Many years ago a group of people sat at the feet of a medicine woman of the old ways by the name of Grandmother Parisha. We were all asked to have an 'experience' with our food so each of us sat with a plate and began to chew. Chewing alkalinizes food and makes the enzymes from saliva necessary to break it down. We were asked not to speak or have any conversation and to just 'be' with our food. Normally, we don't pay attention to how food feels when it touches the tongue. But if we would just 'be' with food when we eat, we are able to feel immediately if we have an allergic reaction to the food the moment it touches the tongue.
As I looked around the group everyone was so intent on chewing, it looked to me like what it must have looked like at the Last Supper. Everyone so solemn, so intent on the task at hand. Secretly, I was laughing my ample behind off. But the lesson wasn't lost on me. I just like laughter and try to get as much of it in during my day as I possibly can. At my age, my stomach is still in fairly good shape and I owe that to the fact that I enjoy my day and don't stress too much about all the various things that life can throw my way.
What we also learned at that teaching was what to do when your stomach is so out of balance that it becomes life threatening.
A few years ago a lovely woman called me from Florida and said she was dying. "My stomach has been a mess for many years and now the doctors have taken me off all stomach medication and don't know what to do for me. I can't eat anything at all. I'm literally starving to death."
I thanked Grandmother at that moment and furiously began opening the drawers of memory banks to pull out the info she had given us that day. I took a moment to find the memory and then I gave this woman the information that eventually saved her life.
Grandmother had taught us to remember the Four Sacred Foods that would restore health and balance to any imbalance of the stomach. From what I could remember, she said that the Four Sacred Foods were corn, rice, squash and beans. These were the original foods and that they would save a life when all else failed.
Within 2 weeks, this lady called me and said she was on her way back to health. She had begun immediately to eat only these foods, in any way they could be fixed without frying. She had begun with the squash (sweet potatoes included) and her stomach felt good. The squash soothed her stomach and she had no problem with rice (brown rice is best because it has a balanced pH) or green beans. She was gaining her strength back and she was feeling better day by day. I saw her about 6 months later and she was fully recovered.
Showing posts with label GERD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GERD. Show all posts
Friday, December 3, 2010
Natural Stomach Remedies
One day someone called and asked me what information I could give them for their stomach problem.
There are many reasons for stomach problems. One thing I always ask people to check is their pH. Checking pH of saliva lets you know if you have problems with over-alkalinity or over-acidity which exhibit the same or similar symptoms of 'acid' reflux. However, fixing an over-alkaline stomach is not the same as fixing an over-acid stomach so it is important to know what you are working with. One can always check their pH with pH strips from a drug store or go on line to order them.
One thing I always like to start with is something called Stomach Comfort. Instead of just working to balance the 'acid' in the stomach, Stomach Comfort balances an over-acid or over-alkaline condition so it may be used for both. Tums only works at balancing an acid stomach. How do you know if you're over acid or over alkaline? You don't unless you take your pH. Stomach Comfort tablets are good tasting, chewable tablets that act quickly to restore balance to the stomach.
If you suspect that Heliobacter pylori, a type of parasitic bacteria in the stomach lining, is responsible for your stomach problems, then you may want to know about Gastro-Health which kills the H.Pylori bacteria, restoring the stomach to health. Gastro-Health is also good for nausea and that overall 'sick' stomach feeling. Gastro-Health contains DGLE (a form of licorice extract), Pau D'Arco Bark concentrate, Clove Flower Concentrate, Inula Racemosa Root Extract and Capsicum fruit. Much to be said for Capsicum when there is bleeding in the stomach. Capsicum is one of those herbs that you don't feel when you need it, but when you don't need it, you'll definitely feel it!
Another remedy for 'acid' stomach is lemon juice. Lemon juice is highly acidic in the stomach but it makes the blood alkaline. It takes a lot of acid to break down meat proteins and, in general, people with blood types A, B, and AB don't have enough hydrochloric acid to break these meat proteins down. Vinegar does not break meat proteins down but lemon juice does and it will make an alkaline stomach more acid. Squeeze lemon on fish and pork to help break down the proteins and help digestion. Vinegar will make an acid stomach more alkaline, note the opposite with lemon.
