Improving Digestion Using Homeopathy
There is a common saying that “you are what you eat”. However, it goes beyond this, Improving digestion and the overall health of your body starts with what you can digest, absorb and eliminate. Healthy digestion and nutrient absorption allows your body to function and repair itself, while elimination prevents the build-up of toxic waste.
Common Digestive Complaints
Improving digestion begins with knowing what ails us. Common health problems that affect the digestive system, (which includes the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small and large intestines, rectum, and anus) include:
- Acid reflux: This is a condition where stomach acid backs up into the esophagus, causing heartburn, chest pain, and difficulty swallowing.
- Bloating: This is a feeling of fullness or swelling in the abdomen that may be accompanied by gas, burping, or abdominal discomfort.
- Constipation: This is a condition where bowel movements are infrequent or difficult to pass, often resulting in bloating, abdominal pain, and discomfort.
- Diarrhea: This is a condition where bowel movements are loose, watery, and frequent, often accompanied by cramping, abdominal pain, and dehydration.
- Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS): This is a chronic condition that affects the large intestine, causing symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, gas, diarrhea, or constipation.
- Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD): This is a group of chronic conditions that cause inflammation in the digestive tract, including ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.
Some common causes of digestive issues include stress, poor diet, dehydration, medication use, infections, and underlying health conditions. It’s important to consult a healthcare professional if you experience persistent or severe digestive issues to rule out any underlying health conditions and determine the best course of treatment Serious illnesses, including the IBD sub type Crohn’s disease, require an integrative treatment approach, but homeopathy can significantly improve digestion, health and quality of life.
Simple Steps to Better Digestion
A healthy diet is essential for improving digestion and maintaining a healthy digestive system. Vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, eggs, fermented dairy, and (unless you are vegetarian) lean meat such as fish or poultry should all be incorporated except in the cases of allergies or intolerance. Adequate water intake must be ensured to prevent dehydration and
constipation. Food should be eaten consciously and chewed thoroughly, in order to properly stimulate gastric acid and digestive enzymes.
Our gut bacteria also play a significant role in digestive and overall health. You may be familiar with advertisements for probiotics, but dietary changes can be equally or even more effective. For example, shifting to a more plant-based diet is linked with a reduction in harmful, inflammatory species of gut bacteria, and an increase in protective species. This can not only lead to improved digestive function, but better health in other aspects such as the cardiovascular system too. Fermented foods, which both contain and support protective species, may reduce inflammation and promote healing of the digestive tract.
Homeopathic Helpers
There are hundreds of homeopathic remedies for improving digestion, but the right remedy for you depends on your individual symptom picture. Often odd-sounding symptoms and general temperament will point in the direction of the best remedy.
Homeopathic remedy selection is very complex; we need to match the holistic picture of the individual with right remedy. Self treatment never recommended. Symptoms always need a doctor’s review to rule out major health issues.
Using indigestion as an example, here are four homeopathic remedies that may be prescribed depending on the needs and unique qualities of the individual.
– Nux vomica is commonly prescribed when indigestion is the result of coffee, too much partying or long hours of intellectually taxing work. Digestion is slow and there is high acidity. The typical Nux vomica patient is thin, active, irritable, and has a fiery temperament.
– Pulsatilla is often given when fruit, pastries or fatty foods cause indigestion. It is predominately a female remedy, in particular where there is a gentle personality and the patient cries easily or has changeable symptoms. Health problems in Pulsatilla patients typically appear around puberty.
– Lycopodium is indicated in slowly-developing ailments, where functions such as digestion weaken and fail. Heartburn can last for hours, and a Lycopodium patient can feel full from the smallest meal. Indigestion is brought on by cabbage, beans and other fermentable foods.
– Finally, Carbo vegetabilis is often prescribed to debilitated patients who have not fully recovered from a previous illness, and have very sluggish digestion and circulation. Indigestion in this case features “contractive pain” radiating to the chest, and symptoms can be triggered by any food, in particular fats.
If improving digestion is a priority for you, I can help you to live your best, most healthful life… naturally. When you’re ready to book a consultation go here and together we’ll develop a tailored approach to your wellness.