Digestive discomfort has many of us running to the medicine cabinet at an amazing rate. The market for antacids alone has grown to $9.12 billion in 2022 globally from $8.6 billion in 2021, according to market intelligence firm ReportLinker.
Just in North America, the market is valued at $5.15 billion in 2022, with an expected compound annual growth rate of 4.6 percent as assessed by Market Data Forecast. Notable pharmaceutical companies, including GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Bayer, and AstraZeneca, are key market players in the growth of the antacid market.
The digestive system is made up of a series of hollow organs; the mouth, esophagus, stomach, and small and large intestines, known as the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. How we move and what we eat and drink affect our digestion. When digestion isn’t moving smoothly or comfortably, there are many over-the-counter (OTC) medications, such as antacids, to choose from that may help. However, along with their compelling marketing campaigns and consequent price tags, some GI medicines have side effects and potential long-term ill health outcomes.
Luckily, many natural herbs and spices, with a low incidence of side effects, promote comfortable digestion, are readily available, and are easier on the wallet.
Potential Causes of Digestive Issues
An excess of gas, bloating, more than normal passing of gas, burping, and general discomfort are common everyday occurrences for many. Simple causes relate to eating fatty foods and drinking carbonated beverages. On the more complex side, causes such as an imbalance in the microbiome, stress, or slow digestion when food isn’t moving through the GI tract efficiently can also result in digestive discomfort.The digestive discomfort of heartburn is the sensation or symptom of acid reflux. Acid reflux is when stomach acid can flow back into the esophagus. It’s a painful burning in the mid-chest that moves up toward the throat. When acid reflux is long-lasting, it becomes a condition known as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Frequent heartburn episodes could be signs of this disease. What you eat and drink—and when—can contribute to symptoms of heartburn, as can stress, exercise, and sleeping patterns.
Chest pain can also signal distress in the cardiovascular system and new chest pain should be assessed by a health care professional.
Severe Digestion Issues
Indigestion, a blanket term to describe upper digestive discomfort, can be accompanied by constipation, diarrhea, and acid reflux. Some or all these symptoms, combined with abdominal pain and cramps, can lead to an irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) diagnosis. IBS presents itself differently in different people and can be triggered by food sensitivities, allergies, stress, lifestyle, diet, and medications. In IBS, spasms in the colon cause very fast or very slow movement of food through the lower GI tract.Problems within our GI tract can become severe and signal sinister health issues. These may include forms of cancer of the GI tract, bowel obstruction, or conditions that are predecessors to critical gastrointestinal health troubles. Ongoing issues that aren’t relieved with simple treatments should be discussed and investigated through medical means. Digestive issues can be investigated in a multitude of ways by health care professionals. Early diagnosis and treatment may provide help to restore digestive health.
Medications to Treat Gastrointestinal Discomfort
There are many OTC and prescription medications available to relieve digestive complaints. These include antacids such as Rolaids and Tums, which use calcium carbonate as the active ingredient. Imodium for diarrhea uses loperamide. Maalox and Mylanta use simethicone, and Alka-Seltzer’s active ingredient is sodium bicarbonate.H2 blockers are medicines to decrease acid production in your stomach. Brand names are Pepcid AC (famotidine), Axid AR (nizatidine), Zantac 75 (ranitidine), and Tagamet (cimetidine). They are available over the counter or by prescription.
For reducing heartburn with indigestion, proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are available via prescription or OTC. Active ingredients are esomeprazole in Nexium, lansoprazole in Prevacid, omeprazole in Zegerid and Prilosec, pantoprazole in Protonix, and rabeprazole in AcipHex.
Prescription medications include prokinetics, which help empty the stomach faster, and antibiotics, which kill bacteria that may be causing GI issues.
