Indigestion is also known as dyspepsia or upset stomach. If you or someone you love experiences gas, bloating, acid reflux, constipation, and/or diarrhea on a regular-enough basis, there are simple, daily choices that can improve your health and sense of well being. Below are suggestions of what to incorporate and what to avoid. Take it a step at a time. Notice what helps, build from there.

Include food, drinks + habits that aid digestion and reduce indigestion issues:

Cooked, warm, nourishing meals (soups, stews, casseroles, baked and grilled, etc.)

• Hot herbal teas: Ginger, Peppermint, Chamomile
• Hot water with fresh lemon
• Steep or chew seeds: Caraway, Fennel, Anise
• Fennel root
• Pumpkin
• Whole grains (quinoa, millet, rice, oatmeal)
• Refrigerated probiotics (fermented foods, yogurt, supplements)
• Chew! 15-20 times per bite
• Unwind, take some deep breaths, eat with a sense of calm
• Schedule consistent meal times
• Keep a food journal that includes columns for mood + symptoms to track what hinders and what helps
• Ask your body what it needs, listen softly for answers
• Self massage: clock-wise on the belly + distal forearms to wrists
• Take walks after meals + anytime!
• Acupuncture + other forms of self-care
• Consider an elimination diet with a food journal if sensitivities/allergies/intolerances are suspected. The most common allergens are peanuts, tree nuts, gluten, cow dairy, soy, egg, corn, fish and shell fish. It’s also possible that a food or herb recommended above doesn’t agree with you. Take note + care.

Avoid or significantly reduce foods that commonly impede digestion or cause indigestion:

• Very oily + fried
• Excessive dairy
• Very Spicy
• Raw + Cold
• Processed + packaged
• Fructose + refined sugars
• Cruciferous vegetables: cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower
• Corn
• Legumes
• Alcohol – sorry, folks: strains liver functioning which affects digestion