Almost everyone suffers a stomach ache now and then. Nausea, indigestion, vomiting, bloating, diarrhea, and constipation are all common symptoms. Thankfully, a variety of foods might help you feel better sooner by settling an upset stomach. The 9 best foods for an upset stomach are listed below.
9. Bland Carbohydrates
For persons with unsettled stomachs, bland carbohydrates like rice, oatmeal, crackers, and toast are generally recommended since they are easier to tolerate than other foods. While bland carbohydrates may be more appealing during an illness, it’s critical to reintroduce variety into your diet as soon as possible.
8. Foods high in probiotics
Dysbiosis, or an imbalance in the type or amount of bacteria in your gut, can sometimes induce an unsettled stomach. Eating foods high in probiotics, or gut-friendly bacteria, can help rectify this imbalance and alleviate symptoms like gas, bloating, and irregular bowel movements. Yogurt, buttermilk, kefir, miso, natto, tempeh, sauerkraut, kimchi, and kombucha are all probiotic foods.
7. Green Bananas
Diarrhea can occasionally accompany an unsettled stomach. Green bananas contain resistant starch. Humans cannot digest resistant starch, thus it passes through the digestive tract and into the colon. Once in the colon, your gut bacteria slowly ferment it, producing short-chain fatty acids that encourage the bowels to absorb more water and firm up the stools.
6. Licorice
Licorice is a common indigestion cure that may also help to prevent unpleasant stomach ulcers. Licorice root was traditionally eaten whole. It’s now most typically consumed as a supplement known as deglycyrrhizinated licorice (DGL). DGL (deglycyrrhizinated licorice root) can help with indigestion and stomach pain caused by ulcers or acid reflux.
5. Peppermint
Irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, causes an upset stomach. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a gastrointestinal illness that causes stomach pain, bloating, constipation, and diarrhea. Peppermint may help alleviate these unpleasant feelings. In individuals with IBS, taking peppermint oil capsules for at least two weeks can dramatically improve stomach pain, gas, and diarrhea.
4. Papaya
Papaya includes papain, a strong enzyme that helps you digest and absorbs proteins in your food. Because some people don’t create enough natural enzymes to thoroughly digest their meals, using additional enzymes like papain can help them feel better. Constipation, bloating, and stomach ulcers may be relieved with papaya concentrate.
3. Flaxseed
Flaxseed can help reduce constipation and abdominal discomfort by regulating bowel motions. They may help prevent stomach ulcers and intestinal spasms, according to animal studies. Flaxseed, in the form of ground flaxseed meal or flaxseed oil, has been demonstrated to help reduce constipation symptoms. Adults who consumed one ounce of flaxseed oil each day for two weeks had greater bowel motions.
2. Chamomile
Chamomile can be dried and used as a tea or taken as a supplement by mouth. After chemotherapy, chamomile supplements lowered the severity of vomiting. Chamomile is also often used in herbal supplements to treat indigestion, gas, bloating, diarrhea, and infant colic.
1. Ginger
Ginger is used to treating nausea and vomiting naturally. Ginger is delicious raw, cooked, soaked in hot water, or taken as a supplement. Morning sickness, a kind of nausea and vomiting that can develop during pregnancy, is commonly treated with it. People who are having chemotherapy or major surgery may benefit from ginger, as these therapies can produce extreme nausea and vomiting.
