Take 1 tablespoon of honey and gulp it down. This relieves an upset stomach. Make sure that the honey you take is raw, organic and unaltered chemically. Raw, 100 % organic honey is good for the whole body. It soothes a spasm reaction, thus preventing upset stomach from developing into pain. It heals irritated linings of the throat and the gastrointestinal tract, curing that burning sensation that resembles an ulcer.
Honey is fine with kids, but should NOT be given to babies, less than 1 year old.
( Photo credit : ajarr )
2. Coriander seeds and fresh coriander leaves
This is one of the easily found remedies for flatulence. It helps in easy passing of gas from the intestine and therefore prevents unnecessary
bloating. Such agents are called
carminatives.
Coriander leaves ( cilantro ) are used as garnishing over dishes. They are used raw and this way they work best. Add some fresh cilantro over a dish and enjoy.
Coriander seeds are great for spicy food. They go well with other spices, adding taste to food. On the way down the intestine, it prompts body to release stored gas. Once the gas is expelled, pressure on your belly is relieved. Bloating subsides and this is great relief.
( Photo credit : spilt-milk )
3. Caraway Seeds ( excellent carminative )
If your upset stomach shows signs of bloating and a larger than normal belly, you hate it. Bloating is very common sign of upset stomach. But, I've got a champion remedy for bloating which you'll love.
Eat some caraway seeds. You can eat 1 tablespoon of these seeds directly, or add it to something, like a toast, rice or pudding.
Within a few minutes, you would be finding yourself releasing
intestinal gas. So be prepared for it.
4. Peppermint
Taking a few fresh leaves of peppermint, grind them and mix in sauce. This can be used as a sauce with foods which calms an upset stomach right after the meals. It also relieves nausea. This is a powerful way to use peppermint. But, if you want to save some time, then you can directly prepare peppermint tea.
One can also drink peppermint in juice. Some nice peppermint juice recipes to settle an upset stomach are -
- Peppermint - cucumber - lemon juice.
- Peppermint carrot juice.
Peppermint oil too is used for settling a stomach upset. This is a traditional Indian remedy for stomach ache. However, peppermint oil is not safe to give to toddlers or pregnant women. This oil can have side effects and if so, it should be avoided.
( Photo credit : wonderferret )
5. Roasted Cumin seeds
When these seeds are roasted and then used in food, it helps in relieving tummy troubles. This can be done regularly because cumin seeds improve the flavour of food.
Roasted cumin seeds act as mild carminative. It relieves bloat. It acts slowly in comparison to caraway seeds, but nonetheless does the job.
( Photo credit : araswami )
6. Drink ginger tea
It specifically helps in
oral thrush and
indigestion. So, if someone has a weaker digestion and is unable to comfortably digest certain foods, then one can take ginger tea.
A stomach upset caused by indigestion usually results into stomach ache. Ginger is excellent for indigestion. It can be taken in the form of ginger ale, ginger tea or ginger cookies / bread.
7. Eat A Few Bananas
They are especially helpful when there is upset stomach and diarrhoea together. A diarrhoea inevitable causes a bad tummy, and for some time, your digestion seems to go haphazard. When nothing seems to stay back in your tummy, bananas come to the rescue.
Eat about 2 - 4 bananas at one go and you can experience some relief from upset stomach. It has got mineral and B vitamin content, providing nutrition, energy and relief.
( Photo credit : suedehead )
8. Apple
It helps the entire digestive tract. It calms indigestion, flatulence,
acid reflux and all other problems that occur in the digestive system. Apples also help in upset stomach that comes with diarrhoea.
To get the desired effect, you can either eat 2 or more apples at one go or drink 1 large glass juice of apples ( about 300 ml ). Do not mix anything in it because apples alone have a unique mix of nutrients which heal the intestinal tract.
( Photo credit : photophilde )
9. Provide External Help To Digestion - Pineapple and Papaya
Did you just have something that didn't go well with your stomach ?
It could be the turkey, or the fish or some pie. Generally, meat products are considered hard to digest, especially with the amount of protein and saturated fat in them. If upset stomach arises after eating a protein and fat rich meal, these two fruits are very helpful.
Eating a papaya helps to improve digestion power. Papaya tastes great and is enjoyed by kids too. It contains a digestive enzyme called papain, which performs digestion work all by itself.
Pineapple contains enzyme called bromelain, which is capable of digesting upto 4 times its weight of proteins. These enzymes tenderize ( break down ) proteins into amino acids.
"So, if your stomach acid couldn't finish the job, these guys will do. "
10. Cooked vegetables ( Go cooked for some time )
In a time when almost everyone is absorbing the nutritional craze of eating raw foods and the idea that cooked food is almost dead, a person suffering from upset stomach Raw veggies like cauliflower are known to cause flatulence. Instead, one can eat cooked or steamed vegetables which helps with stomach discomfort. Eat cooked broccoli, squash and carrots.
Cooking vegetables enable them to be digested easily without causing all that gas.
( Photo credit : goodncrazy )
11. Chamomile tea
Most of us love to drink chamomile tea because it is quite relaxing. It also puts the stomach at ease and prevents
cramps and unwanted pains.
