Tip 132. Good food for good digestion.
The only effective treatment for indigestion is a
thorough cl
e
ansing of t
h
e digestive
t
ract; adoption of
a sensible diet and a ch
a
nge in the s
t
yle of living. The best way to comm
e
nce the treatment is to adopt an
all-fruit diet
f
or about five days. After the all-fruit
d
iet, the pati
e
nt may take to a restricted diet
o
f easily dig
e
stible foo
d
s,
consis
t
ing
o
f lightly cooked vegetables, juicy fruits and b
u
ttermilk for
a
bout 10 days. He may
t
hereafter gradually em
b
ark upon a
well-balanc
e
d diet.
The use of
f
ruits in gen
e
ral is bene
f
icial in t
h
e t
r
eatment of indigestion.
They flush out the undigested
f
ood reside
a
nd accumulated faeces
and re-est
a
blish heal
t
h
to perfect o
r
der. Being rich in wate
r
, they clean body mech
a
nisms thoroughly. The best among the fruits in
dy
spepsia
is lemon. Its juice reac
h
es the stomach and att
a
cks the b
a
c
t
eria, inhabit
i
ng the formation of acids.
Lemon juice removes i
n
digestion by
dislodging
t
his acid
and other harmful substa
nc
es from the stomach, thereby strengthening and
prompting a healthy appetite.
The orange is another e
f
fective food remedy in
c
hronic indi
g
estion. It gi
v
es rest to t
h
e digestive organs and supplies
n
u
t
rition in a most easily assimilated fo
rm
. It also stimulates the flow of
digestive juices thereby improving digestion and
increasing
a
ppetite. It c
r
eates suita
b
le conditions
f
or the development of friendly bacteria in the int
e
stines.
Another fruit useful in
i
n
digestion is
grapes. Th
e
y are a light food which
r
emoves indigestion and irritation of the stomach in a sh
o
rt time and relieves hea
t
.
Pineapple is also valuable. It acts
a
s a tonic in d
y
spepsia and relieves much of the di
g
estives disorders of
dyspeptics.
Half a glass
of pineapple
juice s
h
ould
be taken af
t
er a meal in this condition.
Tip 133. Diets for Sinusitis
Those suffe
r
ing from sinusitis
should completely avoid fried and starchy foods, white
sugar, white flour,
r
ice, macaroni products,
pies, c
a
kes
and candies. They should also avoid strong spices, me
a
t and products. Butter a
n
d ghee sho
u
ld be used sparingly. Honey should be used
for sweetening. All cooked foods s
h
ould be freshly prepared for each meal. Vegetables should be taken in liberal quantities.
All kinds
o
f
f
ruits can be
taken with
t
he exception of those
b
elonging to
citrus group
such as lemon, lime, orange and grapefruit.
Milk should
be taken in liberal quantities as it co
n
tains calcium which has a marked effect in overcomi
n
g inflammation of the tissues.
A diet rich in vitamin A is the best insurance against cold and sinus trou
b
le. Vitamin A is the
"membrane
conditioner"
as it hel
p
s
b
uild healthy
mucus membranes in t
h
e head and
t
hroat. Some of the
valuable s
o
urces of this vitamin are whole milk, curds, egg yolk, pumpkin, carrot, leafy veget
a
bles, tomato, oranges, mango and p
a
paya.
Tip 134. To
prevent constipation, get
y
our fi
b
re.
To prevent constipation,
consume fi
b
re.
Fibre in the
diet promotes more frequent bowel mov
e
ments and softer s
t
ools having increased weight. The softness of
stools is lar
g
ely due to the presence
of emulsifi
e
d gas which
is
produced by the bacteri
a
l
action on
t
he fibre. A high fibre intake resul
t
s in greater
efficiency in
the peristal
t
ic mov
e
ment of the colo
n
. This helps in relieving the constipation
w
hich is
t
he
main cause
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