Digestive upsets are common in the festive season, but they easily treated with herbal remedies. Indigestion and many other stomach problems respond well to simple home remedies. Keep bags of chamomile, peppermint and ginger teas in the cupboard for the holiday season – or make your own herbal infusions with dried or fresh herbs.
Useful Herbs for the Festive Season
- Chamomile tea and chamomile infusions are safe home remedies for adults and kids, and even for babies. Chamomile helps to calm an upset stomach, and the tea is a much used home remedy for colic in babies and diarrhea in children. Chamomile infusions also help to soothe the nerves and can be used to relieve anxiety, stress and sleeping problems.
- Peppermint or mint teas and infusions improve digestion after heavy and fatty meals. A cup of mint tea after a meal is a great digestive aid and can relieve bloating, nausea and many other stomach upsets. Peppermint infusions are also helpful if you catch a cold during the holidays.
- Ginger is an excellent home remedy for many digestive upsets. Add a few slices of ginger root into a cup of boiling hot water and let it steep for at least ten minutes (or for even better results, add ginger slices into and bring it to boil) and drink to relieve nausea, upset stomachs and any other festive digestive problems. To make a simple but effective home remedy for sore throats, colds and coughs, add the juice of a half a lemon, and a little honey, to the ginger infusion.
Many spices that are used during the holiday season are also home remedies that help to stimulate or to soothe the digestive system. As well as ginger, other spices that help the digestive process include cardamom, cloves and cinnamon. Cardamom is a digestive aid, cinnamon gives a boost to a sluggish digestion and also relieves flatulence and diarrhea, and cloves are helpful for diarrhea or stomach cramps.
And if you feel like you have over-indulged over the holidays, dandelion is a great detoxifying herb that supports the liver, cleanses the blood and also relieves digestive problems including constipation.
Home Remedies for Holiday Stress
To relieve holiday stress during the festive season, burn relaxing essential oils in the house. Frankincense, a traditional seasonal scent, is also a great stress reliever. Blend a couple of drops of Frankincense essential oil with a few drops of Orange essential oil in your essential oil burner, or try some of the many other stress-relieving essential oils in Aromatherapy Home Remedies for Stress.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
