Watch out, the holidays are coming! Here’s how to avoid digestive problems
16/12/2024
Translation: Patrik Stainbrook
Flatulence, diarrhea, constipation: if your gut isn’t running smoothly, it can become a constant burden. However, there’s a whole range of home remedies that can help you with digestive and intestinal problems.
Regardless of whether it’s bloating, flatulence or constipation, if your bowels feel off, it can spoil the fun of everything. But good news is, you can fix many of these problems yourself. These tips can help with mild, intermittent symptoms. However, if you have long-term, more serious problems with your digestion, be sure to consult a doctor.
What works against flatulence?
If you’ve ever suffered from flatulence, you’ll know that accumulation of gas in the intestines can be extremely painful. To stop bloating, you can avoid foods that promote gas formation. These include pulses, onions, bananas and wholemeal bread. The catch is, you’re also depriving yourself of some very healthy foods. However, you can also focus on foods that help against flatulence. These include, for example, foods with spicy substances such as cayenne pepper and ginger. And it’s not for nothing that recipes for hearty dishes often contain caraway, as it has an antispasmodic effect and soothes the intestines, stomach and gall bladder.
What helps with constipation?
Constipation most often manifests in one bowel movement every three to four days at most, a hard one at that. Reasons for this can be too little exercise, fibre and fluid, certain medications and diseases such as diabetes. Constipation severely restricts quality of life. If the symptoms occur over a longer period of time, you should definitely seek medical advice. For mild, temporary problems, you can try these home remedies first: psyllium husks, sour milk products, linseed, exercise and massages.
Find out what you can do about that unpleasant feeling of fullness immediately after a meal here:
What helps with diarrhea?
Diarrhea can have numerous causes, including an infection, inflammation, intolerance or psychological influences. In mild cases, however, you can quickly remedy the situation yourself. The classic here is camomile tea, but other herbal teas can also soothe the intestines. Teas also have the advantage that you’ll absorb the lost fluids again and won’t dehydrate so quickly. There’s a whole range of foods that can help. These include blueberries, real cocoa, blackberry leaves, probiotics and the well-known psyllium husks.
If this overview is too brief for you, you can find more detailed information on the topic in the guide «Ich helfe mir selbst – Verdauungs- und Darmbeschwerden» («Helping myself – digestive and intestinal complaints»). Note, the book is only available in German.
Helping myself – digestive and intestinal complaints
Biologist and nutritionist Dr Andrea Flemmer summarises proven measures from alternative and conventional medicine in her guide. She believes that many digestive and intestinal complaints can be easily treated by yourself: from a healthy diet, the promotion of intestinal bacteria, medicinal plants and dietary supplements to massages, hypnosis and exercise. The compact guide offers a pleasant mix of scientifically sound facts and easy-to-read explanations to help you find a solution quickly.
In the interview for her guide, «Was kann ich überhaupt noch essen?» («What can I still eat?»), Dr Flemmer reveals how you can still find healthy foods in the jungle of additives, flavour enhancers, pesticides and the like:
Header image: BongkarnGraphic/Shutterstock
Science editor and biologist. I love animals and am fascinated by plants, their abilities and everything you can do with them. That's why my favourite place is always outside - somewhere in nature, preferably in my wild garden.