Herbal remedies for digestive problems -
Dalton-Smith says. How to get the benefits: Suck ginger lozenges or use fresh ginger directly from your pantry, adding the spice to meals you're making. You can also sip ginger tea, says Elena A.
Ivanina , DO, MPH, assistant professor of medicine and assistant program director of the gastroenterology fellowship at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.
She adds that this is particularly beneficial for morning sickness during pregnancy. To make it, peel and slice two inches of fresh ginger root and add it to a pot of water. Bring that to a boil for 10 minutes and then strain.
Wait until it's reached room temperature to enjoy. RELATED: 7 Anti-Inflammatory Foods to Eat Every Day for Long-Term Health. What it does: Chamomile is an anti-inflammatory that helps relax the muscles in the gastrointestinal GI tract and decrease GI contractions caused by an upset stomach, Dr.
How to get the benefits: Sip it as a warm tea, and you'll get double the benefits. What it does: When you've got a case of diarrhea, cook up some rice.
That diarrhea is caused by bacteria releasing toxins, which increases fluid in the GI tract. Because rice is a bulking agent, "it can help absorb some of the fluid in the gut and decrease the amount of loose stools," Dr. How to get the benefits: Eat half a cup of rice with meals to alleviate some of your discomfort.
RELATED: 5 Foods to Avoid for a Happy, Healthy Gut Microbiome. What it does: Feeling a little bloated? Try intermittent fasting. Through fasting, you can give your gut time to rest and repair, optimizing the motility of your small bowel.
How to get the benefits: Try doing a cycle where you fast for 16 hours and eat during an eight-hour window for just a few days. What it does: Credit banana's magnesium and potassium content for helping relax muscle spasms and cramps. Bananas can also help curb diarrhea, Dr.
How to get the benefits: Fortunately, you don't need to eat a whole bushel of bananas. Just nosh your normal amount whenever you're experiencing these symptoms.
Digestion has a strong influence on our nervous, hormonal and immune systems. The role of foods is now increasingly recognised in conditions not previously associated with diet: auto-immune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis or multiple sclerosis; mood and behaviour problems such as autism, ADHD and depression; degenerative disorders such as Alzheimers's and arthritis; allergic conditions including asthma and eczema.
Inflammation underlies these and most chronic disease like obesity, heart disease and cancer. We can modify these destructive inflammatory responses by the kinds of food we eat and how we eat them. Common problems like heartburn, indigestion and constipation can be managed with understanding how to use foods, herbs and spices in self care.
There are obviously other factors that affect our digestive health, such as our stress load: sleep, diet, alcohol, smoking, weight, liver function, circulation, mood, exercise, chemicals, food quality etc, but you can begin to support your digestive health by understanding the basic digestive functions and being mindful of your body.
The main points I took from the course were the importance of eating as much variety as possible - this sounds obvious but after seeing a small selection of herbs and spices in Chelsea Physic Garden, I was reminded of the vast natural variety - and also that the 'medicine' in plants is often found in the skin, plith and seeds.
Medical Herbalist, Alex, encouraged us to enjoy all the different parts of a plant and experiment more in the kitchen; whether that's by adding the stalks as well as leaves of fresh herbs to a salad, trying the inside plith of a banana skin or when cooking with garlic or onions keeping the skin on to enjoy the benefits of the pigment leaking into the stew.
Here are some common digestive herbs you should experiment with in your cooking, along with their health benefits:. Ginger is warming and calming to the digestion, anti-nausea and anti-microbial to many common stomach bugs. Warms cold hands and feet. Tumeric is carminative - meaning it can relieve bloating, liver supporting, an anti-microbial and a powerful anti-inflammatory.
Fennel can also help relieve bloating and is stimulating to the liver. It improves appetite, increases milk production and eases colic. It expels upper respiratory catarrh, is an eyewash for conjunctivitis and has a balancing oestrogenic action.
Rosemary and lemon balm, for instance, share the polyphenol compound known as rosmarinic acid. Valerian is better known for its effects on restlessness and nervous sleep disturbance, and is often formulated with other herbs such as hops or lemon balm for use as a mild sedative or anxiolytic.
