I am always amazed to find out how many bad things I eat without noticing any problem.

Ignorance is bliss.

Arab Nights (imported) wrote: Mon Feb 11, 2013 2:32 pm So wifey asked why I looked so down when I came back from a doctor's appointment. I told her, "I'm allergic to everything but pussy and water." "You'll starve," she said.

I was getting things like acid reflux, irritable bowel and aphasia

Get a second, competent opinion. Aphasia is a neurological condition whose presenting symptom is the loss of speech. I don't think allergies are causing it.

Herbs To Help Heal IBS, Celiac Disease And Gluten Sensitivity

There are many herbs that can help ease some of the pain and discomfort of an irritated bowel and intestinal tract, ulcers, Celiac disease and gluten sensitivity. These are not “cures” but they can certainly help you help yourself.

IBS is an ‘umbrella’ ailment. It’s a comprehensive term used by physicians to cover a host of gastric ills that many do not treat; except to recommend more fiber or dismiss as your need for attention. Of course, they will still take your money.

There are tests that can be performed for many gastric illnesses, but they are all expensive, and mostly invasive – uncomfortable. Most often you will be awake during the tests.

There are studies that are leading the medical groups to believe gluten sensitivity is the main cause of what has been coined “IBS”. Gluten sensitivity and Celiac Disease are two different things, but with the same or similar symptoms. Both are an ‘irritable bowel’ ailment.

It does not take a genius to realize one might have IBS or bowel problems. Typically; you have irregular and widely varied bowel movements, constant gas in the gut, really awful flatulence, belching and burping, problems breathing, heartburn, burning and itching and even ‘creepy-crawly’ sensations around your stomach, pain in the abdomen that moves around, swollen abdomen, constant spot pains like lower right (Ileum colon), center (duodenum), and lower left (sigmoid colon), and of course – acid reflux.

You feel like “a wine keg without an air hole”.

All of the herbs listed here are safe to use, but I strongly recommend you talk to a knowledgeable health care professional — preferably a naturopath or an herbalist — to find out which ones might be best for you. Each individual will have different presentations of the same ailments.

Also, always tell your physician what herbs or supplements you are taking — there are sometimes interactions (especially with drugs commonly prescribed to the elderly), and it is always important that the people involved in your health care are fully informed of your lifestyle.

I’ll emphasize teas here; mainly because they are often easiest to find, and I’m not excited about anyone with IBS difficulties taking a lot of capsules or gel caps. If they don’t dissolve completely, they can be a problem. Also, teas can be very relaxing and often the most economical source of the sought-after herbs.

Alteratives

The alteratives are herbs that help re-balance and get your GI system on the path to normalcy.

Digestive alteratives include:

• Allium sativum (garlic)

• Arctium lappa (greater burdock)

• Hydrastis Canadensis (Goldenseal)

• Inula helenium (elecampane)

• Galium aparine (Cleavers)

• Rumex crispus (curly dock)

• Smilax spp.(Sarsaparilla — yes, the sarsaparilla in those old westerns, except they used to call it sasparilla!)

• Urtica dioica (Stinging nettle or common nettle)

Most herbal stores will carry many of these alternatives, but if you don’t have an herbal shop near you, the simplest approach is to use lots of garlic in cooking and drink goldenseal tea. Goldenseal tea is carried by a number of larger grocery stores. Note; if you are taking garlic for your blood-pressure, this won’t help. Cooking garlic destroys the allicin, but it still has probiotic properties. Of course, if you are eating fresh whole-bulb garlic, all the better. I think Goldenseal tea is awful! Buy the capsules!

Digestive Anti-Inflammatories

IBS, CD and gluten sensitivity are immune responses. Part of any immune response is inflammation. When it is controlled, inflammation is a good thing! It helps clear out cell debris and toxins and aids in the healing process.

But . . . when inflammation goes out of control, reducing the inflammation is a way to start recovering and healing.

Some digestive anti-inflammatories are;

· Calendula officinalis (English marigold)

· Glycyrrhizaglabra (licorice)

· Hydrastis Canadensis (Goldenseal…again!)

· Matricaria recutita (Chamomile)

· Mentha Xpiperita (peppermint)

Again, the simplest approach is to drink chamomile, goldenseal or peppermint teas (or a mixture), maybe flavor it with some licorice or honey.

Digestive Bitters

Digestive bitters are just that; bitter. They stimulate secretion of all the gastric fluids that we need for proper digestion. They also stimulate the liver to remove toxins, stabilize blood sugars and some can moderate immune responses.

The strong bitters include:

• Achillea millefolium (yarrow)

• Artemesia absinthum(Sweet Annie)

• Harpagophytum procumbens (Devil's Claw)

• Sylibum marianum(Milk Thistle)

• Matricaria recutitia(Chamomile)

• Taraxacum officinalis(Dandelion)

More moderate bitters include:

• Berberis spp (Oregon grape)

• Gentiana lutea (Great Yellow Gentian)

• Hydrastis Canadensis(Goldenseal…yet again)

• Melissa officinalis(Lemon balm — don’t use this if you have thyroid problems)

• Mentha X piperita (peppermint)

• Rosemarinus officinalis (rosemary)

• Usnea barbata (OldMan’s Beard)

For the bitters, I’d recommend you look at some of the commercial tinctures — these are the herbs dissolved in alcohol. If alcohol is a problem for you, there are bitters made in glycerin.

