Hollow (Pit) Stomach Feeling – Causes, Treatment, Diet, Lifestyle

There are numerous conditions related to the stomach, one of which is feeling hollow. A hollow sensation in the stomach is one of the common feelings that many people experience in their daily lives.

Usually, the feeling is for a short period, but sometimes due to some medical history or lifestyle, the hollow feeling might stay for a long time and cause discomfort. The longer the hollow pit stomach feeling lasts, it could affect work-life and disturb the sleep schedule. 

Hollow stomach feeling doesn’t have any specific symptoms, but it includes vomiting, stomach acid, nausea, tiredness, false urge to pass the stool, and alteration in appetite. Though many people misrepresent the hollow stomach feeling as only hunger pangs, which have similar sensations, there are other reasons for a hollow stomach. Therefore, it is crucial to diagnose the symptoms and gets the medication accordingly. 

There are 5 most common reasons for hollow (pit) stomach feelings: 

1. Hunger Pangs

One of the most common reasons for a hollow stomach feeling is the gnawing feeling in the stomach at the left upper side of the abdomen, referred to as hunger pangs. The sense includes the contraction of the muscles in the stomach.

Every human body has a specific routine that the stomach is adjusted to. If you are skipping meals or do not have a particular meal routine, the hollow stomach feeling may cause some discomfort until you feed yourself with some food or liquid.

Though hunger pangs do subside after you have your meal, if the food you are having doesn’t have enough nutrients or fiber, the emptiness feeling may arise in a short time even after having food. 

Symptoms of hunger pangs include feeling weak or tired most of the time, moderate critical contractions in the stomach, abdominal pain, dizziness, vomiting, light headaches, and nausea.

Treatment:

There is no specific medical treatment for hunger pangs. The only thing that helps in avoiding hunger pangs is consuming meals on time and having healthy food. Consult medical expert professionals if the hunger pangs persist even after a change in diet and the symptoms worsen.

Diet and Lifestyle:

• Eat meals in 2–3 hours in small portions. Make sure to eat snacks or meals with plenty of nutrients — whole grains, lean proteins, green vegetables, legumes, fruits, and pulses. Also, eat more fiber to fill the stomach for a longer time. 
• Avoid consuming junk food, frozen food, or high-sugar-content snacks. 
• At least 7–8 hours of sleep at night because night sleeps limits the leptin hormone (the hunger hormone) to get activated.
• Drink 7–8 glasses of water every day.

2. Gastric 

Post-meal foul odor flatulence is a sign of a gastric problem in the stomach. Gastric causes inflammation around the stomach line and lead to stomach aches and a hollow stomach feeling.

Numerous reasons cause gastric problems, including delaying eating meals when they hunger for a long time, which causes stomach acid and bloating, consumption of unhealthy/spicy/oily food, drinking alcohol on an empty stomach, or side effects of medication. 

The gastric symptoms include heartburn, abdominal pain, bloating, foul smell flatulence, loss of appetite, hollow stomach feeling, puke green, passing black color stool, and nausea.

Treatment:

Over-the-counter medication before and after meals helps to reduce the development of stomach acid. 

Diet and Lifestyle:

• Include a glass of fresh lemon or orange juice in the diet—antioxidants in lemon and orange help relieve gastric problems.
• Cut down the intake of alcohol, carbonated drinks, and spicy, oily, and deep-fried food. 
• Include peppermint and ginger in daily diet supplements. 
• Add regular exercises (brisk walking, jogging) and yoga to your daily routine; it helps relieve abdominal pain.
• Break meals into 5–6 portions in a day, including green leafy vegetables and pulses in a meal. 
• Avoid having fatty food (red meat) and processed food.

3. Indigestion (dyspepsia)

Indigestion is also known as an abnormal digestion condition or dyspepsia. Indigestion symptoms include upper abdomen pain, bloating, loss of appetite, urge to vomit, hollow stomach feeling, sour taste while burping, and nausea. 

Indigestion happens due to changes in lifestyle, overeating, high amount of carbonated beverages or alcohol, oily/spicy food, high amount of tobacco consumption, anxiety, or reaction due to some antibiotics or medication. 

If indigestion is left untreated, it may cause chronic constipation, thyroid, intestinal ischemia, gallstones, or pancreas swelling. 

Treatment:

• Drinking ginger and water or tea helps to soothe the stomach and reduce the pain caused by indigestion. Alternate option: keep sucking on ginger candy in small portions twice or thrice a day. 
• Over-the-counter medication — antacids, helps in reducing stomach acids.

