9 HOME REMEDIES FOR DIGESTIVE ISSUES

Peppermint Tea

Peppermint also contains a volatile oil that helps improve your digestion. Boil a few peppermint leaves along with a glass of water and sip on the warm peppermint tea. You can also add a few drops of edible peppermint oil into a glass of warm water to get relief from indigestion. However, peppermint is known to aggravate the acidic levels in the body and consuming it when you have heartburn may not be the right remedy.

Fiber

People who have a problem with constipation generally suffer from a sluggish feeling along with bloating and gas. In some cases, they may also experience a slight headache or a feeling of lethargy which is not ideal. To deal with these symptoms, it is best to increase the fiber in your diet, which helps keep things moving. Bananas and leafy vegetables are rich in fiber and can help with constipation.

Figs

Figs are high in fiber and natural sorbitol, which together produce a gentle laxative effect useful for constipation. You can soak the figs overnight and eat them in the morning. You can also drink the water in which the figs are soaked to enable you to pass stools without straining your body.

Fennel

Fennel or saunf is known to contain volatile components that are useful in reducing flatulence. Fennel seeds can be consumed right after a meal to better your digestion or it can be added to a glass of water and boiled to make a warm tea that will help soothe the irritation in the stomach.

Eat Slowly, Chew Well

Wolfing down your meals makes you swallow a greater amount of gas than when you chew slowly. When you gobble your food, there is no time for the salivary juices to work on the food in the mouth and this increases the load on the digestive system. The best way to overcome this issue is to chew slowly, which results in better digestion of the food that you consume.

Get Meal Timings Right

Skipping breakfast and going straight to lunch creates a big gap between meals. This can lead to heartburn, gastric irritation and acidity. In addition to this, if you eat too fast or consume more calories to assuage your hunger, a greater strain is placed on the digestive system. When you do this every day, you are providing an open invitation to conditions like chronic indigestion, constipation and bloating. The best way to overcome this problem is to consume meals at more frequent intervals and make sure that you don't miss out on your breakfast. In addition to this, make sure you consume your dinner at least 2 - 3 hours before going to bed so that your digestion process starts well before you fall asleep.

Keep Stress at Bay

Stress and anxiety are linked to many of the problems related to the digestive system. Stress and digestive issues form a vicious cycle, in which stress leads to digestive problems and worsening digestive problems lead to more stress. This is not good for the mind or the body. When you feel stressed, practice yoga, meditation or physical exercise to get relief and, over time, you will notice a gradual decrease in stress-related digestive problems.

Avoid Cold Foods and Drinks at Mealtimes

Consuming cold foods and drinks at mealtimes can reduce the effectiveness of the digestive juices and enzymes present in your body. This leads to several digestive problems. Therefore, it is best to eat food and drink at room temperature or even at a slightly warm temperature to ensure that your digestive system works to absorb all the nutrients present in the food.

What to Cut Back On

Adding helpful things works better when the reliable irritants come down at the same time. The usual culprits are worth checking before assuming something more complicated is going on:

• Large, fatty meals, which slow stomach emptying and are the most common cause of an evening of discomfort
• Carbonated drinks, which introduce gas directly and make bloating worse
• Alcohol, which relaxes the valve at the top of the stomach and irritates its lining
• Too much caffeine, particularly on an empty stomach, which increases acid and speeds up the gut
• Sugar-free gum, mints and diet products containing sorbitol, mannitol or xylitol. These are poorly absorbed and are a frequent, easily missed cause of bloating and loose stools
• Very late dinners, which leave you lying down while the stomach is still full

Changing one at a time for a week or two tells you more than cutting everything at once, because it shows you which one actually mattered.

When Indigestion Needs a Doctor

Most indigestion settles with the kind of changes described here. Some symptoms mean stopping the home remedies and making an appointment instead:

• Difficulty swallowing, or food feeling as though it sticks
• Vomiting that persists, or vomiting blood
• Stools that are black and tarry, or blood in the stool
• Weight loss you did not intend
• Persistent pain, or pain that wakes you at night
• A change in bowel habit lasting more than a few weeks
• Indigestion starting for the first time after the age of 55
• Iron-deficiency anemia found on a blood test

Separately, pressure or pain in the chest, jaw, neck or arm—especially with sweating, nausea or breathlessness, can be mistaken for indigestion and should be treated as a possible heart problem. Seek emergency care rather than waiting to see whether it passes.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How much fiber should I be aiming for?

Most adults do well on 25 to 30 grams a day, and most people fall well short. Increase it gradually over a couple of weeks and drink more water as you do, since adding fiber quickly without extra fluid tends to make bloating worse before it makes it better.

2. Is peppermint good or bad for heartburn?

It depends which problem you have, which is why the page gives both sides. Peppermint relaxes gut muscle, which helps with bloating and cramping but can worsen reflux by relaxing the valve at the top of the stomach. If heartburn is your main symptom, fennel or ginger is the better choice.

3. Do probiotics help?

They help some people, particularly with bloating and after a course of antibiotics, and the effect varies by strain and by person. Fermented foods such as yogurt, kefir and kimchi are a reasonable place to start before buying supplements.

4. Why does stress affect digestion so much?

The gut and brain are directly connected, and the nervous system that governs digestion is the same one that responds to pressure. Under stress the body deprioritizes digestion, which shows up as cramping, urgency or a stomach that simply stops moving things along.