Indigestion

Indigestion

Some 30 years ago, my family and I spent a good deal of time in Panama. While they stayed in Panama City, I wandered about in the rain forest, sometimes living off the land.

When I emerged and returned to civilization, the late, great anthropologist Reina Torres de Araus had our family out to her Los Cumbres residence for wonderful dinners. Afterward, she never served coffee, just camomile tea. I confess that back then I didn't appreci ate how much sense it made to end a meal with this wonderful beverage.

Now I know better. Camomile is what herbalists call a carminative, that is, a stomach soother, and it's especially good for indigestion. It's also sedative. In Latin America, some people drink camomile tea before bedtime to help them sleep.

Green Pharmacy for Indigestion

There are hundreds of herbs that can help soothe a troubled tummy. Here are several that I recommend.

Camomile (Matricaria recutita). Commission E, the German group of scientists that makes recommendations on herbal safety and effectiveness, considers camomile effective for relieving many gastrointestinal complaints, including indigestion. Andrew Weil, M.D., professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson and author of Natural Health, Natural Medicine, says that the best home remedies for upset stomach are camomile and peppermint tea. Personally, I prefer peppermint, but both are effective.

While drinking camomile tea is fine, the tincture is probably more effective. Camomile tea has only 10 to 15 percent of the herb's carminative essential oil, while tinctures prepared with 100-proof alcohol have much more.

Peppermint (Mentha piperita). Most herbalists, myself included, have a special regard for peppermint's ability to relieve indigestion. I've needed peppermint more often since 1990, when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave me a bad case of indigestion by ruling that peppermint is ineffective for stomach distress. This does not mean that peppermint is useless. Frankly, it means that the FDA's evaluation was useless.

Commission E endorses peppermint tea for treating indigestion. Given a choice between an FDA pronouncement and a Commission E endorsement, I'd go for the German decision. Those folks did some research and really know what they're about.

Peppermint tea works well, but being a native son of Alabama, I'm also partial to mint juleps, which, it turns out, work even better. Varro Tyler, Ph.D., dean and professor emeritus of pharmacognosy (natural product pharmacy) at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, notes that most of the carminative oils in peppermint and other mints are relatively insoluble in water. As a result, mint tea doesn't contain much of the plant's stomach-soothing constituents. It does contain enough to make it effective, but a peppermint tincture, which is made with alcohol, contains more. So if for some reason you don't want to drink a julep, you can use a tincture instead. Follow the package directions.

Angelica (Angelica archan-gelica). Angelica root is good for treating indigestion, mild stomach cramps and lack of appetite, according to Commission E. The suggested daily dose is a tea made with two to three teaspoons of dried herb per cup of boiling water, or up to one teaspoon of tincture.

Ginger (Zingiber officinale). Ginger's benefits for motion sickness and nausea have been amply proven, so it should come as no surprise that Commission E approves taking two grams (about a teaspoon) of ginger in tea for indigestion. Ginger contains certain chemicals (gingerols and shogaols) that not only soothe the gut but also aid digestion by increasing the wavelike muscle contractions (peristalsis) that move food through the intestine.

Marjoram (Origanum onites). The British munch on marjoram sandwiches to treat indigestion and use dilute marjoram tea to relieve colic in infants. Marjoram is an aromatic mint, so it has digestion-soothing benefits that are similar to peppermint's.

Coriander (Coriandrum sativum). No wonder coriander helps soothe indigestion: Its essential oil is carminative, antiseptic, bactericidal, fungicidal and a muscle relaxant. Traditional herbalists valued coriander, especially to counteract the stomach-upsetting properties of laxative herbs such as buckthorn, cascara, rhubarb and senna. In Amazonia, wild coriander (Eryngium foetidum), with nearly the same chemistry, is added to the daily bean ration, perhaps to alleviate the flatulence the beans could generate.

papaya (Carica papaya) and pineapple (Ananas comosus). Both of these fruits contain enzymes (proteolytics) that break down protein. Naturopaths and people who advocate juicing for health, among them medical anthropologist John Heinerman, Ph.D., author of Heinerman's Encyclopedia of Fruits, Vegetables and Herbs, maintain that papaya and pineapple juice are good for relieving indigestion. If they're right, you should also get benefits from eating other fruits that contain proteolytic enzymes, such as kiwifruit or some figs, after meals. If I had chronic indigestion, I might have these fruits for dessert more often.

Red pepper (Capsicum, various species). Americans often believe that hot spices upset the stomach. But much of the rest of the world knows better--that hot spices like red pepper help soothe it. Red pepper also stimulates digestion.

Rooibos (Aspalathus linearis). South African physicians recommend rooibos (pronounced roo-ih-bus) tea as an effective stomach soother that's gentle enough to treat infant colic, according to the late economic botanist Julia Morton, D.Sc. (Dr. Morton, author of some of the best books in the field, including The Atlas of Medicinal Plants of Middle America, was killed in a car crash in 1996. It is a great loss for everyone involved in the study of medicinal plants.) Unfortunately, rooibos is available in only a handful of stores in the United States.

Assorted carminative herbs. If anything, there are too many herbal carminatives. In my database, I have more than 500 carminative entries, including all of the plants mentioned in this chapter. Most are supported by at least some research. Also included are agrimony, allspice, apples, basil, bay, beebalm, buckwheat, burdock, caraway, cardamom, catnip, celery, chervil, chives, cloves, coriander, cumin, dill, fennel, garlic, horehound, hyssop, lemon balm (also known as melissa), lemongrass, lovage, marjoram, nutmeg, onions, oregano, papaya, parsnips, pennyroyal, rosemary, sage, savory, tarragon, tea, thyme, turmeric, vanilla and yarrow. Feel free to try any of these herbs to relieve indigestion.

Assorted essential oils. Aromatherapists often recommend a few whiffs of a number of different carminative oils to settle a troubled tummy, including aniseed, basil, bergamot, camomile, cinnamon, clove, coriander, fennel, garlic, ginger, hyssop, juniper, lavender, lemon, lemongrass, onion, peppermint, rosemary, sage, savory, tarragon and thyme. Do not ingest these oils, though, as some of them can be fatal in even small doses. They are meant to be used externally.