5 Foods To Ease A Tummy Ache

5 Foods To Ease An Upset Stomach

Upset stomachs, or nausea, can happen for all sorts of reasons. Maybe you ate something past the expiration date, drank too much, or the medication you take is hard on your stomach.
Before Pepto-Bismo and Tums, people used foods to calm their tummy. Here is a list of foods to sooth and comfort an upset stomach:
1. Plain, Fat-Free, No-Sugar Added Yogurt
The general rule is that dairy products should be avoided if you have an upset stomach. Yogurt is the exception. However, it is very important that the yogurt is unflavored and fat-free with no additional sugars added. Additionally, be sure that the package says some variation of “live or active cultures.”
The cultures contained in yogurt act as a probiotic. These cultures will stimulate the gut to produce and balance the level of bacteria needed to digest food.
2. Chamomile Tea
Chamomile is an herb derived from the daisy flower. The active ingredient in chamomile is an oil called bisabolol. This oil has anti-irritant, anti-spasmodic and anti-inflammatory properties. It can also help relieve gas and bloating.
3. Ginger
The ginger root has been used for over 2000 years as a digestive aid for problems such as upset stomachs, diarrhea, and vomiting.
Fresh ginger works best for calming an upset stomach. In order to get the therapeutic benefits, you can chew on a ¼ ounce piece of fresh ginger. If you don’t like the taste of fresh ginger, you can mix 1.5-3.0 mL of liquid ginger extract into unflavored seltzer water.
4. Bitters
If you are suffering from a hangover, more alcohol is the last thing you want to hear. However, consider taking a small amount of bitters to ease your aching stomach. A bitters is an alcoholic digestif infused with herbs, roots, leaves and bark which give it a bitter flavor. People have used bitters since the 1800s as a way to prevent and ease stomach problems. The drink works by stimulating the liver to produce bile and other important digestive enzymes.
You only need a small amount of this liquid to make a difference – no more than a few small splashes added to a non-alcoholic beverage will do the trick.
5. Bananas
Bananas are a part of the BRAT diet (Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast) which is advised by doctors for an upset stomach. In addition to being easily digested, bananas contain several properties that work wonders for the digestive system.  High levels of potassium help to replace electrolytes lost from diarrhea or vomiting. Inulin, a prebiotic in bananas, helps to promote the growth of good bacteria in the gut. And finally, bananas contain high levels of the soluble fiber pectin. This helps to move and solidify food along the digestive track.