12. Burnt Toast ( Preferably with Milk )
This is the best food for upset stomach. Burnt toast helps to ease a stomach ache, and provides energy so that you do not feel so low. In fact, if you do not eat for a considerable length of time, blood sugar levels drop and your brain feels like it needs to shut down and sleep.
Eat 2 burnt toast with skimmed milk and some honey. It tastes delicious and does not aggravate any more problems.
14. Baking Soda For Bad Upset Stomach
If you stomach is feeling too bad and the symptoms are quite discomforting, then it is time to take the natural antacid. Baking soda calms an upset stomach caused excessive stomach acid production. It changes the pH of the intestinal tract as it is a base.
Take 1 tablespoon of baking soda in 1 big glass ( about 300 ml ) of water. Drink it quick and do not take any food for about 30 minutes. The relief from baking soda is quick and generally long lasting. It creates effervescence in the stomach when it meets stomach acid, so you can expect some belching and gas passing out, which is for good.
15. Apple Cider Vinegar
Drinking Apple cider vinegar can help you to get rid of an upset stomach. Apple Cider Vinegar is known to
improve the quality and quantity of stomach acid production when taken for extended periods of time. This is very helpful because a person who has a well tuned stomach acid production, he or she hardly falls victim to digestive issues.
Drink 1 tablespoon of acv in 1 glass water twice daily for at least a month for this effect to start. You need to keep drinking ACV regularly.
16. Eat Foods Rich In Probiotics ( Also called Live Foods )
These foods provide healthy microorganisms to our body - both bacteria and fungi. When they reach the small intestine, they displace unhealthy pathogens and promote better intestinal health. So, you can try eating these foods.
Bread
Yogurt
Kombucha
Kefir ( all types - water, coconut water, milk )
Sauerkraut
Tofu
Tempeh
and more than 300 such well known fermentation foods from all around the globe.
These are the foods that you should eat for balancing the gut flora. It boosts health and immunity.
What to do for a dog's upset stomach ?
If your pup or dog is feeling low and uneasy in the belly, try these things.
- Give the dog bananas to eat. It helps to bulk up stool fast.
- Yogurt is great for dogs as it normalizes their gut flora and helps eradicate food poisoning fast.
- Do not feed the dog when his or her stomach is upset. Let it normalize a bit. During that time, give some lean cut chicken made into broth, just like you would give a baby. After the food, provide a bone so that the dog can tooth at it.
Adult dogs generally treat themselves by eating grass. This way, they induce vomiting and clean their intestines. So, you can take your dog out and see if he or she wants to eat grass. Do not force this, however.
If you have a cat that suffers an upset stomach, then you can give it yogurt. It is fine with cats and it helps stomach recover fast. Also try giving them fish soup, which cats love.
Natural food flavorings : Ancient civilizations used a variety of food flavorings. This tradition continues even today. One should use garnishing and flavorings in food, particularly the ones which are popular with a particular kind of food. Some examples are :
- Thyme and pineapple with meat : Both thyme and pineapple are excellent with meat. Pineapple is a natural meat tenderizer and they help in digesting the meat easily.
- Parsley and Basil : They can used with foods like pasta, burgers, french fries and other such food.
- Caraway seeds : These seeds are used to flavor vegetables. It helps to prevent an upset stomach which can be brought on by some vegetables.
Style of cooking plays an important part in relieving and preventing an upset stomach. By regularly using flavouring in food and choosing the right flavouring, one can prevent some common tummy troubles very easily. Flavourings enhance aroma and look of the food, thus stimulating appetite better. The stomach is better prepared for the food and thus problems like indigestion are reduced considerably.
Besides this, exercising regularly keeps the body healthy. Abdominal muscles are kept stronger. Kids can play outdoor games. It definitely improves circulation and promotes the digestive system to work better.
Food Combining :
People who suffer from recurring episodes of upset stomach should really study about food combining. Most people can tolerate food in a certain manner. Our stomach acid can take on excessive load, so food needs to eaten in a manner that it is given time to digest well. If it passes undigested, it is going to cause lots of trouble.
- Do not eat milk with fish. It can cause a sharp stomach ache and too much trouble.
- Avoid eating fruits and vegetables at one time. Fruits mostly have an acidic pH and vegetables are mostly alkaline. They should ideally be eaten in separate sitting.
- Always use tenderizer with meat. It helps the meat get digested much better.
- Do not drink too much water right before or after eating food. This dilutes stomach acid, making it less potent. Ultimately, it is not able to dissolve all the food.
- Avoid fried food with meat foods. Meat has some saturated fat and fried food has hydrogenated fat. The liver cannot handle this much fat in one meal. Bile is unable to break down all the fats. The undigested fats then cause trouble inside.
- Take digestive drinks after meals. These include ginger ale, spicy water, kombucha, buttermilk flavored with cumin seeds and even black tea. These foods help to eliminate entrapped gas in intestine, releasing it out and compacting the food. This helps in digestion.
Finally, one should note that every person is different. One should therefore know about his or her body better than anyone else. There are some foods which might be well digested by most other people, but not by you. It is not an allergy, per se. But an inherent difference in the way your body works.
Keep a food diary and track which foods lead to gastritis, upset stomach, heartburn and things like that. These are not major health issues, but they can take a serious turn if ignored for decades.
