10 Ayurvedic Remedies for Digestion

You’ve heard it a thousand times. Or maybe this is your first time hearing it. Either way….good health starts in the gut.

Our digestion is the KEY to healing and feeling our best. Our immune system, weight, energy, sleep, vitality and even MOOD are affected by the health of our digestive system.

It’s also one of the things that people neglect the most. Many people’s eating habits and lifestyle have led to compromised digestion – causing them to live on digestive enzymes, anti-acids, laxatives and restricted diets just to feel semi-normal. You relate?

Even if your digestion seems totally on point, and you have a great diet, I think we can all relate to that feeling of eating too much, too close to bedtime…and waking up feeling under-rested and “still full from last night!” Ugh.

Luckily, Ayurveda, an ancient system of medicine from India (it means “the science of life”) focuses a lot on digestion and offers some great remedies that I’ve really found helpful. Ayurveda focuses on prevention of illness and the body’s natural power of cure.

I learned a lot of these tips from Dr. John Douillard, who was one of my teachers on the IIN Costa Rica trip last summer. He’s awesome, super healthy, and his kind energy is magnetic. He must be doing something right. :)

10 Ayurvedic Remedies for Digestion

• Sleep on your left side. This facilitates digestion and removal of toxins.
• Don’t eat anything 2-3 hours before bed.
• Drink warm water with lemon in the morning and throughout the day.
• Use warming spices like cayenne, ginger and cinnamon, and herbal teas, to heat up your digestive fire.
• Don’t snack between meals. Give your body time to digest each meal before piling more food on top of it.
• Make lunch the largest meal of the day, if possible. Midday is when your digestive fire is the strongest.
• Eat turmeric and black pepper together. This stimulates digestion.
• Sit down while you eat, in a calm environment, and focus on the meal (not the TV, internet, etc).
• Chew your food until it’s liquid.
• Avoid ice cold drinks with your meals, which can slow digestion.

These are just a few things you can get started with if you want to improve your digestion.

Any other awesome digestion tips out there? Share! :)

Read more about Ayurveda!