Intestinal wind is often a sign of sluggish digestion or a reaction to certain foods. Many people find onions, potatoes, dried beans, cabbage, cauliflower and capsicum cause intestinal gas, although this can be individual. Food combining often helps.
- Keep a food diary to identify patterns.
- Start your day with a glass of hot water with a squeeze of fresh lemon to flush your liver and cleanse the digestive tract.
- Closely examine your diet to identify culprit foods.
- Eat slowly and chew every mouthful properly.
- Increase your vegetable intake particularly leafy greens, leeks, broccoli and sprouted legumes.
- Lightly steamed vegetables are more easily digested than raw foods. Too many salads can irritate the digestive tract.
- Food combining can improve a sluggish digestive system. This technique involves eating carbohydrates and proteins as separate meals as they require different enzymes during the digestive process. Eating them together can result in partially digested food remaining in your stomach and fermenting.
- Check your mood and take time to relax before you eat as nervous tension disrupts digestion.
- Drinking when you are eating dilutes your digestive enzymes. If you are thirsty, try a digestive herbal tea as an accompaniment. As a rule, drink half an hour before eating or one hour afterwards.
- Take Lactobacillus acidophilus and bifidus available in capsule or powdered form to balance bowel flora (bacteria found in the bowel).
- Fresh ginger, carrot, celery and apple juice will help calm the digestive tract.
- Squatting exercises improve intestinal circulation although this is not recommended if you suffer from haemorrhoids.
- Massage your abdomen in a clockwise rotation using a blend of 25ml grapeseed base oil and two drops each of lavender and mandarin essential oil. (As a precaution AVOID all essential oils in the first trimester).
- Yoga postures promote intestinal circulation.
- Brisk walking can help relieve internal wind.
- Reflexology treatment can access the bowels to improve bowel function and elimination.
- Pressure point therapies shiatsu, acupuncture and acupressure help strengthen the digestive system.