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Here, we are going to discuss the Ayurvedic tips to improve digestion that will help you boost your digestion power.
These tips are most effective and very much easy to practice.
I have personally tried and tested many of these tips and I have literally boosted my digestion power to the next level.
Ayurveda is a 5000 years old healing system which was originated in India.
Ayurveda examines us beyond the outward signals and treats the diseases from their roots.
Here, I will tell you those wonderful tips that Ayurveda recommends for any person who wants to improve his/her digestion power.
There are thousands of people who tried these Ayurvedic tips and cured the digestion problem to its root.
So if you also want to know these secrets, stay tuned to this article.
(Here, I would like to mention that this article is neither about Ayurvedic remedies nor home remedies to improve digestion. This article is based on the ayurvedic tips that we have to practice in daily life to prevent or cure indigestion.)
Let’s start.
Ayurvedic Tips to Improve Digestion
1) Make Your Food Your Medicine
It is said in Ayurveda that if your diet is correct, you will never need medicines.
According to Ayurveda, you should only consume the food that you can digest easily.
Undigested foods produce toxins in your body which is the primary cause of any physical or mental disease.
Your body will only be able to absorb the nutrients from the foods when it will be able to digest them well.
Always eat pure and wholesome food because it will not only nourish the body but also nourish the mind and the soul.
So, what kind of food we should eat?
Ayurveda recommends eating warm, well-cooked, and oil-balanced food.
Nowadays, eating raw foods is a boom but according to Ayurveda cold, raw, and uncooked foods are very difficult for the body to digest.
Whereas warm, oil-balanced, and well-cooked foods are digested well and passed through the body smoothly.
When you eat cold foods, your digestive fire doesn’t get ignited much and it takes a long time to digest that food. And when undigested food spends more time in the body, it produces toxins.
Nowadays, people are also talking about oil-free food.
But according to Ayurveda, your food should also have some oil because having the right amount of oil makes sure that food passes smoothly through the body.
In short, Ayurveda advises eating foods that are gentle to your digestive system.
(Related: Indian Foods Rich in Fiber)
2) Avoid Incompatible Foods
It is one of the most important ayurvedic tips to improve digestion that I would like to mention here.
There are some foods when eaten in combination can harm you instead of benefitting you.
Incompatible foods are generally the cause of skin problems, indigestion, obesity, respiratory problems, anemia, etc.
The list of incompatible foods is very long but I will try to mention some of them here.
Milk is incompatible with,
- Any fruits (except figs, dates, raisins)
- Any vegetable
- Salt
- Garlic
- Alcohol
- Lentils
- Millet (Except Finger Millet also called Ragi)
- Fish
- Meat
- Sour foods
- Beans
When milk and fruits are eaten together, fruits curdle the milk which leads to sourness and acidity.
Milk and fish when consumed together, they create obstructions to the channels of the body.
Bananas are incompatible with,
- Dates
- Buttermilk
- Milk
- Black gram lentils
When bananas are consumed with any of these foods, it creates digestion issues.
(Related: Best Yoga Poses to Improve Digestion)
Honey is incompatible with,
- Hot water
- Radish
- Don’t consume ghee (clarified butter) and honey in equal amounts
Also, you should never cook honey and must avoid it in summer.
So, if you are suffering from poor digestion and skin issues then you must have to avoid these incompatible foods.
3) Sprinkle Cumin on Any Savory Foods to Improve Digestion
Ananta Ajmera, the writer of ‘The Ayurveda Way”, compares the cumin with a matchstick that ignites the digestive fire.
Cumin is heating and pungent in nature and helps to digest savory foods easily.
The most important thing about cumin is though it is heating in nature, you can use it all the year irrespective of the season.
It is because some heating spices are restricted to be used in spring and winter only.
Roasting cumin increases its potency to improve your digestion.
So if you are planning a delicious savory dinner but are worried about digestion, just sprinkle the powder of roasted cumin seeds on your food and enjoy your dinner.
4) Eat Your Foods Consciously
Today, people get busy with their phones and Tv while having a meal. It is a very wrong practice.
At least, we can keep these things aside while eating.
You should maintain your consciousness while having meals.
What is the Best Way to be Conscious while having a meal?
1) Eat slowly
2) Notice the taste of each and every piece of food
3) Start your meal with a small prayer
4) End your meal by thanking the farmer for bringing the food to your dish
5) Chew each piece of food at least 18-20 times
6) Eat in silence
Chewing your foods will also help you digest the food easily. You should also eat your food slowly.
I have seen many people who are in so much hurry that they complete their meals in just 5-10 minutes.
No, you should spare at least half an hour to enjoy your food thoroughly.
Eating in hurry will just overload your tummy which will eventually result in indigestion.
If this habit is practiced for a long time then you may suffer from poor digestion, constipation, and sometimes chronic constipation.
So, eat slowly and consciously.
5) Start Your Meal with Spicy Foods and End it with Sweets
When you study the Indian food rituals, the dish is always served with sweets first. But when it comes to consuming food, people always start with spicy foods.
