Natural Remedies for A Stomach Ache
It has been a while since I have shared some of my ideas and tools as a keeper of our family’s health. Since starting a family I have found it of the utmost importance to have a tool kit to draw from when someone falls ill.
Previously in this series you will find:
- Wives and Mothers as Keepers of the Health
- Healing Animals with Homemade Enzymes
- Medicinal Uses of Common Culinary Herbs
- Treating a Toddler’s Cold
Stomach aches can be a common occurrence amongst both children and adults. Although I have found that healing our gut and addressing proper digestion with plenty of beneficial bacteria has dropped the occurrence of tummy issues to very rarely.
So when one comes down with a sour tummy, or even a stomach flu I have learned to implement a few tools. When treating any problem there are two routes: 1). treating the core problem and 2). treating the symptoms. I believe the most important thing to do is to address the root cause of the problem and then treat the symptoms in order to make one more comfortable.
Fermented Foods
My first line of defense when a stomach problem comes on is to feed them fermented foods such as:
Kombucha (or water kefir) is invariably the first thing I reach for. The carbonation aids in settling the stomach, the probiotics address a systemic problem, and the enzymes seem to break down any food-related problem. Fermented dairy and vegetables are also helpful in adding probiotics and enzymes to the equation.
Probiotics
We generally keep a good quality probiotic on hand (see sources) for a myriad of reasons. It is useful not only to treat a simple stomach ache, but also if a family member suddenly needs to be on antibiotics. Probiotics can help to repopulate the gut with friendly bacteria in order to avoid candida, which can come on after antibiotic use.
Keep in mind that the fermented foods above are real food probiotics. The health benefits of the addition of these food to ones diet on a daily basis can not be overstated.
Herbs and Teas
Once the core issues have been addressed I like to soothe the tummy with some additional herbs and teas. My three go-to herbs for tummy aches are:
- peppermint
- ginger
- chamomile
All three have soothing and settling properties for the stomach. To make a tea: combine two or three of the above and use 1-2 teaspoons (dried) per cup of boiling water. It is a good idea to use ginger sparingly, in a 1:2 ratio with the others, as it is quite spicy.
If you prefer to take herbs in supplement form Kroeger Herb’s Healthy Gut, as seen in my sidebar, is a great combination of herbs and roots that promote healing and soothe the stomach.
Disclaimer: These are just a few tools that I use to help my family. I am not a medical professional. I would recommend that you see a medical professional in the case of a serious illness.
How do you treat a loved one’s stomach ache?
I do a shot of sauerkraut juice when I have an upset stomach (especially if it’s from overeating). For nausea, I like peppermint or ginger.
My husband has IBS and swears by a daily teaspoon of virgin coconut oil. He also eats yogurt daily, but has noticed more benefit from the VCO. I can’t get him to eat sauerkraut, but I’m going to try to find him some coated peppermint oil capsules to see if that helps.
We just finished dealing with some tummy aches in our house – my husband spent the weekend in bed handling a sour stomach. Aloe vera juice is a good one, too (I wonder if I could kefir it with my water kefir crystals… hmm. Any ideas?), and the coconut oil also seemed to help.
Also, I have learned to use Bach’s Rescue Remedy for those times when it seems like our tummies are responding to stress… works every time, especially for children.
Do you have any suggestions for how to repopulate the gut with good bacteria after a baby has been on antibiotics? She is 6 1/2 months old, so I was wondering if a high-intensity probiotic supplement would be too strong for the baby’s system. I was going to try kefiring some raw goat milk and feeding her a few tablespoons of that every day. LOL, what do you think about kefiring breastmilk?! 😉
Also, she hasn’t had a bowel movement since she went on the antibiotics… that’s been over a week. Any suggestions, anyone? I know it’s because of her gut, but now we’ve got this “symptom” that needs to be resolved while we work on the root (gut). Purreed stewed prunes is a common strain of thought, but I think the sugar would simply exacerbate the issue of improper gut flora. Any non-starch, non-sugar treatments that anyone knows about?!
Thanks for your help!
You can give the baby a probiotic supplement, just ask at the health food/supp store for a good recommendation, or open a capsule of any good quality probiotic and mix a little of it in her food or drink, or even just put a little in her mouth before she nurses, etc. You can also use sauerkraut juice or other lactofermented veg/fruit liquid and mix it with her normal meal or let her lick it off a spoon. Very small amounts through out the day is all it takes, as these are powerful foods! You can actually culture/ferment baby food if she is eating solids too…take your puree and add a little culture starter (commercial or homemade like whey, etc. that you would culture veggies with) and let it sit out on counter in closed jar for a day or two (depending on what you are culturing and temp, could be even longer). Any of these things should help produce a bowel movement, perhaps a BIG cleansing out, so go slowly at first!
wow, great tips! thank you 🙂
xx fallon
Jenn, my husband thought he had IBS too, it turned out to be Food Intolerance to wheat/gluten. We all went gluten free for 6 months (cuz he couldn’t do it by himself ) and when we tested wheat again he was fine. Sometimes when we over-consume a food, we develop an intolerance to it. A good allergy elimination diet would be a good idea for him. He could be eating the allergen every day or every week and not even knowing it.
That was 5 years ago, my husbands ‘Irritable Bowel Syndrome’ is gone completely.
I used to used the herbs you mentioned and they helped a lot. But I really feel that now that I’m adding the probiotic rich foods to my diet, that it is helping the overall root of the problem which you talked about. I really can tell a difference when I drink kombucha daily as well as eating homemade yogurt. I also just drink a little saurkraut juice if I don’t feel good and it helps. Another thing which I have found has helped when I have a cold is apple cider vinegar – one that is fermented with the mother strands in it.
Re Katies question on repopulating the gut with good bacteria after a baby has been on antibiotic I read yesterday – and I am NOT suggesting she try this with a baby – there are new therapies which involve re populating peoples digestive tract with normal gut flora by introducing someone else’s faeces into the digestive system (I know it sounds disgusting). It has been successfully used to cure chronic diarrhoea and is about 90% effective. Google it!
A few months ago I started drinking Aloe Vera juice in am and I’m in water. It has many healing properties.
I drink cider vinegar in water. Granddaughter doesn’t take to this, so we have her drink pickle juice.
3 of my kids, and I, all have Crohns’ Disease so stomach aches are a common thing. I keep peeled ginger in the freezer, and slice a piece off whenever I need. ( in a glass of water or cup of tea.)
My mom has been having really bad stomach pains for two days now, and the lemon water soothed her a little bit, but what else should I do?
Sorry for the delayed reply. Depending on what is going on, sometimes things like activated charcoal (take out toxins) or apple cider vinegar can help too.