Do you realize how much you sit? Excessive sitting impacts our body’s metabolic system, potentially leading to health problems. Evaluate how much you sit each day and learn ways to reduce that time.
By standing for three additional hours each day over the course of a year, you can burn up to 30,000 extra calories and eight pounds of fat. That’s the equivalent of running about ten marathons
Global studies show we sit for 7.7 hours per day on average, and some estimate people sit for up to 15 hours per day
20 minutes in any fixed position starts to inhibit your metabolism
How many hours should you sit a day?
LOW risk indicates sitting less than 4 hours per day. MEDIUM risk indicates sitting 4 to 8 hours per day. HIGH risk indicates sitting 8 to 11 hours per day. VERY HIGH risk indicates sitting more than 11 hours per day.
Your lifestyle and eating habits could be your issue
Debapriya Ganguly learnt the hard way never to skip breakfast. When she was just 17, Ganguly started getting what she calls “unbearable pain” in her abdomen and after a visit to the doctor was diagnosed with gastritis. The condition was brought on by her rushed early morning schedule and having just a glass of juice before she went to school. Ganguly is now 28 and follows one rule every day. “As a basic lifestyle change, I started having breakfast regularly,” she said. “No matter how late I am for work, I never skip my breakfast.”
Ganguly, a PhD scholar in sociology at Hyderabad Central University, uses the words “unbearable” and excruciating” to describe what she feels when she has an attack of gastritis. She describes not being able to stand straight when the pain hits. “I just feel like lying on the bed,” she said. “It feels like someone is squeezing my stomach from inside.”
Dipanjan Sinha, a journalist, said he developed gastritis because of his professional life. “In my early 20s, I led a sedentary lifestyle – sitting at one place for several hours, no exercise coupled with a packet of cigarettes and frequent all-night drinking sessions with friends,” he said.“ It was when I was 24, I started waking up feeling that I had embers in my stomach and it was terrible.”
Gastritis is an inflammation of the gut that can be acute – an intense but short lived episode. It can also be chronic – a continuous condition over several months and even years. This inflammation causes gastric pain, which people like Ganguly and Sinha often describe as gnawing or burning sensations in the stomach, sometimes accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
Gastritis and the accompanying gastric pain can be caused by a range of triggers like infection by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, continuous use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen or an autoimmune response, with smoking and alcohol generally aggravating the condition. However, many doctors agree that, for most people, bad eating habits cause gastritis.
A diet rich with fried and oily food is one of the primary reasons why people develop this disease,” said Dr Patankar. This he said was because high-fat food increases chances of inflammation of the stomach lining.
Gastric pain can become chronic at any age but, doctors observe, college students and young professionals seem more vulnerable. “Take for instance the lifestyle of a person working in a call centre,” said Dr Anil Arora of Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi. “The demands of his or her professional life are such that it is very difficult to maintain a healthy lifestyle. They often work in odd hours and hence go against the circadian rhythm. Sedentary lifestyle is often a trigger for this disease. It hampers your appetite, sleeping hours get disrupted.”
While gastritis caused by Helicobacter pylori infection can be treated with a dose of antibiotics, other forms of gastritis are irreversible. But a healthy diet coupled with proper sleep can keep the illness in check. Dr Jayant Mukherjee, gastroenterologist at AMRI Hospitals in Kolkata, says that a person with gastritis can avoid pain by managing their diet and stress levels. Prolonged gastritis without managing symptoms can lead to the more severe gastric ulcer.
Feeling the pain
The most common way of diagnosing gastritis and finding its cause is through an endoscopy, a non-surgical procedure during which a light and camera is inserted into the digestive tract to get a visual confirmation of damage to the stomach lining. Doctors may also take samples from the stomach lining or ask a patient to undergo a stool test.
But even as gastritis has definite clinical parameters for diagnosis , how does a doctor assess gastric pain?
People with gastric pain often mistake their condition for a common stomach ache. On the other hand, said Patankar, people sometimes conflate bloating, discomfort or acidity with gastric pain.
The lives of patients with gastric pain revolve around food and eating schedules. For young mother Rajrupa Banerjee, who was diagnosed with non-ulcer dyspepsia when she was in college, it means meticulous planning and discipline. “I drink a lot of water and avoid long gaps between meals,” she said. “Besides, I also had to cut down on fried and spicy food. Late night dinners are a strict no-no for me. As for daily life, I have to take extra care of my diet and ensure that I eat at an interval of every two-three hours.”
Journalist Sinha now goes running at least thrice a week. “With waking up early and going for run, heavy breakfast soon became a part of the plan,” he explained. “Also, to avoid the feeling of having embers in my stomach, I have a glass of lime water along with a spoon of honey. This calms down my system.”
Bianca Daw, also a sufferer of gastric pain,follows a diet chart. “In my diet chart, I have something or the other mentioned [to eat] every three hours,” she added.
Daw’s description of gastric pain is slightly different than most others. She said it was a feeling of emptiness in her stomach. “There is no outward manifestation of this pain,” said Daw. “Hence, it makes it very difficult to make others understand what exactly you are going through.”
Home Remedies for Gastritis
1. Garlic
Garlic can help reduce symptoms of gastritis, such as nausea, and can rid your stomach of bacteria. Garlic also contains sulfur, which protects the stomach lining. You can try a garlic extract supplement or crush raw garlic to eat.
2. Carom Seeds
Carom seeds can be a useful treatment for gastritis, as they help with indigestion and bloating and have many beneficial effects on the digestive system. You can eat grounded carom seeds by mixing them with water, or drink the strained liquid after boiling with water.
3. Probiotics
Probiotics can help improve digestion and help with recovery from gastritis. They introduce good bacteria into the digestive tract, which can help stop the spread of H.pylori. You can take probiotics in supplement form, or eat foods that contain probiotics such as yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut and kefir. For a list of additional probiotic foods
4. Green Tea with Manuka Honey
Green tea has been found to reduce the amount of H.pylori in the digestive tract, and raw Manuka honey contains antibacterial properties that help fight infection. Drinking warm water can also help soothe the digestive tract and ease digestion.
5. Chamomile Tea
Chamomile tea is another tea that’s great for reducing inflammation and aiding overall digestive health. The chamomile flower contains soothing, calming ingredients and essential oils that are beneficial for gastritis. Place the whole dried flowers or tea bag in hot water to make your tea – boiling water is not advised as it could damage the active oils.
6. Essential Oils
Certain essential oils, such as lemongrass and lemon verbena have been found to minimize H.pylori overgrowth. Other oils that can aid the digestive system are peppermint, ginger and clove. Essential oils should not be ingested, but rather inhaled with a diffuser or mixed with a carrier oil and applied to the skin.
7. Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar is an anti-fungal agent, and when diluted with water, increases hydrochloric acid production in the stomach. It improves digestion by helping the stomach break down food and prevents inflammation of the stomach lining. Apple cider vinegar also contains malic acid, which acts as a buffer in the stomach and allows the pH to stabilize, increasing healthy bacteria in the gut. If apple cider vinegar upsets your stomach, discontinue use.
8. Cabbage Juice
Cabbage contains many powerful antioxidants, as well as other essential nutrients, such as vitamin B 1 and 2, magnesium, calcium and dietary fibre. Cabbage has also been linked to protection against H.pylori bacteria, and provides anti-inflammatory properties that can reduce your gastritis.
Gastritis can be painful and uncomfortable, but with these remedies, you can start feeling better today. Try them out now to start feeling better ASAP!
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Quit sitting for too long Dear you only have one life to live
