Ulcers are very often the culmination of long-term stomach problems that many doctors believe often result from untreated bacterial infection. The resulting excessive acidity can literally burn the stomach walls, leaving them inflamed and even bleeding. These problems can also mean that the mucous membranes of the gut wall are no longer able to function in a healthy way, so that acid and digestive enzymes come in contact with the wall and erode, disturb, and irritate. The result is an ulcer, which is very painful. A condition known as leaky gut syndrome can also develop, to which the body responds by increasing barrier protection. This “armoring” produces a further complication of larger-than-normal molecules being absorbed by the gut, which in turn creates an immune response and a generalized allergic reaction. Both conditions should be treated in the same way.
Start each morning with a glass of springwater and fresh lemon juice—this combination eradicates excess hydrochloric acid and removes any lingering food from the night before. It can also encourage the correct production of hydrochloric acid.
Foods should be easily digestible and nonfatty, with no highly fibrous food, nuts, or cooked spices.
Include culinary herbs such as fennel, garlic, caraway, tumeric, mint, ginger, and basil, to aid digestion and ward off bacterial opportunists.
Eat apple puree, rice, pureed vegetables, and all easily digestible foods (see chapter 4) while the healing process is taking place.
Eat pineapples and papayas for extra digestive help; include aloe vera juice as a drink to prevent any harm to the stomach walls.
Take one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar daily in half a cup of apple juice.
Food intake should be slow, unhurried, and calm. Chewing should be thorough and slow. Eating without talking can be helpful initially.
If a major cause of the ulcer is stress and worry, take chamomile flower tea to feed and calm the nervous system. Valerian root will be invaluable in the short term.
Daily meadowsweet leaf and gentian root will help to soothe and balance stomach acids and general digestive enzymes.
Besides bacterial infection, the cause of gastric ulcers can be nerve-related, so nerve soothers and feeders will be useful. Try equal amounts of chamomile flower, wood betony leaf, skullcap leaf, and wild lettuce leaves. On a short-term basis, take valerian root.
To heal the ulcer, use powders of slippery elm inner bark, marshmallow root, licorice root, and chamomile flower. These powders can be mixed with aloe vera gel and eaten as a mush sweetened with honey several times a day. These herbs will coat, heal, allow tissue regrowth, and sustain a lubricated seal between incoming food, stomach acids, and the painful ulcer.
Liver and bowel cleanses will be vital..
Exercise, sing, dance, and meditate to relieve any stress.
This How to Treat an Ulcer with Herbs article is taken from :
The complete home guide to herbs, natural healing, and nutrition / Jill Rosemary Davies.
