Alternative Cures

After a lengthy break, it’s time to get back to our mini series on having a healthy gut, here at Alternative Cures. So as our last post on the subject, Keep Your Gut Healthy Part 5, looked at water, liquid intake and the benefits of cranberry juice, now its time to expand that a little and look at some other gut-friendly drinks we can take.

An old wives tale or country alternative cure or remedy for a “tummy ache” was a hot mug of peppermint tea. That was for several very good reasons and today the medics all agree that peppermint is a good, natural and gentle stomach and gut calming remedy. Peppermint actually calms the stomach muscles while improving the flow of bile which the body needs to digest fats. A recent study showed that of a group of IBS sufferers who took peppermint capsules for a month, 79% of them reported that it did indeed help to relieve their symptoms.

Drinking a hot cup of peppermint tea has the added benefit of the warm liquid also aiding the calming, muscle relaxing properties of the peppermint itself, so enhancing the effect and making it one of the best alternative cures for many gut related discomforts.

Other tummy friendly hot drinks from the alternative cures cabinet can be made from fennel seeds, which makes a wonderful warming and stomach calming drink tasting mildly of anise. In fact anise is also a good digestive aid in itself and the seeds can be crushed and boiling water poured over to make an infusion similar to that of fennel. Ginger is a good digestive aid and a tea made from the sliced stem (it is not a true root) is also calming and warming.

Finally, don’t forget the many wonderful healing properties of green tea. A cup or two per day will also go a long way to helping to cleanse your entire digestive tract, so always keep some in your cupboard. I personally swear by it!

Terry Didcott
Alternative Cures