Are cases of acidity rising?
Previously, it was believed that spicy food triggered acidity. The stomach naturally secretes around 1,500 ml of acid daily. This helps digest about 60% of non-fatty, non-oily food. So things like spicy food, citrus fruits, heavy smoking, alcohol, and painkillers (especially in elderly people with joint pain) would increase acid secretion up to 2,000 ml, leading to acidity.
But now, only 20% of acidity cases are due to food or lifestyle. The remaining 80% come from people who don’t consume such things and whose acid secretion isn’t more than 1,500 ml — yet they have symptoms. The reason lies in food timing. Say someone eats breakfast at 8 am, lunch at 2 pm, dinner at 8 pm. Around 7.30 or 7.45, the brain tells the stomach to start secreting acid to prepare for food. If the person doesn’t eat till 10 pm, there’s no food to digest and the acid starts attacking the stomach lining.
Now take youngsters or techies — many don’t sleep until 2 or 3 at night, then wake up at 10 or 11 am. Their food timings are completely irregular. Invariably, 90% of IT professionals who come to us suffer from acidity because of this.
Many techies suffer from obesity too, said a recent study
Yes, because they’re sitting all day. Another big contributor is stress. And by stress, I don’t mean a catastrophe. Even regular, everyday stress — work stress, relationship stress. There’s a lining in the stomach that protects it from acid. In stressed individuals, cracks develop in that lining, and acid seeps in. We know stress causes more skin issues. It worsens asthma too and acidity.
The best way to manage stress is through regular morning exercise. It triggers the release of endorphins — the body’s natural stress-relievers. They’re released automatically — with cardio exercise. Even weight training increases heart rate and contributes. But you really have to get your heart rate up.
