Indigestion

Indigestion is so common that often people overlook it and continue with their daily activities. Most of the time, it occurs after gorging on spicy and rich food, or overeating, or eating late at night. When this happens, people usually feel heavy in the stomach or get pain. As a result, they skip a meal or go light on their meals. If it's a simple or mild case, it goes away by giving your stomach a little "rest" by not eating. However, if it persists and is severe, you require medical intervention. Chronic indigestion is accompanied by headaches, hiatus hernia and peptic ulcers. You may not respond to antacids and may need further treatment.

The general cause of indigestion is consuming unsuitable food. The common foods responsible for causing an upset tummy are tomatoes, cucumbers, curries, pickled onions, spicy foods, creamy or buttery foods, improperly ripened fruits, excess alcohol and beverages like coffee and tea, raw meat and tobacco. Your stomach cannot handle, or process, these foods readily. As a result, the digestive acid remains in your stomach for a longer period, as it takes more time to digest these foods. This may lead to heartburn and even ulcers in the stomach, as the acid starts eating up the walls of the stomach.

If you have a habit of gobbling up your food fast, you had better change it because not chewing food properly may lead to indigestion. People with poor oral hygiene may also get a stomachache frequently. The pus or blood from your "bad teeth" or septic gums may mix with the food while chewing and enter the stomach, paving the way for chronic stomach troubles.

Now, indigestion can also be a result of a psychological condition like anxiety, depression or acute stress. Your nervous system is also involved in the digestion process. The vagus nerve contributes to the production of digestive juices and regulates the rate of food discharge from the stomach to the intestine.

People tend to take indigestion lightly. Their stomach is screaming at you to stop eating foods that it does not like. Yet, people continue to gorge on spicy meats, rich and heavy meals and things that we can pretty well do without - alcohol, tobacco and strong beverages. A rumbling tummy once in a while is normal. But, when it happens often, you need to sit up and take notice. Otherwise, it may lead to serious conditions. Remember, indigestion is also related to appendicitis, gallbladder inflammation, the early stages of stomach cancer and even heart attack!

Now you realize why there is such a fuss about eating the right kind of food and eating in a relaxed manner. It's said that most of the diseases are born due to an improper digestive system, including indigestion. Well, there's no doubt about it. It's food that keeps our body alive. And if this is not taken in the right manner, your life can be threatened!