5 Best foods to improve poor digestion

I have suffered very severe stomach bacterial infection and it affected my digestion and overall health. It caused worst  diarreha ,stomach cramps ,bloating ,stomach wind , nausea and  I had to get hospitalized for  diagnosis  and treatment . I underwent numerous medical tests also.

Infection caused swelling on my intestines and  very high dose of antibiotics are used for treating   / curing  from it . It took time for me to cure from it and after curing also I couldn’t digest normal meals. Dairy ,spice ,oil, gluten was prohibited for first year after illness.  I lost significant weight (17 Kg ) over initial  3 months of period because of this illness and it followed with  many nutritional deficiencies , gluten insensitivity , lactose intolerance . It took  3 long years for me  to get back to normal digestion .

Along with medication I changed my lifestyle in many ways for better digestion like regular walking exercise and meditation helped me for recovery. Along with  easy to digest ,light meals like rice,vegetables and jowar roti ,  I included  following foods to  improve digestion in my diet:

1.Curd

As  curd /yoghurt  has  healthy  bacteria /probiotics  in  it  which  aid  digestion and thus known as super food. Curd can be included in daily diet for good gut health.Curd cools down the heat in food and it gets easily absorbed by digestive system. It helps to cure from stomach infections and    people having lactose intolerance also can eat it.
I included buttermilk made from low fat curd in diet and it helped for improving overall gut health.

Make buttermilk  with following recipe and have it after meals or during meals everyday. It’s made very thin and by adding more water and low fat curd.

Buttermilk  recipe :

1.       Take 1 cup of curd and 1 glass of water .

2.      Add half tea spoon of black salt and half spoon of cumin seeds powder in it.

3.        Run through blender to make buttermilk.

2.Ginger

Ginger helps in improving digestion if taken in prescribed quantity. Make ginger tea using ginger and have it once a day Or add grated ginger in curries , lentils while cooking.Ginger tea (Add grated /crushed  1 tea spoon of ginger in 2 cup of water and boil it till it gets reduced to half .strain and drink ginger tea with honey if needed.)
I used  it in  following prescribed way :

1.       With  rock  salt   : Wash and Peel 1  inch piece of ginger .

Apply  pinch of rock salt on  ginger piece and have it before meal.

But don't take ginger in excess quantity as it's more heat which eventually may increase heat in body.

3. Fennel seeds

Fennel seeds are said to aid digestion along with relieving stomach pain caused by indigestion , flatulance ,menstrual pain.Its added by making powder in many desserts  for its flavors and taste.I used to eat 1 tea spoon of  roasted fennel seeds after meals everyday. Use following way to roast it.
Roast fennel seeds in heavy bottom pan for few minutes or till nice aroma comes out from it and have this roasted 1 tea spoon of  fennel seeds after meals.

4. Fermented foods

Fermented foods have good bacteria which are essential for better gut health.including various fermented pickles, delicacies is good for boosting digestion. Make sure it is fresh. I used  rice + dal/ lentil  fermented  mixture for making recipes like dosa, idali ,appam .

5. Carom seeds

Have 1 tea spoon of carom seeds in case of stomach pain .Carom seeds help to comfort from  indigestion ,gas  and  flatulance .Carom seeds  improves digestion during pregnancy and thus it’s added  as  a  ingredient of mukhwas  made  for  pregnant lady. It’s added in small proportion  in  mukhawas  to improve digestion as excessive eating may increase heat in body. Carom seeds are said to help in acidity ,col and cough, and hiccups also.

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