If you are wondering how to improve digestion naturally, you are not alone. Digestive ailments are on the rise. A combination of poor diet, lifestyle factors, and infection can open up the gut microbiome to all sorts of issues and imbalances, leading to bloating, gas, indigestion, acid reflux, and even mood and anxiety disorders.
Herbs can hold great benefit in helping to restore and repair healthy digestive function. If you’ve ever thought, “does ginger help with digestion?”—the answer is yes! Ginger, holy basil, milky oats and many other herbs taken as tinctures and teas can help improve digestion, decrease stomach upset, and even help heal the gut lining. In this post we’ll talk about bitters, carminative herbs, mucilaginous herbs, anti-microbial herbs, and probiotics that we use for digestive wellness!
Bitter Herbs
Examples of bitter herbs: Motherwort, Mugwort, Chamomile, Dandelion leaf and root
Bitter herbs or “bitters” like chamomile and mugwort help to stimulate digestive juices (bile and stomach acid), which break down food and ease digestion. Digestive juices are essential for proper assimilation of food, but sometimes a lack of these can make you feel uncomfortably full after eating only a little bit. If you feel sluggish or heaviness after eating, you might consider trying some bitter herbs in tea or tincture form before meals to help get things flowing.
Carminative Herbs
Examples of carminative herbs: Mint, Lemon Balm, Basils, Lemongrass, Ginger Root
Carminative herbs like mint, holy basil, and ginger root can help with bloating and gas. They are rich in volatile oils that help to release and prevent gas. The oils are thought to have an anti-inflammatory and analgesic (pain-reducing) effects on digestive tissue. Ginger root is also thought to help stimulate the cleaning wave of the small intestine. Like a broom, this cleaning wave keeps the small intestine from bacterial overgrowth by sweeping out food particles and bacteria. Consider using these herbs for issues of bloating and gassiness.
Mucilaginous Herbs
Examples of mucilaginous herbs: Milky Oats, Marshmallow Leaf and Root, Licorice Root
Don’t be put off by the name! Mucilaginous herbs have a lot to offer in restoring the integrity of the gut lining and alleviating general stomach upset. They contain soothing, slightly slimy compounds that can reduce inflammation, which is why drinking these herbs in tea can help repair leaky gut. These herbs, like milky oats and licorice root, are also helpful in soothing acid reflux damage.
Anti-microbial herbs
Examples of anti-microbial herbs: Spilanthes, Echinacea, Garlic, Ginger Root, Oregano, Bee Balm, Berberine-containing herbs/supplement
You may wonder how anti-microbial herbs like spilanthes, garlic, and ginger root help digestion. Dysbiosis happens when there is a microbial imbalance in the gut flora, which is the cause of many digestive issues. It can be a case of the wrong gut flora overpopulating or a case of the right ones in the wrong spot. This can wreak havoc on all aspects of digestion, and it is becoming increasingly common today. Although it can be tough to treat, and trial and error is often the only way to figure out what will work for you, anti-microbial herbs can be very effective at rebalancing your gut microbiome. Antimicrobial herbs can be used as a gentler alternative to antibiotics for wiping out the “bad guys” overpopulating the gut. In addition to herbs, eating a well-balanced diet can help to restore balance to the gut.
Probiotics
Any discussion about digestion would be incomplete without mentioning probiotics! Countless books have been written on probiotics, but here we will mention them briefly because we’ve recently begun using one type of probiotic that has been particularly helpful for me in one of the Oma Herbals teas.
Everyone's gut microbiome is unique, so each probiotic's effect will be different for all of us. Another thing to keep in mind is that when you take a probiotic capsule, it is hard to know if the probiotics inside are still viable, whether they will survive the harsh conditions of the GI tract, and whether they are the right strains for you. As with anything, it is best to start any probiotic at a low dosage and see how your body reacts to it.
Soil-based probiotics are now considered to be a better, more effective choice for most people. These probiotics are, as you may have guessed, found in the soil and are essentially seeds that become activated upon entering the acidic environment of the GI tract, allowing them to colonize in the intestines.
These beneficial organisms were commonly found on produce before foods were required to be thoroughly washed, disinfected, and processed before hitting grocery store shelves. Thus, some of the best probiotics can be found right outside in the garden. However, if you don’t have a garden or a green thumb, you can get those same benefits from the soil-based probiotic, Bacillus coagulans, that we use in our Probiotic Tea.
My Experience with Digestive Herbs and Probiotics
On a personal note, I have struggled with a condition called small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), which is when there is an abnormal growth of the bacterial population in the small intestine. I tried almost every remedy under the sun to correct it to no avail. While there is still much unknown about the condition and I am not cured, anti-microbial herbs and the soil-based probiotic, Bacillus coagulans, have provided immense relief. If you have IBS, SIBO, or dysbiosis, don’t stop trying! There are many herbs and remedies that can help you start to recover and relieve symptoms. Sometimes it just takes finding the right combination.