Oh, what a relief it is: herbs to soothe an upset stomach - includes a recipe to ease heartburn

Vegetarian Times, Nov, 1996 by Karin Horgan Sullivan

How many times have you stood before a store shelf crammed with bottles and boxes of herbs and wondered, "Where the heck do I start?" An easy way to narrow the field is to sample some digestive herbs. Just about everyone has some sort of minor stomach ailment every now and then, and herbs can be an effective, gentle remedy for the whole family.

Good digestion is essential to overall health. "To many natural healers, the digestive system is the most important system," says Amanda McQuade Crawford, dean of phytotherapy at the newly founded National College of Phytotherapy in Albuquerque, N.M. "If you can't absorb nutrients properly, then you're not able to distribute them through the bloodstream to all the tissues of your body. That affects nerve function, circulation, respiration, mood and the reproductive system."

In our hurry-up, get-it-done-now culture, there's a lot we could do to improve our digestion. Eating in a calm setting is fundamental. "Enjoying the way a meal looks on the plate instead of eating a tempeh burger in your car as you're rushing down the road can make a huge difference," Crawford points out.

Christopher Hobbs, a fourth-generation herbalist and the author of Foundations of Health: The Liver and Digestive Herbal (Botanica Press, 1992), agrees, stressing digestion really begins in the brain, not the stomach. If you've any doubt about this, just pause for a moment and picture your favorite food. Quite likely, saliva will start flowing. The production of saliva--which happens in response to sight, smell and taste--gets your digestive tract ready to assimilate food efficiently. When food isn't well mixed with saliva, the stomach must work harder to produce enzymes to break it down. "Food that is beautifully prepared and presented will have a much better chance of being completely assimilated.. .than food thrown together on the run, " says Hobbs. So put down that book, shut off the TV and turn on your answering machine. Whenever you can, make a conscious effort to slow down and appreciate the food before you.

What you eat, of course, also is key. Be sure to get plenty of fiber. Part of the intestines' role is to push this indigestible plant material out of the digestive tract, which keeps your system functioning smoothly. The National Cancer Institute recommends 25 to 35 grams of fiber a day, but most Americans eat only half that. Beans, whole grains, nuts, vegetables and fruit are rich sources of fiber, while meat and refined carbohydrates--white bread, pastries, potato chips--contain virtually none. Drinking lots of water also keeps things moving. Crawford recommends a minimum of four glasses a day, with 10 being optimal.

Eating fermented foods and taking acidophilus, a "friendly" bacteria, also can be beneficial, says Kathi Keville, author of Herbs for Health and Healiag (Rodale, 1996). People have long lists of the benefits from eating fermented foods: `I have more energy. I wake up feeling better. I no longer have certain aches and pains. I don't have indigestion anymore,"' reports Keville. "They find [these foods] to be practically a cure-all; what's happening is they're improving their digestion." Foods such as yogurt, buttermilk, vinegar, tempeh and miso aid in restoring the balance of beneficial microbes, the little critters in the digestive tract that keep harmful bacteria in check, help synthesize B vitamins and increase the digestibility of protein. Pickles and sauerkraut fall in this category too, as long as they aren't heated during processing; heat destroys the microbes. Your local deli may have fresh, unprocessed pickles and sauerkraut.

By following simple practices like these, most minor digestive complaints can be cleared up without any treatment at all, says Crawford. Then when the occasional upset stomach or case of heartburn does strike, "the herbs that are needed to bring us into balance are only the mildest herbs. We won't need the stronger, more pharmacologically active herbs." Keep in mind if any of the conditions that follow are chronic problems, you should get them checked out by your healthcare practitioner, who can help you address the underlying cause. For occasional, minor complaints, though, these herbs should do the trick.

EASING GAS PAINS

MOST GAS IS the result of swallowed air--a good reason to avoid gulping down your food. Gas also results when bacteria in the intestines begin to act on pieces of food that haven't been digested thoroughly. An excellent way to reduce gas and bloating is to use carminative herbs, which have several actions that bring relief. Carminative herbs stimulate peristalsis, the wave-like action of the digestive tract that moves food through your system. They also help relax the smooth muscle that forms the tract, reducing painful spasms. Further, these herbs are rich in volatile oils, which have antibacterial properties. Volatile oils also make carminative herbs easy to identify, because they give the plants an intense fragrance: Peppermint, ginger, fennel, anise and lemon balm all are carminatives.