Top 5 herbal remedies for better digestion

Digestion converts the food we eat into nutrients, which are then absorbed by our digestive system. Through food, the body obtains micronutrients (vitamins, minerals and trace elements) and macronutrients (proteins, carbohydrates and fats) that are essential to our health.

This food bolus, transformed by digestion, gives the body the energy and nutrients it needs to develop and renew the billions of cells that make it up.^{1, 4, 5}

The different stages of digestion

First of all, enzymatic activity begins while we're cooking our food, or at the first signal of hunger. As we chew our food, saliva activates ptyalin (amylase), the enzyme that aids starch digestion, starting in the mouth and undertaking the great journey through the digestive system.

Several organs and systems are involved in the assimilation process. Once food has been properly masticated, it travels down the esophagus to the stomach via a nervous reflex that triggers the secretion of digestive juices. The stomach's main function is to initiate protein digestion by hydrochloric acid and proteolytic enzymes (pepsin). These enzymes break down the bolus of food into smaller molecules (amino acids), which are pushed towards the intestine by peristaltic movements. This stage lasts from 1 to 4 hours, and takes place in a highly acidic environment.

Digest, absorb, assimilate

Slowly but surely, the stomach delivers this mush called chyme to the intestine (lipase, maltase, peptidases). Then the pancreas kicks in, releasing enzymes (amylase, trypsin, chymotrypsin, lipase), while the liver gets the bile flowing. The flow of pancreatic and hepatic juices transforms the acidic chyme in the stomach into alkaline chyle in the small intestine, where nutrients pass through the microvilli via the blood and lymph, which then carry this nutrition to its destination throughout the body.

Complete digestion takes between 3 and 10 hours. The intestine performs three vital functions: it completes the digestion of the food prepared by the stomach, allows the digested food to be absorbed by the body, and eliminates unabsorbable or unabsorbed matter by defecation.^{1, 3, 4, 5}

In short, good digestion:

• Good digestion means having a digestive system capable of transforming ingested food into nutrients that are qualitatively and quantitatively suitable for absorption and assimilation.
• Good absorption means having a gastric mucosa, and above all an intestinal mucosa, capable of ensuring the passage of nutrients into the blood and lymph, in a form suitable for assimilation.
• Proper assimilation means having an organism capable of delivering all nutrients to their destination "in due form".^{1, 3, 5}

Factors contributing to slow or disturbed digestion

• Our food choices (junk food, overcooked and/or reheated foods) influence our digestion
• Hearty meals
• Chronic stress, fatigue and anxiety
• Poor and/or inadequate chewing
• Taking certain medications
• Food intolerances
• Poor liver health
• Consumption of soft drinks
• Alcohol and tobacco consumption
• Ageing
• Etc.^{3, 4}

One in three Canadians suffers from a digestive problem.³

Symptoms of poor digestion

• Gastric reflux
• Gas and bloating
• Flatulence
• Abdominal cramps
• Intestinal irregularity
• Constipation or diarrhea
• Foul breath
• Food intolerances or allergies
• Inflammation
• Permeable intestine
• Intestinal dysbiosis
• Nausea
• Gastric ulcers
• Increased inflammation and risk of chronic disease
• Etc.^{3, 4, 6}

The links between digestion and overall health

Digestion is central to overall health, providing the body with necessary nutrients and playing a key role in the immune system, mental health, heart health and weight management. Healthy digestion is linked to a good intestinal microbiota, which, when balanced, supports the body in many ways beyond the simple assimilation of food.^{1, 3, 6}

Digestion and the parasympathetic system

Did you know that digestion is associated with the parasympathetic nervous system? In fact, the parasympathetic nervous system prepares the body to conserve energy, promoting rest and digestion, intestinal motility, cardiac relaxation and more.

Stress and/or fatigue inhibit the secretion of digestive enzymes and gastric acid, impairing our digestive and absorption capacities, and having an impact on our microbiome and therefore on our immune system.

