How you feel after eating a meal is typically believed to be indicative of your digestive health. Indigestion is the most commonly assumed explanation, and people often self-treat with homemade remedies or over-the-counter medicines. But take a step back and think about it: why is the food staying in your stomach longer than it should? Could it be something else? Dr Nitin Aherrao, consultant in gastroenterology at P D Hinhuja Hospital and Medical Research Centre, Khar, told HT Lifestyle that this is actually a medical issue and should not be ignored.
“Vomiting food some hours after eating means that it is not just a fact of indigestion but relates to a medical issue where the stomach does not empty properly,” he mentioned. It is especially true for undigested food. “When food eaten before the vomiting comes in an undigested form, especially after four or twelve hours after eating, it raises the requirement for examination of the potential causes of the poor gastric emptying rather than mere symptomatic treatment.”
Food is meant to move forward to the small intestine after the stomach breaks it down. If the stomach does not empty properly, the food sits there for several hours, causing the stomach to feel full and eventually leading to vomiting. Therefore, to simplify what the doctor said, it means that if the food stays in the stomach for a long time and is not properly digested, it may come up in vomit, looking undigested.
Can it mean stomach ‘malfunction’?
The gastroenterologist believed that vomiting undigested food may happen because the stomach does not function properly.
“The stomach is built to process food and let it go into the small intestine gradually. The proper functioning of this process involves the functioning of the stomach muscles, pyloric sphincter, and the enteric nervous system. Each of these aspects can malfunction and thus interfere with gastric emptying and cause food to remain in the stomach for a longer time.”
What are the causes?
Dr Aherrao identified gastroparesis as one of the causes. “It is a condition in which the stomach muscles become sluggish despite the absence of a physical blockage.”
So, when does gastroparesis occur? The gastroenterologist shared that this condition can develop after viral illnesses or upper gastrointestinal surgeries. Other causes also include connective tissue disorders, Parkinson’s disease, and the prolonged use of medications such as opioids and GLP-1 receptor agonists in susceptible people.
Aside from these, diabetes is also one of the major ailments that increase the risk. Why? The doctor explained, “Persistent hyperglycaemia can damage the vagus nerve, which regulates gastric motility.”
What are the warning signs?
Older adults may experience signs that indicate this problem. Alongside vomiting, the doctor noted, they may also suffer from unexplained weight loss and anaemia. Moreover, he also mentioned that gastric outlet obstruction should be ruled out: “It is important to exclude gastric outlet obstruction, where narrowing at the junction between the stomach and duodenum prevents food from passing normally.”
Why should you take vomiting undigested food seriously?
Many may think it can subside on its own, but the expert firmly warned it should not be taken casually, as repeated vomiting can cause the body to lose fluids and essential minerals, leading to dehydration and an electrolyte imbalance. Meanwhile, the food that remains in the stomach for too long may harden into a mass called a bezoar. This mass can further obstruct the stomach, making it tough for the food to pass normally.
Instead of merely managing the symptoms, the doctor emphasised that treatment should focus on controlling blood sugar levels in patients with diabetes, eliminating medications that can reduce gastric motility, correcting electrolyte imbalances, and properly using evidence-based prokinetic therapy.
