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Does your stomach really expand and shrink, depending on how much you eat?
Yes and no: It does expand every time you eat a meal (and contracts again after you’re done digesting), but it won’t shrink if you diet or fast. The organ has an average resting volume of about 50 ml (.01 gallon), but after a normal meal it expands to about 1 liter (0.26 gallon). If really pushed, the stomach can accommodate up to 4 liters (an entire gallon) of food.
So what if you really push it? Say you go for the tasting menu one night and end up eating twice as much as you normally do at dinner—will your stomach permanently expand a little bit? Nah. It will probably remain distended for longer than usual, because rich, fatty foods slow digestion and thus stay in the stomach longer than leaner fare. And when high fat content is coupled with a large volume of food, your stomach definitely has more work to do than it normally would (plus, it needs more acids and enzymes to do the job, and these add more volume). Still, we’re not talking days here; typically, the stomach is fully empty and “deflated” anywhere from three to five hours after a meal.
Except if you’re a competitive eater, routinely testing your stomach’s 1-gallon limit by eating massive amounts of food. In that case, says Dr. Carol Semrad, a gastroenterologist at the University of Chicago, “the stomach may not get a chance to completely empty and therefore stays enlarged—and this may account for [competitive eaters’] ability to chronically eat a large amount of food without stomach rupture.”
On the “shrinking” side, the only thing that will permanently reduce the size of your stomach in its deflated state is gastric bypass surgery; dietary changes don’t alter the physical size of the organ. “If we eat less, we get used to eating less,” says David Levitsky, a professor of nutrition and psychology at Cornell University. “But the change is behavioral—it’s not due to actual shrinkage.”
The New York Times did an article that shows that your stomach volume does shrink when you diet. I think the confusion lies in persons who are asking about an already expanded stomach due to way over eating regularly. As opposed to the stomachs original size. The article shows there is hope because the stomach will reduce from an over expanded size if one cuts back on their eating.
...+READ
The New York Times did an article that shows that your stomach volume does shrink when you diet. I think the confusion lies in persons who are asking about an already expanded stomach due to way over eating regularly. As opposed to the stomachs original size. The article shows there is hope because the stomach will reduce from an over expanded size if one cuts back on their eating.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/health/22real.html-COLLAPSE
You can almost always find a doctor supporting any side of an argument.
Based on personal experience, this article is NOT correct. And if you want a doctor to back that up, here's one:
http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/health-and-living/How_to_shrink_your_tummy.shtml
I think this is probably true, I don't think your stomach can shrink because you don't eat or eat less. organs have a set size once you're fully grown and don't grow or shrink unless there's a medical complication or surgery. Your brain sends out hormones that tell you you're hungry. have you ever had a day where you're really hungry but wait until later to eat? eventually you will stop feeling...+READ
I think this is probably true, I don't think your stomach can shrink because you don't eat or eat less. organs have a set size once you're fully grown and don't grow or shrink unless there's a medical complication or surgery. Your brain sends out hormones that tell you you're hungry. have you ever had a day where you're really hungry but wait until later to eat? eventually you will stop feeling that intense hunger, its simply because you ran out of that hormone to send out to yourself. if you get used to eating less, your brain takes note of that and will send out hunger hormones less often. it's a survival technique so that you can function even in a 'food crisis'-COLLAPSE
There are quotes from a gastroenterologist, but none of the facts are backed up from the actual article writer.
I'd like to see the research and studies behind the statements.
And just so you don't blindly follow herd mentality, doctors don't know everything and without the backing of lab tests are making educated guesses. Malpractice insurance wouldn't be so high if they knew everything. Nice...+READ
There are quotes from a gastroenterologist, but none of the facts are backed up from the actual article writer.
I'd like to see the research and studies behind the statements.
And just so you don't blindly follow herd mentality, doctors don't know everything and without the backing of lab tests are making educated guesses. Malpractice insurance wouldn't be so high if they knew everything. Nice to see you automatically discount first hand evidence. Everything must be psychosomatic if it goes against what a food editor writes an article about. They have all the medical training authority anyone needs.-COLLAPSE
Oh my! Whom to believe? A gastroenterologist who has spent years studying, treating, and researching the digestive system and digestive disorders or two people with no apparent credentials except their psychosomatic perceptions>
I'm also calling BS on the above article. I reduced my food intake for a week following wisdom teeth extraction. I just couldn't eat as much food as I wanted because my jaw became tired with the effort. After I was able to eat solid foods again, I found myself eating to the point where my stomach felt quite "full" but I was still very hungry. I should also specify that the portions which now made...+READ
I'm also calling BS on the above article. I reduced my food intake for a week following wisdom teeth extraction. I just couldn't eat as much food as I wanted because my jaw became tired with the effort. After I was able to eat solid foods again, I found myself eating to the point where my stomach felt quite "full" but I was still very hungry. I should also specify that the portions which now made my stomach feel filled up were also smaller than before I'd had the extractions.
Yes, there is a difference between "not hungry" and "full".-COLLAPSE
I thnk this is incorrect. After having reduced my intake of food for quite some time, I now feel full with much lower volumes of food.
It used to take much higher volumes of food to genrate that full feeling.