Ayurveda explains it very well.
The digestion of food depends upon the digestive fire produced in the stomach. When you start with spicy foods, it will increase the digestive fire.
So eventually, this practice will improve digestion.
Why end your meal with sweets?
It is because when we eat sweet food, more saliva is produced in our mouths.
When this saliva goes into the stomach with food, it improves the process of digestion.
I will recommend that you should end your meal (lunch or dinner) with a small piece of jaggery.
It is because jaggery is extremely rich in iron which is the fundamental building block of our blood.
If you regularly consume jaggery, you will never lack iron in your body and your chance of suffering from anemia or low hemoglobin will be reduced.
6) Eat Your Food Sitting on the Floor
In the era of the dining table, we have forgotten to sit while having a meal. But if you go to the village area of India, people still practice it.
When you sit to eat in the cross-legged formation, it is called Sukhasana which is the yoga pose that tends to improve digestion.
When you bow down to eat food, your stomach muscles also get activated improving the overall process of digestion.
In today’s hectic lifestyle it may not be possible but at least you can practice it while having dinner or even you can practice it 2-3 days a week.
7) Practice The Thunderbolt Pose After Meal
It is one of my favorite ayurvedic tips to improve digestion that you must practice.
The thunderbolt pose also called the Vajrasana is probably the only yoga pose that is allowed to practice after having a meal.
Thunderbolt pose is said to improve your digestion. According to Ayurveda, you should sit 10-15 minutes in the thunderbolt pose after having meals.
The image of the thunderbolt pose is shown in the below image.
8) Go for a Walk Before and After Having a Meal
Many people ask me whether they should go for a walk before having a meal or after having the meal.
I think you should go for a walk both times.
It is because when you walk before having a meal, it increases your metabolism. This helps your body to absorb more nutrients from the food and when you go for a walk after a meal, it helps you improve your digestion.
I often go for a high speed walking before dinner and low speed walking after dinner.
If you can’t go for a walk because of a health issue then you should at least try to walk 100 steps in your home.
9) Make Lunch Your Largest Meal of the Day
I mean to say that you should only eat heavy foods in your lunch and avoid eating them at dinner.
According to the Ayurveda, our digestive cycle is very much synchronized with the sun. As the sun rises, our digestion power increases and as the sun sets, our digestive power decreases.
So you can eat heavy meals at lunch but avoid them at dinner.
So, what should we eat for dinner?
Ayurveda advises eating light foods that are extremely easy for our body to digest for dinner. Also, avoid eating late at night.
Try your maximum to have your dinner before sunset.
If it is difficult for you to practice it then try to keep the gap of at least 3 hours between dinner and going to bed.
10) Add Digestive Spices to Your Meal
There are several spices that Ayurveda recommends to include in the diet.
These spices have the potential to improve your digestion and cure the problem of poor digestion.
The spices that can help you improve your digestion are given below.
- Asafoetida
- Turmeric
- Ginger
- Garlic
- Mint
- Cinnamon
- Black pepper
These spices have the potential to ignite your digestive fire which will result in improved digestion.
Many people have the habit of drinking warm milk before going to bed.
If you are one of those then I will recommend you to add a pinch of turmeric, black pepper, and one tablespoon of ghee (clarified butter) to your milk (only in winter & monsoon, not in summer).
Also, drink warm milk rather than drinking cold milk.
11) Include More Sattvic Foods and Less Rajasic and Tamasic Foods
First of all, here I am (and even the Ayurveda) not telling you to completely avoid rajasic and tamasic foods. I am just telling you to consume them less.
In short, you should eat foods that are balanced in sattvic, rajasic, and tamasic properties.
It has always been told by so-called ayurvedic experts that you should only eat sattvic foods which is wrong. You also need some amount of rajasic and tamasic foods.
Why?
Okk…let me explain in detail about this.
The tamas property of the food is related to inertia and the rajas property is related to anxiety or distress.
According to Ayurveda, you need some tamas to rest and sleep well at night, but if you have an excess of tamas then you will become lethargic, dark, depressed, etc.
Examples of tamasic food:
- Non-veg foods
- Alcohol
- Processed foods
- Refrigerated foods
- Leftover foods
You also need rajas for getting up, moving, doing your work, etc.
But if you consume an excess of rajasic foods then you will suffer from the emotions such as anger, aggression, jealousy, etc.
Examples of rajasic foods:
- Excessively salty foods
- Excessively sweet foods
- Foods that are too spicy
What is the nature of Sattvic foods?
Well, sattvic foods are light, fresh, and easy to digest. They tend to nourish your body in all the ways possible.
Examples:
- Nuts
- Ripe fruits
- Well-cooked vegetables
- Ghee
- Raisins
- Cow’s milk
12) Don’t Eat Often in a Day
Ayurveda recommends you wait until your previously eaten food gets digested before eating any other food.
Many people have the habit to eat many times between two meals.
According to Ayurveda, you should let your digestive fire digest the previously eaten foods before you introduce more foods to it.
