Whenever I eat, I feel my stomach gets heavy. Can you please tell me the reason?

Hello, Sukho devi,

Our stomach is physiologically designed in a manner where light food is digested with ease and able to absorb the nutrients but when we load ourselves with complex food it tends to more time in digesting than usual leading to heaviness and sluggish body in nature which starts becoming devoid of nutrition.

In the heaviness of stomach, we have to make sure that we should take care of our stomach's pH which is in normal acidic in nature. Our aim is to maintain the body's homeostasis so that it should function in harmony. Continuous exposure to a high-fat diet, packaged food, refined sugars, gluten is some of the things which have been found common with the symptoms like indigestion, bloated and heaviness in the stomach.

It is time to treat the problem in a holistic manner to get a long term cure and avoid relapse of issue/disease. The following tips will be helpful.

Eat:

Start the day with two-three glasses of warm water, this will help in flushing out the toxins and improve the state of metabolism by increasing it. The next thing is the inclusion of vegetable juice in your breakfast as this will help in giving the right amount of energy for the day and it is an easier way to absorb all the nutrients. Keep at least two hours gap between your food and your sleep timing at night. 

• Consume ginger lemon tea, one inch of ginger and one tablespoon of lemon juice boiled in one cup of water. Consume it during the evening. This will help in treating indigestion.
• Consuming raw tomatoes with black pepper an hour before your meal helps in maintaining the pH of the stomach.
• Consume two teaspoons of fennel seeds after your meals, to reduce acid-peptic problems.

Exercise:

• Taking a brisk walk in the early morning sun rays helps in treating all the problems, as the sun helps in treating the mood and freshens us for the whole day, it stimulates our system and strengthens our immunity. An early morning walk is recommended.
• Practice Vajrasana after every meal will help in treating digestion problems as it aids the good pathway for the meal.
• Suryanamaskar will help in treating the health issues and will help in dealing with all problems, 12 sets a day is recommended. If you are a beginner, start with 6 and increase it.

Meditation:

Stop using gadgets an hour before sleep, you can use a fragrant diffuser where you can use essential oils and then with the smell itself you will start feeling calm. Rosemary and lavender oil will be helpful.

Take 10 long deep breaths, and allow your body to relax, any thought which comes, let it go do not resist. Say the affirmation, "I am healthy and happy" with each breath. This will help in curbing all your issues even in the long run.

Sleep:

The sleep is a very important part of treating any mental symptom, a sleep cycle of 90 minutes should be completed in order to get a sound body. This sleep cycle should be repeated 5 times. This makes 7-8 hours of healthy sleep. This will make your body and mind strong and refreshing. Make sure your room is gadget-free an hour before sleep.

Hopefully, these suggestions will help.

Thank you.

Hello,

Heaviness in the stomach is the reflection of wrong eating habits and wrong lifestyle choices. 

Reasons for feeling heaviness in stomach:

There could be many reasons for feeling of heaviness in the stomach.

• Eating too much.
• Eating more frequently. 
• Eating greasy foods and oily foods. 
• Eating foods that are difficult to digest like dairy foods .

Diet to follow:

• Eat according to your hunger and not more than that.
• Eat foods that are easy to digest, eat plant based, natural foods.
• Drink warm water with few drops of fresh lemon juice in it in the morning to boost the metabolism. 
• Drink bottleguard juice in the morning. 
• Cook oil free and eat oil free foods.
• Be on a fluid diet for 2-3 days.
• Drink coconut water. 
• Drink freshly prepared fruit juices and vegetable juices. 

Foods to avoid:

• Avoid deeply fried and greasy, oily foods.
• Avoid packaged foods and processed foods. 
• Avoid tea, coffee and such beverages. 
• Avoid carbonated drinks. 
• Avoid foods that are difficult to digest for the digestive system such as dairy foods and animal products. 

Exercise:

Exercising and performing yoga is very important for a good metabolism and normal functioning of the body. So,include some physical activity in your daily routine. 

• Have a morning walk for atleast 30 mins in the morning. 
• Do suryanamaskar 10-12 sets regularly. 
• Do paschimottan asana, gomukha asana, hala asana sarvanga asana under expert supervision. 
• Do kapalbhati pranayam. 

Sleep:

Sleep plays an important role in relieving stress and in the digestion of foods. Sometimes, lack of sleep and stress also results in indigestion and hence causes various health problems. 

So, having a good quality and proper sleep is very important. 

Take 8-10 hours of sleep daily. 

Sleep early at night and also wake up early in the morning to maintain the circadian rhythm. 

Avoid the use of electronic devices 1 hour before sleeping to improve the quality of sleep. 

Thank you.

Dear Sukkho,

Feeling heavy or even tired and sleepy after meals is a common experience, especially when our food choices are unnatural. When we eat something, the body’s top priority is to take care of that food, i.e. to digest it. And digestion requires energy. We urge you to consider your food choices - is the food that you are eating easy-to-digest or not? Consuming difficult-to-digest food like grains, dairy, non-veg, refined and processed etc. calls for more energy expenditure on digestion. In addition, such food leaves a toxic residue and hence the feeling of heaviness.

We suggest you try making a shift in your eating habits, to align them as per the laws of nature. This would help you get rid of the discomfort of heaviness after meals. You take a personal consultation with our Natural Health Coach who can understand your background better & suggest you the way forward. You can explore our Nature-Nurtures Program for the same. The Natural Health Coach will guide you on diet, sleep, exercise, stress, etc to correct your existing routine & make it in line with Natural Laws. Let us know if you are interested.

In the meanwhile, do read this blog Why do you feel sleepy after a meal

All the best!

Team wellcure

When the body feels true hunger, the body has enough room for true food. When we eat by the wall clock / when we feel that we have not eaten for a long time, let us finish the task of eating, the body won't be ready for more food. When we eat unnatural food all three times of the day and more for snacking, how can the body handle digestion of complex food so frequently? It will obviously give you a feeling of fullness when it has too much to handle. The solution is to understand why there is no room, which can give enough room, what food can digest efficiently, how much to eat, what to eat and what to avoid.

Excess grains (rice, millets, wheat) all day, consuming dairy, meat, eggs, fish, processed and refined foods can drain the body's energy and also cause acidity build-up. If you ensure that you have sufficient bowel movements daily - twice or more, then you may not feel fuller. To make sure you have pass motions well, your food has to be full of plants and hydrated. Cooked food is dehydrated.

1) Drink 3-4 ltrs of juices and water all-day

2) Eat only fruits for breakfast

3) Eat only when you feel hungry and not crave for food

4) Avoid all animal foods like dairy, meat, eggs, fish and switch to whole food plant-based lifestyle

5) Place a wet cloth on the tummy for 30 mins daily

6) Exercise for an hour till you are super tired

7) Sleep well in the night, dont be late

8) Chew your food thoroughly before you swallow

9) As much as possible switch to one cooked per day for lunch or dinner and take raw foods rest of the day

10) Have a relaxed and stress-free life

Be blessed

Smitha Hemadri(Holistic lifestyle coach)