Side Effects of Medication on the GI System
For symptomatic relief, antacids are used to treat heartburn and indigestion. The Cleveland Clinic says antacids work quickly to reduce the amount of acid in your stomach to relieve symptoms. Antacids don’t treat the underlying causes of heartburn and indigestion.The Cleveland Clinic also states that antacid side effects could include constipation, diarrhea, gas, headache, nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps, and abdominal pain. Serious side effects may include neurotoxicity, iron deficiency, weakened bones, and excess blood calcium. Antacids may also cause the body to produce more acid, which worsens symptoms. They recommend not taking antacids frequently and contacting your health care provider if you experience daily symptoms of heartburn or indigestion.
Antacids also interact with how other medicines are absorbed, so share current medicine intake with health care providers when taking antacids.
Help Yourself
Preventing digestive issues may require some lifestyle changes. Pay attention to what foods or combinations of foods cause discomfort. Then, make achievable changes. As with any dietary advice, there is a myriad of opinions, theories, and techniques. See what works for you.One universal theme to promote comfortable digestion is to stay hydrated with pure, plain water. Water aids digestion by helping the body break down and process food, according to the Mayo Clinic.
A secondary theme is to avoid nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin, ibuprofen, or naproxen. They reduce pain, fever, and inflammation, but also may “disrupt the gastrointestinal mucosal-protective and acid-limiting properties of prostaglandins, frequently leading to upper gastrointestinal erosions and ulceration, with possible subsequent hemorrhage and perforation,” as noted in a scientific research review titled Gastrointestinal Effects of Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Therapy published in The American Journal of Medicine.
The therapeutic use of taking a daily baby aspirin as a blood thinner has cardiovascular and anticancer benefits that may outweigh the gastrointestinal bleeding risk.
Herbal Options for Digestion Discomfort
Digestive issues come about regularly for many of us. They occur after celebration meals, eating late, changes in diet, or at times of increased stress. Fortunately, there are a few herbal remedies to try that can soothe and settle the GI tract. Herbal options are often cheaper and cleaner, with little to no side effects.Evidence-based medicine (EBM) has established phytotherapy as an important therapeutic option in functional gastrointestinal diseases (FGID). Phytotherapy is the practice of using medicinal plants and herbs to treat and prevent health conditions. Modern EBM has recognized many herbs with constituents that stimulate gastric secretion, have spasmolytic and carminative essential oils, and mucosa-soothing mucilaginosa that show cumulated scientific evidence for successful FGID phytotherapy. Spasmolytics have anti-spasm actions, while carminative herbs help us expel excess gas in the GI tract.
Plant-Based Medicines to Treat Digestion Issues
There are many soothing, carminative, and spasmolytic herbs to aid digestion. The three herbs, dill, fennel, and cumin are chosen for their affordability, availability, and reliable digestive actions. Other notable herbs are ginger and peppermint. After an evening meal, a cup of lemon ginger herbal tea or peppermint herbal tea is soothing for the gastrointestinal system.Dill (Anethum graveolens)
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Dill is one of the main ingredients in gripe water, which is used to settle babies suffering from abdominal spasms known as colic. Dill plants grow upright to about three feet tall with fragrant finely divided fern-like leaves alternately emerging from slender striped, green stems. The narrow plants are topped with umbrella-shaped yellow flower clusters known as umbels. In late summer, flowers develop into dill seeds which are dark oval compressed winged aromatic fruits, held on delicate upright arching branches.
How to Grow, Harvest, and Find Dill
Growing dill is rewarding as the plants are beneficial in the garden, they self-seed easily, and require little care beyond the full sun, well-drained soil, and regular moisture. Dill can be harvested at any time throughout the growing season. Dill weed, the fine fern-like leaves, is best harvested early in the morning in early spring. As the season progresses, dill weed may attract insects such as aphids, making harvesting a challenge. Dill seed is harvested once the flat-winged fruits start to turn brown. They are easily shaken off their upright branches into a bowl or paper bag. The seeds are large enough to pick over by hand to remove any debris.Dill is greenhouse-grown commercially so it’s often available fresh at the greengrocer. Dried dill weed and dill seed can be found in the spice section of grocery stores.
