Stomach pain can be held at bay by careful eating.
If you've got a sensitive stomach, you'll be well aware of how eating the wrong thing at a mealtime or combining a particular food with an unsuitable partner food can make you feel. An unsuitable diet can give individuals with sensitive stomachs immense pain, as well as lead to bouts of diarrhea. So if you suffer from this condition, you're advised to pay close attention to not only to the foods you consume, but also to how you eat them.
Fruit and Vegetables
Plenty of fruit and vegetables are suitable for those with sensitive stomachs, but it's generally not a good idea to eat both fruit and vegetables as part of the same meal. In fact, fruits are often better eaten alone as opposed to incorporated into a meal. In terms of fruit, bananas, legumes, mangoes, peaches and kiwi are all very suitable for sensitive stomachs, for example, as are blueberries and strawberries. Lentils and carrots are two vegetables that are particularly appropriate if you're concerned about your stomach's sensitivity.
Meats and Fish
Many meat dishes are fine if you've got a sensitive stomach, but often what determines a meat's suitability is how it is cooked. Stewed meat and meat soups, such as chicken soup, are most suitable. Ensure meat is tender before consumption. Fish is generally fine too, as well as other seafood such as shrimp.
Other Foods
Foods such as noodles and pasta are typically fine for those with a sensitive stomach, and you can use these food types as a basis for a meal. Rice is another key food that shouldn't trouble your stomach either, while couscous is an option as a meal by itself or as an accompaniment to another food.
Drinks
You might be used to having a drink as an accompaniment to a meal, but even something as seemingly innocent as juice can adversely affect your body because it dilutes the digestive juices, leading ultimately to pain. Avoid drinks at mealtimes altogether, or at least swap your usual drink for milk or soup as these have a less negative effect.
Eating Tips
Ensure that you eat slowly, and chew your food as you do. This will help because you'll avoid swallowing excess air, which leads to gas. Eating slowly and chewing well will also mean that your body's enzymes, which break down the food and aid digestion, have more time to act, thus giving your stomach a better chance of coping with your food. Look to have three regular meals per day, and at more or less the same time each day. This schedule will regulate your bowel movement.
Things to Avoid
While you might find that your stomach reacts differently to foods compared to the next person, rich and spicy foods and those that are full of fat have an unpleasant effect on the majority of sensitive stomachs. That's because these types of foods cause your gastrocolic reflex, which controls the passage of food through your body, to work harder. Big seeds as well as vegetables such as onions and cucumber can also adversely affect your stomach.
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