Herbal Gut Health Natural Therapies to Promote Healthy Digestion, Boost Your Microbiome, and Support Gut Repair

by Groves, Maria Noel

• ISBN13: 9781635869101
• ISBN10: 1635869102
• eBook ISBN(s): 9781635869118
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2026-01-13
• Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC
• More Book Details

Summary

From the bestselling author of Body into Balance, clinical herbalist Maria Noël Groves​ offers a comprehensive guide to the best herbs and natural practices to boost your gut microbiome, decrease your risk of chronic disease, and alleviate conditions like SIBO, leaky gut, irritable bowel syndrome, and GERD.

A healthy gut is the key to good overall health—both physical and mental—and researchers are beginning to uncover the links between an unbalanced gut microbiome and chronic conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, and cancer.

As a clinical herbalist with decades of experience, Maria Noël Groves has helped patients of all ages resolve their digestive complaints and related health issues by teaching them how to adopt healthier dietary habits, employ herbs to alleviate digestive issues and improve digestion, and incorporate balanced lifestyle practices—resolving their diseases and dramatically improving their quality of life.

Author Biography

Maria Noël Groves is the author of Herbal Remedies for Sleep, Grow Your Own Herbal Remedies and Body into Balance. She is a clinical herbalist and herbal medicine teacher with more than two decades of experience, and a registered professional member of the American Herbalists Guild. She writes for numerous publications including Herbal Academy’s The Herbarium, Taste for Life, Remedies, Herb Quarterly, and Mother Earth News. Her business, Wintergreen Botanicals, is based in Allenstown, New Hampshire.
 

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Why GI Function and Gut Repair Matters

The State of the Nation: GI Health
Basic Tips for Healthy Digestion
Common Root Patterns of GI Distress

Stress and Digestion
Inadequate and Deficient Digestive Function
Nutrient Deficiencies and Poor Assimilation
Dysbiosis and Microbiome Imbalances
SIBO
Food Allergies and Sensitivities
GI Lining Inflammation, Damage, or Leakiness

Potential Downstream Effects of Poor Gut Health

Why Enhancing Digestive Function Matters
Why Supporting Gut Integrity and Repair Matters
Why Microbiome Support Matters

Common Patterns of Digestive Distress and Energetics

Chapter 2: Herbs to Help Break Down Food

The Upper GI Tract
Predigestion
It’s True: Chew Your Food
Multitasking in your Gut
Bitter Herbs to Facilitate Good Digestion

Artichoke leaf, dandelion
Recipe: Dandelion Pesto w/variations
Recipe: Bitters Spray
Recipe: Bitter Brew Coffee Substitute

Relaxing Bitters

Chamomile, catnip, lemon balm, wood betony, 

Recipe: Chamomile Mint Tea

Recipe: Lemon Balm - Catnip Glycerite

Sour Herbs

Remedy: Vinegar
Herb: Schizandra
Food: Sour Citrus

Sphincter Issues - Fire in the Hole! (GERD/Reflux/Heartburn)
           Herb for Tone: Crabapple/Apple Bark
Ulcers and Gut Wounds

Demulcent and Mucilaginous Herbs

Licorice, marshmallow, aloe, 
Recipe: Marshmallow Root Overnight Infusion w/Variations
Small Chart: Demulcent & Mucilaginous Continuum

Vulnerary Herbs for Gut Healing

Plantain, gotu kola, calendula, yarrow

Remedy: Glutamine
Comfrey: Friend or Foe?

Common Food Allergens and Sensitivities

Gluten/Wheat, Dairy, Soy, Eggs, Sugar & High Glycemic Foods, FODMAPs, Nightshades
Other potential reactions - meat/alpha gal, nickel, copper, MCAS…

Chapter 3: Herbs to Facilitate Nutrient Absorption

The Lower GI Tract

Good Bugs, Bad Bugs, and Probiotics - expanded

Recipe: DIY Fermented Vegetables
Kombucha

Protocol Points: Gas, Pain, and Bloating

Carminative Herbs

Box/chart: Spices
Recipe: Maria’s Chai Base with Variation Recipe Examples
Fennel, dill, mints, giner, anise hyssop and Korean licorice mint, holy basil
Recipe: Fennel and Korean Licorice Mint Seltzer
Recipe: Quick Dill Pickles (w/“Pickle Juice” Vinegar Variation)

Antimicrobial Herbs

Oregano, bee balm, bitter berberines, pau d’arco
Other GI Antimicrobials to Consider
Recipe: Killer Chai

Chapter 4: Herbs for Elimination

Moving Right Along: Smooth Elimination

What’s a normal BM?
What can BMs tell you 
Fiber - what, why, when, how, soluble vs insoluble, tips, etc
Tips for healthy BMs

Protocol Points: Dysbiosis (including candida, h pylori, SIBO, SIFO mentions)
Protocol Points: SIBO (in greater depth)
Box: Hiatal Hernia
Protocol Points: Diarrhea

Astringent Herbs

Cinnamon, roses

Protocol Points: Constipation 
Laxative Herbs

Protocol Points: IBS (separate out from IBD)
Protocol Points: IBD (separate out from IBS)
 

Chapter 5: Anti-Inflammatories, Nutritive Support, and Immune Modulation

Anti-inflammatory Herbs

Meadowsweet, boswellia

Nutritive Support in GI States

Nutritive Herbs

Nettle, oat straw, violet

Recipe: Marshmallow Nettle Violet Mint Tea
Nutritive Recipe Ideas
Supplement & Diet Support

Deep Immuno-Regulatory Support

Immune Modulation

Medicinal Mushrooms
Reishi, lion’s mane

Astragalus, Baikal skullcap 

Adaptogens and Immune Amphoterics
Tie in to probiotics, etc.

Nervous System, Calming & Stress Support

Chapter 6: Strategies for Gut Repair 

When We Might Support Gut Repair
The 4-5 Rs of Gut Repair
How Long Does It Take?

Craft Your Own Gut Healing Tea

Recipe: Gut Healing Tummy Tea, Take One
Recipe: Gut Healing Tummy Tea, Take Two
Variations for Special Situations 
Cheat Sheet for Creating a Gut Healing Tea (2 page spread)

Recipe: Gut-Healing Broth

Protocol Points: Leaky Gut

Tips for PPI (proton-pump inhibitor) Cessation

Diets & Digestion - different approaches for different situations

Overview, pros, cons, tips for each

Specific Diet or Simply Emphasize Vital Foods?
Temporary or Long-Term?
General Healthy Diet Tips for Digestion
Specialized diets, including: Mediteranean, asian & flexitarian, vegan/vegetarian, paleo, GAPS and specific carbohydrate diets, allergy elimination/avoidance, low FODMAP, low acid, low histamine

Appendix: Herbs at a Glance Chart