Historical Medicinal Use
Dill has been used since ancient times throughout many parts of the world. Traces have been found in Roman ruins in Great Britain and Egyptian doctors used dill 5,000 years ago. Unani medicine used dill to treat digestive problems and colic. Dill is used in more than 56 ayurvedic preparations, including the use of dill seeds for their carminative, stomachic, and diuretic essential oils.Dill Constituents and Healing Activity
Dill seed and dill weed contain a variety of volatile components. The seed is aromatic and carminative. The essential oil from the seed relieves intestinal spasms and its carminative aspects relieve gas and aid digestion.The volatile compounds of dill seed are carvone, coumarins, flavonoids, phenolic acids, and steroids. Dill weed has alpha-phellandrene, limonene, dill ether, and myristicin.
Extracts from dill seed have shown significant mucosal protective, antisecretory, anti-ulcer activities, and potent relaxants of ileum contractions in animal studies. This further supports dill seeds’ use in traditional medicine for gastrointestinal disorders.
How to Use Dill
Dill is an aromatic herb that is used for seasoning and flavoring in pickles, salads, soups, and sauces. Fresh and dried leaves create a refreshing fragrant essence to foods and beverages. The seed is used as a spice while the fresh or dried leaves are used in condiments and tea. Tartar sauce, tzatziki sauce, bread, and borscht, are made more delicious with dill. Salmon, potatoes, and lemon are great friends with dill’s bright flavors.Dill pickles are possibly the most famous way to use aromatic dill seeds and dill weed. In pickling, dill uses its preservative qualities, as, beyond its use as a digestive aid, dill also inhibits the growth of several bacteria including Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas.
Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)
Fennel Photos.com
Fennel has soft, 14-inch-long feathery foliage on its smooth upright branching stems. It looks a little like dill but is taller, growing up to six feet. It’s grown in vegetable and herb gardens, and is beloved for its anise-flavored leaves and seeds. Plants are topped with flat yellow-flowering umbels that bloom in July and August. In fall, the flowers produce hay-colored elliptical, lined seeds. Fennel is ready to harvest in about 90 days.
All parts of fennel are aromatic. It grows throughout the Northern, Eastern, and Western hemispheres and is found in many cuisines but primarily Asian, North American, and European. The bulbous roots, seeds, and leaves are indispensable ingredients in many cultures. Seeds are common in the spice section. They are also candied and eaten as a snack. The bulbous roots and leaves are seasonally available through most grocers.
Historical Medicinal Use
Traditionally, fennel has been used in many medicinal practices. As one of the world’s oldest medicinal herbs, the whole plant, stem, fruit, and leaves were used to treat many conditions. It has been used to treat abdominal pains, arthritis, colic in children, constipation, diarrhea, flatulence, gastritis, irritable colon, and stomach ache.Fennel Constituents and Healing Activity
Fennel continues to be one of the most widely used herbal plants. Phytochemical studies show valuable compounds, flavonoids, phenolic compounds, fatty acids, and amino acids. Fennel is used to treat more than 40 types of disorders with its many effective pharmacological properties. These include antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antimutagenic, antipyretic, antispasmodic, antitumor, and hepatoprotective activities.For the gastrointestinal tract, fennel seed extract boosted barrier function during a study that tested it on a human cell line and in rats. For treatment of colonic spasms, fennel essential oil shows anticolitic activity by regulating the motility of smooth muscles of the intestine while also reducing intestinal gas. Highly nutritious, fennel contains fiber, vitamins, and more calcium and potassium than most plant sources.
Major components in fennel have been identified, including chlorogenic acid, gallic acid, quercetin, limonene, cis-anethole, estragole, and fenchone. In animal studies, aqueous extract of fennel showed protection against ulcers that reduced damage to the GI tract and demonstrated a protective effect for the gastric mucosa.
