Indigestion

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Indigestion

You might as well have swallowed a cinder block. That mystery meat sandwich from the cafeteria is sitting in your stomach like a ten-pound hunk of marble, refusing to be digested, refusing to move along and leaving you with a bellyful of discomfort.

Lots of things can cause indigestion: eating too much too fast, eating spicy or fatty foods, even being tense, upset or emotional when you’re eating. For whatever reason, your body occasionally has trouble breaking down the foods you eat, sometimes resulting in stomachaches, cramps, flatulence, nausea and other problems. The natural remedies in this chapter—in conjunction with medical care and used with the approval of your doctor—may help prevent or relieve indigestion, according to some health professionals.

See Your Medical Doctor When... You continue to feel pressure, fullness, squeezing or pain in your chest despite taking antacids. You develop other symptoms such as shortness of breath, sweating, nausea or vomiting, dizziness, fainting, general weakness or pain radiating from your chest into your back, jaw or arms. Your indigestion is accompanied by changes in the frequency or appearance of your bowel movements.

Aromatherapy

Massage an upset stomach with a blend of essential oils known to stimulate digestion, suggests Los Angeles aromatherapist Michael Scholes, of Aromatherapy Seminars, an organization that trains professionals and others in the use of essential oils. He says to add four drops each of peppermint, marjoram, coriander, fennel and basil essential oils to an ounce of olive or almond oil (both of these oils are available in most health food stores) and massage it gently into the abdomen.

For information on preparing and administering essential oils, including cautions about their use, see page 19. For information on purchasing essential oils, refer to the resource list on page 633.

Ayurveda

According to Ayurvedic practitioners, bay leaf helps kindle agni, or gastric fire, one of the most vital elements of good digestion. To relieve indigestion, try steeping ½ teaspoon of crushed or ground bay leaf (available in most health food stores) in a cup of hot water for ten minutes, suggests Vasant Lad, B.A.M.S., M.A.Sc., director of the Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Strain the tea so that there’s no bay leaf left in it, add a pinch of cardamom and drink the tea after eating.

You can also try chewing ½ teaspoon each of roasted fennel and cumin seeds after meals to aid digestion, he says. Or, he suggests, stir 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and ½ teaspoon of baking soda into a cup of cool water, then drink this mixture quickly whenever you’re suffering from indigestion.

Food Therapy

“There are two major forms of indigestion,” says Michael A. Klaper, M.D., a nutritional medicine specialist in Pompano Beach, Florida, and director of the Institute of Nutritional Education and Research, an organization based in Manhattan Beach, California, that teaches doctors about nutrition and its relationship to disease. “One is in the upper tract: a stomach filled with acid, which is usually the result of plopping a lot of protein into the stomach and the stomach responding with a big gush of acid to digest it. For that kind of indigestion, it’s a matter of not eating protein-rich foods too late in the day. So if you must have meat, have it for lunch, and stick with pasta for dinner.

“The other form of indigestion is due to swallowed air in the lower gastrointestinal tract, and that’s often a matter of how fast you’re eating. For that, the best thing is to slow down, chew each mouthful at least 10 to 15 times, avoid drinking with meals and minimize talking while eating,” says Dr. Klaper.

Herbal Therapy

Traditional herbal remedies for indigestion include peppermint, ginger and chamomile teas, all of which you can find in tea bag form in most health food stores, says Varro E. Tyler, Ph.D., professor of pharmacognosy at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. He suggests drinking a cup of one of these teas after every meal.

Homeopathy

If you have indigestion and have been eating lots of rich, fatty foods, try taking a 6C dose of Pulsatilla every 30 minutes until you begin to feel better, says Stephen Messer, N.D., dean of the National Center for Homeopathy’s summer school and a naturopathic physician in Eugene, Oregon. If you have lots of abdominal gas, he says to try a 6C dose of Carbo vegetabilis every 30 to 60 minutes until you feel better.

Pulsatilla and Carbo vegetabilis are available in many health food stores. To purchase homeopathic remedies by mail, refer to the resource list on page 637.

Hydrotherapy

“I don’t believe there is a gastric problem that doesn’t respond to activated charcoal,” says Agatha Thrash, M.D., a medical pathologist and co-founder and co-director of Uchee Pines Institute, a natural healing center in Seale, Alabama. To alleviate indigestion, mix two to three tablespoons of activated charcoal powder with a little water in the bottom of a tall glass. “Stir gently, or the powder flies everywhere,” says Dr. Thrash. Continue stirring and adding water a little at a time until the glass is full, then drink it with a straw. Activated charcoal is available in most health food stores and some pharmacies.

Imagery

In Rituals of Healing: Using Imagery for Health and Wellness, Barbara Dossey, R.N., director of Holistic Nursing Consultants in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and her co-authors suggest that you envision a bright light beginning to glow within you. This light is powerful and penetrating. Imagine a beam spreading from this light that has a soft, healing color. The beam goes directly into your abdomen. Allow its healing color to fill your stomach with calm and quiet. Imagine the color slowly flowing out of your stomach and into your small intestine, like a tiny sailboat riding on smooth waves. Follow it down through your large intestine and into your rectum, gently healing and soothing your digestive tract as it goes.

Dossey recommends that you use this imagery twice a day, 15 to 20 minutes each time.

Juice Therapy

In The Complete Book of Juicing, naturopathic physician Michael Murray, N.D., recommends juicing a ¼-inch-thick slice of fresh ginger, half of a handful of fresh mint, one kiwifruit and one-fourth of a pineapple (both with skin, if your juicer can handle it). He says drinking this eight-ounce blend twice daily, in conjunction with proper medical treatment, should speed digestion, soothe the intestine and help eliminate gas.

For information on juicing techniques, see page 93.

Reflexology

Use the corresponding golf ball technique (page 588) to work the stomach, colon and small intestine points on your hands, say Kevin and Barbara Kunz, reflexology researchers in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and authors of Hand and Foot Reflexology. They also suggest working the solar plexus points on both hands. To help you locate these points, consult the hand reflex chart on page 582. For instructions on how to work the points, see “Your Reflexology Session” on page 110.

Relaxation and Meditation

Thermal biofeedback can relieve indigestion by increasing blood flow to the gastronintestinal tract, says Steven Fahrion, Ph.D., director of research at the Life Sciences Institute of Mind-Body Health in Topeka, Kansas. Use the ten-minute technique described on page 121 whenever your digestive tract rebels.

Sound Therapy

Tension and stress may lead to indigestion, and relaxing music can help, says Janalea Hoffman, R.M.T., a composer and music therapist based in Kansas City, Missouri. For some people, music with a slow, steady beat calms the heart and other body parts, including the stomach, according to Hoffman. She says to try listening to relaxing music during meals and for 20 to 30 minutes after meals. Hoffman suggests her tape Deep Daydreams; for other pieces to relax by, see “Sailing Away to Key Largo” on page 129. Many of these recordings are available in music stores. For mail-order information, refer to the resource list on page 642.

Yoga

The knee squeeze (page 612) can help when you have indigestion, says Stephen A. Nezezon, M.D., yoga teacher and staff physician at the Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy in Honesdale, Pennsylvania. He explains that this pose massages the large colon, easing constipation and improving digestion. It also reduces toxin buildup in the digestive tract, he adds.

See also Heartburn