Historically, valerian has also been used for gastrointestinal problems such as intestinal spasm and flatulence gas. With origins in traditional Ayurvedic, Mid-Eastern and Mediterranean Basin medicine, preparations of fennel leaves and seeds are noted to help prevent and relieve gassiness and diminish bloating, heartburn, and constipation.
Fennel is also believed to promote the secretion of digestive enzymes and to improve a weak appetite. For infants with colic, fennel has also been traditionally given as a tea in combination with other medicinal herbs, or as a fennel seed emulsion.
In one small trial, significant relief of colic symptoms was noted, with no side effects reported. Fennel is generally recognized as safe, though may rarely cause an allergic reaction. It is not recommended for use in pregnancy.
Ginger root has been used and studied extensively over time for a wide range of biological activities. The active constituents are chemical compounds called gingerols , which function as inhibitors of pro-inflammatory chemicals called prostaglandins.
Some of the diverse properties attributed to ginger include anti-ulcer, digestive, antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-nausea anti-emetic , and anti-motion sickness.
It can be used in the form of fresh ginger root or ginger juice, in teas or decoctions, ginger ale, or dried and encapsulated ginger root powder.
A bitters formulation may be an infusion, tincture , or distillation usually in some type of spirits , of aromatic herbs, barks, fruits, and roots. Bitters have a range of medicinal qualities, but the primary effect is to improve digestion.
This occurs predominantly through enhanced production of digestive enzymes, by nutritive support of the epithelial lining of the GI tract, and by reducing intestinal irritation and inflammation. Many different bitters formulations exist, handed down through the ages from elders familiar with the native flora.
Swedish bitters, probably the most well-known here in the Western world, has its origins in 16th-century Europe, where it was used for a number of GI symptoms, including stomach cramps.
Turmeric Curcuma longa , cardamom seed, milk thistle seed, fennel seed, dandelion root, gentian root, ginger root, and other herb leaves, flowers, bark, roots, or seeds are among the many plants used.
Citrus essences, such as bitter orange or lemon, are frequently added as flavorings to bitters formulations. Angostura bitters, which most people think of as a cocktail ingredient, was originally compounded as a remedy for stomach maladies.
It owes its refreshing taste to the bark of the Angostura tree and gentian root, among other ingredients. These are just a few of the many herbs with a long tradition of use for digestive upset.
Look for these herbs at your health food or grocery store, in your garden, or at the office of a local naturopath or herbalist, and give them a try. Keep in mind that no one treatment will work for everyone in the same way, and there are myriad additional components to a natural approach to healing digestion.
net Web site. Accessed March 31, Peppermint oil. Am Fam Physician. American Family Physician Web site. Treating irritable bowel syndrome with peppermint oil. Br Med J. Altern Med Rev. Apigenin, a component of Matricaria recutita flowers, is a central benzodiazepine receptors-ligand with anxiolytic effects.
Planta Med. Modulation of mood and cognitive performance following acute administration of single doses of Melissa officinalis lemon balm with human CNS nicotinic and muscarinic receptor-binding properties.
University of Maryland Medical Center Web site. Valeriana officinalis. WebMD Web site. Efficacy of ginger for nausea and vomiting: a systematic review of randomized clinical trials. Br J Anaesth. The effectiveness and safety of ginger for pregnancy-induced nausea and vomiting: a systematic review.
Stomach ache? Here Herbwl some great Fast loading speed remedies for tummy troubles. Karen Asp is an Fast loading speed journalist remediss author specializing in Herbal menopause relief, nutrition, health, animals, and travel. Karen is a certified plant-based nutrition educator, certified vegan lifestyle coach and educator, and ACE-certified personal trainer and fitness instructor. You don't need stats to tell you that stomach issues like bloating, constipation, and nausea are extremely common. New research remeedies little risk remddies infection from prostate Herbal remedies for digestive problems. Discrimination at work is linked to Healthy vegetable stir-fries blood pressure. Icy remedids and toes: Poor circulation or Raynaud's phenomenon? Some people find herbs and other natural remedies to be helpful in treating heartburn symptoms. Here are some examples:. A cup of chamomile tea may have a soothing effect on the digestive tract.
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