How to Use Fennel
Fennel uses are very diverse, from flavoring meat and fish dishes to ice cream. Shoots, tender leaves, and stems are used as vegetables and added to salads, bean and chickpea stews, and used in soups, and bread. Herbal teas are made with fresh or dried stems and leaves and are enjoyed for the anise flavor.The essential oils and plant parts are used in many medicinal preparations and supplements including gripe water and Iberogast.
Cumin (Cuminum cyminum)
Cumin Moving Moment/Shutterstock
Cumin is found in the spice aisle as whole seed or ground spice. As a plant, it grows 12 to 20 inches tall and is harvested by hand. It takes about 120 to 150 days of growing in a long, hot season to produce cumin. Cumin seeds are like caraway seeds and are sometimes known as spice caraway. Seeds are oblong, yellow-brown in color with long ridged edges.
Historical Medicinal Use
Going back thousands of years, cumin has been used as a spice and as medicine. Originating in Central and Southwest Asia, and Eastern Mediterranean, cumin is found throughout ancient archaeological sites of Syria, Egypt, Crete, and Rome. In India, cumin is a traditional ingredient found in many spice blends and recipes.In traditional medicines, cumin is considered carminative and antispasmodic. It’s used to treat digestive disorders, diarrhea, dyspepsia, flatulence, colic, and bloating.
Cumin Constituents and Healing Activity
Cumin is rich in essential oils as the main phytoconstituents. In the oils, oleoresins, and seeds, major compounds in cumin are cuminaldehyde, limonene, alpha- and beta-pinene, 1,8-cineole, omicron- and rho-cymene, alpha- and gamma-terpinene, and linalool.Cumin is high in several nutrients, vitamins, amino acids, protein, and minerals, as well as starch, sugars, and other carbohydrates.
Tannins, phytic acid, and dietary fiber are components of cumin seeds. They also have flavonoids, tannins, fatty oils, and phenolic acids. Cumin is reported to have significant pharmacological effects, including being antifungal, antioxidant, antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial.
A study showed aqueous and solvent-derived extracts of cumin increase amylase, protease, lipase, and phytase activities, which are important digestive enzymes that do important work breaking down foods in the GI tract.
How to Use Cumin
Cumin is one of the most used spices worldwide. It’s a main component of curry and chili spice blends. Cumin is used as a preservative in food processing, in soups, snacks, stews, chili, and to flavor meat products. A huge variety of foods, from meat dishes, bean dishes, and pilafs, to vegetable dishes, as well as many beverages are better with cumin.Healing Herbs Recipe
Encourage better digestion with this digestive seed decoction.Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon fennel seed
- 1 teaspoon dill seed
- 1 teaspoon cumin seed
- 1 quart fresh pure water
Strain liquid through a stainless-steel mesh strainer.
To flavor, add 1 tablespoon of honey, lemon juice, or apple cider vinegar.
The decoction should be served warm to room temperature.
The best time to take this drink is daily, first thing in the morning. It’s also a nice hydrating beverage throughout the day.
This decoction should be consumed within 24 hours.
Tip to Sourcing Herbs and Spices
Herbs and spices that are cultivated using natural or organic methods may have higher proportions of healthful compounds.International grocers or international areas of the grocery store often have better prices for herbs and spices. They are also sometimes conveniently packaged in larger quantities.
Caution
Traditional plant-based medicines have been used for centuries and may be generally regarded as safe. However, it’s true our world isn’t what it was centuries ago. Where plants grow, and how they are cultivated, harvested, and processed may change the chemical composition of their medicinal properties. Just like prescription and over-the-counter medicines, plant-based medicines may interact with other medicines, have unknown side effects, or relate to allergies, sensitivities, or medical conditions.With any new ingredient, you can do a small skin test. Place a small amount of herb on the skin and wait 24 hours. Any reaction such as discomfort, itchiness, or hives may be an indication of sensitivity. Be aware of potential contraindications with medications. Always check with your health care provider before starting new herbal remedies. If, when taking a remedy, symptoms persist or worsen, discontinue the use of the plant-based remedy.
