Herbal Home Remedies for Digestion
- There are many herbs that can be effective to support digestion. Different herbs have different actions and can be employed for spasm, pain, bloating, wind, constipation or diarrhoea.
- Incorporating herbs into you daily routine in cooking, as teas and tonics can bring the healing benefits of herbs without having to take another supplement or pill.
The following table lists a range of effective herbs and their actions on the digestive tract.
| Herb | Actions | Suggested Use |
| Fennel | Carminative, relaxant, antibacterial, antioxidant rich | Use in cooking or crush and use as a tea – ½ teaspoon crushed herbs – steep for 5-10 mins in boiling water.
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| Oregano | Antimicrobial, antioxidant, digestive tonic, antispasmodic, carminative (relaxant) | Use fresh herb in cooking or as a tea or for stronger antibiotic effect use the essential oil capsules. |
| Barberry / Oregon Grape / Golden Seal | Bitter, stimulates digestive enzymes, high in berberine and natural antibiotic action, astringent, mucuous membrane tonic | Dried roots can be made into a bitter tea or macerated with vinegar for a natural digestive tonic. Capsules and tinctures are also available. |
| Gentian | Bitter, stimulates enzymes, improves digestion, stimulates persistalsis, improves appetite | Key ingredient in classic Swedish bitters, the tincture can be used to stimulate digestion and activate the bitter receptors. Take 10 drops in water before meals. |
| Ginger | Warming stimulant, stimulates hydrochloric acid and enzymes, improves digestion, stimulates persistalsis
Antiemetic (relieves nausea) |
Grate fresh ginger and add to cooking, stirfries, marinades.
Have fresh ginger tea – ½ teaspoon of grated ginger per cup boiling water |
| Globe Artichoke | Liver and gall bladder tonic, stimulates bile output, promotes digestion of fats, high in minerals and prebiotics | Can use the artichoke heart as vegetable in cooking, however the leaves are the potent medicine.
Use fresh or dried leaves as tea or mixed with vinegar as a digestive tonic. |
| Myrrh | Antioxidant, antimicrobial, anticancer, antiinflammatory | Best to use as a tincture or tablet as the bitter resin that gives Myrrh its medicinal action is not well extracted in water. Also can be irritating on the stomach lining if used for too long |
Get my recipes for herbal vinegar and ginger and turmeric oxymel below or click on the picture to the right.
Herbal Oxymel & Vinegar Recipes
- To learn more about the benefits of turmeric, please check out this blog post.
- For personalised support for your digestive issues and to get access to practitioner quality herbal teas, medicinal tinctures or tablets please make a time to see Karen in person or over skype or zoom.
