Yes, the holiday season from Thanksgiving on is about eating. Don’t get me wrong… I know it’s a lot more meaningful than that… but let’s face it, we all look at the holiday season as our excuse to splurge and eat just a little bit more. The possibility of feeling bloated, overstuffed and more than a little uncomfortable at one point or another is inevitable.

In anticipating these woeful moments of distress, Italians usually have digestives readily on hand to ease your pain. While most countries have their own popular elixirs for the same reasons, no country can match Italy for the sheer variety of digestive preparations available, and for good reason. The Italians view a smoothly running digestive system as crucial to one’s health and happiness, and therefore offer dozens of countermeasures for keeping distress in check.