The digestive system is the set of organs in our body that take care of the food that we swallow. It starts with the esophagus and ends with the anus. When we swallow something the digestive system takes care of processing all that food until it is broken down to small molecules that can go inside our cells to provide energy and nutrients. There have been some myths about what goes on in our digestive system. Those myths have been debunked here.
The question of chewing gum
Gum can be chewed in our mouth for hours without softening up like other foods. For that reason some people tend to think that by accidentally swallowing a gum it will take years for the stomach to digest it. That is not the case. Even though it is true that the acids produced by the stomach cannot break the gum down into digestible particles, the gum doesn’t stay in there for years. Eventually the gum will be moved to the intestines, just like the other food particles and ultimately will come out through the feces.
Spicy food play a role in developing ulcer
A spice like pepper has this burning feel when put on the tongue. For years it was believed that by taking in too much spicy food you will end up getting ulcer. That cannot be further from the truth. Ulcer has nothing to do with spices. Today, science has shown that ulcer is caused by a bacterium of the scientific name Helicobacter pylori. Other medications are also known to play a role in developing ulcer. Drugs like aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen. If one already has ulcer then eating spicy foods may aggravate it.
Do nuts cause Diverticulitis?
Diverticulitis is a condition in which the pouches inside the colon of a person gets inflamed and infected. In the past, a person in that situation will be advised to avoid nuts at all cost. Such a person was also told to avoid foods with seeds, popcorn and corn. There was this theory that the indigestible pieces of this type of food could possibly end up in the infected pouches and cause pain. In 2008 a new study was conducted suggesting the opposite, high-fiber diet actually lower the risks of diverticulitis.
Eating beans will make you release too much gases
It is true that beans do play a role in making people release gases but there are other food products that are worse than beans when it comes to flatulence. Are you ready for this? Dairy food; the sugar in milk (lactose) also makes us pass out gases. To solve this problem you can rely on lactose-free products. You can find some at the super market.
Constipation gets worse as we get older
It is not the fact that one gets older that causes the person to get constipated. Usually old people deal with other diseases that push them to take certain types of drugs. Some of those drugs can cause constipation. Taking drugs coupled with less exercises contribute to the constipation. It has nothing to do with age.
Eventually all those other myth related to the digestive system will get debunked by science.
