Wrong eating habits or eating too much may give us that uncomfortable feeling of bloating and heaviness. Isn’t it? These are the familiar symptoms of digestive distress.
Like most people you must have experienced this at least once in your life. It is not too late to begin to manage digestive distress effectively.
Below are some tips for relieving digestive distress and leading a healthy life:
Physical Activity
Probably it is the last thing one would like to do when experiencing digestive distress. Gentle walking and moderate stretching can help relieve the symptoms. It not only helps improve your digestive process but also makes you feel lighter and more energetic.
Implementing the right combination and level of physical activity will be most effective. Some exercises may have negative effects while others may prove beneficial. For instance, intense exercises can lead to heavy gastrointestinal bleeding.
Water and Ginger Tea
Water plays a vital role in proper functioning of our digestive system. It hydrates your body. It helps softens the stools making them pass easily in case one suffers from constipation.
Ginger tea is digestion friendly and helps in easing stomach cramps, gas or nausea. It reduces stress too. The added advantage being that you can easily prepare one for yourself!
Fiber Supplement
It helps to cleanse your body by moving things along the digestive tract further overcoming the discomfort.
It is a well known fact that fresh fruits and vegetables are a great source of fiber, so reach out for them in case of gastrointestinal distress.
It is important to get both types of fiber as below:
Soluble fibers which absorb or dissolve in water like oats, legumes and fruits like apples oranges and carrots.
Insoluble fibers which do not absorb or dissolve in water like wheat bran, nuts and vegetables like beans, potatoes and cauliflower.
Probiotics
In general, Probiotics are the “good bacteria” which are either same or very similar to the already present bacteria in our body. The lower digestive tract in our body contains complex and diverse community of these bacteria. Probiotics help overcome gastrointestinal diseases along with other benefits.
Not only this, the right type and amount of probiotic can help –
- Promote a healthy immune system
- Supports weight management
- Prevents occasional diarrhea or constipation
- The dietary sources of probiotics are in some yogurts, cheeses etc.
Some precautions are to be taken while taking a probiotic dietary supplement and it may not be safe under below criteria:
- Get infections often
- Not very strong immunity
- Allergic or sensitive to probiotic sources like dairy products
Stress Management
Digestion slows down when in stress which further leads to cramping and bloating. This further contributes in causing gastrointestinal distress. To reduce stress and manage a healthy lifestyle is essential. Few ways for managing stress include the following:
- Meditation
- Yoga
- Deep breathing exercises
Digestive problems can happen anywhere along the way!
Digestion begins in mouth. When we chew food, it is saliva that starts to break down food. This further takes food to the esophagus (tube connecting throat to stomach). The acids present in the stomach breaks down the food further. The digestive juices from several organs, like your pancreas and gallbladder, breakdown the food more and nutrients are absorbed. If food is not digested properly it leads to digestive distress. Therefore, diet and lifestyle changes can make a big difference.
