10 ways to eliminate indigestion!
Do you get indigestion? Gas? Bloating? Are you tired of feeling sluggish after meals? Here are 10 tips to help you improve your digestion!
What (and what not) to eat
Eat:
Probiotics- your digestive system relies on good bacteria to keep it healthy. Your gut microbiome is made up of trillions of microorganisms and an imbalance between the good and the bad bacteria can create an array of health problems. The standard American diet not only lacks natural probiotics, but lends itself to increased growth of bad bacteria. Diets high in sugar and processed foods can have long-term negative effects on your gut bacteria. Rebalance your gut microbiome and increase your good bacteria with probiotics, whether that is a high quality probiotic, eating naturally fermented foods, or a combination.
Make sure to find a high quality probiotic and watch out for fillers and additives that may be doing more harm than good. A good probiotic doesn’t have to cost a lot, but it does need to be high quality. Refrigeration can help keep these beneficial bacteria at their best too.
Naturally fermented foods include sauerkraut, kimchi, and pickled foods.
Apple cider vinegar. This can help you digest your food better which means you will absorb more nutrients and have less indigestion. Dilute 1/8-1/4 tsp of apple cider vinegar in a few ounces of water and sip on it prior to eating. This helps stimulate your digestive processes and prepare your digestive system for food.
Eat healthy fats. Healthy fats include avocado, avocado oil, fish, olive oil, and butter. Healthy fats not only help balance blood sugar and increase satiety, but help keep your intestines and digestive tract lubricated and can help decrease constipation and the gas and bloating that can often result.
Up your digestive enzymes. Enzymes are a necessary part of digestion. They can get depleted if you have taken antacids (short or long term, such as those used for heartburn) or if your gut microbiome is out of balance. Rebalancing your microbiome (through probiotics, apple cider vinegar and decreasing processed foods and sugar) is a great way to rebuild your digestive enzyme and there are supplements available that provide digestive enzymes to help you while you work on rebuilding them. Digestive enzymes help you break down your food to absorb and digest it better which means less gas, bloating and overall better digestion for you!
Balanced meals. Eat a balanced meal. Sugar cravings or the desire to snack after a meal often indicate a lack of protein and fat. Eat sufficient amounts of healthy fats and protein (with lots of veggies of course) to help you feel full longer, help balance your blood sugar, and curb sugar cravings.
Avoid:
6. Avoid overeating. Wait before reaching for a second helping. It takes your brain 10-20 minutes to receive the signal that you are full from your digestive system. By eating until you feel full, you miss this signal and are prone to overeating. Make sure to eat slowly and wait for your digestive tract to send your brain the signals to tell you that you’ve had enough.
7. Limit sugar and processed foods. High intake of sugar promotes growth of bad bacteria and can create many symptoms including gas, bloating, and indigestion. Eating too much sugar also promotes overall inflammation and does not do your body any good!
8. Avoid aggravating foods. Avoid any foods that aggravate your symptoms. This one seems obvious, but you’d be surprised at how many people don’t realize which foods are causing them issues, or know what they are and eat them anyway! Keep track of what you eat and how you feel afterwards, including any symptoms of indigestion, for at least a couple of weeks to get an idea of what foods may be causing you trouble. Common problem foods include: wheat/gluten, dairy, corn, and soy. People can react to anything though so make sure you keep track of everything you eat to really track down the guilty parties!
I have so many patients who feel so much better after eliminating their offending foods. They report everything from less indigestion to more energy, clearer thinking, clearer skin, and less frequent colds and illnesses.
9. Avoid swallowing without chewing your food. This seems basic but if you take the time to count how many times you chew your food before you swallow, you will realize how few times you are actually chewing (and that you are actually swallowing huge pieces of food!). Each bite should optimally be chewed 32 times (just remember 1 chew for every tooth you have!). Digestion begins in your mouth and if you are not fully chewing your food, you are inhibiting the first stages of digestion. You are also sending down large pieces of food which are harder for your stomach to break down and digest creating extra work for you digestive system.
10. Avoid eating while distracted. Focus on your food. Make sure you are sitting down and able to focus on eating- no TV, cell phones, or driving while you’re eating. Eating should be a relaxing time, not a stressful one. Your nervous system needs to be in a “rest and digest” (parasympathetic) mode to properly digest, which is hard to accomplish if you are multi-tasking, in front of a screen, or even worse, trying to work, walk, or drive, while you eat.
If you have tried the above with no success, there may be something else going on with your digestion. Dr. Sahni can help you figure out the root problem of your indigestion. Make an appointment with Dr. Sahni’s Portland Naturopathic practice today!