Is Yogurt Good For An Upset Stomach?

An upset stomach is a condition, which indicates disorder of the digestive function where the patient has various symptoms which include nausea, heartburn, discomfort, indigestion and dyspepsia.

If you have an upset stomach, there can be a number of reasons which are most probably associated with what you eat or drink.

Upset Stomach Due to Food Poisoning: The first and foremost culprit that can cause upset stomach is food poisoning. There can a number of contaminations which can be caused by parasites, viruses, or bacteria that can cause upset stomach, vomiting, and fever.

Upset Stomach Caused by Overeating or Overdrinking: The second culprit is overeating or overdrinking. If you try to eat a lot of food; especially when you are on a trip, your stomach may get upset because of the change in the type of food that you eat, weather, water and even alcoholic drinks.

Certain Foods Leading to Upset Stomach: There are certain types of foods like fried food etc., which can cause upset stomach in many people.

Apart from food habits, the lifestyle can also cause an upset stomach. Some of the lifestyle factors behind medical issues like upset stomach are:

• Fast or junk food
• Stress related to personal or professional life
• Smoking
• Drinking
• Caffeine
• Travel which can cause motion sickness

There are few medical reasons, which can cause upset stomach as well as gastroesophageal reflux disease, lactose intolerance, intestinal infection, cancer, irritable bowel syndrome and many others. Upset stomach can also be caused in the first few weeks of pregnancy.

There can be a number of reasons that can cause an upset stomach. However, the topmost reason is the imbalance of the gut bacteria, which are essential for healthy digestion. When the infection attacks the body in form of parasites, bacteria or viruses, the body starts to produce antibodies to fight the infection. These strong antibodies also attack the gut bacteria, which they fail to distinguish from the bad bacteria. This results in the upset stomach that leads to vomiting, nausea, diarrhea and many other associated symptoms.

This is where yogurt can comes into the scene. There are probiotics present in yogurt, which are known as healthy bacteria. These bacteria help in restoring the levels of good bacteria in the body. According to the doctors, healthy gut bacteria that are present in yogurt can help the body in fighting against the infection as well. So all this makes yogurt good for an upset stomach.

There have been a lot of studies that prove that yogurt can help in reducing the effects of the infection that is causing an upset stomach. The doctors prefer that you eat homemade dahi or yogurt for the best results. The products that you find in the supermarket which has the signs of low fat, skim milk, added calcium and other attractive words may not be that good for your health. Most of them are loaded with preservatives and sweeteners which reduce the effect of good bacteria or probiotics.

There are several specific probiotic drinks available on the market as well which you can choose to have in case you have an upset stomach. If you are planning to have yogurt, make sure you choose unsweetened fresh yogurt. You can add little fruit pieces like mango, banana, pineapple, grapes, and cucumber etc. in the yogurt to make it more delicious and healthy.

In most of the cases of upset stomach, you do not need anything other than managing your diet and adding probiotic foods like yogurt in your diet for soothing an upset stomach. Upset stomach generally goes away in a couple of days. However, if you have to go to the loo more than 5 times in a day or you have an upset stomach for more than two days you should see a doctor as soon as possible. One of the associated medical problems with diarrhea is dehydration, which can lead to severe medical problems.

To make sure you do not get sicker by just using the home remedies, it is always better to visit ER once and check with the doctor if you need to take any medication. Make sure to follow the guidelines provided by the doctor and make the required changes in your diet and lifestyle. Upset stomach is not life-threatening in the majority of the cases. However, in some acute cases, it can cause multiple organ failure and can lead to death as well. It is always better to check with the doctor to make sure you attain healthy body as soon as possible.

Also Read:

• Is Frozen Yogurt Healthy?
• Is Yogurt Good for Irritable Bowel Syndrome?
• Is Yogurt Good for GERD?
• Is Yogurt Good to Eat for Acid Reflux?
• Is Yogurt Good for the Liver?
• Is Yogurt Good For Lowering Cholesterol?
• Is Yogurt Good for Diabetics
• Is Greek Yogurt Good For Lactose Intolerance?
• Can You Eat Yogurt If You Are Lactose Intolerant?