[ad_1]
Indigestion can be painful, embarrassing, and if you have to keep buying over-the-counter remedies, it’s expensive. You already know that! Do you long for relief from disturbed nights, stomach cramps, wind, bloating, constipation – or alternatively diarrhoea? Of course you do!
Are you plagued with stomach pain? The good news is that there’s a lot you can do to relieve your pain, and as with most problems, prevention is better than cure.
However – a word of warning – it’s important to be sure you are actually suffering from indigestion before you attempt to “self-treat”. Indigestion symptoms can be similar to those you might get with heart disease.
If your indigestion problem occurs unexpectedly (i.e. with no real reason) and if you suffer more than occasional episodes, you should visit your MD so that he/she can rule out the possibility of heart problems.
Another problem of self-treating is that some over-the counter “remedies” may actually worsen your pain problems, for instance, by causing constipation. Check the side effects of any medication or supplements that you are taking – whether for indigestion or for any other problems – but obviously don’t change any prescribed medication without the consent of your physician.
Having satisfied yourself that your indigestion isn’t a symptom of anything more sinister, let’s look at some of the types of food that you can avoid, to improve your problems. Here are 9 categories of food and drink commonly known to cause indigestion:
- Avoid foods that cause wind, such as peas and beans. These are particularly difficult to digest
- Avoid fats and fried food because these delay digestion, prolonging the time food stays in your stomach.
- Coffee, tea, alcohol and colas should be avoided – these are acidic, and of course fizzy drinks will increase any gas build up
- Peppermint tea may actually worsen your indigestion. People often confuse this with ginger tea, which is soothing
- Symptoms often clear up when allergenic foods are avoided. Check for food intolerances. There’s a surprisingly long list of foods implicated in food intolerance, often including food you think of as healthy (dairy, eggs, wheat, soy to name just a few). It’s very much the case that one man’s meat is another’s poison. The best way to check which foods are causing problems for you is either to have a food intolerance test, or simply eliminate it from your diet one hundred percent for a couple of weeks and see if your indigestion improves.
- Avoid cows’ milk products
- Red meat can be difficult to digest
- Do not eat spicy foods
- Avoid refined carbohydrates (for instance ‘white’ products such as bread and cakes) – wholemeal is a better choice
You may not want, or need, to avoid all of the above permanently, but a trial exclusion period of at least a fortnight could prove whether something is causing your problems.
The above list of things to avoid sounds very negative, but in fact relieving the pain and discomfort of indigestion isn’t just about avoiding foods, there are many simple self-help tips you can follow and there is an enjoyable eating plan that the whole family will enjoy, which will bring you rapid relief.
[ad_2]
Source by Joy Healey