A weird thing could happen in your stomach after eating lots of oranges and black moss
Some foods are ubiquitous during Chinese New year (CNY) because of their advent (like how standard mandarin oranges await similar golden orbs) or their names are auspicious homonyms.
For instance, having a name like "fatt choy", which sounds similar wishing one prosperity in Cantonese, is a reason why black moss is a popular ingredient in dishes such as pen cai and braised vegetables during this time.
READ: Why practise you feel swollen after all that rich food? How practise you lot ease the discomfort?
But here's the thing: These festive treats are also high in fibre and thus, more difficult to digest, co-ordinate to Assistant Professor Johnny Ong, a consultant with the Department of Sarcoma, Peritoneal and Rare Tumours (Dart) in the Division of Surgery and Surgical Oncology at Singapore General Hospital (SGH) and National Cancer Centre Singapore.
What happens is the undigested plant material such every bit fibre, skin and seeds becomes a trapped mass in the tum or intestines known every bit a phytobezoar, he said.
A phyto-what? Perhaps you can remember of it as sort of like the man version of a cat's hairball. Except you tin't cough information technology upwardly.
In a report on 60 patients between 1996 and 2018, it was establish that 20 per cent of phytobezoar cases occurred within the immediate two weeks before and after Chinese New Year.
What is interesting is that Asst Prof Ong has noted a particular rise in phytobezoars during the CNY period.
In his study on threescore such patients betwixt 1996 and 2018, he establish that twenty per cent of the cases occurred within the firsthand 2 weeks before and later on CNY.
READ: What makes farts evil-smelling or noisy? And is information technology safe to hold these in?
Although phytobezoars are rare occurrences – Asst Prof Ong consistently sees well-nigh three to five cases every year for the past 10 years at SGH – highlighting them tin can assistance doctors make better diagnosis such as ruling out colorectal cancer.
"Despite the low incidence, it is an important differential for the clinical team to consider," he said.
WHY YOU SHOULD CHEW YOUR Food WELL
The chewing or mastication of high-fibre food such as fruit and vegetables is vital in ensuring that the food is broken down and prepared for digestion.
This is why older people and those with dental issues who tin can't chew properly (regardless of age) are at loftier risk of developing phytobezoars, particularly if they consume a high-fibre diet such as big portions of mandarin oranges, said Asst Prof Ong.
"Many elderly patients view eating whole mushrooms every bit a sign of prosperity at CNY reunion dinners," he said.
"The public should be reminded that despite the low incidence, unproblematic measures such equally chewing well or cutting food into smaller pieces can prevent the germination of phytobezoars and intestinal obstruction."
READ: Why that heartburn might be stomach cancer – and how salty food increases the risk
Age and dental issues aside, you may too be more prone to developing phytobezoars if y'all've had gastric surgery or are suffering from chronic gastritis, Crohn's illness, gastrointestinal carcinoma, dehydration, hypothyroidism, diabetes, neuropathy, or myotonic dystrophy, he said.
SIGNS YOU MAY HAVE A PHYTOBEZOAR
The last matter you desire over the CNY period is a swollen abdomen, stomachache and difficulty passing gas and move – which is exactly what y'all'll experience if you lot have a clump of undigested fibre blocking your stomach or intestines.
Yous may also feel full after eating very little nutrient, a lack of appetite, nausea or vomiting.
And information technology may not accept long for a dodder to develop. "The fourth dimension it takes to develop a phytobezoar varies only patients typically present with symptoms a few days after the ingestion of a high-fibre diet," said Asst Prof Ong.
These indigestible lumps aren't to exist trifled with. "Phytobezoars can lead to intestinal obstruction and perforation of the bowel. If the intestinal obstruction is not relieved, the patient tin can potentially vomit and aspirate, leading to aspiration pneumonia," said Asst Prof Ong.
He added: "If left untreated, phytobezoars can induce serious inflammatory changes, leading to ulcer formation, perforation, and misdiagnosis of tumour".
TREATMENT
If the phytobezoar is found in the breadbasket, endoscopy may be used to remove information technology. Sometimes, enzymes, forceps, jet sprays or light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation may also be used to fragment the phytobezoar.
Yet, these methods may not be useful if the lump is located in the small-scale intestine, said Asst Prof Ong, in which case, surgery is ordinarily performed.
"Surgery will usually be performed with or without advanced imaging (eg CT browse) and a mass is ordinarily felt in the small bowel by the surgeon.
"This mass is usually mobile and can be fractured and milked to the colon to relieve the obstruction caused by the phytobezoar," he said.
Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/wellness/what-is-phytobezoar-causes-treatment-stomach-problems-237936
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