Lately, I’ve noticed that I get indigestion more frequent than before. Twice now eating at home during my 1 hour lunch break, I will return to the office with a bloated and uncomfortable stomach. It’s an indigestion attack again. I usually pride myself of having a good metabolism. Before, I could eat a very big meal during dinner and still be able to sleep comfortably in the night and having no after effects in the morning. But now it’s a different story. I get indigestion. My body is starting to fall apart. I’m old!!!!!

Indigestion aka dyspepsia is a stomach problem. Indigestion takes the form of gas, bloating, heartburn and abdominal pain and can cause a great deal of discomfort for the sufferer. What causes indigestion? Ruling out any pre-existing medical condition (meaning for healthy people), indigestion can be brought about by: eating too much, eating too fast, eating high fat foods, eating during stressful situations, and swallowing air. It is aggravated by smoking before meals, exercising after meals, and drinking large amounts of alcohol.

Cure/Prevention for indigestion the bloated kind (Note: some doesn’t have medical basis but it works!):

1. Avoid smoking after meals – smoking increases the air you may swallow and can cause bloating.

2. Exercising after meals – wait at least 2 hours before exercising as 2 hours is the gastric emptying time. One morning I decided to go jogging and because I was hungry, I ate half a donut. During my jog, my stomach starts to hurt and all I could say was next 20 minutes on the way home was so uncomfortable. Not going to exercise again. hehehe.

3. Drink warm tea/water when eating or after meal – warm beverage (not the alcoholic or soda kind) can cause blood vessels to dilate and make the stomach work better. During an indigestion, warm water/tea can cause the air to expel.

4. Don’t take antacids for bloating because bloating is not caused by hyperacidity.

5. Lay flat on your stomach – this was very helpful and effective advice from a friend. Lying on the stomach can cause air to expel easier and faster.

6. Put hot compress or liniment oil on your stomach to alleviate the discomfort.

7. Chew gum to facilitate burping. But if you don’t have indigestion, beware chewing gum can cause swallowing of lot of air.

8. Avoid overeating, especially high fat content foods. These are difficult to digest and are likely to cause some degree of discomfort. Overeating causes the stomach to work harder and makes digestion more difficult. The result may be bloating, gas, or heartburn.

9. Avoid eating too quickly. Your stomach needs time to adjust to the food that is being eaten. Eating quickly can also trap air in the stomach causing excessive gas and bloating.

Have a happy stomach!

Related posts:

  1. Guyabano as cure for Cancer?
  2. TROUBLE SLEEPING?
  3. Eating my heart out