With Thanksgiving not that far away, here are some thoughts on having a well-tuned digestive system in anticipation for that big dinner.
By preparing, I do not mean starve yourself for two weeks so that you have room to gorge out on dinner.
A well-tuned digestive system works better than starvation. Your quality of life depends on it.
Many factors may contribute to digestive disturbances that can cause conditions such as an ulcer or heartburn, sometimes referred to as gastroesophageal reflux disease.
Lifestyle choices such as stress, poor eating habits, alcohol consumption and smoking can contribute to these conditions.
There are many symptoms that indicate heartburn. The most common are “burping up,” regurgitating often during the day, a heavy feeling in the chest or abdomen or a burning feeling in the throat, chest or stomach.
Some of the symptoms that may indicate an ulcer include a burning feeling in the stomach area before, during or after a meal, usually in waves that last several minutes; painful digestion, heartburn and increased acid production indicated by “sour stomach” blackened stools and nausea.
It seems very common for people to take antacids or similar products for relief of stomach pain and upset.
This is definitely not solving any problems. In fact, that solution may actually contribute to the problem.
Other medications that are commonly prescribed for people with gastroesophageal reflux disease are Omeprazole, in a class of drugs called proton pump inhibitors (PPI), which block the production of acid by the stomach.
When stomach acid is blocked, food will sit in your digestive tract and will not digest.
Imagine after months of taking these drugs, what kind of fermenting mass of semi-digested food you would have sitting in your digestive tract. It really is quite scary.
There are other drugs in the same class as Omeprazole including lansoprazole (Prevacid), rabeprazole (Aciphex), pantoprazole (Protonix), and esomeprazole (Nexium).
There are many side-effects to these drugs such as diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, headaches, rash and dizziness to name a few.
Homeopathy offers some excellent remedies that can provide relief gently, safely and with no side-effects for many digestive related problems.
If you do have a chronic ongoing complaint, it is probably best to see a homeopath for constitutional treatment.
The following list of remedies is just a sampling of some homeopathic remedies that may help for an acute digestive disturbance:
Nux Vomica: This remedy is indicated for symptoms of digestive upset that include, sour, and bitter burping. It can be accompanied by nausea and vomiting every morning. The person generally will have quite a high-stress lifestyle.
Carbo Vegetabilis: This remedy is indicated when there seems to be a sense of rawness in the stomach that rises up into the esophagus to the middle of the chest. There can be bloating and distention in the stomach.
Arsenicum: With this remedy, the key indications are burning sensations in the stomach with a sense of internal chilliness. The heartburn symptoms will almost feel like the person was just gulping up acid that burns the throat and leaves it raw.
With all the remedies above, start with a 30 CH potency every few hours for a day or two. If this does not provide relief, try the next best remedy.
Homeopathic remedies in acute situations generally work quite rapidly. Homeopaths tend to use the term “susceptibility to disease,” meaning that even though modern science has determined the cause of some diseases, it has not determined or explained how a person becomes susceptible to these conditions in the first place.
You may also want to try digestive enzymes available at your local natural health store.
John G .Sherman is
a professional classical homeopath in Kelowna .
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