Home Remedies for Gastrointestinal Problems

Gastrointestinal disorders range from mild cramping and nausea to extreme irritable bowel syndrome, diverticulitis, or other inflammatory digestive disorders. Most commonly encountered problems are stomach ache, diarrhea and constipation. Often caused by stress, inadequate diet, or lack of exercise, gastrointestinal difficulties may also be symptoms of a more serious disease to be treated by medical professionals. For more routine issues of nausea, cramping, diarrhea, and constipation, home remedies have been tried and tested throughout history, with many of those remedies still in use today.

Causes

• New foods, drinks or medicines are sometimes the culprit of gastrointestinal difficulty. Allergies or excessive fiber may result in diarrhea, and constipation can be caused by too little fiber or too much cheese or other similar dairy products. Awareness of what is being taken into the body will often suffice to solve problems by merely discontinuing the irritating food or substance.

  Eat and drink properly. A balanced diet complimented with plenty of liquids goes a long way to keeping your body healthy and your stomach happy. Remember the axiom, "Drink your food and eat your water." Taking time to chew food to the point that it is liquefied is a tremendous aid to digestion. Drinking water slowly also supports normal functioning of the digestive tract.

Antidotes

• Nervous stomach, often caused by stress, can be treated with homemade mineral water. Make your own by mixing one teaspoon of powdered, slaked lime (calcium hydroxide) with a quart of cold water and shake. Refrigerate to let the lime settle to the bottom then carefully pour the clear water off to save and keep refrigerated. Whenever your stomach feels a bit jumpy, fill a glass about one-third full and drink. You may grimace at the taste but the effect is a time-tested remedy for even acute nervous stomach, and it's much less habit-forming than tranquilizers.

  For constipation, in the evening drink a combination of one-half cup of olive oil and one-half cup of orange juice.

Tonics

• A tonic is generally considered something that restores the bodily tone or normalcy of functions. Alternative medicinal tonics in small doses are general tonics, but taken in large doses can act as purgatives and are even reputed to change metabolism, as with tonic prepared from tansy seeds.

  Mix a home remedy for gas by making a tonic from one tsp of dill, anise, or caraway. Crush the seeds and steep in a cup of boiling water for 10 minutes, then strain and drink to treat flatulence.

Teas

• A traditional Chinese treatment for nausea is ginger tea. This is a tasty herbal that you can enjoy sipping even when there's no stomach upset. Steep a peeled one inch section of ginger root in a mug with boiling hot water for five minutes.

  Fennel tea and mint tea are used frequently to relieve gas and stomach cramps. Prepare by pouring boiling water over one tsp of fennel seeds or dried mint leaves in a cup. Cover and steep for 10 minutes then strain and sip on an empty stomach.

Warning

• Be sure that you are not allergic to any herbs or remedies prior to usage.