviously familial, with a prevalence rate four times higher than that of a population; secondly, chronic gastritis also has obvious genetic tendency, and those whose parents have the disease are prone to the disease in their biological children, with a risk 20 times higher than that of normal people; in addition, ulcerative colitis is also related to genetic factors.
4, other factors
Such as drug factors (anti-inflammatory and analgesic class), immune factors (immune response); life factors (such as bacteria and viruses).
Third, the common symptoms of gastrointestinal disease
1, acid reflux: due to excessive stomach acid; mostly seen in acute and chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer.
2, heartburn: refers to a burning sensation in the upper abdomen or behind the sternum, mostly seen in acute and chronic gastritis and peptic ulcers.
3, belching: commonly known as “burping”, due to indigestion in the stomach, the accumulation of gas rebellion, mostly seen in chronic gastritis.
4, loss of appetite: commonly known as “bad appetite”, mostly seen in chronic gastritis, gastric prolapse, etc.
5, stomach pain refers to the epigastric pain near the heart fossa, often involving the dorsum. Most commonly seen in acute and chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer, gastric cancer, etc.
6, vomiting including vomiting clear water, vomiting bitter water and vomiting food, only vomiting nothing vomiting called “dry vomiting”, mostly seen in acute gastritis, peptic ulcer, gastric cancer.
7, abdominal distension refers to the abdominal distension feeling. Most commonly seen in chronic gastritis, gastric prolapse, chronic colitis.
8, constipation refers to a reduction in the number of bowel movements, or poor bowel discharge, generally refers to more than 48 hours, mostly seen in chronic colitis and functional intestinal diseases.
9, diarrhea refers to the increase in the number of bowel movements, thin stools, or even diarrhea such as water, mostly seen in acute and chronic enteritis and functional intestinal diseases.
10, blood in the stool and black stool, including blood in the stool mixed, pure blood or stools such as tar-like. Mostly seen in upper gastrointestinal bleeding, acute and chronic enteritis and hemorrhoids.
IV. Stomach diseases related to stomach cancer
Gastric ulcer, with a cancer rate of about 5%, is caused by the damage to the mucosa at the edge of chronic ulcer, which is repeatedly proliferated and repaired by the body. Chronic constrictive gastritis with intestinalization and non-curvilinear hyperplasia. Intestinalization refers to the discovery of intestinal glandular epithelium on the gastric mucosa, which is divided into two types: small intestine type and large intestine type, of which the large intestine type is closely related to gastric cancer. Atypical hyperplasia is also divided into mild, moderate and severe. Moderate requires regular examination, while severe is suspected to be cancerous and requires close observation and surgery if necessary. Gastric polyps are divided into tipped and non-tipped. Non-tipped polyps are 2.5 times more likely to become cancerous than tipped polyps, and the larger the volume, the higher the cancer rate.
V. Prevention and recuperation of gastrointestinal disease
1.Avoid mental stimulation and maintain a relaxed mood
Good or bad mental mood, happy or not, directly affect the occurrence and effectiveness of gastrointestinal disease. Maintain a good state of mind and a happy and relaxed mood, for a healthy person is not to or rarely occur gastrointestinal diseases, and a gastrointestinal disease patients, it can promote the effectiveness of its treatment, conducive to patient recovery. For example (after mental stimulation: 1 healthy person, 2 gastric ulcer patients, 3 gastric cancer patients). The therapeutic effect is different for people with different states of mind (e.g., the state of mind is different between those who are generous and those who are narrow-minded).
Common methods: often walk, listen to more music, those who have musical talent often sing a song; make friends and chat more, participate in more social activities, have unhappy things in mind in a timely manner with friends and relatives to confide in the exchange; 3 keep a broad mind, when things should be more from the good, do not take the bull by the horns.
2.Scientific diet
Dietary disorders and uncleanliness are the most direct factors causing gastrointestinal diseases, so a reasonable diet is particularly important for the prevention and treatment of gastrointestinal diseases.