The mixture of previously undigested food and newly arrived food produces toxins inside the body which causes many diseases related to digestion.
Now, you may ask me a question, “what should I do if I get hungry?”
Well, there are some foods that you can eat if you get very hungry in between the meals.
I have taken these foods from a very famous book “The Ayurveda Way- by Ananta Ripa Ajamera”
- Raisins
- Seasonal fruits
- Honey
- Ghee
13) Don’t Drink Cold Water While Having Meals
The simple explanation for this point is that cold water decreases the digestive fire. Also, you should boil the water before drinking it.
You should drink the boiled water within 24 hours. Boiling water makes it easy for us to digest it. Because same as the foods, water is also needed to be digested.
If you keep on drinking cold water while having a meal then it will lower the digestive fire and your body won’t be able to digest it easily.
Rajiv Dixit (The Social Activist) always recommended drinking warm water or buttermilk to drink while having a meal.
Apart from the meals, you should only drink water if you are thirsty.
You should never force your body to drink water. Whenever your body will require water, it will ask in the form of thirst.
According to Ayurveda, you should quench (satisfy) and not prevent thirst by drinking water.
14) Use Rock Salt rather than Normal salt
We have covered this topic in the benefits of rock salt in deep. But for now, remember that rock salt is full of essential minerals.
It also improves digestion, helps in cleaning the toxins from the intestines, and promotes bowel movements.
15) Have Meals On Time
This is one of the best ayurvedic tips to improve digestion.
Every being on this planet have its own body clock including humans.
You should not change the time of eating meals often.
You should eat your breakfast, lunch, and dinner at a regular time. Because only at that time, your digestive fire is best then it slowly decreases.
If you often change your eating times then you won’t be able to digest your food well enough.
The best way to maintain your body clock is to follow the sun’s cycle. The sun is at its peak between 12 pm to 1 pm, so you should have your lunch between 12 to 1 pm.
The sun starts setting between 5 to 7 pm, so you should have your dinner between 5 to 7 pm.
This practice is extremely good to improve your digestion.
16) Exercise Before Having Breakfast or Dinner
Exercising before breakfast or dinner ignites the digestive fire. If you do regular exercise then you may understand this topic nicely.
You also have noticed that you feel more hungry after exercising. In the same way, your digestion power also increases when you eat after exercising.
The exercise routine of 45 minutes is enough to boost your digestion.
17) Don’t Sleep Immediately After Having a Meal
This bad habit is generally found in today’s youth. They sleep immediately after having lunch or dinner and start using their mobile phones.
This wrong habit can badly affect your digestion.
It also increases your chance to suffer from obesity.
When you immediately lie down after the meal, the food you consumed remains undigested which produces toxins inside the body.
And as mentioned above, these toxins are responsible for many digestion-related problems such as constipation, chronic constipation, indigestion, etc.
18) Drink Warm Water before 30 minutes of lunch and dinner
There are two direct benefits of this ayurvedic practice.
First, as mentioned above, warm water will ignite the digestive fire and improve your digestion.
According to modern science, warm water breaks down the food present in the stomach and improves digestion.
The second benefit is that drinking warm water 30 minutes before the meal will also prevent you from overeating.
As overeating can be a major reason behind poor digestion, it is good to drink a glass of warm water 30 minutes before a meal.
19) Don’t have a Bath After Eating
Digestion requires a good amount of blood flow toward the stomach and bathing can interfere in this process.
According to Ayurveda, you should either have a bath before lunch/dinner or should wait for 30-45 minutes before having a bath after lunch/dinner.
However, modern science has no evidence that proves or disproves this claim. But since we are talking about Ayurveda, it is my duty to introduce you to this ayurvedic tip.
20) Don’t Eat Fruits Immediately After Eating a Meal
Fruits are very important for our health but they are also high in sugar. Which makes them difficult for the body to digest if consumed just after having lunch or dinner.
You should keep the gap of 45 minutes to consume the fruits after or before the meal. Also, don’t consume fruits after sunset.
21) End Your Meal After the First Burp
We generally stop eating when we feel that our stomach is filled completely. However, Ayurveda has some different views.
According to Ayurveda, you should stop eating your food after your first burp.
Burp is one of the natural urges through which our body sends signals to stop eating.
The first burp indicates that you have eaten the food in the right amount and now you should stop eating. But we ignore it and keep on eating foods that result in poor digestion.
I would like to complete our discussion here.
But before that, I would like to thank the ancient Rishis and forefathers for providing us with such a wonderful gift of Ayurveda.
It is the result of their dedication to the study of life and nature.
It is only through their hard work that India is becoming famous even in western countries for its ancient healing practices.
Conclusion
Here, we have discussed the 21 Ayurvedic tips to improve digestion.
These daily practices have been a part of the Indian lifestyle for thousands of years.
If you follow all of these or some of these tips then I am very much sure that you will be able to improve your digestion.
If you have any questions or doubts related to this article then you can ask me in the comment box.
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Thanks for reading…!!!
