A glass of water with lemon juice 15-30 minutes before a meal helps to normalize the secretion of gastric acid, relieves the symptoms of heartburn, and prevents belching and gas formation in the intestine. In addition, lemon contains a lot of vitamin C.
- Don’t drink milk and coffee for breakfast.
Milk stimulates the production of gastric acid and increases acidity. Don’t treat it like a drink – it’s food and quite heavy. Choose yogurt or kefir as they contain probiotics which help the stomach bacteria in digestive processes. As for coffee and beer, they affect the stomach almost the same way as milk.
3. Don’t wash food down.
The drinks you take during a meal dilute the gastric acid and the concentration of enzymes responsible for digestion. Therefore, the food is digested longer, and the fermentation process may begin. A consequence of this is increased gas formation and bloating.
4. Don’t drink alcohol on an empty stomach.
Alcohol stimulates the production of gastric acid, which in the absence of food in the stomach slows down its work and begins to corrode the walls. With frequent use, it kills the microflora of the stomach and intestines. If there’s no question about to drink or not to drink, take care that the stomach doesn’t remain empty.
5. Drink ginger tea.
Ginger, spicy in its nature, calms the stomach and reduces gas formation and intestinal activity. It also dilutes the blood and improves its circulation.
6. Don’t eat too much fatty food.
Fatty food, fast food, and fatty sweets are heavy foods, staying in the stomach during digestion. The harder a food is for the stomach to digest, the more gases it produces. If you eat less fat, you can avoid both heaviness and feelings of discomfort.
7. Don’t “eat air.”
When we eat in a hurry, talk while eating, chew badly, drink carbonated drinks, chew bubblegum, or smoke, we swallow excess air. It’s not dangerous, but it leads to bloating and gas formation.
8. Don’t eat too many foods rich in fiber.
These are numerous fruits, vegetables, berries, and legumes. Excess fiber causes gas formation and hampers the intestinal functioning due to coarse fibers. It’s better to not overdo such food.
9. Relax, sleep well, and meditate.
Anxiety and stress lead to the violation of intestinal motility. To cope with them, you need to properly relax. For example, 15-20 minutes of meditation a day soothes the mind, stomach, and heart and normalizes blood circulation.
