What To Eat if You Have Stomach Cramps

What To Eat if You Have Stomach Cramps

Stomach cramps can be very painful and a nuisance to our day to day life, often caused by irregular bowel movements, digestive problems or the accumulation of substances that when digested, cause problems. The truth is, when we suffer from stomach cramps, the last thing we want to do is eat food. However, some foods can actually help alleviate this problem and provide a welcome relief that our stomach needs. Keep reading the following oneHOWTO article on what to eat if you have stomach cramps.

What to eat if you have stomach cramps and diarrhea

This condition can sometimes be accompanied by diarrhea, which can be alleviated from consuming the following foods:

  • Soft foods like rice broth or white rice.
  • Steamed or grilled lean protein, such as chicken or white fish.
  • Cooked carrots, in a broth or puree, is an excellent option if you have cramps and diarrhea, they will aid your digestive system
  • You can also include fruits such as ripe banana and peeled apple.
  • Water and isotonic drinks to keep you hydrated and help replenish lost minerals.

Rice and broths being great when you have diarrhoea, as it absorbs the liquids which in turn will help improve the state you are in.

Keeping your food as simple as possible, will help your stomach assimilate this food easier into your digestive system.

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What to eat if you have cramps and constipation

When your stomach cramps are accompanied by constipation it is quite possible that the problem is due poor intestinal transit and a low intake of fiber. The following foods can help with this problem:

  • Soft legumes such as lentils, always made without animal meat, will provide a great source of fiber as well as protein, to aid your stomach.
  • Fresh fruits and vegetables which, thanks to their high fiber content, help stimulate intestinal transit.
  • Nuts - just a daily handful of almonds, peanuts or nuts, always in its natural form, without salt or sugar.
  • Lots of Water, vegetable broths in order to stay hydrated. Remember that 75% of our body is made of water, therefore it is essential to stay especially well hydrated when feeling under the weather.

A good intestinal transit and in take in fiber can have a great effect on your healthy lifestyle not only, so it is important that we learn how to eat a balanced diet .

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What to avoid if you have stomach cramps

There are some foods that should be avoided if you have stomach cramps as they will exasperate the problem. Similarly to what we mentioned earlier, we are looking to avoid food that is complex or has been modified in any way, as these kind of foods will be harder for our stomach to process than other simple and natural food. Examples of foods to be avoided include:

  • Stimulating beverages like coffee, tea or alcohol.
  • Carbonated drinks such as soft drinks, as they increase gas.
  • High-fat foods like chips, sausages or butter, as they will worsen the problem.
  • High-fat meats.
  • Heavy legumes such as chickpeas, beans or beans.
  • Full-fat dairy products, or dairy entirely if you are intolerant to lactose.

As you can see, all this food, has either being processed or is high in fat, which is why try to avoid it, as our stomach will find it much harder to digest. We can see however that some of these foods we would also try to avoid on a day to day basis anyway, if we were trying to keep the heart healthy and fit.

Further advice

If you suffer from stomach cramps often, it is of paramount importance that you visit a gastroenterologist for tests because it could be you may have symptoms of another digestive problem.

The following is also recommended:

  • Eat food at room temperature, never too cold or too hot.
  • Eat slowly.
  • Eat five meals a day in small portions.
  • Avoid heavy meals, which aggravate pain and discomfort.
  • Avoid drinking lots of fluids during meals, especially alcohol.

Remember to contact a doctor as soon as possible if your problems persist.

You might also be interested in the best food to eat when suffering from diarrhea, how to eat 5 fruit and vegetables a day or a list of foods which are difficult to digest.

This article is merely informative, oneHOWTO does not have the authority to prescribe any medical treatments or create a diagnosis. We invite you to visit your doctor if you have any type of condition or pain.

If you want to read similar articles to What To Eat if You Have Stomach Cramps, we recommend you visit our Diseases & secondary effects category.