Dr. Ashok Agarwal

Do you feel your stomach bloat after meals? If you notice, this doesn't happen after every meal? Only at times. And at other times when you eat specific foods. Well, there are foods cause your stomach to bloat, so the wise thing to do is to know about them and avoid them!

Here are a few of the biggest criminals:

1. Cold drinks: Yes, these carbonated drinks have numerous side effects on your health. One of them is that they bloat your tummy. Beer happens to fall in this category too.

2. Dairy Products: For the lactose intolerant, dairy products are almost like poison. The intolerance can be mild, moderate of severe, but one of the symptoms is gas. You can try to limit your consumption of dairy products.

3. Apples: Apples and pears are known to contain a high percentage of fiber. While they are important for us and should be eaten, if is good to know that they can affect sensitive tummies. Eat bit by bit, and if it helps, peel the skin and then eat.

4. Few Vegies: While they are excellent health foods, asparagus, cabbage and broccoli are the vegetables which cause gas in the stomach, which in turn leads to bloating of the tummy.

5. Sodium: Sodium is also another reason for bloated tummies, so it is advised to limit salt intake.

6. Fast Foods: Fast foods like sausages, fried foods, ice cream, sweetened products , etc are known to cause the belly to bloat.

7. Rice Preparations: Rice is known to swell up inside the stomach once it gets water, hence making the stomach feel bloated.

8. Hard Drinks: Alcohol is also said to add weight near the stomach and make it feel bloated.

Related Tip: What Causes Acidity? Understanding its Symptoms and Causes

Your stomach is lined with a mucosal membrane known as the mucosa and due to a variety of factors, it may become inflamed. This inflammation may cause a lot of problems and complications which are grouped under gastritis.
Symptoms of gastritis

1. Upper abdominal pain
2. Hiccups
3. Diarrhea
4. Nausea
5. Heartburn
6. Constipation
7. Reduction of appetite
8. Blood in the stool amongst the others

Gastritis can be quite debilitating and limiting for the people affected by it.

The Ayurveda approach
Ayurveda is a holistic form of medicine which takes into account many factors rather than just the physical disposition and symptoms that strives to cure the patients of the illness in a well-rounded manner. To this effect, Ayurveda helps you treat this problem with multiple angles of attack such as herbal medications and special cleansing therapies among many others. Let’s take a look at some of the methods usually employed in various combinations among the patients.

1. Changes in diet: Consuming any diet which has a lot of spicy and rich foods over prolonged periods may result in gastritis and other problems. If you already have gastritis, then certain other types of food also need to be excluded such as tea, coffee, sour foods, chilies and buffalo milk among others. These food groups are excluded as they may increase the acidity of the stomach which may cause an escalation of the problems. Some of the foods that may help with gastritis are grapes, pumpkins, bitter gourd, pomegranate, melons and cucumber, etc.
2. Natural remedies: Some natural remedies that can be very effective in dealing with the symptoms of gastritis are mentioned below
   • Ajwain and rock salt have been an age old remedy in treating multiple gastrointestinal disorders and can be effective in this case as well.
   • Lemon juice is also very effective in treating symptoms or gastritis and also reducing inflammation.
   • Take amla, ginger, and licorice either in a raw form or as a dried option or mixed with other things such as milk or honey. These help in regulating and reducing the acidity within the stomach.
3. Ayurvedic medications: There are many specialized Ayurvedic medications which can be used to treat gastritis such as:
   • Amalaki choorna
   • Avipattikara choorna
   • Sootashekhara rasa
   • Sukumara Ghrita
   • Dhatri Lauha

However, you should consult a specialist Ayurveda doctor as they can prescribe the correct medications for you after studying your specific symptoms.