Wonder Herbs for those Digestion Blues

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One may be consuming the most nutritious and balanced diet, but if there are digestion grievances then it would affect the health. Traditional Ayurvedic literature emphasizes the importance of good digestion.

Good digestion is preferred over good food for a long and healthy life. It would obviously be the best to have both – good diet and good digestion.

One very essential point that we tend to ignore is that each one of us has a particular 'make' and is very different from one another. Each of us has a distinct psycho-physiological identity. Some people have an excellent digestive capacity and can easily digest whatever they eat without distress. While some people may have a more sensitive digestion and suffer from frequent gastric distress such as flatulence, bloating, indigestion, lower abdomen pain (which passes only after passing stools), long-standing constipation, a feeling of incomplete evacuation of the bowel despite having passed stools and too much gas.

Even though food may have properly broken down into its simpler form, disturbances in the absorption and intestinal functioning leads to many problems. If semi-digested food remains in the system for a long time, it starts decomposing and putrefying, leading to fermentation and formation of toxins, which in the long run is ultimately the cause of a wide spectrum of diseases.

Medications bring only temporary relief. One has to understand his or her body functioning and reactions to foods and thus tap the root cause. The cause for this could be something as basic as eating almost anything (oily food, refined food) at any time of the day. Frequent consumption of medications and painkillers can also lead to gastric disturbances.

Taking laxatives and medications is not the solution. There are certain ways of keeping the digestion sound:

• First and foremost mantra for a healthy stomach is the consumption of fibrous and bulk-forming foods (fruits, salads, vegetables, sprouts, dals, oats, wheat bran, broken wheat, buckwheat ) and staying away from foods that restrict proper fecal elimination. (Refined foods like pizzas, breads, buns, high fat gravies, fried foods)

• Avoiding foods which cause digestive disturbances when consumed. Certain people avoid peanuts, coconut, walnuts, fermented foods like dosas as they are gas forming.
• Taking efforts to eat small frequent meals whenever possible to avoid excess acid secretion in the stomach.
• Drinking lots of water throughout the day.
• Regular exercise