Indigestion

A better treatment for low stomach acid is to take herbal bitters, which encourage your stomach to produce its own acid. The moment these herbs touch your taste buds, a message is sent to your brain, and your digestive fluids, including acids, are activated.

True to their name, these herbs are bitter. But be brave and down your bitters—the health benefits are a sweet payback. One of the best-known bitters is gentian. Appropriately nicknamed "bitter root," this herb remains bitter even at 1 part per 20,000 dilution! When a group of German researchers studied bitters, they found that gentian, combined in a formula with small amounts of cayenne and ginger, cured most cases of general indigestion. You may have already tried gentian without realizing it. It is the main ingredient in the cocktail flavoring Angostura Bitters. Campari and vermouth also owe their flavor to herbal bitters.

Bitters enjoy a rather limited popularity in North America, but are quite popular in Europe. Herbal aperitifs, such as the elecampane cordial, are still used to kick off the evening meal in many northern European homes. Greeks dine daily on horta, a bitter mix of chicory and dandelion greens sprinkled with olive oil. The French and Italians are certainly no strangers to bitter herbs. Even today, many families enjoy steamed or fried greens such as dandelion every day. The ritual Jewish Passover meal, eaten by Jewish people the world over, includes bitters (in biblical times, these were probably hyssop, wild lettuce, chicory, dandelion and sorrel). In Germany gentian's distant relative, centaury, is used to make a popular bitter drink. And in North America, we drink bitters without even knowing it—the primary ingredient in beer is the digestive bitter known as hops. Other bitters include goldenseal, Oregon grape root and blessed thistle.

The stomach responds to bitters even before they arrive in it. Alerted by the taste receptors, the stomach produces all sorts of digestive juices, which start breaking down fats and proteins in the foods we eat. These juices appear in the intestines within five minutes after a bitter such as gentian is swallowed and remain there for two or three hours. You can forget taking capsules to disguise the bitterness. While it's true that you won't taste the bitterness through a capsule, you also won't get the same results this way. The stomach won't act in the same way as if you took the actual bitters because it will be sent a signal that a capsule is on the way, and the digestive requirements are different. What a surprise it must be for the stomach when the capsule opens up and gentian busts out! You can mix bitters with tastier herbs such as orange peel and spices, or even sweeten them. Fortunately, you do not need much of a bitter to enjoy its effects. Just 15 drops of a tincture or a quarter teaspoon of the powdered herb before each meal is enough. You can also take half a teaspoon of Angostura Bitters.

Bitters also encourage the secretion of a digestive hormone called gastrin, which gives hydrochloric acid an extra nudge. If bitters are more than you can handle, try spicing up your meal with a little black pepper or cloves—these will also encourage your stomach to produce acid.

If you often get indigestion after you eat a high-protein meal, this may be because you need more of the enzymes that help your body digest protein. You can find these in papaya peels, pineapples, cucumbers and especially ginger. These digestive enzymes work even when there is not sufficient acid in your stomach. Since they are destroyed by high temperatures, however, you must eat your remedy raw. If fat digestion is your problem, papaya will help your body digest that as well. See chapters 44, 45, and 46 for more suggestions on herbs to help you digest fat.

Herbal Bitters

3 teaspoons tincture of gentian rhizome

½ teaspoon tincture of dried orange peel

½ teaspoon tincture of cardamom seeds

Combine ingredients. Drink. You can also purchase bitters at most natural food stores.