According to the National Digestive Disease Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC) 60 to 70 million people are affected by digestive diseases and 14 million are hospitalized from them. Do a search on IBS, a common digestive disorder and you will get 216,000 hits. The digestion process is basically your body breaking down food into a form it can use to build and nourish cells and provide energy. When the process goes wrong you can experience stomach pain, nausea, flatulence and diarrhea. These symptoms are all very uncomfortable and can make it difficult to get through the work day. Digestive disorders account for more lost work time than most other illnesses combined.Digestive disorders can be difficult to treat and are some of the least understood disorders affecting the human body. Digestive disorders range from mild constipation or diarrhea which can be treated with over the counter remedies to more complicated conditions like Crohn’s disease and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) both currently considered very difficult to treat. Many medical experts also include cancers of the digestive symptoms, including colorectal (colon) and pancreatic cancer. The American Cancer Society estimates that 130.000 cases of colorectal cancer are diagnosed in the United States each year, making it the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in American men and women.

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Probiotics Reviews

Just saw this in the health section of our paper and wanted to pass it on. Attune bars, say they are loaded with probiotics (help get rid of bad bacteria in your stomach) . The company claims their bars have five times the cultures found in yogurt. The bars are labeled as Probiotic Wellness Bars and come in either chocolate flavor or a variety of yogurt coated granola flavors. The editors say in the article they tested them and “the chocolate flavored bar was to die for.” Chocolate bars (20) grams are 80 to 100 calories apiece and granola bars are 170 calories apiece (good for breakfast or snacking). The article said in our area you can find them at Whole Foods and HEB in the refrigerated section. Price is $1.19-$1.59. Website for attunefoods is attunefoods.com. Somebody try some and let me know if they are really as good as they say. 

If you don’t want to bother with bars, you can buy probiotic supplements. This company is offering a free trial. See the offer below:

See our previous post on Probiotic Foods

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Natural Remedies for Bad Breath

I have really have nothing against mouthwash except that I do think it tastes really bad. That said there a lot of natural ways to freshen your breath and they are handy to use when mouthwash is not available.

Parsley - Parsley is a natural breath freshner. You just need to chew a sprig or two and your breath will be great. Lots of times at restaurants you will find some on your plate as decoration. Instead of just leaving it, take the curly part and chew on it for a minute or two. Your dining companions will thank you if you plan on kissing them goodnight.

Parsley is almost as rich in Vitamin A as cod liver oil according to Pamela Allardice author of Natural Remedies A – Z. It is also rich in iron making it a useful supplement for anyone suffering from anemia. It is rich in Vitamin C, calcium and other minerals. So just a few minutes chewing on a spring or two can be very good for your body.

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Benefits of Cinnamon

When King Solomon was plagued with indigestion, he used cinammon to treat his indigestion. I first heard about the benefits of cinnamon in  Teresa and Joe Graedons column – The People’s Pharmacy. Cinnamon is an effective natural rememdy for all kinds of digestive complaints such as flatulence, diarhea, nausea and cramps. Cinnamon tea is also an anti-spasmodic making it good for preventing internal cramping (during your period) and “night  cramps” of the leg,calf and foot. Pamela Allardice author of Natural Remedies A-Z says “Leg cramps may be further alleviated by supplementing the diet with calcium and an increased intake of vitaman B-6.”

She recommends using 2 teaspoons of the dried powdered bark (I use the mexican cinnamon you can buy at the grocery store. It crumbles easily.) steeped in boiling water for 15 minutes. Then sip cooled tea slowly, one hour before each meal.

More recently the  U.S. Department of Agriculture has conducted research which suggests that cinnamon regulates blood sugar, inhibits cancer cells and is anti-inflammatory. The blood sugar part was what caught my eye in the Peoples Pharmacy Column. My husband is pre-diabetic and has high triglycerides, so I am very concerned about blood sugar. The way I work cinnamon into our diet is to make cinnamon flavored coffee. I break up a half a stick of mexican cinnamon and mix it in with the ground coffee before it gets brewed. The coffee tastes great and we get the benefit of the cinammon.

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Ginseng Tea

According to Pamela Allardice author of Natural Remedies A-Z ginseng  powder will help regulate the body temperature as it is an ‘alterative’ or body restorer. She recommends overcoming fatigue by drinking a cup of ginseng tea. She also suggests chewing the fresh or dried root, or add a pinch of the extract to food when cooking, to help regulate temperature imbalances and dizziness during hot weather. For dried root put a 1/2 teaspoon in a cup of water, bring to a boil and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Drink this three times a day.

Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld said recently “This popular herb has long been used to boost energy, increase sex drive, prolong life and improve appetite. However, most of the research supporting its effectiveness was performed on animals. Try it if you like but don’t take ginseng if you have heart disease,diabetes,high blood pressure or are taking an anticoagulent.

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