Abdominal Pain and Suitable Diet for it

By | June 14, 2012

Most people suffer from abdominal pain at some point in their lives. The causes could be due to any number of reasons including appendicitis, constipation, Cohn’s disease, endometriosis, food allergies, food poisoning, gallstones, gas, gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD), hernia, indigestion, kidney stones etc.

Some of the causes of abdominal pain are directly related to one’s diet. These include

  • Diverticulitis, when the colon is infected, leading to pain in the lower left part of the stomach after eating certain kinds of food.
  • Irritable bowel syndrome, when the food that you have eaten moves too slowly or too fast through the intestines.
  • Heart burn, when there is an acid reflux, resulting in a burning sensation and pain in your stomach.

Diet for abdominal pain

If you are experiencing abdominal pain, the best kind of diet is a bland one.

  • Good diet foods for stomach pain include apples, avocado, cinnamon, fennel, papaya, and oat bran.
  • Soda crackers and toast are the best options during this phase.
  • Once you feel better, you can eat other bland foods like rice, gelatin, chicken, potatoes, or bananas.
  • Keep yourself constantly hydrated when you are suffering from such stomach ailments. Include foods that have high fiber content in your diet as it helps get rid of any discomfort you may feel.
  • Have juices to alleviate the debilitating stomach ache. Juices like pear and apple help get rid of the waste in the body and to improve bowel movement. Cabbage, carrot, fenugreek, lime and green leafy vegetable juices are good for ulcers. Pineapple juice aids with digestion. Black cherry juice is recommended for women with menstrual problems; and pear juice aids with gallbladder pain. If you have a stomachache, eat five smaller meals a day and with low fat content in them.
  • Ginger tea is a good home remedy that is used to treat stomach problems as it helps with digestion and in the production of gastric juices, bile and saliva. Baking soda is another home remedy that helps ease your pain from heart burn or acid reflux.

Foods to include

Some of the foods to include when suffering from abdominal pain are as follows.

  • Apples: This fruit is full of important nutrients and contains substances that help in getting rid of bad bacteria in the intestinal tract. Make sure you don’t eat too much of the fruit though, as it causes gas, which could worsen your stomach pain.
  • Bananas: Bananas digest easily and help in easing your stomach pain and relieving heartburn. Health experts recommend eating a banana daily to combat stomach ailments.
  • Carrots: Carrots are mostly eaten when you are constipated as it is a natural laxative. It is also full of essential nutrients and digests easily.
  • Figs: Figs contain high amounts of mucilage, which is important for the health of the digestive tract, particularly the intestines.
  • High fiber foods: Good options for high fiber foods include whole grains, beans and vegetables. High fiber content helps soften feces, enabling it to move fast through the digestive system. This helps relieve pain caused by cramping or bloating.
  • Rice: Plain cooked rice is often used as a home remedy to help relieve the stomach of any pain or irritation. Oats and wheat are also good alternate choices.
  • Toast: Toasted bread helps neutralize the acid content in the abdomen, which, in turn, helps decrease your stomach pain.
  • Yogurt: Yogurt contains healthy bacteria that are useful in soothing your stomach from pain. Sometimes, the lack of bacteria causes pain in the abdomen when the food is not digested.

Foods to avoid

If you are suffering from stomach problems there are certain foods to avoid as they hinder digestion, staying away from those foods will also help ease the pain. Stay away from spicy food, high fat foods, dairy products, acidic foods, fried foods, processed foods, artificial sweeteners, caffeine, alcohol, sweets, and salty foods.

References:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003120.htm