What Causes Indigestion and How Can I Avoid It?

Indigestion, also known as dyspepsia, can be mildly uncomfortable at best and painful at worst. Either way, it can easily disrupt your daily life, so it’s best to just avoid it altogether—which is exactly what we’ll talk about today. 

What Causes Indigestion?

Before we talk about prevention techniques, we need to first go over what can cause indigestion in the first place, so we know what to avoid. 

We can group the most common causes of indigestion into three main categories: dietary factors, lifestyle factors, and underlying conditions. Let’s take a closer look at each one: 

Dietary Factors

Aside from overeating or eating too quickly, the following are also common causes of indigestion¹: 

• Spicy, greasy, and fatty foods
• Too many carbonated drinks
• Highly acidic foods, such as citrus fruits and tomatoes
• Too much caffeine
• Too much alcohol

Simply knowing what food causes indigestion goes a long way in preventing the condition. 

Lifestyle Factors

Two big lifestyle contributors to indigestion are smoking and stress.^2 3  

Along with stress, however, research shows that other types of mental health issues—such as depression and anxiety—can also cause indigestion due to the unique interaction between the mind and digestive system called the gut-brain connection.⁴ 

Underlying Conditions

In addition to the dietary and lifestyle factors we talked about, there are also certain medical conditions that can trigger indigestion, such as⁵: 

• Gallbladder inflammation
• Gastroparesis

• Stomach cancer
• Lactose intolerance
• Acid reflux (GER and GERD)
• Peptic ulcer disease
• Gastritis
• (H. pylori) infection
• Irritable bowel syndrome

How Can I Avoid Indigestion?

Aside from getting proper treatment for any underlying conditions that may be causing your symptoms, the key to avoiding indigestion is cutting back on or completely avoiding the dietary and lifestyle factors we’ve seen in the previous section. 

However, if you do still experience indigestion despite doing so, continuing to avoid or limit your exposure to these factors can help with your recovery—along with taking proper medication.  Consult a doctor if your symptoms persist or worsen. 

What Indigestion Medication Should I Take?

Your first line of defense against indigestion symptoms is an over-the-counter medicine like Sodium Alginate + Sodium Bicarbonate + Calcium Carbonate (Gaviscon Double Action) Liquid — specially formulated to work in as fast as three minutes for heartburn and provide lasting relief for up to four hours. 

While identifying and avoiding your specific triggers is the best way to prevent discomfort, Sodium Alginate + Sodium Bicarbonate + Calcium Carbonate (Gaviscon) provides Triple Power Relief to help you manage symptoms when they do occur: 

• Forms a protective raft: Sodium alginate reacts with stomach acid to create a gel-like barrier that floats on top of stomach contents, preventing acid and undigested food from irritating the esophagus and throat.
• Neutralizes excess acid: Sodium bicarbonate and calcium carbonate chemically neutralize stomach acid, reducing the acidity that causes that uncomfortable burning sensation after meals.
• Soothes and cools the food pipe: The combined raft and antacid effect produces a soothing sensation in the throat and esophagus, offering long-lasting comfort so you can return to your day without distraction.

Need to stock up? Sodium Alginate + Sodium Bicarbonate + Calcium Carbonate (Gaviscon) is available at all leading drug stores and our flagship Lazada and Shopee online stores. Buy now. 

Some FAQs About Indigestion

To better equip you in the fight against indigestion, here are a couple of frequently asked questions about the condition: 

What causes acid with indigestion?

Acid with indigestion is often caused by excess stomach acid irritating the stomach lining. This can result from overeating, stress, or consuming certain foods or drinks.  

For more information on acidity, please visit the Acid Reflux page.

What causes indigestion at night?

A common cause of indigestion at night is eating right before bed and then lying down right after the meal. Doing so takes gravity’s ability to help keep the stomach acid your body produces to digest the food you ate down, increasing the risk of this acid flowing back up your esophagus.⁶ 

What causes indigestion after eating?

Indigestion after eating is often caused by overeating or eating too quickly. It can also result from consuming spicy or fatty foods, caffeine, or carbonated drinks. 

The Bottom Line: Knowing What Causes Indigestion Is Key

By simply understanding what causes indigestion, you’ll know what you need to do to effectively reduce your risk for the condition. However, if you still end up experiencing indigestion symptoms despite taking the necessary precautions, an over-the-counter medicine like Sodium Alginate + Sodium Bicarbonate + Calcium Carbonate (Gaviscon) should help you get relief. 

If your symptoms persist or worsen, please consult your doctor immediately.