Digestive problems are a common issue for most of us. We even unnoticed it many times, because it is becoming a new normal for us. In this article we will share some easy solutions for our healthy gut life.
First we should understand which are the common digestive issues and their causative factors.
What Are Common Digestive Disorders:
- Irregular bowel habits.
- Constipation.
- Formation of gasses.
- Heaviness of the abdomen.
- On and off abdominal pain.
- Nausea, vomiting.
- Acid reflux. Regurgitation of food after eating, mostly at night.
- Acidity, heartburn.
Most of us suffer from these symptoms occasionally or daily. We take one antacid, or any ayurvedic, natural over the counter medicine and forget it. We neglect it till it becomes a big problem.
Causative Factors for Gut Diseases:
- Eating habits, faulty diet: What we eat and how we eat makes lots of difference for our gut health. If you eat lots of bakery products like bread, pizza, burgers or frozen foods, and drink plenty of canned juice, coke drinks then it’s an invitation for most of digestive problems.
At the same time your irregular eating times cause gas problems, acidity problems and heartburn.
- Lifestyle: Most of us are working from home which reduces our physical activity. Similarly, many of us avoid regular exercise which is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle. Getting up early and doing exercise early makes us healthy.
- Sleep cycle: Irregular sleep cycle and insomnia are predisposing factors for stomach problems. Our social life, mobile addiction are changing our night habits. It is now a ritual that you should visit your social media before you go to sleep. It’s affecting our sleep quality which directly affects our digestion health.
One of the cross-sectional studies published in PubMed central demonstrated that sleep disturbances were associated with digestive symptoms such as abdominal pains, acid regurgitation, abdominal distension and eructation.
- Sedentary habits: Human body is designed for physical activity. Physical activity not only stimulates bacterial balance in the gut but also increases blood flow of intestinal muscles.
One of the articles published in NIH about effects of exercise on gut micro-bacteria states that, “ exercise can enhance the number of beneficial microbial species, enrich the microflora diversity, and improve the development of commensal bacteria. All these effects are beneficial for the host, improving its health status.” This directly helps to improve our digestion.
- Stress and anxiety: Yes, these are the most important but neglecting factors. Our stress and anxiety affects our gut health. Epidemiological data published in NIH shows that Stress and depression are predisposing factors for various digestive diseases, including IBS.
Home Remedies for Digestive Problems:
- If you are suffering from constipation and glasses: Eat lots of green veggies, salads and drink plenty of water. Water is the best cleanser for our body. Green veggies and salads provide you with lots of fibers which are essential for good digestion.
- For abdominal pain and gasses- Drink Ajwain warm water. Take 1 tablespoon of ajwain seeds in 1 glass of water and let it boil. Drink this warm water for pain. It relieves pain and glasses.
- For acidity and heartburn: At night drink 1 cup of cold milk before you go to bed. Cold milk is the best medicine for heartburn or acidity. If you have an allergy to milk then try to eat curd and rice. Curd is plain yogurt or dahi. Make a habit, not to eat fried things and bakery products at evening or for dinner.
- Fruits are a good source of fibers. So eat at least 1 fruit per day. Bananas, apples and papaya are the best fruits for constipation or hard stool. Try to eat fruit, do not prefer juices over fruits.
- Nausea and vomiting: These are consequences of your faulty diet or late night sleep. You can drink warm water with fresh lemon squeeze in it early in the morning. Best thing is to do WAMAN. It’s a yogic shuddhi-kriya, which helps you to clean your stomach. Do it under the guidance of a yoga teacher who knows about it. Best thing is to avoid trigger factors of acidity or vomiting.
- Avoid processed, frozen foods. Yes, try to eat fresh homemade food. One article about ‘hidden dangers of processed food’ is published in the National Library of Medicine which states that these processed and frozen foods not only increase obesity, heart failure, IBS, digestive problems but also affects mental health.
- Sleep: Have a good sleep at night. Sleep for at least 7-8 hours per night. Sleep is the most necessary process for our body physiology to work properly.
- Exercises: Do a minimum 30 minutes of exercise per day. If you are busy and you don’t have time, then do 10 minutes walking after every meal. Means you can walk 10 minutes after breakfast, lunch and dinner.
- Form a daily ideal routine for yourself: Yes, eat and sleep on regular hours every day.
- Meditation: It will help you to fight against stress and anxiety which are common factors who trigger our digestive problems. If we work on our mental health then it directly affects our physical health also in a good way.
These are some simple home tips or lifestyle modification changes which improve your digestive health and overall wellness.
Author’s Bio
Dr. Sujata Chougule, MD.: A homeopathy consultant and have 7 years of experience of online consultation. A yoga teacher and healthy food lover. Reading motivational, spiritual books are my hobbies. She is also a health blogger and like to write in simple language for common people.