Why does eating rice cause stomach acid?

Rice is the most important staple food among the three meals and an important part for people to enhance their sense of fullness. Rice is mainly made of wheat and has a slightly sweet taste. The pasta that people in the north prefer is actually also made of wheat, so it can perfectly replace rice as the staple food. However, there is a certain amount of gastric acid in the stomach. Under normal circumstances, acid and alkalinity are in a balanced state, but many people have experienced stomach acid after eating rice. What's going on?

First of all, the cause of stomach acid is not eating rice. The reason is that a certain amount of gastric juice is secreted. If the secretion is too much, phenomena such as acid regurgitation, nausea, and vomiting of acid will occur. As for the cause of excessive stomach acid, there is no consensus. There are different opinions. Some say that it is caused by anger and depression that damage the liver, some say that it is caused by eating too much meat, and some believe that it is caused by cholecystitis. Others say that it is caused by vagus nerve disorders or abnormal chloride metabolism in the blood, but we will not discuss this for now.

Excessive gastric acid will cause corrosive effects in the stomach, resulting in acid swallowing, nausea, and vomiting, and may even lead to serious consequences such as gastric ulcers or duodenal ulcers, which cannot be ignored.

Several factors that cause gastric acid:

1. Gastrointestinal diseases

Chronic gastritis, gastric ulcer or duodenal ulcer can all increase gastric acid secretion. For example, sometimes the rectal mucosa's ability to release certain hormones is reduced, which can lead to increased secretion of stomach acid and gastrin.

2. Genetic factors

Due to the influence of genetic factors, each person has a different physique, and the levels of gastric acid secretion in different physiques are inconsistent, which has an impact on excessive gastric acid secretion that cannot be ignored.

3. Improper diet. Some irritating foods, such as foods that are too spicy, too sour, too salty, or too sweet, will accelerate the secretion of gastric acid and cause excessive gastric acid; some high-starch foods, such as coarse grains, sweet potatoes, potatoes, etc., will also stimulate the stomach to produce a large amount of gastric acid.

4. Difficult to digest food

Some difficult-to-digest foods, such as onions and chocolate, if not completely digested and absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract, the remaining sugar in these foods will ferment in the gastrointestinal tract, directly leading to increased gastric acid secretion.

5. Mental stress

It is understood that the normal working state of the stomach requires the participation of the nervous and endocrine systems in regulation. Once people face tremendous work pressure and mental stress for a long time, it is very easy to cause disorders of the nervous and endocrine systems, abnormal gastric acid secretion, reduced duodenal fluid reflux and other abnormal phenomena, which will lead to excessive gastric acid secretion.

Three ways to relieve stomach acid:

1. Pay attention to rest and keep a happy mood

Competition in modern society is fierce, and many people face tremendous work and mental stress every day. If this state of tension is not relieved for a long time, it can easily cause dysfunction of the nervous system and endocrine system. Nervous tension can cause spasms in the blood vessels of the stomach and duodenum walls, reducing blood supply and thus contributing to the occurrence of stomach problems. Often working overtime until late at night disrupts the body's biological clock and can also cause abnormal secretion of gastric acid.

2. Eat small and frequent meals and eat light meals

If you want your stomach to feel comfortable and your digestion to be good, you must chew your food slowly and thoroughly. It is best to eat small meals frequently and eat regularly to maintain the normal rhythm of digestive activities.

3. Don’t drink too much

Excessive drinking can easily cause alcoholic liver, alcoholic cirrhosis, malnutrition and vitamin deficiency. Drinking large amounts of beer can easily damage the gastric mucosa, causing gastritis and peptic ulcers, and symptoms such as upper abdominal discomfort, loss of appetite, abdominal bloating, and acid reflux.