Healthy Practices For Good Digestion

If you have indigestion, flatulence, acidity and heartburn regularly, read this.

There are a number of factors that can affect your digestion. It is not just what you eat, it is also about what you do before, during and after eating that will affect your digestion. Here are some healthy practices you need to follow to make sure that your digestion is in good shape.

Ever wondered why so many Indians go out for a walk after their meals? A concept called shatapavli or walking hundred steps after a meal is highly encouraged. This is because walking after digestion can help ease digestion. You should never sit down after a meal or worse, sleep. Walking after meals enables the gastric juices to do their work well thus preventing problems like acidity and bloating.

Eating paan or saunf or other mouth fresheners after a meal is commonly practised. The reason behind this is simple. These mouth fresheners are made with a number of healthy ingredients including spices like cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, fennel seeds, carom seeds, gulkand, mishri, betel leaf etc. which promote healthy digestion. These and a combination of these also help intestinal digestive enzymes, help absorb nutrients from the food we eat, ease nausea and heartburn. They also have anti-flatulent and carminative properties. Don’t go overboard with these.

Do not drink water during your meals. The ideal time to drink water would be half an hour before or after meals. Drinking water while eating is known to create digestion problems. Not just water, experts say you should avoid drinking cold drinks, juices and alcohol during eating too as this disrupts gastric juice formation and dilutes it. This means that the gastric juices are not able to effectively carry out its function.

Eat slowly and chew often. Chewing food properly enables the saliva to mix with the food properly. This can help with better digestion of food. Also, taking small bites and chewing the food into small pieces makes it easier to swallow and ultimately to digest.