If you are having problems with your digestion, there are plenty of medicines on the market you can turn to for relief, from anti-acids to drugs that can fix more serious problems like stomach ulcers. However, diet also plays a really important role in your digestive health — and not just what you eat, but how much and how often. Read on to find out more about why you should consider eating small meals more frequently to help digestive problems.
Feelings of being bloated or nauseous after eating a meal or feeling full after just a few bites are often caused by a condition called gastroparesis. This means that the stomach empties too slowly and causes these unpleasant digestive symptoms. According to the Motility Society, one of the best ways to help prevent this digestive issues is to eat smaller but more frequent meals. They maintain that these meals:
- Reduce stomach distention and pain/discomfort after eating.
- Reduce the feeling of being overly full after a meal.
- Help the stomach to empty more quickly.
- Can provide adequate nutrition if a person follows an eating plan of 4-6 small, high-quality meals a day.
In short, small amounts of food are easier for your digestive tract to handle and can prevent problems like heartburn, nausea and GERD.
Leading health sites like the American Society for Nutrition (ASN), WebMD and Duke Health also endorse a smaller, more frequent meal plan in order to reap the health benefits that it brings. So if you are wanting to make a simple lifestyle change that can really help your digestion, consider this simple lifestyle change to achieve better digestion and overall better health.
