236 The Complete Home Guide to Herbs, Natural Healing, and Nutrition
f Long-term use of antacid drugs will make the problem worse, as drug-
induced suppression will eventually lead to increased excess acidity.
Drink three cups of a tea made from meadowsweet leaf and blessed
thistle leaf daily.
~ A one-day fast using slippery elm inner bark powder may help. Mix
one tablespoon of powder with water and drink, or if you prefer, you
could mash it into a ripe banana.
Insufficient Digestive Juices
This condition is a lack or total absence of hydrochloric acid. Average
levels stand at 3 percent in healthy people. Very often, lack of
hydrochloric acid can denote a lack of ability to absorb vitamin B 12 , along
with a defi ciency of another digestive enzyme — pepsin. A great many
cancer patients (including those with stomach cancer) are found to be
defi cient in hydrochloric acid and pepsin; this is also true of children,
especially those with allergies like candidiasis, asthma, and eczema.
- Avoid tea, coffee, fried food, alcohol, cooked spices or an excess of
raw ones, salt, and smoking. - Hydrochloric acid and pepsin production can be balanced by using
apple cider vinegar. Take between one and three tablespoons daily in
apple juice or honey and water. - Eat pineapples and papayas for extra digestive help; the bromelain in
the pineapple is good at breaking down half-digested food matter,
and the papain in papaya digests proteins and starches, soothing the
stomach as it does so.
f Resurrect benefi cial stomach fl ora with acidophilus capsules and garlic.
f Meadowsweet leaf stimulates the parietal cells in the stomach to pro-
duce hydrochloric acid and pepsinogen, if necessary. Take this herb
daily as a tea or a tincture.
f Include digestive herbs as frequently as possible. Try using equal parts
of cinnamon stick, angelica root, fennel seed, Chinese licorice root,
wormwood leaf, and gentian root. Blessed thistle leaf is useful, as it
stimulates all digestive juices as well as encouraging correct acid pro-
duction.
f Increase your general immunity if necessary through occasional use
of echinacea root, elderberry, thuja leaf, or olive leaf.
insomnia and disturbed patterns of sleep
- Follow a healthy diet, totally removing all dietary stimulants like cof-
fee, tea, and sugar.
diseases 236