Quit Your Belly-Achin’!

It’s tempting to curl up on the couch after a big meal, but making a beeline from the kitchen to the sofa could leave you with a stomachache. A walk, combined with the effects of gravity when you’re standing up, will prevent many stomachaches form getting started.

Actually, most stomachaches don’t occur in your stomach at all, even though that’s where the trouble usually begins. For various reasons, your tummy doesn’t always do a great job of digesting its contents. When undigested food travels into the intestine, you’re likely to experience cramps or painful gas—and that’s your bowels trying to deal with your stomach’s unfinished business.

Here are a few things that are sure to help:

• Mix a “lawn salad.” Dandelion greens are a traditional remedy for stomach problems of all kinds. Eaten before a meal, the pleasantly bitter leaves stimulate digestive secretions and curb cramps. Be sure to pick your greens from an area that hasn’t been treated with chemicals.
• Sniff and settle. Sometimes all it takes to settle an upset stomach is the right scent. The next time your gut’s in a knot, scratch the peel of an uncut lemon and take a few whiffs, or open a bottle of peppermint oil and take a deep sniff. The odors travel to your brain and seem to help keep your stomach from going all topsy-turvy.
• Add some heat to your diet. Many pungent spices can help relieve stomach problems. Ginger, turmeric, cumin, coriander, clove, cinnamon, and garlic all promote good digestions. And you don’t have to eat tons of these spices to get the benefits.

Stomachaches are rarely serious, but there are plenty of exceptions. The basic rule is this: a stomachache that clears up within a day probably isn’t a problem. If the pain lingers, is accompanied by fever or vomiting, or keeps coming back, see your doctor. You’ll probably need some tests to find out exactly what’s going on.