Shawdesh Desk:

Few foods and drinks may aid digestion, relieve constipation and bloating, boost healthy body weight and make you feel more relaxed.

These include:

Vegetable salad: Eating a vegetable salad half an hour before meals can reduce your caloric intake. If you want to lose or maintain weight, fill your stomach with this low-calorie roughage like lettuce, cucumber, radish, turnip and tomato before you have your meal.

Fruits: Eat a bowl of fruits two to three hours before a meal. It will fill your stomach with a low-calorie food which is high in fibre. This habit may help control overeating during mealtime and improve digestion.

Buttermilk: Buttermilk and other probiotic foods contain live bacteria cultures which promote healthy digestion-enhancing bacteria that live in the intestine.

Hot water: Drinking hot water after meals is quite healthy. It activates the digestive tract by hydrating the digestive organs and helps eliminate waste.

Warm lemon water: Drinking warm lemon water after 30 minutes of consuming food may help in digestion. It allows you to digest food more easily. You can also avoid bad breath by drinking a glass of lemon water after meal.

Green tea: Drink green tea two hours before or after meals. This habit can maximise nutrient intake and iron absorption. If you cannot wait for two hours, wait for at least 45 to 60 minutes after meals to consume it safely.

Jaggery: Eating jaggery activates the digestive enzymes in our body. Thus having a small piece of this natural unrefined form of sugar after meal is considered healthy.

Fennel seeds: Fennel seeds contain volatile oils which can kick start digestion by promoting the production of gastric enzymes.

Eating habits can affect your health and risk for certain diseases. Also, maintaining a healthy weight is quite important for the body’s overall well-being.