JOIN USFor a fighting fit stomach this monsoon
Monsoon is the season when people develop stomach problems most often. It could easily be due to uncovered, unhygienic or stale food, contaminated water or fruits cut and kept in the open for long.
Snacks like chaat, tikki, golgappa, pakora and sweets from the roadside are the biggest culprits in causing indigestion at this time.
While stopping oneself from eating out completely is near impossible, thankfully, nature has provided us some very useful food items which can prevent and heal
indigestion.
Amna Siddique, a nutritionist says, “Our Indian food tradition incorporates a lot of items which are natural and easy remedies to cure a stomach upset. Unfortunately with time, we have forgotten their prescribed benefits and have come to think of them as just tastemakers. All one needs to do is revisit their healing aspects and increase their dose in our daily food.”
Firstly, she says, include as much fermented food in your diet as possible. Fermented foods such as yogurt, pickles, sourdough bread and aged cheese are excellent to be had when suffering from a stomach upset. This is because bacteria in such foods, has already broken down heavy carbs, fats and proteins. So your stomach has only half its work to do.
Though very spicy food is best avoided during indigestion, certain spices are actually good at this time. These include coriander, cumin, pepper, fennel, carom seeds, mint and asafoetida. “These increase salivation, the first step to digestion, and also increase bile production to help the body break down fats. Just don’t fry them in oil,” says Amna.
Herbs also work well to fight environmental toxins. You need very little of these - just a sprinkle on your food acts as a cleansing agent and as a natural laxative to rid your system of toxins. These would be wormwood, rosehips (tiny fruit from the rose plant), spirulina, basil and aloe. “Olive oil, flaxseed oil, honey and lemon also go a long way in stimulating digestion and curing an upset stomach. Olive oil gives your body much-needed monosaturated fatty acids and antioxidants. Lemon, on the other hand, breaks down essential minerals like calcium besides providing vitamin C,” advises Amna.
Lastly, in fruits, don’t forget to have orange, pineapple and papaya. Orange stimulates the flow of digestive juices and fresh pineapple and papaya have a high level of enzymes to cure indigestion. Fare well this monsoon.