Indigestion – how to handle it

What exactly is indigestion?

Indigestion is a condition a lot of people suffer from and can cause a burning sensation in your stomach or upper abdomen, an acidic taste in your mouth, nausea or vomiting, diarrhoea or constipation. Indigestion can be painful and very uncomfortable. It is not dangerous but it affects your quality of life. Indigestion is not the same as heartburn or acid reflux, which causes a burning feeling in your chest caused by stomach acid entering the oesophagus. Both these conditions however, usually happen at the same time.

Remedies to assist

Indigestion can usually be managed by changing your diet. Some of the main causes of indigestion are smoking, caffeinated drinks, excessive alcohol, fast food, acidic foods and fried, fatty, and spicy foods. Also, certain medications may cause issues. Eating slowly may help prevent the indigestion and apple cider vinegar, digestive enzymes, probiotics, licorice root and ginger can help provide relief.

Is it something else?

Sometimes people who suffer indigestion symptoms are actually suffering something else, and have an underlying condition. Some of the conditions these could be are IBS/IBD, gastroesophageal reflux disease, peptic ulcers, gallbladder issues or gallstones, coeliac disease, gastritis or anxiety and depression. This is why it is important to see a healthcare professional if you have had indigestion for more that 2 weeks or if you are in severe pain. If your indigestion also comes with unplanned weight loss, vomiting blood, extreme fatigue, black stools or if you are having trouble swallowing, these are all causes for concern and you should seek medical advice. If your indigestion includes shortness of breath, sweating, or chest pain that spreads to your arm, neck, or jaw go to emergency at a hospital.

Supplements and foods to help

To help avoid indigestion eat slowly, eat a healthy well balanced diet, wait two or three hours before lying down, don’t exercise straight after eating and reduce stress by meditating or doing yoga. There are some natural remedies which you can use for your indigestion. These include apple cider vinegar. Place a tablespoon in half a glass of water before or after your meal. Chew some fresh, peeled, raw ginger root before or after your meal or you can brew it as a tea. Also taken in the same way you could try licorice root. Eating half a teaspoon of fennel seeds after meals is also helpful. Place the seeds in boiling water, strain it and drink as a tea. You could also try black cumin seeds using the same methods. Peppermint oil is also good for indigestion as it helps relax the stomach muscles and it helps fight harmful bacteria. You can take this as a supplement or apply it to the skin as long as it’s blended with a carrier oil. However, be careful because if you have gastroesophageal reflux disease peppermint could worsen your symptoms.

Digestive enzymes can help with indigestion as they break down dietary fibre, protein, carbohydrates, and fats. Sometimes our body doesn’t make enough which then results in indigestion issues. Probiotics support digestive health. Supplementing your diet with probiotics can help restore balance in the stomach. Baking soda is a popular indigestion remedy because it quickly neutralises excess stomach acid and re-balances the body’s pH. Just mix half a teaspoon of baking soda in a glass of water after a meal. Be sure to wait at least a couple of hours after taking medication before taking the baking soda. If you are having issues with indigestion or maybe something worse happening with your digestion give us a call to see how we can help 0414680713.

Diverticulitis is a progressive inflammatory disease

Diverticulitis is when the diverticula, which are small pockets in the wall of the large intestine become inflamed and infected. This occurs when the muscles of the colon start to become weak. Diverticulosis is the name given to the illness before the diverticula become inflamed or infected. It is more common as people age and only a small percentage get the full blown diverticulitis. It is more common in the lower part of the colon.

Diverticulosis

Diverticulosis is often unnoticed until it becomes infected and inflamed, basically until it becomes diverticulitis. Some of the common symptoms are ongoing constipation or diarrhoea, a tender abdomen or cramping and bloating, pain from bowel movements, blood in the stool or nausea and vomiting. Diverticulitis can be very painful when it flares up and becomes inflamed or infected. Some severe cases may require immediate surgery.

The cause of this condition is not fully understood but some researcher’s suspect it could be caused by a combination of poor eating habits, age and genetics. Diverticulitis is a disease that is influenced by factors such as obesity, physical activity levels, and smoking.

Diagnosis and treatments

The symptoms can vary from person to person. You will be asked about your symptoms and have some tests done such as blood tests and a colonoscopy.

Sometimes diverticulitis requires surgery but this is usually in severe cases. Your doctor may prescribe antibiotics to help ease the infection, however there has been research that shows that this treatment is overused. Instead perhaps search for a natural treatment to help relieve the pain and infection from your trained naturopath and nutritionist.

Probiotics

Probiotics are bacteria that is in the food we eat; these bacteria are good for your health and has many benefits. There are many different strains of probiotics that are very helpful in reducing the symptoms of diverticulitis, particularly lactobacillus casei and lactobacillus paracasei.  

