Food not being digested properly and causing discomfort in the upper abdomen is known as Indigestion (also known as Dyspepsia).
Symptoms of Indigestion:
- Burning sensation in the stomach.
- Bloating of the stomach or heavy stomach.
- Nausea or vomiting.
- Acidic taste.
- Constipation.
General Causes of Dyspepsia:
- Eating food at irregular intervals.
- Eating without proper chewing.
- Drinking water during the meal or immediately after the meal.
Drinking water during or immediately after meals causes Dyspepsia (or Agnimaandh in Sanskrit). It lowers the fire of the process of digestion. Thus delaying the process of active digestion. - Eating certain foods that are hard to digest.
- Eating too late in the day.
- Drinking alcohol.
- Excessive caffeine intake.
- A lack of sleep.
- Smoking.
Useful Precautions that can reduce Indigestion:
- Drink water after one hour of the meal to minimize Indigestion.
- Chew your food as much as possible before swallowing.
- Digestion starts from the mouth during chewing itself, since saliva has important enzymes like amylase (also known as ptyalin) & lipase, which are very important for the digestive process. By long chewing, the saliva is properly mixed with the food.
- Avoid spicy food, Caffeine, Chocolate and Alchohol.
Home Remedies to Cure Dyspepsia:
- Take Ammonium Chloride ( also known as Nausadar in Sanskrit), Black pepper, Black Salt and Asafoetida ( Heeng ), 5 grams each. Grind them all, mix well and make fine powder. Store it in a glass bottle. Take a half teaspoon full or 2.5 grams of this mixture with 100 ml. lukewarm water twice a day i.e. in the morning as well as in the evening.
- Take Dry Ginger (Sonth), Cumin seed (Jeera), Carom seeds (Ajwain), Black Pepper seeds(Kaali Mirch) all 20 gms. each, roasted Asfoetida (Hing) 3 gms., Piper retrofractum ( chhoti peepal ) 10 gms. Grind all & mix well. Store this powder in a glass bottle. Mix & dissolve 1 teaspoonful of this powder in fresh whey and drink very slowly, mixing saliva well.
- Take Asafoetida (Hing) 10 gms., Vach or sweet flag (Acorus calamus) 20 gms., Peepal (Ficus religiosa) 30 Gms., Dried Ginger (Sonth) 40 Gms., Carom seeds (Ajwain) 50 Gms., Plumbago zeylanica (Chitrak Chhal) 60 Gms., Choti Harad (Terminalia chebula) 70 Gms., Kooth (Pushkar Mool – Inula racemosa) 80 Gms. Grind and mix all, filter in a cotton cloth & make fine powder. Store in a glass bottle. Take 1 teaspoonful or 5 gms. of this powder mixed with fresh curd or one cup lukewarm water, in the morning as well as in the evening, empty stomach .
This remedy will not only cure indigestion or Dyspepsia but will also cure Stomach pain, Hiccups, Piles, respiratory problems, cough etc.