Tips to Help Avoid Indigestion
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| Woman with Severe Indigestion |
Our digestive enzyme activity decreases by about ten percent every ten years after the age of 20. A fifty year old has about thirty percent less digestive capacity than a 20 year old. This is one reason why many people notice that as they age they have more episodes of indigestion.
Stress decreases enzymatic activity and hydrochloric acid production. If you have less hydrochloric acid and enzymes because of a stress reaction, than some of your food will remain undigested in the stomach.
Before the stomach has a chance to empty, inorganic acids from undigested food will travel up the esophagus producing acid reflux type symptoms. A teaspoon to a tablespoon of unfiltered/raw apple cider vinegar may help someone who doesn't have yeast, candida, or fungus (if you do have yeast, candida, or fungus it may aggravate symptoms).
Another solution can be a supplement such as Zypan, which is betaine hydrochloride coupled with enzymes. Zypan at the end of a meal helps the stomach to digest whatever couldn't be digested on its own. If a supplement is an enzyme product without betaine hydrochloride than it should be taken at the midpoint of the meal. The reason these supplements are not taken at the beginning of the meal, is that it is important for the body to produce enough of its own enzymes, so it doesn't shut down its normal enzyme production. The body is very smart and will compensate with any addition or subtraction of its nutritional requirements.
Food combining principles may help certain people with their indigestion. Always eat fruit alone. Fruit is digested rather quickly compared to other foods (about 30 minutes or less). If you eat fruit with something like cheese, than the stomach will start emptying after a short period of time taking some of the cheese with it, which needs hours to digest properly. The body has to work really hard to digest fruit if it's combined with fats, proteins, and other forms of carbohydrate.
It is better not to consume proteins and starchy carbohydrates together. Protein requires a high acidic content in the stomach, while carbohydrates require a more alkaline environment. A classic dish like meatballs and spaghetti can cause major indigestion, because as the brain gets the message to produce more acid in the stomach to digest the protein, it gets another message to make the stomach more alkaline for the carbohydrate. This causes a neutralization of the stomach acid, where the food is left not fully digested. Avoid future digestive problems by staying away from combining proteins like meat with grains. A better choice would be meatballs with a cooked vegetable like kale etc.
Chew your food to the point that there is nothing left. Digestion starts in the mouth with ptyalin or amylase. If the stomach has less to do it is going to be happier. Ideally the contents in your mouth should be chewed fifty times. Try getting a New Yorker to do that. Pay attention to the amount you chew before you swallow. Everyone should chew more. I admit I don't chew enough, but am working on it. This also falls into the category of slowing down. The stomach needs time to digest. The quicker you eat the harder it is on the stomach to digest. Slowing down could help substantially.
Have your salad or raw veggies after your warm cooked foods. Raw foods can be hard to digest, so by introducing raw food after the stomach has been warmed up allows for easier digestion. The digestive organs like to be on the warmer side and raw foods are cooling. Even though the Italians got it right by serving salad after dinner, this actually comes from Chinese medicine.
Don't drink with your meals. Drinking with meals dilutes the acid in your stomach, which leads to undigested proteins and fats. If you can't completely refrain from drinking with meals, than have less liquid with your meals.
Dr. Louis Granirer
NYC Chiropractor
HolisticChiropracticCenter.com
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