Treat your Indigestion – the Natural Way

Loss of appetite, burning sensation in the chest, belching, flatulence, nausea, dysentery, diarrhoea, gastric irritations, uneasy belly, sometimes pain starting from epigastrium & radiating towards the center of back, giddiness, Ghabraahat, burping, passing flatus with obnoxious odor etc. are all indicative of your disturbed digestion.

The findings on examination may reveal simple hyperacidity to gastric or duodenal ulcers, hepatitis, pancreatitis, appendicitis, hernias, ulcerative colitis & a host of so many others.

Problems are even worse during summer & rainy season, sometimes turning fatal due to excessive loss of fluids from the body causing dehydration. The regular raised acidity is now being related to the heart problems even as is being observed  by the scientists.

If it is so with you, be alarmed. Don’t take indigestion lightly.

Usually we come to realize about the wrong food we have taken only after our digestion is disturbed – body trying to heal itself with a HEALING CRISIS in the form of diarrhea , dysentery, vomiting etc. But many a times, as our body is very much adaptogenic to the varying factors, it keeps on adjusting & does not excrete the waste end products of so many different foods, which start accumulating in it. These non-excreted toxins harm all the systems of the body after the age of forty. This age long accumulation of toxins is even more fatal resulting in so many chronic diseases, which are generally related to the ageing, & rest of life passes with the help of continuous medications, restricted physical activities & related anxiety-depressions. Diseases related to heart & circulatory system caused by eating excess of saturated Fats, accumulation of Uric acid in joints – result of wrong proteins, Osteoporosis due to lack of intake of organic Calcium, Obesity etc. are some of very common problems.

Taking some little precautions we can not only treat this system but can also keep it fit for future.

Before trying the natural remedies, try to find out the reasons behind. Mainly the chronic constipation, mental tensions of the fast life, comfortable life style with plenty of gadgets to work for, very less physical activity, contaminating the food with chemicals for the satiety of taste, smell & look, stale foods, eating too much or too less, lack of fiber in food, eating continuously rich foods, keep on munching without giving any time (Aakash-Space element) to the Alimentary canal to work on the previous filling, under eating etc. are responsible for indigestion.

The Noble Prize winners of the year 2005, Dr. Barry J. Marshall & Dr. Robin Warren of Australia got this prize by proving that bacterium Helicobacter pylori is the cause of painful gastritis & ulcers of stomach & intestines. Now it will be easy to find new bactericidal antibiotics to fight the menace. They linked this bacterium with eating disorder such as Anorexia & Bulimia and several other Psychiatric illnesses. (Ref. Hindustan Times,Tuesday,Oct.4,2005)

But don’t you agree that the flies, mosquitoes and all other disease-producing microorganisms grow only where there is a pile of garbage. Get the cue from Nature. And naturopathy says –“Don’t let the garbage pile up.” Its principle to treat the disease is to clear the body from toxins & to maintain that cleanliness to stay fit. Moreover the approach to treat the whole body as a single unit applying Physical, Mental & Spiritual tools helps in a speedy recovery. Since digestive system is the only system fully responsible for the supply of all Nutrients to each & every other system of the body, it becomes very important to keep it healthy which is possible only by selecting a good diet from every viewpoint.

Eatables chosen carefully will keep you healthy – Always.

The breakfast of Mango, Banana, Guava or Sapotta shaken well with milk OR salads of sprouts OR porridge of sprouted wheat, makhana or sooji boiled with milk OR seasonal fruits etc. are all high quality alkalisers which are strong enough to neutralize the acid of stomach. Green vegetable soup, freshly prepared   vegetable juice & even fresh juice of the sweet fruits will do the same.

Make chapatis with extra wheat bran for the lunch, pulses should be with skin & a salad is must. Add curd mixed with vegetables like cucumber/ onions/ tomatoes/ coriander/ mint leaves etc. (Raita).

Take fruits in the evening & prefer to eat skin & seeds of the fruits (which are possible to eat) rather than going for juices. Juices lack fiber & also start fermenting if left as such for sometime.

