Indigestion occurs owing to overeating, eating fatty or greasy foods or eating too fast. Sometimes stress or nervousness causes you to gulp down food or choose unhealthy fats. Acid reflux disorder, peptic ulcers or other medical ailments lead to frequent indigestion. Check with your doctor for dietary advice and treatment of underlying conditions to relieve constant indigestion.
Trigger Foods
Indigestion, also known as dyspepsia, produces a feeling of fullness or abdominal discomfort during or after a meal. Symptoms may also include heartburn, bloating or belching. Avoiding trigger foods helps reduce or eliminate constant indigestion. You may find relief by staying away from alcoholic or carbonated beverages and fatty or spicy foods. Even healthy foods can cause digestive difficulties, however. Identify your own troubling foods by eliminating suspected offenders from your diet to see if you have digestive relief.
Fruits and Vegetables
Fruits and vegetables usually work effectively to reduce indigestion because high-fiber foods digest rapidly and prevent excess secretion of acid by your stomach. Baked beans, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and certain fruits, such as apples or peaches, cause bloating for some people, however. If you find that certain fruits or vegetables cause indigestion, keep them out of your diet. Choose fresh, frozen, canned or dried fruit without added sugar or syrups. Avoid fried or creamy style vegetables, which promote indigestion. Eat raw or steamed vegetables as much as possible.
Carbohydrates
Getting about half or more of your daily calories from foods rich in carbohydrates helps aid digestion, according to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse. These foods include breads, potatoes, rice, pasta, fruits, vegetables and dried peas or beans. Good sources of complex carbohydrates include whole grains, notes the Mayo Clinic. Whole grains contain plenty of fiber and a variety of vitamins and minerals. Whole grains retain more nutrients than refined grains, such as white bread, white rice or white flour. Include whole wheat bread, pasta, cereal and crackers, brown rice, oatmeal, popcorn without butter, wild rice, buckwheat and barley in your diet.
Low-Fat Protein
Protein foods often contain high amounts of saturated fat, but you need protein for energy and muscle function. Consume low-fat versions to avoid the high-fat intake that may increase the risk of indigestion. Choose lean meats with all visible fat trimmed off, poultry without skin and fish. Bake, broil or grill these foods. Replace whole-milk products with low-fat or fat-free milk and dairy products.
Mealtime
Choose your mealtimes so that you eat in a calm environment. Eating during conflicts, arguments or high-stress situations can encourage indigestion. Eating frequent small meals throughout the day instead of two or three large meals helps to reduce indigestion as well. Chewing food slowly and completely allows you to enjoy your meals without indigestion.
