The digestive system is an intricate and delicate system and it can be easily disrupted as a result of many factors. Digestive issues are never fun, here are 5 ways you can overcome digestive discomfort:
1. Natural Remedies
Ginger
Ginger is a cure-all for mild digestive discomfort. This common remedy can alleviate things such as upset stomach, indigestion, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Ginger is easy to find and comes in all forms. Try adding ginger to your food or making a ginger tea. Ginger ale is also a good way to settle your stomach but be sure not to overdo it, or you’ll have another kind of stomach ache from too much sugar. Ginger hard candies are also an excellent, and handy way, to alleviate digestive discomfort should it hit you when you are out.
Lemon Water
Adding fresh lemon juice to warm water can help alleviate digestive discomfort because the lemon’s high acidity helps break down any lingering food causing the stomach to feel upset. Mix lemon in with your ginger tea for even more relief.
Chamomile Tea
Chamomile tea’s anti-inflammatory properties make it an ideal choice for soothing an upset stomach. Chamomile can relieve things such as stomach cramps, indigestion, irritable bowel syndrome, gas, and bloating.
2. Increase Your Fiber Intake
Fiber is a key component to a healthy digestive system. If you are experiencing digestive discomfort, adding more fiber to your diet may alleviate some of your symptoms and can even be a long-term solution. Adding fiber to your daily routine helps prevent future digestion discomfort and conditions such as diverticulosis, hemorrhoids, and irritable bowel syndrome by making sure the digestive systems are working properly.
The daily recommended dose of fiber is 38 grams for men and 25 grams for women. However, most American adults don’t consume even half of the daily recommended dose of fiber. Adding natural sources of fiber to your diet is easy. Fiber can be found in foods such as:
Fruit and vegetables, such as pears, strawberries, avocado, apples, bananas, carrots, beets, broccoli, and artichokes.
Legumes and grains such as lentils, kidney beans, chickpeas, quinoa, oats, and popcorn. Other great sources of fiber are chia seeds, almonds, and even dark chocolate that contains 70% or more cacao.
If you still feel you aren’t getting enough fiber through natural sources, you can try adding a daily fiber supplement. Many supplements are flavorless and can be added to water or even sprinkled right on your food.
3. Drink More Water
Water is essential for proper digestion and dehydration can be a cause of a number of digestive issues. If you are experiencing digestive discomfort, try drinking more water throughout the day, it’s one of the simplest solutions. Try exchanging beverages like soda, sports drinks, and coffee for water a few times a day. Also, try drinking a big glass of water before you eat a meal. Not only will it help you consume less food, but it will prime your digestive system and help prepare the gastrointestinal tract for the meal that is to come. While drinking plenty of water is essential for avoiding digestive discomfort, avoid drinking water during your meal as it can disrupt digestive function by diluting the acid in the stomach that’s responsible for breaking down your food.
The recommended amount of water for the average person is 8 eight ounce glasses per day. Individually, your body may require more or less water to alleviate digestive discomfort, so listen to your body. A good guideline is to simply drink water when you feel thirsty.
4. Take Probiotics
If you are already drinking plenty of water, have a generous amount of fiber in your diet, eat a well-balanced diet, and still experience digestive discomfort, you should consider adding a probiotic to your routine. Probiotics help restore the natural balance of bacteria in your digestive system. Your gut’s bacteria can become imbalanced by a number of ways including illness, poor diet, or medications such as antibiotics. There are a number of ways to introduce probiotics including yogurt, fermented foods such as pickled vegetables, kefir, kombucha, kimchi, and sauerkraut. Probiotics can also be found as supplements that contain the beneficial bacteria in the form of tablets, capsules, or powders.
5. Seek Expert Advice
While some digestive discomfort can be alleviated by simply changing some lifestyle habits, other instances may require the advice of a professional. If you’ve tried to manage your digestive discomfort on your own, but have been unsuccessful, it may be time to take a trip to your gastroenterologist. Gastroenterologists, like Gastroenterology HealthCare Associates, specialize in digestive issues and can help you get to the root of what’s causing your digestive discomfort.