A stomachache can definitely ruin your day or keep you awake at night. If you suffer from common, mild indigestion after eating spicy foods, herbal remedies can greatly help. If you suffer from gas after eating beans or broccoli, herbs are also the answer. However, severe stomach problems can be caused by serious diseases such as ulcers, so if you don’t get relief after using safe, gentle herbs, be sure to visit your medical practitioner as soon as possible. Some plants contain a property that makes them “carminative,” which means that they can help to relieve the full, gassy feeling many people suffer after eating such foods as beans. If you go to a potluck and enjoy many different kinds of foods with many different ingredients, the combination of these dishes can definitely make you need a “911” for relief. The teas listed here can help.
Instructions
1. As a general digestive helper, try making a tea with the following herbs: catnip, fennel, ginger root and peppermint leaves. For a one-quart teapot, use about two tablespoons of each herb, boil water separately, and then pour it over the herbs in your teapot. Allow to steep for 10 minutes, and then strain it and enjoy drinking at least one cup every day.
2. For a gas-relieving tea, use these herbs, and then prepare them as in Step 1: anise seeds, fennel leaves, stalks, flowers, and/or seeds, ginger root and spearmint leaves. Use equal parts of each herb.
3. Simply eat a few fresh peppermint leaves. If you do not have peppermint available, add two to three drops of peppermint oil to one cup of hot water. The small size of essential oil bottles makes this a great choice when you are on the road.
4. Slippery elm tea coats and soothes the stomach. Buy powdered slippery elm and add about one half teaspoon of it to one cup of boiling water. Strain and drink when it cools a bit.
5. If you cook your own dry beans, add two to three sprigs of fresh epazote to the water in which you cook them. This Mexican herb is also available dried and works as well as the fresh herb. It is said to “de-gas” the beans, so you’ll be preventing an uncomfortable situation before it begins.
6. Many other herbs made into tea can help your stomachache or gas. Included are fennel, cardamom, catnip, fenugreek, flax seeds, rose hips, star anise, angelica, yellow dock, cinnamon chips, dill and licorice root. Use what you have available and experiment to determine which herbs are most effective for the stomach ailment you have.
7. Before bedtime, place a source of heat such as a heating pad over your stomach for half an hour. Repeat every night for one week.
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