During the holidays, many of us forgo healthy eating habits and just go for it (and usually too much of whatever “it” is). Parties and festive get-togethers with friends and family add up to a lot of extra eating and drinking. Our digestive systems often end up paying the price.
One way to combat this is by adding extra cinnamon and ginger to your holiday baking—herbs that can help soothe digestion. Many other natural approaches can also help decrease the digestive downsides of all those holiday treats.
Bloating and gas
These symptoms can produce discomfort and embarrassment. A long list of foods can cause increased gas production, including the brassica vegetables (like cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower), onions, dairy products, spicy foods and beans. Eating large amounts of many different foods at once, as we tend to do during the holidays, can also cause bloating.
If you find yourself feeling bloated or gassy after holiday meals, here are a few natural remedies that may help.
Digestive enzymes
Although research for the use of digestive enzymes in average, healthy individuals is pretty slim, many people do rely on them for helping to improve digestion when they’ve overindulged. Those who stand to benefit most from digestive enzymes are people who have trouble digesting dairy or notoriously gassy foods like beans and broccoli.
Alpha-galactosidase (found in many over-the-counter enzyme products) can help reduce bloating caused by beans, broccoli and similar foods.
Carminative herbs
Traditionally used to help break up gas in the digestive tract, these pungent herbs include fennel, caraway, peppermint, ginger and cinnamon.
Many of these herbs can easily be added when cooking or enjoyed as a tea after meals. A large number of traditional herbal products (in liquids, powders or pills) are also available. Ask your doctor or health care practitioner for suggestions.
Indigestion
Indigestion causes pain or discomfort in your upper abdomen and chest after certain meals. Heartburn can also be part of the problem.
Try these tips to reduce indigestion and heartburn:
- avoid very large, fatty or spicy meals
- skip tomatoes, chocolate, coffee and alcohol
- lie down after eating
Some natural medicines may also help relieve symptoms.
Artichoke leaf extract
This extract has been shown to provide significant indigestion symptom improvement. As an added bonus, artichoke leaf extract has also shown potential in relieving another common digestive concern: irritable bowel syndrome.
Bitter herbs
Bitters include plants like globe artichoke, dandelion root, gentian, burdock and bitter candytuft. This herbal family helps improve digestion by encouraging natural increases in secretions that are required for digestion, like bile and digestive enzymes.
Bitters work well with carminatives like lemon balm, camomile or peppermint. Clinical trials of this type of combination of herbs have shown measurable benefits in the treatment of indigestion symptoms.