How we eat our food is very important. Never drink liquids with your meals. Saliva in the mouth is the only liquid needed for digestion. The idea is to chew, chew, chew the food. Chewing makes enzymes that break down food which makes a body alkaline, no matter if the food that you are eating is acid. The more you chew, the more alkaline any food becomes. Most fruit (citrus is the exception) and vegetables (those grown above the ground) are alkaline and we should be eating a lot of these alkaline fruits and vegetables (although not together) to maintain a pH in the body of 80% alkaline and 20% acid. We get into problems when we eat 80% acid foods and 20% alkaline foods. How can a body maintain the 80/20 alkaline/acid balance when we eat the opposite way? So chewing each mouthful of food would eliminate stomach upset all by itself. The problem is we're in too much of a hurry, so slow down when you eat. Eat slowly, in a restful atmosphere, if possible, because the stomach shuts down when we are in fight or flight stressful situations.
There are many reasons for stomach problems. One thing I always ask people to check is their pH. Checking pH of saliva lets you know if you have problems with over-alkalinity or over-acidity which exhibit the same or similar symptoms of 'acid' reflux. However, fixing an over-alkaline stomach is not the same as fixing an over-acid stomach so it is important to know what you are working with. One can always check their pH with pH strips from a drug store or go on line to order them.
One thing I always like to start with is something called Stomach Comfort. Instead of just working to balance the 'acid' in the stomach, Stomach Comfort balances an over-acid or over-alkaline condition so it may be used for both. Tums only works at balancing an acid stomach. How do you know if you're over acid or over alkaline? You don't unless you take your pH. Stomach Comfort tablets are good tasting, chewable tablets that act quickly to restore balance to the stomach.
If you suspect that Heliobacter pylori, a type of parasitic bacteria in the stomach lining, is responsible for your stomach problems, then you may want to know about Gastro-Health which kills the H.Pylori bacteria, restoring the stomach to health. Gastro-Health is also good for nausea and that overall 'sick' stomach feeling. Gastro-Health contains DGLE (a form of licorice extract), Pau D'Arco Bark concentrate, Clove Flower Concentrate, Inula Racemosa Root Extract and Capsicum fruit. Much to be said for Capsicum when there is bleeding in the stomach. Capsicum is one of those herbs that you don't feel when you need it, but when you don't need it, you'll definitely feel it!
Another remedy for 'acid' stomach is lemon juice. Lemon juice is highly acidic in the stomach but it makes the blood alkaline. It takes a lot of acid to break down meat proteins and, in general, people with blood types A, B, and AB don't have enough hydrochloric acid to break these meat proteins down. Vinegar does not break meat proteins down but lemon juice does and it will make an alkaline stomach more acid. Squeeze lemon on fish and pork to help break down the proteins and help digestion. Vinegar will make an acid stomach more alkaline, note the opposite with lemon.
How we eat our food is very important. Never drink liquids with your meals. Saliva in the mouth is the only liquid needed for digestion. The idea is to chew, chew, chew the food. Chewing makes enzymes that break down food which makes a body alkaline, no matter if the food that you are eating is acid. The more you chew, the more alkaline any food becomes. Most fruit (citrus is the exception) and vegetables (those grown above the ground) are alkaline and we should be eating a lot of these alkaline fruits and vegetables (although not together) to maintain a pH in the body of 80% alkaline and 20% acid. We get into problems when we eat 80% acid foods and 20% alkaline foods. How can a body maintain the 80/20 alkaline/acid balance when we eat the opposite way? So chewing each mouthful of food would eliminate stomach upset all by itself. The problem is we're in too much of a hurry, so slow down when you eat. Eat slowly, in a restful atmosphere, if possible, because the stomach shuts down when we are in fight or flight stressful situations.
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