Some of the best foods containing probiotics are fermented, such as yoghurt, sauerkraut, miso and yoghurt. You can also use probiotic supplements; however, it is best to seek advice from your natural health care practitioner to insure you are taking the correct dosage and strain for your diverticulitis. 

A diet rich in fibre may help prevent diverticulosis turning into diverticulitis. Good sources of fibre include nuts, legumes, vegetables, and fruits. So when you are suffering from the painful symptoms of diverticulitis why not change your eating habits and take vitamin supplements under the guidance of your natural health care practitioner? We have had much success in this area of health care. Give us a call today.

Acid Reflux and natural options to heal

Acid reflux is also known as heartburn, indigestion and pyrosis and it happens when food and stomach acid go back up into the oesophagus. Acid reflux can be very painful, cause burping, vomiting, choking and is dangerous long term as not only can you have a burnt oesophagus but it is believed in some more severe cases there can be chest pains that can feel like you’re having a heart attack. The acid can irritate the oesophagus and also cause scarring, swelling, ulceration and hemorrhaging. Some experts believe frequent acid reflux could lead to oesophageal cancer.

If you are a sufferer you may need to look at your diet and see if there is something that is causing it such as eating too late at night, too heavy meals, over eating, sweet foods like chocolate, coffee etc. Remedies involve foods with live enzymes, alkaline foods and remedies, slippery elm powder (not the tablets, the powder). All these remedies involve a balance of the hydrochloric acid levels in the stomach. By changing regular table salt to Himalayan crystal salt with many trace minerals that are good for you may get some improvement. Also Betaine HCL supplements before meals can help to balance the hydrochloric acid levels, some digestive enzymes and making sure you eat a lot slower.

Changing your diet can be helpful. If you are eating a lot of processed foods or sugars it will imbalance the bacteria in the stomach. Replace wheat and yeast with wheat free/yeast free products, go lactose free or cut out dairy completely and replace packaged foods with fresh fruit and vegetables. Probiotics and prebiotics will help balance stomach bacteria.

Calm your stomach with one tablespoon raw organic apple cider vinegar in water if you are not sensitive to this food as it will help to promotes digestion. Do a sensitivity test to check what foods you are sensitive to and which cause inflammation. Also organic Aloe Vera is good for calming the stomach and supports digestion.

Our clinic assists with changes in diet, healthy eating plans, sensitivity testing and balancing your inflammation levels.

 What are Haemorrhoids? How to treat them.

Haemorrhoids can be very painful and cause lots of different problems. Haemorrhoids are clusters of veins in the smooth muscle walls of the anus or lower rectum and can be also known as piles. This means they make you very uncomfortable when you need to open your bowels. They are caused by increases in pressure to the blood vessels in the anus. This can be caused by things such as low fibre diets, pregnancy, obesity and prolonged sitting or standing. Other factors that can contribute to the cause are diarrhea or constipation, spinal cord injuries, alcoholism, lifting heavy weight, aging and anal intercourse.

Symptoms are pain, and pain during bowel movements, itching and bleeding around the rectum and /or the anus. You may also find hard painful lumps and get mucus or faecal leakage. Haemorrhoids can go away on their own but here are some treatments that may help to speed up the recovery. It is important however to make sure that the symptoms are related to haemorrhoids and not something more serious.

The doctor will use medical history, symptoms and a physical examination to diagnose haemorrhoids. There are a few different types. Some bleed but are not prolapsed, others are prolapsed but get smaller on their own suddenly and others prolapse and have to be reduced manually whilst the worst prolapse but cannot be reduced.

Treating haemorrhoids, even though they can disappear on their own, can help to ease the symptoms faster. If you have the low grade haemorrhoids that bleed but do not prolapse you can try some at home remedies such as Epsom Salts and glycerine. Mix two tablespoons of Epsom Salts with 2 tablespoons of glycerine and apply to the painful area with gauze. Apply for 15-20-minutes and repeat every 4 to 6 hours. Or you can try Myrtus Communis essential oil to help improve bleeding, and itching. To help calm spasms you can try sitting in a Sitz bath or even a regular warm bath for 20min 2 to 3 times a day. Also eating more fibre or taking stool softeners, digestive enzymes and probiotics can help relieve symptoms.

If you are suffering from the higher graded haemorrhoids then you might need other products you can buy at the health food store or the chemist. If these don’t work then there are prescription medications from the doctor. In some cases, you may require more intensive medical procedures such as rubber band ligation, which is using rubber bands to cut off circulation to the haemorrhoid. Infrared coagulation and radiofrequency ablation therapy also work in the same sort of way. If all this fails you may require surgery to remove them. Take care of these when they just start and don’t let them become bad and uncomfortable. They are a symptom that your gut is not healthy or working properly. See your naturopath to find out what you need to improve your diet and gut health and very soon haemorrhoids will be in the past and your digestion will be working better.