For most of us, holiday time means a whole lot more than attending religious services, decorating the Christmas tree or lighting the menorah. The secular side of the season involves baking cookies and rich desserts, whipping up batches of eggnog and partying the month away. Sure, it sounds festive, but from our stomach’s point of view, it’s a disaster waiting to happen.
Fifteen percent of Americans deal with digestive problems on a daily basis, and a full 50 percent complain of them occasionally. Each year we spend upward of $1 billion on over-the-counter and prescription heartburn remedies alone. But the solution isn’t popping little pills every time you have a bellyache. Unless you correct the cause of the problem, the symptoms will inevitably return within a few hours. The trouble could be the presence of too much gastric acid–or not enough. Or it could be reflux (when the esophagus doesn’t close properly, and food is regurgitated). The entire digestive system could be sluggish. Or you could be overeating or combining foods improperly and having them ferment in your stomach. This is a mystery best solved with the aid of a health care professional.

But it isn’t simply what we eat or how we eat it that causes gastric distress. Our digestive systems are closely linked to our nervous systems, a fact too often overlooked by physicians. And while it’s easy to blame our indigestion on that heaping second helping of tofu cheesecake, we need to recognize that emotions–stress, fear, anxiety, disappointment and even excitement–play a huge role in our digestive health.
For people who are bothered on a regular basis or have had digestive problems for two solid weeks (or pregnant or nursing women, who should never take herbs or supplements without their doctor’s blessings) a full evaluation by a medical professional is essential. Lifestyle changes are probably going to be required. But for us holiday bingers, here’s a guide to some natural palliatives for a crummy tummy.

HERBAL TREATMENT

Probably the best-known, and oldest, remedy for stomach woes is gingerroot. Traditional Chinese healers have been prescribing it for 2,500 years, as have healers in such far-flung places as Nigeria, the West Indies and India. Arab traders brought ginger to the Mediterranean before the first century, and the Crusaders introduced it to Europe. In one English court cookbook from 1390, virtually every recipe contained ginger.

Classified as an aromatic bitter and a carminative (to expel gas), ginger can stimulate sluggish digestion, keep intestinal muscles toned, ease transport of substances through the digestive tract, reduce irritation to intestinal walls and help with the production and secretion of bile in the liver and gallbladder. No wonder the Germans call this herb Alles zutraut (capable of anything).

Ginger can be taken in several ways. An infusion can be made by pouring 1 cup of boiling water over 2 teaspoons of dried or grated gingerroot. Let it steep 10 minutes, then drink. Dried whole and usually sweetened) ginger can be purchased at most health food stores. Or you can take it in capsule form: 2 to 4 grams of ginger powder, taken 2 to 3 times daily.

Relief can be gotten with other herbs as well. Try a chamomile, peppermint or catnip tea. Or experiment with licorice, caraway, clove, coriander, garlic, onion, sage and marshmallow root. Take any of them as teas, tinctures or in pill form (following label instructions). Or add them fresh to your cooking recipes.

HOMEOPATHY

For occasional acute digestive complaints–especially gas, heartburn and indigestion caused by overeating, drinking or improper food combining–homeopathic remedies can be very effective. Avoid coffee and mint (including toothpaste) for the duration of the treatment.

* Nux vomica. A good remedy for hangovers or the aftereffects of rich food. Specific symptoms include irritability, headaches and sensitivity to noise and light, a bloated stomach that feels full and frequent belching that tastes sour.

* Lycopodium. For excessive gas, with bloating, belching and flatulence soon after eating (especially with beans, cabbage, onions). Also relieves sugar cravings.

* Carb vegetabilis. For heaviness and fullness in the stomach with flatulence, belching that tastes sour, pain that starts a half hour after eating and burning that extends to the chest and back.

* Bryonia alba. For stone-like pressure in the stomach after eating, with nausea and faintness on sitting up, heartburn, hiccups, bitter-tasting burps and a thirst for large amounts but vomiting after drinking warm drinks. Stomach is also sensitive to touch.

The preferred dosage is the 30C potency, taken 2 to 3 times a day until the symptoms abate. If you don’t see improvement after two days, try a different remedy. (There are at least 20 additional remedies, which a homeopath can easily prescribe, depending on a host of more specific symptoms.)