People's wisdom about digestion often wrong

What really helps the digestion on the jumps

04/11/2013

Many people suffer from heartburn, bloating and flatulence after eating. Some people then rely on old home remedies such as herbal liquor or an espresso to stimulate digestion. However, many of these supposed digestive aides do not have the desired effect. Medicinal plants and herbs are usually the better choice.

Alcohol slows down digestion
A research team from University Hospital Zurich headed by study leader Mark Fox recently investigated the digestive effect of alcohol on opulent food. Because one of the best known folk wisdom on digestion is that „Schnapps afterwards“.

For their randomized, controlled study, gastroenterologists and forensic physicians had twenty healthy subjects take cheese fondue. For this purpose, either 300 milliliters of white wine or tea and 20 milliliters of cherry brandy or water were drunk. Alcohol breath tests and analyzes of gastric emptying revealed that the time taken for the meal to reach the small intestine from the stomach was significantly shorter when the subjects consumed tea and water instead of the alcoholic beverages. All subjects had the same appetite, which was reduced in the group of study participants who had drunk wine and liquor. Alcohol therefore had no influence on the compatibility of the cheese fondue. The researchers therefore recommend tea instead of alcohol to the Swiss favorite dish. The alcohol „apparently relaxes the muscles of the stomach walls and inhibits the pumping movements that move the stomach contents forward, "Fox suggests. „But this effect is counteracted by a significantly delayed gastric emptying. "

Herbs and spices for digestive problems
Despite the clear results of the Swiss researchers, a herbal brandy after eating can still stimulate digestion. Because besides alcohol contains the „small clear afterwards“ Traditional medicinal herbs such as cumin, artichoke, chamomile, anise or ginger, which can be proven to help with indigestion, bloating and abdominal pain. Alcohol is a better carrier medium for these substances than hot water. If the herbs are in the form of tea, the essential oils are often already evaporated.

Anise, cloves, ginger and cardamom can be used not only in drinks but also in baking, in soups or sauces. They increase the appetite and the production of digestive juices. With fennel, caraway, coriander and garlic can be prevented. Less known but very effective in stimulating digestion are basil, thyme, juniper, rosemary, lovage, marjoram and oregano. For the latter, researchers were able to prove an antiseptic effect. In a trial with cows, it turned out that the animals gave up to 40 percent less methane when they were eating food enriched with oregano. In humans too, oregano causes digestion to be accompanied by reduced methane production.

Use tea to stimulate digestion
Some natural herbs can be prepared very well as tea. These include, for example, peppermint, whose menthol quickly combines with the water. Through the essential oil calcium ions are channeled into the muscles of the gastrointestinal tract, which on the one hand relax, but on the other hand keep enough tension to ensure the transport of the food. Australian researchers also showed that menthol soothes irritated receptors in the digestive tract. According to a similar principle, the essential oil also behaves in the outer application in the area of ​​the temples in headache.

Preparations of sage, hawthorn, angelica root, lemon balm, bitter clover, turmeric, yarrow or cinnamon bark stimulate muscle tone and stimulate the organs to increase their activity. Bitter medicinal plants also ensure that enough stomach acid, bile and pancreatic enzymes are produced. For this, aloe, gentian, wormwood and rhubarb root can be prepared as tea or after „Maria Treben“ with other medicinal plants as „little Swedish bitters“ be drunk.

Caffeine-containing drinks can indeed mobilize the stomach and intestines to exercise, but this is not true for all drinks in which the stimulating alkaloid is included. Studies show that coffee and tea have only a mildly stimulating effect due to the caffeine on the digestive system. Espresso is easier to digest than filter coffee because it contains less caffeine and acids.

Cola, too, contains too little acid and caffeine, for example, to decompose a piece of meat, as is often mistakenly believed.

Bitter substances stimulate digestion
Digestion already begins with the sight, smell and taste of a food, if gastric juice production starts early due to irritation of the vagus nerve. Especially bitter tastes on the tongue have a stimulating effect. Special herbal mixtures in the form of granules can therefore be chewed for about a minute to promote digestion just before eating.

Certain salads and raw vegetables also stimulate digestion before the warm gait. The bitterer the salads, the better for digestion. Endive salad and chicory are suitable, for example. Certain substances in the endive leaves stimulate the pancreas and bile by activating hormone substances in the gastric mucosa. Therefore, especially chicory is recommended for slow liver and bile function. Dandelions and stinging nettles are also good as wild salads to promote digestion.

Basically, all food should be chewed long and thoroughly in the mouth, so that the effect of herbs, spices and salads develop optimally and the digestion can be stimulated.

Help with walks of digestion on the jumps
The Mannheim internist Manfred Singer examined, among other things, the effect of exercise on digestion. It turned out that going for a walk has a positive effect, but sporting activity like Nordic walking or jogging has a negative effect. For those who do sports with a full stomach pulls the blood from the digestive tract into the muscles and ensures too much movement in the stomach. The result can be side stitches.

Nevertheless, post-exercise movement should not be completely abandoned, as a Japanese research team led by study leader Yasuhiro Fujiwara of Osaka University found. Thus, within the first three hours after a meal, a nipple increases the risk of heartburn more than sevenfold, compared to subjects who only lay down after four hours. Due to the horizontal body position of the „Reflux of gastric acid into the esophagus“ promoted, so Fujiwara.

Digestion from the perspective of naturopathy
In naturopathy, special attention is paid to a functioning digestion, as it is associated with physical and mental health and a stable immune system. If indigestion occurs, sufferers often suffer from unpleasant concomitant symptoms such as heartburn, nausea, pain and tensions in the abdomen, constipation and diarrhea. If the digestive problems are not treated, it can lead to a bacterial incorrect colonization of the intestinal flora. As a result, permeability of the intestinal mucosa and food intolerances may arise. A well-known example of this is lactose intolerance.

If the intestinal flora is contaminated, digestive disorders may also develop, for example if food residues are not completely broken down and broken down due to lack of bacteria. Affected persons often suffer from severe flatulence.

From the point of view of naturopathy, a persistent indigestion is associated with a general defensive weakness. Because large parts of the immune system are in the intestine. In addition, it should promote the development of allergies, skin and autoimmune diseases as well as cancer. (Sb)