Today, in our modern lifestyle where eating is done while working, cell phone in hand, it's our sympathetic nervous system that dominates, the one opposed to digestion. The sympathetic nervous system is the one that prepares us for action, increasing our heart rate, speeding up our breathing, stimulating our metabolism and thus hindering our digestion.⁷

Good digestion: good practices

• Eat a balanced diet: Include fruit, vegetables, quality proteins (lean meat, fish, eggs, legumes), nuts and oilseeds and wholemeal starchy foods (brown rice, quinoa, etc.).
• Limit hard-to-digest foods: Reduce consumption of fast sugars, fried foods, processed foods, soft drinks and certain legumes or cabbage, which can cause bloating and gas.
• Eat at regular times: Establishing regular meal times helps to regulate the digestive system and avoid snacking between meals.
• Chew your food well: Good chewing greatly facilitates the work of the stomach and intestines.
• Drink enough water: Water is essential for the proper functioning of the body, including the digestive system.
• Exercise regularly: Physical activity promotes intestinal movement and helps prevent digestive disorders such as constipation.⁸

Digestion, natural supplements and medicinal plants: questions to ask yourself

Before taking natural supplements for digestion, it's essential to ask whether a supplement is really necessary and to understand the origin of the disorder. You should also ask questions about the type of supplement, its dosage, the duration of the treatment and possible interactions with other treatments, or seek the advice of a healthcare professional.⁹

Plant extracts to our rescue

Herbal extracts are worth considering as they offer a natural approach to improving health and well-being by helping to boost the immune system, relieve various ailments such as digestive disorders and stress, and restore energy balance. They provide beneficial active compounds, often with a long history of use, that can target specific health problems.⁹

The role of plants in digestion

Bitter plants

Known for their tonic properties on the digestive system. Their bitterness stimulates the production of saliva, digestive enzymes and gastric acids, which aids digestion, reduces bloating and can even stimulate the appetite.

Antiemetic plants

Antiemetic plants are those that prevent, relieve or alleviate nausea and vomiting.

Choleretic plants

Choleretic plants stimulate the liver to produce more bile, helping to digest fats and detoxify.

Cholagogue plants

Cholagogues stimulate the production and evacuation of bile by the gallbladder into the intestine, facilitating fat digestion and toxin elimination.

Carminative plants

A carminative plant is one that helps relieve intestinal gas, bloating and other digestive disorders by promoting elimination and relaxing intestinal muscles.

Hepato-protective plants

Hepato-protective plants are plants that support liver health. They act by protecting liver cells, promoting bile production and helping the liver to detoxify.

Regenerating plants

Hepato-regenerative plants help support liver function, protect it and promote regeneration.

Stomach plants

A stomachic plant is one that aids digestion and stimulates the appetite. They are often used to soothe digestive discomforts such as bloating, gas or spasms.²

Top 5 herbal remedies for better digestion

Dandelion root

Dandelion is a bitter-sweet plant with stomachic (appetite-stimulating), hepatic and cholagogue properties. 

Dandelion improves digestion by stimulating the liver's production of bile, making it easier to digest fats and eliminate toxins, uric acid and cholesterol.

Its roots, rich in prebiotic fibers such as inulin and taraxacin (a bitter compound), nourish good intestinal bacteria and can help reduce bloating and constipation.

It also acts on the urinary tract, and its effects are felt on the body's general condition, blood, skin, joints and so on.

Dandelion can be eaten in salads (leaves) or infusions (dried roots) for its digestive benefits.^{2, 10, 17}

Canadian company Natural Factors offers a dandelion root capsule supplement that lets you benefit from its properties:

• Bitter tonic (hepatic) and aperitive or stomachic (stimulates appetite).
• Stimulates biliary function (cholagogue, choleretic)
• Eliminates toxins, (uric) acids and cholesterol
• Diuretic
• Helps reduce water retention
• Improves intestinal transit

Ginger root

Ginger is a root, or more precisely a rhizome, widely recognized for its distinctive aromatic properties and warming qualities, including essential oils that provide a sensation of warmth, useful on cold winter days.

Aromatic rhizome: Its unique flavor, both pungent and slightly lemony, comes from its phenolic compounds, notably gingerol and shogaol.

Rich in essential oils: It contains volatile oils such as zingiberene, which contribute to its characteristic fragrance and effects on the body.

It can warm the stomach and relieve nausea thanks to its antiemetic (nausea-relieving), antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory properties.

Gingerol, one of its active ingredients, is responsible for its beneficial effects on the stomach and intestines.

Ginger extract capsules from Natural Factors brings you the digestive benefits of ginger:

• Stimulates gastrointestinal motility: It increases the speed at which food leaves the stomach, reducing intestinal transit time.
• Promotes digestive enzyme production: It stimulates the production of digestive enzymes such as lipase and amylase, helping to break down fats and carbohydrates and better absorb nutrients.
• Promotes production of bile and gastric juices: Helps stimulate secretion of gastric and bile juices, facilitating digestion, especially after a heavy meal.
• Relieves nausea (antiemetic): It is highly effective in relieving nausea, whether related to motion sickness, pregnancy or other factors.
• Reduces bloating, cramps and other digestive discomforts: By reducing muscle spasms in the digestive tract, it helps alleviate bloating, gas and cramps.^{2, 11, 19}

Licorice root

Glycyrrhizic acid, the active ingredient in licorice root, has anti-inflammatory and healing properties that help strengthen the stomach lining.

