Healthy Digestion: A Natural Approach to Relieving Indigestion, Gas, Heartburn, Constipation, Colitis & More

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About Healthy Digestion: A Natural Approach To Relieving

Product Description From a clinician with 22 years experience and a fellow of Britainís National Institute of Medical Herbalists, come four new guides to total herbal health. Each volume is a thorough exploration and study of the uses of herbs as preventatives and treatment. From the Publisher From a clinician with 22 years experience and a fellow of Britain's National Institute of Medical Herbalists, come four new guides to total herbal health. Each volume is a thorough exploration and study of the uses of herbs as preventatives and treatment. The series includes Healthy Heart, Healthy Bones & Joints, Easy Breathing, and Healthy Digestion. From the Back Cover Let David Hoffmann show you how to use herbs easily and effectively to maintain your digestive wellness. Herbs, which are directly assimilated into the bloodstream when consumed, can help ease a wide variety of common digestive ailments, including constipation, diarrhea, diverticulitis, flatulence, heartburn, acid reflux, indigestion, and peptic ulcers. Healthy Digestion is your complete guide to tapping into the power of herbs to maintain a healthy digestive system -- with a full directory of useful herbs; preparation instructions and dosage information; and a chapter on simple ways to make your own teas, tinctures, powders, and capsules. About the Author David Hoffmann has been a clinical phytotherapist for almost 20 years. He is one of the founding members and a past president of the American Herbalists Guild. He is on the advisory board of the American Botanical Council, the peer-review boards of Herbalgram and the Protocol Journal of Botanical Medicine, and the steering committee of the American Herbal Pharmacopoea. He is the author of 17 books, including Storey's Healthy Heart, Easy Breathing, Healthy Bones & Joints, and Healthy Digestion. Some of his other publications include The New Holistic Herbal, The Herb Users Guide, and Herbs to Relieve Stress. David also teaches phytotherapy throughout the world, including places such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada. He is visiting faculty at Bastyr University, The California Institute of Integral Studies, the National College of Phytotherapy, and the Rocky Mountain School of Botanical Studies. He resides in Santa Rosa, California. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Chapter 1 Understanding the Digestive System Herbal medicine is uniquely suited for the treatment of illness of the digestive system. Throughout the natural world food is medicine, and the same concept applies to herbs - the ultimate medicinal food. Much of the digestive system illness in our society is simply due to abuse. Today's average Western diet includes a preponderance of overly processed foods, a high proportion of chemical additives, and the direct chemical irritation of alcohol, carbonated drinks, and tobacco. In this context it is easy to see why herbal remedies are so helpful in healing digestive problems; the soothing of demulcents, healing of astringents, and general toning of bitters do much to reverse the damage we do every day. What Is the Digestive System? The digestive system is a series of hollow organs joined in a long, twisting tube - known as the alimentary canal - from the mouth to the anus. Inside the tube is a lining called the mucosa, which in the mouth, stomach, and small intestine contains glands that produce digestive juices. The liver and the pancreas are also part of the system, producing juices that reach the intestine through small tubes. The Process of Digestion The food we eat is not in a form that the body can use as nourishment. It must be broken down into smaller molecules of nutrients that the blood can absorb and carry to the cells of the body. Digestion breaks down food and drink into their smallest parts so that the body can use them to build and nourish cells and to provide energy. The process, which begins in the mouth with chewing and swallowing and is completed