WHAT CAUSES IT? Indigestion can come about as a result of any number of things, such as drinking too much caffeine or alcohol, eating fried foods, or underlying conditions like celiac disease and gastritis. A lot of nutrition-oriented doctors believe it’s not excess stomach acid that’s the main culprit behind indigestion, but the opposite: a low amount of acid.
DO DRUGS WORK? Surprise, surprise. According to many experts, commonly used drugs for indigestion actually make matters worse. Acid-blocking drugs work by blocking a crucial digestive process: the secretion of hydrochloric acid in the stomach. This means low stomach acid, which means overgrowth of bacteria, which means food not properly digested—and that means indigestion. On top of that, these drugs also end up blocking the food that was eaten from being digested properly, often leading to nausea, diarrhea, and constipation.
A BETTER WAY If you’re dealing with chronic indigestion, you may want to try shifting the focus from blocking the digestive process to actually aiding digestion. Before you get to what you’re eating, first take a look at how you’re eating. Start with a calm eating environment: no rehashing or fretting over stressful events. Better yet, curb the yapping altogether—it interferes with the enzymes and beneficial bacteria from the saliva needed for digestion. Also, cramming too much into the mouth and swallowing after just two or three chews overwhelms the digestive function at its start.
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