How to aid digestion and promote stomach health after a large meal.

Introduction: Post-meal care is equally important. Some seemingly insignificant small actions after a meal can supplement and promote the benefits of your meal.

Have a pear after a barbecue. Pears are rich in vitamins, dietary fiber, and minerals like calcium, phosphorus, and iron. Since ancient times, they have been known as a good food for clearing heat and detoxifying. Researchers from the College of Medicine at Seoul National University in South Korea found that eating a pear after a meal can also help expel a large amount of carcinogens accumulated in the human body. For smokers or those who eat grilled meat, the level of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), a strong carcinogen, is significantly reduced after eating a pear. The researchers noted that heated pear juice also contains more cancer-fighting substances—polyphenols. Therefore, after eating grilled or fried foods, having a pear can help expel toxins from your body.

Wang's Ripened Pears

Have a cup of barley tea after a heavy meal. For those who love meat and spicy food, drinking a cup of warm, strong barley tea after a feast can not only cut through the grease but also aid digestion. Yang Li, a professor at the Graduate School of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, told reporters that barley tea has the functions of calming the stomach, quenching thirst, eliminating heat, and aiding in the digestion of food, benefiting the stomach by nourishing, warming, and strengthening it.

Drink some ginger and brown sugar water after eating crab. Crabs are nutritious, but they are salty and cooling in nature. For people with a weak spleen and stomach, especially those with chronic gastritis, eating crab may cause symptoms like stomach pain and diarrhea. The best remedy is to drink a glass of ginger and brown sugar water after eating crab. Yang Li explains that ginger is warm in nature and can enhance and accelerate blood circulation, stimulating gastric juice secretion, which perfectly complements the cooling nature of crab meat. Brown sugar, like ginger, has the effect of warming the stomach and dispelling cold. The combination of the two provides a better warming effect for the stomach.

Red Dates, Brown Sugar, and Ginger Water

Eat some papaya for indigestion. When you overeat eggs, meat, or other hard-to-digest foods, you often feel bloated and uncomfortable in the upper abdomen with indigestion. In this case, eating some papaya will quickly relieve the gastrointestinal discomfort. Li Huiming, a professor in the Department of Nutrition at Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, says that the "Compendium of Materia Medica" records that "papaya is warm and sour in taste, it pacifies the liver and harmonizes the stomach, and relaxes the muscles and collaterals." Modern research also shows that papaya contains a large amount of papain, also known as papain enzyme, which has a strong hydrolysis ability on animal and plant proteins, polypeptides, esters, and amides. Eating some papaya after a meal can regulate the stomach, aid digestion, and promote bowel movements.

Papaya Stewed in Milk

If you've eaten too much greasy food, celery can help cut the grease. If a meal contains a lot of greasy food, you can eat some cold-dressed celery to reduce the greasiness. Dr. Rui Lili from the Department of Food and Nutrition at the Academy of Military Medical Sciences stated that celery has a high fiber content, which can carry away some of the fat consumed. Cold-dressed celery retains more vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber, making it more effective at cutting grease.

Celery with Honey