Most of these problems go undiagnosed because they are not that serious, but if they appear in the long run, they can damage your health badly. To avoid these negative effects in your life, follow these simple tips for better digestion by Sunita Pathania - Sr. Registered Dietician and Diabetes Educator, Healthy Living Diet Clinic, Mumbai.
# 1: Sip warm water
If you have trouble in digesting food, then sip warm water. Drinking warm water in the morning and at least thirty minutes before meals will help to clean your digestive system and enhance the production of gastric juice in your stomach.
# 2: Eat in order
While dining, form a food pyramid to avoid indigestion. Start your meal with easy to digest food and slowly move towards the complex foods. Thus, start your meal with fruits or juices and end it up with a royal treat like poultry or meat, in this way you will avoid overeating and digestive problems.
# 3: Always sit and eat your meal
The act of how you eat your meal also affects digestion. Thus, always sit in a relaxed posture and enjoy your meal. When we sit and eat our meal, our stomach acquires a relaxed posture and this helps to enhance our digestion.
# 4: Drink lots of water
This is another best remedy to treat digestive trouble. Drinking 8-10 glasses of water every day, helps in easy passage of stools and cleanses your digestive tract.
# 5: Drink some lemon water
If you don't like sipping warm water in the morning, then squeeze some lemon juice in a glass of water and drink it. Follow this treatment every day, as it will help to cleanse your stomach of leftover waster and remove excess acid.
# 6: Do some massage
To enhance your digestion, practice some self-massage or stomach exercise when you are free. These daily routine will help to improve your digestion in long run. Just try massaging your stomach with some essential oils.
# 7: Grind and chew, should be your mantra
Your mantra while having food should be, taking smaller bites and chews each food slowly and steadily. This technique will help to create carbohydrate digestion in your mouth and allows production of amylase - the digestive enzyme, which enhances proper digestion.
# 8: Make friends with fiber
Fill your plate with fiber rich foods like cherries, grapes, bell peppers, whole grains and nuts. Consumption of these foods will help to ease your digestion and keep it regular.
# 9: Avoid fatty foods
Fatty foods take long time to digest, thus consumption of these foods are likely to cause constipation and other digestive problems. Don't completely avoid fatty foods, as fats are essential for the proper functioning of the body. As a result, moderation is the key, and pair it with other healthy foods so that they can be easy to your stomach.
#10: Eat foods rich in vitamin C
Increase your intake of foods rich in vitamin C like broccoli, tomatoes, kiwi fruit and strawberries. Eat lots and lots of colourful fruits and vegetables to soften your stools and making them easier to pass.
#11: Add spices to your diet
Add taste your food by adding various spices like ginger, black pepper, rock salt or coriander. All these spices not only help to add flavour to your food but all improves digestion.
# 12: Follow a mealtime
To have a good digestion, it is very important to eat at the same time every day. Marinating a steady eating time will help to have a regulating effect on your digestive system.
# 13: Maintain a healthy weight
Being obese or overweight can also lead to digestive problems like heartburn and gas. Thus, check with your doctor and aim to maintain a healthy weight.
# 14: Choose lean meats
If you are a meat lover, then stay off from fatty cuts of meats as it can cause uneasy digestion. So if you want to eat meat, then choose lean cuts of meat and skinless poultry.
# 15: Visit the loo often
If you have an urge to go to the toilet, then go instantly. Delaying the removal of excreta can stretch your rectum, which can make the passage of waste difficult. Thus, whenever you get the natures call, attend it.
# 16: Exercise regularly
Practicing exercise everyday is very good for digestion. Daily exercise helps to stimulate your metabolism and improves your blood flow.
# 17: Watch your portion size
Consuming food beyond your limit can cause indigestion. So always, prefer smaller meals, to avoid overeating.
# 18: Reduce stress
The reason for your constant digestive problems can be stress. Stress can have aggressive effect on your digestive tract. Therefore, control your stress by practicing breathing exercise or meditation.
# 19: Add probiotics
Make sure to eat a bowl of low-fat yoghurt every day. Yoghurt is rich in probiotics - the healthy bacteria. They help to keep your body healthy, breaks down lactose, treats irritable bowel syndrome and enhances proper nutrient absorption.
# 20: Avoid late night meals
Our digestive system tends to slow down in the evening. Thus, avoid late night foods, so that there in enough digestive chemicals in our stomach to properly digest our food.
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