The dinner should be of fibrous vegetables like guar beans, French beans, drumstick, spinach, mustard leaves, fenugreek leaves, sword beans, bathua, amaranth, cabbage, capsicum, snake gourd, bitter gourd, parval, karondha, tomatoes, peas etc. with added wheat bran to chapatis. Avoid the things lacking in rough matter like fine wheat flour, potatoes, rice, arbi, pulses without skin, cheese & curd in Dinner since they cause constipation.

The roughage, which we get from leafy vegetables, skin of fruits & pulses, seedlings, bran etc. is very important because of three reasons. First, their property of absorption reduces the extra acid of the stomach and relieves you of burning sensation. Second, they swell up after absorbing the toxins and act as binders which neither allow constipation nor diarrhoea to occur. Third, a bolus is formed which further sweeps the alimentary canal during its peristaltic movements.

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Keep a gap of 4-6 hours between two meals. This is the Aakash or Vacuum element of Nature in whose presence the digestive system works better. Eating slightly less than your appetite also helps. Stomach gets enough space to work on food. Stop munching in between the two meals.

Chemical additives of the food, cold drinks, chilies & condiments in excess, hydrogenated ghee, pickles, papad etc. make you not only to eat more but also damage the mucous membranes of the system causing diseases.

Naturopathy suggests peeling & cutting the fruits & vegetables only at the time of eating because the thinnest covering layers provided by the Nature are strong enough to guard them from being contaminated by harmful microorganisms. Naturopathy is against non-vegetarianism. Particularly during the rainy season this non-vegetarian food is very dangerous for the digestive system.

Avoid eating food rich in creams & fats continuously. If one meal is rich, the second must be light enough to give rest to the alimentary canal.

The foods selected according to these principals not only clean the system but also maintain the purity.

For good defecation, take 1-2 glasses of water before going to loo. If constipated take 3-5 glasses of warm water & also put a towel on abdomen soaked in hot water. Keep it for 20 minutes pouring hot water on it. The stools will be clear. Taking 1-2 glasses of warm water ˝ an hour prior to meals increases the appetite & also helps easy bowel clearance. A fresh water bath of 20 minutes strengthens your digestion along with soothing you of irritations.

In Naturopathy, a mud pack prepared from purified soil & cold water if kept for ˝ an hour over abdomen above the naval can rid you not only of acidity but also an ulcer. This can heal the Esophageal reflux Disorder. And if the same is kept below the naval it can cure dysentery & diarrhea. Hot hip baths, alternate hot & cold hip baths, cold hip baths & some other abdominal treatments of Naturopathy can do wonders beyond expectations. In the absence of any tubs for the treatments, one can make use of towels up to some extent. Hot, cold or alternate hot & cold colon cleaning by way of enema has got its own importance. The effect of Enemas can be fortified by adding whey, honey, Neem leaves juice etc as per the requirement of the patient. Kunjal kriya can be done to clear the upper GI tract but beware; an Ulcer may start bleeding due to the strain of the kriya. Dhauti Kriya should also be avoided in cases of doubtful ulcers. Dhauti Kriya may even worsen the condition of a patient of Reflux Oesophagitis whose gastric valve is already gone weak.

Inflate your stomach taking a deep breath & then contract it fully while expiration. Do it 25-50 times with an empty stomach. Aantrik & Bahyaa Kumbhakas may be performed. The whole digestive system becomes immensely strong.

If uneasy after meals, walk for 20-25 minutes. The food will be digested & health will also improve.

And at last, if you are suffering from acidity or ulcer, try raw potato juice, raw turmeric & salads of yellow pumpkin, cucumber, cabbage, turnips, knoll-khol and beetroot. And in fruits go for bananas, aadu, papaya, bel, figs, naakh, baggugosha & coconut water.

Pomegranate, isapgol husk, bel fruit, banana, & even tealeaves are very common home remedies for diarrhea. Some of them are rich in fiber & others in pectin to bind the loose stools.

 Niramaya® Naturopathy

Dr Satish Bajaj

7,A.G.C.R Enclave,

Delhi –110092.

Ph. 011 22374713, 986 856 9 986