Healthy Digestion

by Hoffmann, David

• ISBN13: 9781580172509
• ISBN10: 1580172504
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-06-01
• Publisher: Storey Books

Summary

Herbs, which are introduced directly into the digestive system, are uniquely suited for treating indigestion, bloating, heartburn, and other gastrointestinal disorders. David Hoffmann, B.Sc., F.N.I.M.H., tells readers how they can incorporate the power of herbs into their daily diets and health-care regimens.

Author Biography

David Hoffmann, a fellow of Britain's prestigious National Institute of Medical Herbalists, has been a clinical phytotherapist for almost 25 years. He is a founding member and past president of the American Herbalists Guild and serves on the advisory board of the American Botanical Council

Table of Contents

Understanding the Digestive System	1	(14)
Using Herbs as Medicine	15	(18)
Remedies for Common Digestive Ailments	33	(39)
Treating Common Liver Diseases	72	(10)
A Directory of Herbs for Healthy Digestion	82	(26)
Making Herbal Medicines	108	(8)
Bibliography	116	(1)
Resources	117	(1)
Index	118

Excerpts

Chapter 1 Understanding the Digestive SystemHerbal medicine is uniquely suited for the treatment of illness of the digestive system. Throughout the natural world food is medicine, and the same concept applies to herbs - the ultimate medicinal food.Much of the digestive system illness in our society is simply due to abuse. Today's average Western diet includes a preponderance of overly processed foods, a high proportion of chemical additives, and the direct chemical irritation of alcohol, carbonated drinks, and tobacco. In this context it is easy to see why herbal remedies are so helpful in healing digestive problems; the soothing of demulcents, healing of astringents, and general toning of bitters do much to reverse the damage we do every day.What Is the Digestive System?The digestive system is a series of hollow organs joined in a long, twisting tube - known as the alimentary canal - from the mouth to the anus. Inside the tube is a lining called the mucosa, which in the mouth, stomach, and small intestine contains glands that produce digestive juices. The liver and the pancreas are also part of the system, producing juices that reach the intestine through small tubes.The Process of DigestionThe food we eat is not in a form that the body can use as nourishment. It must be broken down into smaller molecules of nutrients that the blood can absorb and carry to the cells of the body. Digestion breaks down food and drink into their smallest parts so that the body can use them to build and nourish cells and to provide energy. The process, which begins in the mouth with chewing and swallowing and is completed in the small intestine, involves the mixing of food, its movement through the digestive tract, and the chemical breakdown of its large molecules into smaller molecules The chemical process varies somewhat for different kinds of food.The digestive system's hollow organs contain muscles that enable their walls to move. This involuntary movement, called peristalsis, not only forces the contents forward but also mixes them. When we swallow, peristalsis begins. The muscles then contract and narrow, propelling the food particles and fluid down the length of the alimentary canal in slow waves.The esophagus connects the throat above with the stomach below. At the junction of the esophagus and stomach, a ringlike valve closes the passage between the two organs. As the food travels down the esophagus and approaches the closed ring, the surrounding muscles relax and allow the food to pass through.The food then enters the stomach, which performs several functions. The stomach stores the swallowed food and liquid and produces digestive juices. Muscle action in the lower part of the stomach mixes the contents of the stomach. Finally, the stomach slowly empties its contents into the small intestine. Several factors affect this emptying, including the nature of the food and the degree of muscle action of the emptying stomach and the small intestine. As the food is digested in the small intestine and dissolved by the juices from the pancreas, liver, and intestine, muscle action continues to mix the contents of the intestine and push them forward.Finally, all of the digested nutrients are absorbed through the intestinal walls. The waste products of this process include undigested parts of the food, known as fiber, and older cells that have been shed from the mucosa. These materials are propelled into the colon, where they remain, usually for a day or two, until they are expelled as feces through a bowel movement.The production of digestive juices is a vital function of the digestive system. The salivary glands in the mouth start that process. An enzyme in saliva begins to digest the starch in food into smaller molecules. The next set of glands involved in digestion is in the lining of the stomach. These gastric glands produce stomach acid and an enzyme that digests protein. One of the unsolved puzzles