Digestive Demulcents

Demulcents form a soothing film over irritated gut tissue and can reduce a lot of discomfort.

Demulcents include:

• Althea officinalis (marshmallow)

• Arctium lappa (Greater burdock)

• Commiphora myrrha (Common myrrh)

• Glycerrhiza glabra (licorice)

• Linum usitatissimum (Flaxseed oil)

• Olea europa (olive oil)

• Plantago (common plantain)

• Symphytum officinale (Comfrey)

• Thymus vulgaris (Thyme — probably already in your cupboard)

• Ulmus fulva (Slippery elm)

• Verbascum Thapsus (Common Mullein)

My favorites are slippery elm, marshmallow, thyme, licorice, flaxseed oil and olive oil.

You probably noticed that some herbs are repeated. Why have a shelf-full of herbs when there are those that do more than one thing?

The herbs that are overall good for the digestive system and you can use in teas include; goldenseal, licorice, peppermint, chamomile, and dandelion. Dandelion is free to anyone who has a yard! The entire plant is edible. Mix it into a salad, and you’ll never know it was there.

The ones you can use in your cooking include thyme, garlic, olive and flaxseed oil and rosemary. Don’t fry anything with olive and flaxseed oils. High heat ruins their beneficial properties. Use them in salad dressings and bread-making.

Now, all these herbs will help, but don’t forget your probiotics and enzymes!

Also, as stated in an earlier post, there is Deglycyrrhizinated Licorice (DGL) which is a chewable tablet. This has worked wonders for me.

Gareth. I may have misspelled it. I was treated with the inflatable balloon. The symptoms went away and then I was starting to have the same problems again. That stopped with the change of diet.

I think it is more a case of youth is bliss, Sweetpickle. Or, if I remember, youth is ignorance.

I might add that I used to love black pepper. I now take a bottle of capricin into restaurants to sprinkle on foods and nobody is offended.

Also, I think anybody can request an allergy panel. Cost a few hundred dollars. You do not need a prescription here, I don't think. The results are plotted as historgrams, so you do not need a doc to interpret them. You can do it on your own and get easy to interpret results that are pretty self-explanatory.

Arab Nights (imported) wrote: Thu Feb 14, 2013 7:44 pm Gareth. I may have misspelled it. I was treated with the inflatable balloon. The symptoms went away and then I was starting to have the same problems again. That stopped with the change of diet.

I think it is more a case of youth is bliss, Sweetpickle. Or, if I remember, youth is ignorance.

I might add that I used to love black pepper. I now take a bottle of capricin into restaurants to sprinkle on foods and nobody is offended.

Also, I think anybody can request an allergy panel. Cost a few hundred dollars. You do not need a prescription here, I don't think. The results are plotted as historgrams, so you do not need a doc to interpret them. You can do it on your own and get easy to interpret results that are pretty self-explanatory.

Were you experiencing 'brain fog' from a yeast infection?

"Capricin" is Caprilic Acid, an over-the-counter treatment for yeast infections.

How much were you told to take? Studies have shown 2700-3600 mg (http://getridofcandida.org/capricin-ano ... andida.php) per day for 2-4 weeks will totally eliminate the colony in your gut. You should not 'need' a daily regimen of caprilic acid with a modified diet to eliminate excess sugar consumption.

Be sure to rebuild your bacterium levels after the purge (Bifidobacterium infantis (http://www.probiotics-lovethatbug.com/b ... antis.html)).

artisticlicense (imported) wrote: Fri Feb 15, 2013 2:30 am Were you experiencing 'brain fog' from a yeast infection?

Yes brain fog, but not from a yeast infection.

I had one of those days yesterday doing what I hate most. It was making decisiona all day long on things that I am not that good at but try to do the best I can. One of those days where when I finally got back I went right to bed. Except I typed up the post and should have waited for another day.

I typed 'c' and meant to type cayenne but my mind went on auto-dolt after being busy making decisions. What I was getting at is the point someone else made that black pepper (which I love) is really tough on the digestive tract.

I don't know about anybody else, but it can be really disappointing seeing afterwards what I did when I was a little sick and a lot tired or when it is August in Arizona and so on.

artisticlicense (imported) wrote: Fri Feb 15, 2013 2:30 am Were you exper

Arab Nights (imported) wrote: Fri Feb 15, 2013 8:46 am iencing 'brain fog' from a yeast infection?

QUOTE]

Yes brain fog, but not from a yeast infection.

I had one of those days yesterday doing what I hate most. It was making decisiona all day long on things that I am not that good at but try to do the best I can. One of those days where when I finally got back I went right to bed. Except I typed up the post and should have waited for another day.

I typed 'c' and meant to type cayenne but my mind went on auto-dolt after being busy making decisions. What I was getting at is the point someone else made that black pepper (which I love) is really tough on the digestive tract.

I don't know about anybody else, but it can be really disappointing seeing afterwards what I did when I was a little

sick and a lot tired or when it is August in Arizona and so on.

Been there, done that. I have 'those days' about once a week.

Sprinkling cayenne powder on foods at a restaurant makes more sense .

New England Journal of Medicine

February 21, 2013

368:8 page 719

Esophageal Sphincter Device for Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease.

Evaluating "a new magnetic device to augment the lower esophageal sphincter."

Seems to work as good as this years flu vaccine. 60%

G'Luck