Indigestion isn’t alien to a lot of us. We sometimes feel some sort of pain or discomfort in the upper abdomen either during or after a meal, this is associated with difficulty in digesting food. This feeling is known as Indigestion, also known by the medical term dyspepsia.  Indigestion is mainly caused by poor eating habits. Symptoms of indigestion could include heartburn, vomiting, bloating, gas, growling stomach, abdominal pain, acidic taste and a burning sensation in the stomach as well as a lot of discomfort. For some others, indigestion is a sign of an underlying problem like ulcers, gallbladder disease, and acid indigestion.
The good news is that you can easily get relief from indigestion using different ingredients and medical prescriptions and we will be sharing 4 below:
- Water-
This might sound trivial but drinking warm water gradually at the first sign of indigestion can give you some relief as it helps increase the gastric pH. For added benefits and flavour, put in some slices of lemon or lime into drinking water.
- Make Ginger a staple –
Ginger comes with a lot wonders because of the several chemical components it possesses. It helps in stimulating the digestive juices, thereby improving digestion. Drinking ginger tea often, gives relief from bloating, cramps, gas and stomach aches. To make ginger tea, boil one teaspoon of grated ginger in a cup of water for 5 to 10 minutes.
Additionally using ginger as a spice in your recipes can also help if you are suffering from indigestion.
- Eat slowly and early –
Indigestion is mainly associated with unhealthy eating habits and high stress levels. By the time you begin rushing your food or eating when on the go it contributes to bloating and gas. Also eat your dinner at least three hours before bedtime so the meal can be digested before hitting the bed as our body systems don’t digest very well when sleeping
- Take Digestive Enzymes –
Poor eating habits, such as eating too fast or eating too late at night can wreak havoc on your digestive system by causing inadequate production of digestive enzymes.
When you eat a meal, your body produces about 20 types of digestive enzymes from the salivary gland, stomach and small intestine. Each one of these enzymes acts on specific types of food —For instance, Pancreatin contains proteases, amylases and lipases which catalyse the breakdown of protein and peptide fragments to amino acids, carbohydrate to simple sugars and fats to fatty acids and glycerol respectively. Cellulase breaks down cellulose fibres to B- glucose.
A good digestive enzyme contains a mix of amylase, lipase, cellulose (for digesting plant fibers), and protease. This is key to achieving good digestion of many foods.
Gestomil is a polyenzymatic digestant that works mainly through hydrolysis to catalyse the breakdown of complex sugars, fat, and proteins to absorbable fragments. Gestomil contains Cellulase, Pepsin, Pacralipase, Papain, Pancreatin and Diatase.
Remember that indigestion can be a symptom if a much serious digestive disease, such as Peptic Ulcer Disease, Crohn’s disease, acid reflux or GERD, and irritable bowel syndrome. So in addition to eating healthy and taking digestive enzymes, don’t forget to check with your doctor if your indigestion occurs frequently.