Most indigestion clears up with a few simple changes to what you eat, when you eat, and how you position your body afterward. For faster relief, over-the-counter antacids work within minutes, while longer-lasting options like acid reducers can keep symptoms away for hours. The best approach depends on whether your indigestion is a once-in-a-while nuisance or a recurring problem.
Quick Relief: Over-the-Counter Options
If you need relief right now, antacids are your fastest option. Products containing calcium carbonate, magnesium hydroxide, or aluminum hydroxide neutralize stomach acid on contact and ease that burning, bloated feeling within minutes. The trade-off is that they wear off relatively quickly, so they work best for occasional flare-ups rather than ongoing discomfort.
For something that lasts longer, H2 blockers (sold under names like Pepcid) reduce the amount of acid your stomach produces in the first place. They still kick in fairly quickly but keep working for several hours. If you know a big meal is coming, taking one beforehand can prevent symptoms from showing up at all.
Proton pump inhibitors, or PPIs (like Prilosec), are the strongest option available without a prescription. They’re slower to start working, sometimes taking a day or more to reach full effect, but they provide the most powerful and longest-lasting acid suppression. PPIs make sense when indigestion keeps coming back day after day, but they’re not designed for the occasional bout of post-dinner discomfort.
Baking Soda: A Pantry Remedy That Works
Plain baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is essentially a DIY antacid. It neutralizes stomach acid the same way commercial products do. The Mayo Clinic lists a typical adult dose as half a teaspoon dissolved in a glass of water, taken every two hours as needed, with a daily maximum of five teaspoons. It tastes unpleasant and is high in sodium, so it’s a short-term fix rather than a daily habit.
Foods and Drinks That Help
Ginger has the strongest evidence behind it. It acts as a natural anti-inflammatory and helps your stomach empty faster, which is one of the core problems in indigestion. A clinical trial on people with recurring indigestion used about 1,080 mg of ginger extract per day (split into two doses) over eight weeks and found improvements in quality of life. You don’t need a supplement to benefit. Ginger tea, fresh ginger sliced into hot water, or even ginger chews after a meal can settle your stomach.
Other foods that tend to calm things down include bananas, plain rice, oatmeal, and non-citrus fruits. These are easy for your stomach to process and don’t trigger extra acid production. Staying hydrated with plain water, especially between meals rather than during them, also helps dilute stomach acid without overfilling your stomach while you eat.
A Note on Peppermint
Peppermint is often recommended for digestive issues because it relaxes the muscles in your digestive tract, which eases cramping and bloating. But that same muscle-relaxing effect can loosen the valve between your stomach and esophagus, actually making heartburn and acid-related indigestion worse. If your indigestion feels more like upper belly fullness and bloating, peppermint tea may help. If it involves burning or acid creeping up your throat, skip it.
Foods That Make Indigestion Worse
Certain foods relax that same stomach-esophagus valve and slow digestion, letting food sit in your stomach longer than it should. The main culprits are high-fat, high-salt, and heavily spiced foods. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, the worst offenders include fried food, fast food, pizza, processed snacks like potato chips, fatty meats (bacon, sausage), cheese, and hot spices like cayenne and black pepper.
Caffeine and alcohol both increase acid production and can irritate the stomach lining directly. Carbonated drinks add gas to an already uncomfortable situation. Chocolate is a lesser-known trigger because it contains both caffeine and compounds that relax the valve at the top of the stomach. You don’t necessarily need to eliminate all of these permanently, but cutting back during a flare-up makes a noticeable difference.
Eating Habits That Prevent Symptoms
How you eat matters as much as what you eat. Large meals overwhelm your stomach’s capacity and force acid upward. Eating smaller portions more frequently throughout the day keeps your digestive system from working overtime. Eating slowly and chewing thoroughly gives your stomach a head start on breaking food down before it arrives.
Timing matters too. Eating within two to three hours of lying down is one of the most common indigestion triggers. Gravity helps keep stomach contents where they belong, so staying upright after meals, even just sitting rather than reclining on the couch, reduces symptoms significantly. If you tend to snack late at night, moving that last meal earlier in the evening can make a real difference.
Sleep Position and Nighttime Relief
If indigestion wakes you up at night or greets you in the morning, your sleep setup may be part of the problem. Elevating your upper body with a wedge pillow (not just stacking regular pillows, which can bend you at the waist and make things worse) uses gravity to keep acid in your stomach.
Research from Harvard Health found that sleeping on your left side clears acid from the esophagus significantly faster than sleeping on your back or right side. The anatomy behind this is simple: your stomach curves in a way that keeps its contents pooled away from the esophageal opening when you’re on your left. Combining left-side sleeping with a wedge pillow is one of the most effective non-medication strategies for nighttime symptoms.
When Indigestion Signals Something Else
Occasional indigestion after a heavy meal is normal. But recurring indigestion that doesn’t respond to the strategies above can sometimes point to an underlying cause worth investigating. One common culprit is a bacterial infection called H. pylori, which irritates the stomach lining and can lead to ulcers. Current clinical guidelines recommend testing for H. pylori in anyone with persistent indigestion. The infection is treatable with a course of antibiotics, though not everyone with the bacteria experiences symptom relief after treatment.
Certain symptoms alongside indigestion are worth taking seriously. Unintentional weight loss, difficulty swallowing, persistent vomiting, blood in your vomit or stool, severe pain, or feeling a lump in your abdomen all warrant a medical evaluation. These don’t necessarily mean something dangerous is happening, but they’re signals that your body needs more than home remedies.