Licorice protects and helps renew the cells of the digestive (mucin) and duodenal mucosa, which is particularly useful for ulcers. It helps regulate gastric acidity, relieving heartburn and reflux.

Antibacterial action: Licorice's active compounds have a bactericidal action on H. pylori. Licorice extracts have been shown to inhibit the growth of this bacterium.

Deglycyrrhizinated licorice (DGL) from Natural Factors is a chewable tablet designed to be chewed for optimal absorption, and its use helps relieve stomach upsets such as heartburn and indigestion by protecting the stomach lining.

Licorice root and its many properties:

• Anti-inflammatory
• Antibacterial
• Protects the liver and kidneys
• Choleretic (stimulates bile secretion by the liver)
• Slightly diuretic
• can relieve heartburn, reflux, bloating and cramps, intestinal and gastric spasms and discomforts

Important information:

Licorice can increase blood pressure, so people with high blood pressure are advised to avoid it or consult a health professional.

Milk thistle

Milk thistle (Silybum marianum) is widely recognized as an essential and highly effective plant for supporting the digestive system and, in particular, the liver.

It is often referred to as the protective plant, thanks to its ability to halt the degeneration of liver cells and its regenerative, antioxidant action.

It is a detoxifying plant par excellence for the liver, a central organ of digestion.

As a reminder, the liver :

• Kills microbes and viruses and neutralizes their toxins
• Inactivates and flushes out toxic substances that have been consumed: food additives, dangerous minerals, toxic drugs, etc.
• Extracts waste and residues of cellular metabolites from the blood: dead cells, spent minerals, combustion waste, cholesterol, etc.
• Eliminates waste from intestinal fermentation and putrefaction

Milk thistle owes its reputation mainly to silymarin, its major active ingredient, which has powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and regenerative properties.

Natural Factors offers a natural supplement of milk thistle extract which brings you the following benefits:

Its main actions on digestion are as follows:

• Liver protection and regeneration: Silymarin helps protect liver cells through its neutralizing and filtering action against toxins (alcohol, drugs, environmental pollutants, poisons, etc.) and promotes regeneration of damaged liver tissue.
• Reducing the harmful effects of alcohol
• Milk thistle is an excellent way to prevent the after-effects of a heavy night's drinking. It boosts the liver's ability to metabolize alcohol and quickly remove it from the bloodstream, and reduces side effects such as headaches, nausea, dizziness, etc.
• Stimulates bile production: By supporting liver function, milk thistle helps to unclog the liver and stimulate bile production, essential for fat digestion.
• Relief of digestive disorders: It is commonly used to relieve symptoms of difficult digestion, such as bloating, stomach heaviness and sluggish liver.
• Action on the intestine: It can also soothe inflammatory processes in the intestine and help regulate gastric juice production, thus contributing to gastrointestinal comfort.^{2, 13, 20}

Peppermint oil

Grown throughout the world, peppermint (Mentha x piperita) is a perennial herb renowned for its antispasmodic and relaxing properties that relieve bloating, gas and indigestion.

Its benefits derive from its menthol- and menthone-rich composition, which relaxes the smooth muscles of the digestive tract, accelerating gastric emptying and soothing intestinal spasms. Peppermint, used as an infusion or diluted essential oil, helps improve digestive comfort, particularly after a heavy meal.

Peppermint acts on a broad spectrum of digestive problems

First of all, peppermint is a stomachic plant (stimulates the appetite), and can act on dyspepsia and aid digestion. It can reduce bloating, aerophagia, flatulence and bad breath. It can stimulate the production and excretion of bile, inhibit the formation of gallstones, relieve intestinal spasms and act on irritable bowel syndrome and gastritis, including nausea and vomiting, etc.

Natural Factors capsules are coated with enteric-release technology, which means they release the oil directly into the lower intestine, where it is most effective, rather than into the stomach. This peppermint formulation is combined with other ingredients such as oregano and caraway oil, adding antifungal properties.

About the author

Marie Couture, Certified Naturopath

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References

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2. Gagnon Caroline, Lantôt-Bédard Valérie, Materia Medica Pour sorcières et sorciers avertis, Éditions 2003-2004558 pages

3. Turcotte Annie, Les maladies de l'intestin, La semaine santé, No.26. Page 10 and 3

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