Probiotics are like antacids except they add food digesting good bacteria to your gut and work for much longer than antacids. Probiotics feed the good bacteria in your tummy and help food get down and out. Indigestion occurs from either not having enough digestive bacteria to digest food, then you get heartburn or when we drink water with or just after meals - it dilutes stomach acid not allowing you to digest food properly. In either case, not enough digestive bacteria or water diluting digestive stomach acids will cause everything, food, snacks to sit for long periods of time in your stomach and intestines. Antibiotics can also kill your gut flora which is why most doctors, when they hand out antibiotics, will recommend you get either acidophilus or a good probiotic. Same thing when pets & babies have to take antibiotics.
So if you have to drink water with a meal only do tiny sips, try to drink at least 1/2 before or 1 hour after your meal but never during. Garlic is a great prebiotic food try having it to help keep your good gut flora. Sugary carby foods kill your gut flora and you can get a condition called Candida where excess yeast grows if your diet doesn't have enough greens, protein but has lots of bread, pasta, rice, crackers etc. Candida and sugary, carby foods can cause indigestion, heart burn and sometimes you can see Candida yeast if your tongue is really white rather than pink. It can also least to uti's.
Coconut water helps bloating & swelling of all kinds...it has 7 x the potassium as a banana and potassium washes bloaty water weight away. Antacids are band-aid solutions but they work too, for a few hours. If this is waking you up at night you might want to solve what's really going on.
