- Gut problems are one of the most common reasons people go to the GP
- Ancient Indian healing practice of Ayureveda has solutions for digestion
- Includes drinking warm water with lime or grated ginger in the morning
- Also recommends using spices like fennel, tumeric and black pepper
By EMINÉ ALI RUSHTON in http://www.dailymail.co.uk
Do you often feel bloated and sluggish?
Whether it’s a bout of diarrhoea, heartburn after a heavy meal, or aches and pains, gut problems affect nearly all of us at some point.
In fact, they are one of the most common reasons we go to the pharmacy or see our GP.
Writing for Healthista, Eminé Ali Rushton, author of The Body Balance Diet Plan, explains how methods from Ayurveda, the ancient Indian healing practice, can help.
From using digestive-friendly spices like fennel and ginger, to eating fruit on an empty stomach, here, she shares her tips for banishing bloating…
Gut problems are one of the most common reasons we go to the pharmacy or see our GP (file photograph)
WARM WATER AND LIME IN THE MORNING
Before you do anything in the morning, boil your kettle and fill half a mug with boiling water, then the other half with room temperature filtered water.
Drink as it is, or with a squeeze of lime if you’re feeling bloated or constipated, or with grated ginger if you’re feeling very lethargic.
The feeling of warm water hitting the stomach first thing in the morning is quite incredible because it’s pouring down a pipe that’s not been used in hours.
Try and leave at least 20 minutes before breakfast. It’s the quickest and easiest perk- and pick- me-up there is.
TRY TRIPHALA
Drinking warm water with lime in the morning can kick-start digestion
A traditional Ayurvedic remedy for gentle gut cleansing, Triphala is made from three traditional Indian fruits (haritaki, amla and bibhtaki).
It also contains psyllium, liquorice, fennel and linseed – gold- standard gut-clearers.
It can also help your body absorb nutrients from your food.
It’s available in health food stores.
GET SMART ON DIGESTION-FRIENDLY SPICES
Whenever I had an upset tummy as a child, my mother would boil up a generous pinch of fennel seeds in water (the water should boil up and turn a pretty yellow-green colour) and get me to drink it.
Within minutes my stomach used to start to feel better.
Fennel is a truly great gut-calmer, as is ginger, which can be added to all foods or boiled up in hot drinks.
Other spices that are great to add to your diet when you’re feeling off-colour are ginger, ground coriander, turmeric, cumin and black pepper – all of which are Ayurveda’s secret weapons for stoking and restoring digestive fire.
EAT FRUIT AT ROOM TEMPERATURE – ON AN EMPTY STOMACH
Ayurveda is specific about fruit and suggests it is always best eaten on an empty stomach.
So after your glass of warm water in the morning, enjoy ripe fruit at room temperature.
This is how we were meant to eat it – sun-warmed, first thing, fresh from the tree.
When fruit is refrigerator-cold it shocks the stomach, which hinders optimal digestion.
Eating gut-friendly spices like tumeric, ginger, fennel and black pepper can soothe stomach problems
Almost all fruits taste better and sweeter at room temperature – particularly berries, peaches, apricots and melon.
Get into the habit of taking fruit out of the refrigerator the night before and eating it about 40 minutes before breakfast.
Another good time to enjoy fruit is mid-morning, as a snack before lunch, as you want to try to leave a couple of hours on either side – so breakfast before 9am, fruit between 10 and 11am and lunch around 1pm won’t tax those digestive juices.
Always eat fruit at room temperature and on an empty stomach
EAT SLOWER
In Ayurveda, body types are classified into three types, or doshas, called vata, pitta and kapha.
Some doshas really do need to take more time than others over their meals.
Kapha, with their sluggish digestion, benefit from spending a longer time chewing.
Pitta, with their tendency for internal fire, do well to eat quietly in a peaceful spot.
Vata types, who often suffer digestive upset and loose bowels, need to slow down the eating process completely.
They also need to savour each mouthful, and never eat on the go (which is a common tendency with airy, and busy, Vata types).
PROBIOTICS
Achieving optimal gut health (and digestive fire) is at the heart of Ayurveda.
One of the simplest ways to aid digestive fire is to boost your stomach’s healthy bacteria with a proven probiotic blend, particularly after a course of antibiotics or during illness.
I am calling on modern wisdom here.
Obviously ancient Ayurveda doesn’t have a stance on probiotics – but I’ve found, from trial and error, that my digestive fire is always strongest when I support it with probiotics and enzymes.
We often hear that our immune system is situated in our gut: what this means is that 70 per cent of the antibacterial and antiviral cells within our body are situated in the walls of the stomach and intestines.
Our stomach also produces acid, which kills off most pathogens, and our small intestine produces mucus, which blocks further potential pathogens from entering our bloodstreams.
So, when your gut lining is weakened, your immunity will also be compromised. I really cannot overstate the importance of a healthy stomach in the pursuit of good overall health!
Eminé Ali Rushton is founder of balanceplan.co.uk
This article originally appeared and has been reproduced with the permission of Healthista.
Source….www.dailymail.co.uk
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