Treat your indigestion - the natural way

Loss of appetite, a burning sensation in the chest, belching, flatulence, nausea, dysentery, diarrhea, irritations, giddiness are all indicative of a disturbed digestive system. These problems are exacerbated during summer and monsoon, sometimes even proving fatal. Scientists now relate the problem of regularly raised acidity to heart problems. Usually we realize that we've eaten harmful foods only after our digestion is disturbed. By taking some precautions we can treat this system and keep it fit for the future as well.

Before trying out the natural remedies we are going to recommend, try to find out the reason behind your indigestion. Chronic constipation, mental tensions, very less physical activity, stale foods, lack of fiber in food, etc, are responsible for indigestion.

A good breakfast to cure indigestion would comprise mango, banana or sapota shaken well with milk, a salads of sprouts, porridge of sprouted wheat, makhana or sooji boiled with milk - they are all high quality alkalisers strong enough to neutralize the acid of the stomach. Green vegetable soup & the juice of sweet fruits will do the same. Make chapatis with extra wheat bran for lunch, pulses should be eaten with the skin & a salad is must. Eat fruits in the evening & preferably those whose skin & seeds can be eaten.

Dinner should comprise of fibrous vegetables like guar beans, french beans, sahijan, spinach, chaulai, cabbage, capsicum, karela, parval, karondha, tomatoes etc. Add wheat bran to chapatis. Avoid things lacking in rough matter like fine wheat flour, potatoes, rice, arbi, pulses without skin since they cause constipation.

The roughage that we get from leafy vegetables, skins of fruits and pulses, seedlings, bran etc. is very important because of two reasons. First, their property of absorption reduces the extra acid of the stomach and relieves you of the burning sensation. Second, they swell up after absorbing the toxins and act as binders which neither allow constipation nor diarrhea to occur. Pomegranate, isabgol husk, bel fruit, banana and even tea leaves are very common home remedies for diarrhea.

Keep a gap of 4-6 hours between two meals. Excessive chemical additives in food, cold drinks, chilies and condiments, hydrogenated ghee, pickles, papad and the like make you not only want to eat more but also damage the mucous membranes of the system, causing diseases.

According to naturopathy, you should peel and cut fruits and vegetables only at the time of eating because the thinnest covering layers provided by nature are strong enough to guard them from being contaminated. Naturopathy is against non-vegetarianism. Particularly during the rainy season non-vegetarian food is very dangerous for the digestive system.

Avoid eating food rich in creams and fats continuously. If one meal is rich, the second must be light enough to give rest to the alimentary canal. The foods selected according to these principals not only clean the system but also maintain purity.

For good defecation, drink 1-2 glasses of water before going to the toilet. If constipated, drink 3-5 glasses of lukewarm water and wrap a towel soaked in hot water on your abdomen. Keep it on for 20 minutes pouring hot water on it. The stools will be clear. Drinking 1-2 glasses of warm water half an hour prior to meals increases the appetite and also helps easy bowel clearance. A fresh water bath of 20 minutes strengthens your digestion and soothes you of irritations.

In Naturopathy, a mud pack prepared from purified soil and cold water if kept for half an hour over the abdomen above the navel can rid you not only of acidity but also of ulcers. And if the same is kept below the navel it can cure dysentery and diarrhoea.

Inflate your stomach taking a deep breath and then contract it fully while expiration. Do it 25-50 times with an empty stomach. The whole digestive system becomes immensely strong.

If uneasy after meals, walk for 20-25 minutes. The food will be digested and health will also improve.

And finally, if you are suffering from acidity or ulcers, try raw potato juice, raw turmeric, salads of yellow pumpkin, cucumber, cabbage and beet root. And among fruits go for bananas, aadu, papaya, bel, figs, pear, baggugosha and coconut water.