Eating the Ayurvedic Way: 7 Tips for Good Digestion

Ayurveda encompasses all aspects of your life, including what you eat and drink and how you exercise. Following an ayurvedic lifestyle can help prevent problems from occurring and improve your quality of life. Indigestion is a common complaint faced by a majority of the population at some point of time or the other. Here are a few ayurvedic tips on how to prevent indigestion. 

 

Dr. Pratik Bhoite

MD, Bachelor of Ayurveda, Medicine and Surgery (BAMS), PGDEMS, DNHE, DYA

Ayurveda Specialist •  6 Years experience

1. Eat mindfully: Never eat in a hurry or on the go. Chew your food properly and eat slowly. Along with the taste, also appreciate the textures, smell etc. of your food. This keeps your body satiated for longer and helps avoid snacking. Pay attention to your digestive system while eating by unplugging from other activities and medium like television, telephones etc. 
2. Eat freshly cooked food: As food gets stale, it loses its nutrient value. Hence always, cook and eat fresh food. Avoid microwaved meals. Eating raw food in the form of salads etc is ideal as these uncooked food have the highest level of nutrients and are rich in fiber, making them easy to digest. 
3. Sip warm water: Water not only keeps the body hydrated, but also aids digestion. Try sipping warm water throughout the day to keep your digestive system lubricated and to make it easy for food to pass through. Avoid drinking cold water as this takes longer to digest. This is because the body must first heat the water to bring it up to body temperature before it can digest it. 
4. Take a walk after a meal: Going for a light walk after a meal can help kickstart the digestive process. This increases blood flow and circulation in the digestive system. However, avoid strenuous exercising like swimming or running immediately after a meal. 
5. Make lunch your heaviest meal: The body's digestive system works at its optimal levels in the middle of the day. According to a number of studies, the highest amounts of digestive juices are released around noon. Hence, this is the best time to eat a heavy meal as it will be digested faster and metabolized into energy to keep you going throughout the day instead of being stored as fat. 
6. Ginger tea: Sipping on ginger tea after a heavy meal can help avoid bloating. It can also boost the digestive enzymes and speed up the digestion process. You may also sip ginger tea between meals. 
7. Exercise regularly: Lastly, exercise regularly. If you can't find half an hour to exercise at once, try interval training between activities. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator is an easy way to include exercise in your daily routine.