Caraway Seeds
The caraway seeds are a popular spice and a flavouring agent. The dried fruits or seeds are brown in colour, hard and sharp to touch. They have pleasant odour, aromatic flavour, sharp taste and leave somewhat warm feeling in the mouth.
Caraway seeds are a food of great value for relieving gas in the stomach. They expel wind from the stomach and are useful in flatulent colic, countering any possible adverse effects of medicines. However, the volatile oil of the seeds is used more often than the seeds themselves. For flatulence, a cup of tea made from caraway seeds taken thrice a day, after meals, will give relief.
This tea is prepared by adding a teaspoon of caraway seeds in 1.5 to 2 litres of boiling water and allowing them to simmer on a slow fire for 15 minutes. The water is then strained and sipped hot or warm.
Chamomile
Chamomile, also known as bitter or German chamomile, is a popular herb. It is an erect annual plant. The flowers of this plant constitute the drug chamomile. They contain many medicinal virtues. They relieve flatulence and induce copious perspiration. They are also stimulants.
Chamomile possesses anti-gas activity. It expels wind from the stomach and is an effective remedy for digestive disorders, especially of nervous origin. It can be used beneficially in dyspepsia, flatulence and colic. A powder of the flowers or one to three drops of oil extracted from flowers is taken in 1 to 2 gram doses in the treatment of these disorders.
Chebulic Myroblan
Chebulic myroblan is a carminative food. It helps relieve gas in the stomach. Its juice is very valuable in the treatment of acidity and heart-burn. It neutralises too much acidity in the stomach, if taken after principal meals. For better results, this juice should be combined with the juice of Indian gooseberry. Chewing a piece of chebulic myroblan is an age-old remedy for heartburn.
Cinnamon
Cinnamon stimulates digestion and relieves gas in the stomach. Coarsely powdered and boiled in a glass of water with a pinch of pepper powder and honey, it can be beneficially used as a carminative medicine for flatulence and indigestion. A tablespoon of this water should be taken half an hour after meals.
Citrus Fruit
The term citrus fruit includes orange, lemon, grapefruit, lime, malta and mosambi. They play an important role in building health. In addition to being one of the most valuable sources of vitamin C in the diet, they are valuable for their tartness and flavour.
The value of citrus fruits emanate from large amounts of vitamin C, calcium and oligo elements, as well as from easily assimilated sugars, citric acid and citrates contained in them. These substances play a vital role in the body’s activities. The citrus fruits are fairly acidic to taste, but when they are burnt in the tissues, they leave an alkaline residue, so that their ultimate effect is to maintain the normal alkaline reserve of the body.
Their acids do not increase the body’s acidity, but in fact have opposite effect. Acid salts of organic acids, such as potassium citrate, lose their original acidity by oxidation. Thus, all that is left are alkaline elements. All citrus fruits are thus gas relieving foods and are highly beneficial in the treatment of hyperacidity, indigestion and other digestive disorders.
The most important of these fruits are lemon and lime. Lemon juice reaches the stomach and attacks the bacteria, inhibiting the formation of acids. Limejuice also acts in the similar way. A teaspoon of fresh limejuice, mixed with equal quantity of honey, and licked, will help stop bilious vomiting, indigestion, burning in the chest and excessive accumulation of saliva in the mouth. A teaspoon of limejuice mixed with water and a pinch of soda-bicarb makes an excellent remedy for acidity in the stomach. It also acts as a powerful carminative in case of indigestion.