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of Consumer Guide, the Editors. "37 Home Remedies for Upset Stomach." 18 January 2007. HowStuffWorks.com. <http://health.howstuffworks.com/home-remedies-for-upset-stomach.htm> 16 May 2008.
37 Home Remedies for Upset Stomach
Inside This Article
1.
Introduction to Home Remedies for Upset Stomach
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4.
You and the wife celebrated your promotion with dinner at your favorite barbecue joint. You've been working hard for months, you think, so you deserve to cut loose a little. On the way home you groan and mutter that you wish you had stopped after that first barbecue platter. Your wife shrugs her shoulders. You both know the price for your revelry will be a painful night of bloating, gas, and heartburn.
But sometimes your tummy can turn on you even when you haven't been making one too many trips to the buffet table. It's important to know what normal tummy trouble is, and what's something to take more seriously.
There are two kinds of stomach problems. A chronic, long-term upset stomach is fairly serious and should be discussed with your doctor. Temporary stomachaches are usually less serious and tend to be caused by something you ate or the flu. There are some simple dietary changes you can make to avoid gas; and if you do find yourself with a bellyache, luckily, there are some simple home remedies you can use to alleviate discomfort. In this article, we'll offer 37 tips that may help. But first, let's discuss what causes stomach upset.
The Digestive Dance
When you eat something, the digestive process begins right away in your mouth. Your salivary glands produce digestive juices that lubricate your food and prepare fat for digestion. The food travels through your esophagus into your stomach, where digestive juices continue to break food down even further so it can travel on to the small intestine. The pancreas and liver secrete other digestive juices that flow into the small intestines.
In the small intestine, vital nutrients including vitamins, minerals, water, salt, carbohydrates, and proteins are sucked out of the food and absorbed into your body. By the time your dinner makes its way to the large intestines, it's mostly bulk and water. The large intestines absorb the water and help you get rid of the, umm, excess.
But sometimes things in the digestive system go awry and cause indigestion, a catchall term that means you simply have trouble digesting your food. When you eat too much, or you eat the wrong foods, you may get one of a number of indigestion symptoms mentioned above: nausea, vomiting, heartburn, bloating, or gas.
If that doesn't sound like fun to you -- and chances are, it doesn't -- there are home remedies you can use to prevent indigestion. In the next section, we'll discuss some ways to prepare before indulging.
For more information on indigestion-related problems and how to solve them, visit the following:
But sometimes your tummy can turn on you even when you haven't been making one too many trips to the buffet table. It's important to know what normal tummy trouble is, and what's something to take more seriously.
There are two kinds of stomach problems. A chronic, long-term upset stomach is fairly serious and should be discussed with your doctor. Temporary stomachaches are usually less serious and tend to be caused by something you ate or the flu. There are some simple dietary changes you can make to avoid gas; and if you do find yourself with a bellyache, luckily, there are some simple home remedies you can use to alleviate discomfort. In this article, we'll offer 37 tips that may help. But first, let's discuss what causes stomach upset.
 ©2006 Publications International, Ltd. Fruit juice, one of the home remedies for stomach issues, replenishes nutrients when you have the stomach flu. |
When you eat something, the digestive process begins right away in your mouth. Your salivary glands produce digestive juices that lubricate your food and prepare fat for digestion. The food travels through your esophagus into your stomach, where digestive juices continue to break food down even further so it can travel on to the small intestine. The pancreas and liver secrete other digestive juices that flow into the small intestines.
In the small intestine, vital nutrients including vitamins, minerals, water, salt, carbohydrates, and proteins are sucked out of the food and absorbed into your body. By the time your dinner makes its way to the large intestines, it's mostly bulk and water. The large intestines absorb the water and help you get rid of the, umm, excess.
But sometimes things in the digestive system go awry and cause indigestion, a catchall term that means you simply have trouble digesting your food. When you eat too much, or you eat the wrong foods, you may get one of a number of indigestion symptoms mentioned above: nausea, vomiting, heartburn, bloating, or gas.
If that doesn't sound like fun to you -- and chances are, it doesn't -- there are home remedies you can use to prevent indigestion. In the next section, we'll discuss some ways to prepare before indulging.
For more information on indigestion-related problems and how to solve them, visit the following:
- To see all of our home remedies and the conditions they treat, go to our main Home Remedies page.
- There are a number of herbal remedies that can quell stomach cramps, stimulate digestion, and help calm inflammation. Herbal Remedies for Digestive Problems has more information.
- To read about oral gas prevention, visit Home Remedies for Burping.
- To reduce gas, read our section on Home Remedies for Flatulence.
- For more serious illness advice, check out Home Remedies for Food Poisoning.
- Dealing with more frequent indigestion issues? Read about Home Remedies for Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
Inside This Article
1.
Introduction to Home Remedies for Upset Stomach
2.
3.
4.
More Options:
Please copy/paste the following text to properly cite this How Stuff Works article:
of Consumer Guide, the Editors. "37 Home Remedies for Upset Stomach." 18 January 2007. HowStuffWorks.com. <http://health.howstuffworks.com/home-remedies-for-upset-stomach.htm> 16 May 2008.
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