Efficient digestion nourishes the body, provides energy and keeps you healthy, while a poor digestive health may have a bad bearing on the overall well-being of a person.
Here are 7 Ayurvedic Practices to Improve Your Digestion –
1. Manage Stress
Too much stress or anxiety can cause our digestive system to go weak. Meditating for 20 to 30 minutes, twice daily, once in the morning and once in the evening helps in strengthening your digestion process by reliving the negative energies off you.
2. Exercise or Practice Yoga Daily
Do some form of daily activities, whether it is a little yoga every morning, or a daily walk for strengthening your digestion. Even, short post-meal walks are very much effective than taking a longer, 45-minute walk once daily.
3. Don’t overeat
More food means more acid to digest which means more chances of acid reflux and indigestion. According to Ayurveda, its recommended that we leave one-third to one-quarter of our stomach empty to allow space for our body to easily digest our meal.
Follow this simple way to measure an ideal portion of food for a meal based on your body size – Cup your hands together with your fingertips touching, forming the shape of a bowl. The recommended amount of food for a meal is the equivalent of two of these handfuls of food.
4. Ginger Tea throughout the Day
Having ginger tea throughout the day, and with meals is extremely good for digestion. The superfood stimulates digestion by speeding up the movement of food from the stomach into the small intestine, and helps eliminate digestive discomfort after eating. Also, ginger can stimulate saliva, bile, and gastric enzymes to aid in digestion of the food that has been ingested.
5. Eat your largest meal at lunchtime
Our digestive system secretes the highest concentration of “digestive juices” during the noon time, making this the best time to eat our largest meal. While, having a biggest meal at dinner in the evening, when our digestive fire is weaker will lead to indigestion, heaviness and bloating.
6. Avoid Smoking and excessive Alcohol
Alcohol, Smoking and coffee can interfere with the functioning of our digestive system, and lead to problems like stomach ulcers and heartburn. Avoid smoking and excessive intake of caffeine and alcohol!
7. Practice Healthy Hygiene for Better Digestion
Washing your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water before eating or preparing food is highly recommended. This helps prevent transmission of potentially dangerous bacteria into your food.