Diet regimen includes: regular diet: three meals a day, regular ration (gastric ulcer, gastroptosis or gastric cancer patients can be a small amount of more than one meal), try to avoid stimulating food (such as spicy, too acidic, too cold, too hot, too sweet, too salty, too coarse and hard food, fried, baked, smoked items), do not eat pickled, moldy food, it is appropriate to eat soft, light and easy to digest food; eat food should be chewed and swallowed slowly. Concentrate on the same, do not eat while reading the newspaper while chatting, so as not to affect digestion; the amount of each meal to eight minutes full is appropriate, do not drink a lot of water and drinks before and after meals, so as not to dilute the gastric juice, increasing the burden on the stomach.
3.Rational nutrition
Patients with chronic gastrointestinal disease, due to its digestive and absorption function is reduced, often resulting in the body nutrient deficiency, so in the process of recuperation must pay attention to the intake of nutrition. Patients with gastrointestinal disease should not be picky, not partial food, food containing glucose, protein, fat, vitamins should be eaten, it should be noted that the food should be cooked into not cold, not hot, not hard, not taste no stimulation of the gastrointestinal and conducive to digestion and absorption of food, to achieve a comprehensive and reasonable nutrition, in order to facilitate the recovery of gastrointestinal disease.
4.Living a regular life
Regular life mainly needs to do three on time, that is, on time to wake up, on time to eat, on time to sleep. Some studies have shown that the physiological movement of the gastrointestinal tract, the secretion of digestive juices in the gastrointestinal tract have their certain regularity. Such as the body in the gastrointestinal tract after eating digestive juice secretion increased rapidly, secretion decreased or stopped during sleep, the body movement after the gastrointestinal tract peristalsis accelerated, sitting rest peristalsis weakened, so gastrointestinal disease patients should comply with the physiological laws of the body, to maintain adequate sleep time to promote the recovery of patients.
5, the combination of work and rest, appropriate exercise
Appropriate physical labor and physical exercise can help the body’s qi and blood flow, can promote the recovery of gastrointestinal disease; on the contrary, excessive exertion will consume qi and blood, excessive rest is not smooth qi and blood, qi stagnation and blood stasis, all reduce the body’s resistance, affecting the recovery of gastrointestinal disease, so people suffering from gastrointestinal disease to do a combination of work and rest, to participate in appropriate physical labor or physical exercise. Commonly used exercise methods are walking, jogging, tai chi, gymnastics, bar, fitness dance, etc. Exercise time is best in the morning when daylight first emerges, but also can be selected at other times, generally once a day, each lasting 30 to 60 minutes is appropriate, but the prolapse of the stomach must rest for 2 hours after meals and then exercise, gastric ulcer, gastric cancer, gastrointestinal bleeding patients should not carry out more strenuous physical activity, so as not to aggravate the disease.
6, quit smoking, quit drinking or drink a small amount of alcohol
Nicotine in tobacco is very harmful to the human body, and long-term inhalation can cause relaxation of the pyloric sphincter, duodenal reflux, gastric vasoconstriction, increased secretion of gastric acid, and destruction of gastric mucosal barrier, thus inducing and aggravating gastric diseases, such as chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer, gastric cancer, etc. Alcohol has a direct stimulating and destructive effect on the gastric mucosal barrier, causing and aggravating gastrointestinal diseases.
7.Avoid taking drugs at will
Many patients like to go to the pharmacy to buy drugs after the disease without medical treatment, the result of the pain has not yet improved and gotten gastric disease, because some drugs have a direct stimulating effect on the gastrointestinal mucosa, can directly destroy the gastric mucosal barrier, reduce the resistance of the gastric mucosa to harmful stimuli and induce gastric disease, and sometimes even serious damage to the gastric mucosa and cause gastric bleeding, ulcers, such as aspirin, fentanyl, futalin and other anti-inflammatory The analgesic drugs. Some patients go to buy their own stomach medicine to take, although the stomach pain has been reduced, but also got liver disease, do not know that some stomach disease drugs have damage to the liver and other organs. Therefore, when you are suffering from pain, you must first go to the hospital for examination and diagnosis, and only after the diagnosis is clear can you take the right medication and feel confident that you will be cured.