JAKARTA - Digestive health is influenced by various things, ranging from the food consumed to the habits carried out while eating. This is because the stomach has a close relationship with the nervous system.
Thus, emotional conditions, stress, to eating behaviors such as chewing or the amount of liquid drunk while eating can affect the digestive process.
"The stomach is closely related to the nervous system, so stress, emotions, and eating habits can directly affect the digestive process," said nutrition specialist Dr. Duong Thi Phuong, quoted from VN Express, on Monday, July 13, 2026.
Therefore, it is best to stop eating habits that can interfere with digestive health. The following are some of these habits.
1. Eat fast and distracted
Eating quickly or eating while working, playing on the phone, or being in a depressed state can interfere with the digestive process from the first time food enters the mouth.
If distracted, the body's focus is split, which makes it not optimal to produce stomach acid and digestive enzymes needed to manage food.
2. Drinking too much water while eating
Drinking plenty of water while eating is often considered to help the digestive process. In fact, excessive fluid intake can dilute stomach acid so that the process of digesting food becomes less efficient.
Not only that, the stomach filled with food and large amounts of liquid will work harder to mix and process it. It is recommended that the total liquid during meals, including soup, is no more than 200 milliliters, while the ideal amount ranges from 50-100 milliliters.
3. Eat late at night and go to bed immediately
Other eating habits that must be stopped so that digestion remains healthy are eating late at night and going to bed immediately. Eating close to bedtime can burden the stomach's work.
The digestive process takes about two to more than six hours, depending on the type of food consumed. If a person goes straight to bed after eating, the stomach has not finished digesting so that stomach acid easily rises into the esophagus, which is at risk of increased acid reflux.
Therefore, to maintain digestive health, it is best to take a break of several hours between dinner and bedtime. Thus, the digestive process will run optimally.
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