Page 6 - Seniorstoday October 2021 Issue

Cover Story
Keep Your
Gut Happy
Good gut health is key to a happy, active life. Dr Prasanna Shah simplifies
the symptoms, causes and treatments of stomach problems
When we talk about abdominal discomfort,
we usually mean the stomach – just one of
the organs of the digestive tract which the
abdomen contains.
The stomach is a small organ, situated
below the lungs, aligning with the heart,
and is part of the upper body. The stomach
is responsible for producing acid and
churning the food in puree form to pass
through the intestines where the nutrients
are absorbed. Often abdominal discomfort
such as indigestion, gastric problems are
treated with home remedies or OTC self-
medication. However, sometimes the most
common discomfort could be an early onset
of a health condition.
Symptoms of Acidic Stomach
Acidity – Acidity is acid that is produced
in the stomach, sometimes the production
of acid gets too much and can cause acidity.
6
This then leads to inflammation in the
lining of the stomach.
Belching – It is an involuntary reflex where
one emits air from the stomach, from where
it goes beyond our cricopharynx – our voice
box. From there it goes in between the vocal
cords, thus reverberating the voice box and
producing a sound – burpp. Belching can be
of two types:
Passive belching
Forceful belching
GERD or Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease
– It is a very common gastric disorder, in
which the acid in the stomach or the bile
comes out in the food pipe and irritates the
lining of the oesophagus.
One of the most common extraintestinal
manifestations of GERD includes blockage
of the nasal passages post meals. The
acid comes up, hits the throat and causes
sinusitis. And this phenomenon is called