Belching, burping, gas, bloating, diarrhea, nausea … need we say more? What’s the one word that sums up all of these symptoms? Indigestion. Anyone who has ever over-indulged, traveled to a foreign country, or tried out a new restaurant has had indigestion. As you well know, when you have indigestion you want to get rid of it as quickly as possible. It’s also better for your long-term health if you use natural approaches that work with rather than suppress your natural digestive function. When it comes to indigestion (how to get rid of indigestion, that is), there are two ways to go: prevention before it happens and fixing the situation after you’ve already got it.
Prevention
The first step in dealing with indigestion is prevention. There many different ways to prevent indigestion and you just have to choose the right one for the occasion.
- Overindulgence: If you know you are going to be eating at a big buffet, take 2 digestive enzyme capsules before you leave for the buffet and slip 2-4 more in your pocket to take at the buffet. Enzymes help your body digest the food as you eat, preventing symptoms like gas, bloating, and belching. Enzymes with cayenne have even more digestive power.
- Travel: If you’re going to be traveling to a foreign country (or any location where the food and water will be different) you definitely need to plan ahead for indigestion. Take Ume Plum tar or Ume Plum balls before, during, and after your trip. The balls and tar have highly concentrated Ume Plum, which is the most alkaline substance you can eat. Indigestion is an extremely acid condition and anything alkaline, like Ume Plum, will neutralize it. Be sure to get the highly concentrated tar or balls, which will appear almost black in color and should be available at your local health food store or online.
- Anytime: Sometimes indigestion just sneaks up on you. To protect the long-term health of your digestive system, adding probiotics like acidophilus and bifidus to your daily regimen can be helpful. Probiotics are the “healthy bacteria” that live in your gut and help you digest your food on a daily basis. Stress, chlorinated water, alcohol, and sugary foods all kill probiotics, which can lead to indigestion. Restoring these probiotics ensures that your gut stays healthy all the time. Be sure to take the probiotic capsules that are kept in the refrigerator as the off-the-shelf variety tends to be ineffective. The probiotics in yogurt also tend to have little effect.
Fixing Indigestion
If you already have indigestion, you can use the methods mentioned above to improve the situation. In dealing with indigestion after the fact, try these solutions.
Olive Oil: To calm a queasy gut, take 1 teaspoon of cold-pressed olive oil every 2 hours.
Alkathyme: Like the Ume Plum tar, alkathyme is an alkaline substance that will counter the acidity of indigestion. Alkathyme is an Edgar Cayce cure and is available online. Add 5 drops to a glass of non-chlorinated water and drink 1 glass per 2 hours.
Enzyme Therapy: If you forgot to take enzymes before you started eating, take them afterward to ease indigestion. Take 1-2 capsules every hour to speed digestion and prevent food from fermenting in your gut.
If you have ongoing problems with indigestion, you of course will want to see your healthcare provider to make sure there is not a more serious problem, but knowing some natural remedies for indigestion can really save you some trouble and discomfort when you overindulge or just feel a little digestive upset occasionally. All of these remedies are available online if not at your local health food store.
