Pallor and sudden tremor, cold sweats, exhaustion, followed by severe pain in the abdomen, nausea and vomiting. These are the symptoms of congestion, or a digestive blockage due to a fast and intense temperature change. "It is true that this condition occurs more frequently in summer, due to hot-cold changes and that it can have very serious consequences". To clarify is Ivo Boskoski, medical director Gastroenterologist at the Policlinico Gemelli Foundation in Rome, who adds: "congestion causes an imbalance in blood circulation and the causes can be varied, for example drinking iced drinks when the body is heated, taking a bath in the sea or in the pool during the digestion of a large meal, quickly switch from a warm environment to one where the air conditioning is on."
For World Digestive Health Day, Boskoski, present on the digital health platform Doctolib, also sheds light on 9 other myths and hoaxes about the health of our 'second brain'.
It is true, for example, that stress can negatively affect digestion also because our intestine hosts about 500 million neurons and some intestinal bacteria would be linked to brain regions responsible for mood and behavior.
It is also true that the intestine is one of the main responsible for the immune system: 80% of immune cells are located there and often the severity of the symptoms with which viruses attack can depend precisely on the conditions of imbalance of the intestinal microbiota, or the set of bacteria that populate it.
It is true that excessive weight loss can depend on a food intolerance that makes intestinal enzymes less able to take important nutrients.
While it is wrong to attribute to celiac disease any digestive problems after eating pizza or pasta, because in many cases you can only be gluten sensitive: in this case the disorders disappear when you exclude from your diet while celiac disease is a chronic autoimmune disease that requires precise tests for diagnosis.
It is false that, in case of abdominal swelling, it is better to skip lunch: the cause must first be identified and then established a diet agreed with a gastroenterologist or nutritionist. It can be useful, in the presence of abdominal bloating, to limit or eliminate the intake of simple carbohydrates altogether and to balance the intake of certain types of fruits and vegetables.
It is false that if you go to the bathroom twice you suffer from diarrhea, according to the guidelines in fact we talk about this disorder in case it is necessary to do it 3 or 4 times a day and you have to pay particular attention if this happens at night.
In the same way, not going to the bathroom every day does not mean suffering from constipation: according to ministerial guidelines it can be defined as such if you go there less than 3 times a week.
One of the most common problems in the population are reflux and gastritis, but contrary to what many think, the cause is not only in what we eat. To play an important role in many cases, in fact, in addition to stress, the intake of non-steroidal inflammatory drugs (or NSAIDs) contributes to alterations of the gastric mucosa. Sometimes there can also be a bacterial infection at the origin of gastritis.
Finally, it is undoubtedly true that sugar is one of the main enemies of health in adults and children, however discovering its presence in ultra-processed foods is not a simple task since these foods often contain hidden sugar. The suggestion, therefore, is to pay close attention to food labels and the amount of added sugar, when it is indicated.