Diet and Lifestyle:

• Avoid having acidic vegetables and fruits such as — tomatoes, and oranges.
• Do not consume spicy, highly preserved, oily, or fatty food.
• Cut down on caffeine and tobacco intake.
• Chew food carefully, do not swallow anything.
• It is highly recommended to have high-fiber food and a BRAT diet (banana, rice, apple, and toast) daily.
• Keep yourself hydrated all day. 
• Include light exercises daily and avoid exercise right after having a meal.
• Mixing 1 tbsp lemon/lime juice in water with 1 tsp of baking soda helps in improving stomach bloating, intestinal function smoothly, and improve liver condition.
• Include cinnamon, cumin, and cloves in food. These ingredients are known for antimicrobial substances and antioxidants, which help in relieving indigestion.

4. Anxiety, Depression, Stress, and Insomnia

Hollowness in the stomach can be caused by three major underlying psychological issues — anxiety (nervousness), stress, and depression. When you are in a stressful moment, the human body releases a chemical that interferes with the digestion system and decreases the anti-bodies production in the body.

If anxiety, stress, or depression happens more than the human body can handle, it either creates some medical issues in the body or aggravates the pre-existing disease. The person with indigestion or gastric issues, stress, hyper anxiety, and depression adopts unhealthy or irregular eating habits, adding more stomach issues. 

Anxiety, depression, and stress symptoms vary from solid knots in the stomach, heavy or scare breathing patterns, deep hollow stomach feeling, tightness in body mussels, fear, loss of appetite, constipation, lumps in the throat, urge to throw up, headaches, and insomnia. 

Treatment:

In major cases of high anxiety, stress, or depression, seeking expert health practitioner help is highly recommended. In addition, prescribed medication and therapy sessions help to calm down nerves.

Diet and Lifestyle:

Food to include in the diet to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression: 

• Brazil nuts — The selenium in brazil nuts helps in reducing inflammation caused by overthinking. Also, brazil nuts help in keeping the stomach full for a longer time. 
• Omega 3 foods (fish) — Fatty acids in omega-3 help in reducing inflammation and promote healthy brain function that allows problem-solving instead of overthinking.
• Dark chocolate — Studies have found that dark chocolates are rich in flavonoids and magnesium that help in elevating blood flow in the body, leading to calming nerves. 
• Chamomile tea — Chamomile is rich in antioxidants, anti-inflammation, and relaxant substances that help claim the body’s nerves. 

Along with alterations in diet, lifestyle changes are highly needed to fight anxiety, stress, and depression.

• Take a short break between work and practicing deep breathing exercises.
• Include exercise, meditation, and yoga in your routine.
• Burning incense sticks or aromatic candles make the surroundings relaxing and calm the senses.

5. Peptic Ulcer

Peptic ulcers are of two kinds: Gastric ulcers — the ulcer and inflammation around the stomach lining, and Duodenal ulcers — the ulcer condition around the small intestine lining. In chronic peptic ulcer conditions, stomach acid may damage the stomach tissues. 

A peptic ulcer is caused by either helicobacter pylori bacteria that infect the stomach or painkiller medicines such as aspirin, ibuprofen, or any other prescribed NSAID (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs) medication. Consuming high amounts of regular NSAID medications tear the tissue layer around the digestive tract resulting in ulcers. A high amount of alcohol and tobacco also causes peptic ulcers.

Peptic ulcer symptoms include — heartburn, moderate to chronic stomach discomfort, bloating, hollow stomach feeling, vomiting, burning sensation inside the stomach, and abdomen pain, and it also may cause weight loss. 

Treatment:

A minor peptic ulcer can cure by having over-the-counter medicines. However, it is highly recommended to seek a medical expert’s advice before treating at home. The ulcer can cause more damage to different organs in the body if the treatment is not proper. An untreated peptic ulcer can cause internal stomach bleeding.

Diet and Lifestyle:

• Include high-fiber food, rich nutrients, and vitamin food such as sweet potato, spinach, citrus fruits, broccoli, pulses, cauliflower, kale, etc. 
• Cut down on carbonated beverages, alcohol, coffee, and acidic food consumption. 
• Avoid having fatty food, as it takes a long time to digest.
• Once or twice a fortnight, add soy foods to the diet —tofu or tempeh. 
• Avoid having a high dosage of NSAID medication.

Conclusion:

Hollow stomach feeling causes stomach discomfort, which affects your daily life routine—recommended to have a freshly prepared large breakfast full of vitamins and nutrients to keep yourself healthy. By altering diet and lifestyle, it may resolve the stomach hollowness feeling.