When I was a kid I used to often visit my ancestral village and this place till today relies on home made remedies and the results are fast and quick. Sad to say that this practice is dying. People are relying more and more on allopathy, though Homeopathy and Ayurveda has stood its ground.
I was and still am amazed how the native villagers have a cure for everything. Unless its severe these herbs or remedies are just perfect for giving you relief.
In case of indigestion, the best remedy is having raw turmeric crushed and mixing the juice of it in a glass of cold milk. I found the taste not very much to my liking but it proved effective. It is good for stomach upsets, gas and loose motion. Turmeric has a high medicinal value as a herb.
If you are having gas problems, you could mix cold water, mustard oil and little Limestone( choona, what we have with bettlenut)in a small bowl. Mix it well with your hands and then apply all over your stomach in a circular motion till the mixture is well blended with the skin. This is very helpful in keeping your stomach cool and prevents stomach upsets. Dont put too much. Just two table spoons are enough.
This is very helpful for kids who tend to eat anything and everything. Just before bath or on weekends you could apply this on your kids stomach and you would not have to worry. They will grow up to be individuals with strong stomachs.
This is very good for kids and young ones. My mom used to apply this once a week or so and well I never had stomach problems. So I speak from experience. It gives you a very cool feeling. Ideally apply this 1 hour before bathing once a week.This also helps regularise the motions.
As we all know, lime is a very good antidote for diarrohea. Lime+Water+sugar+salt is a very good digestive and it helps in stomach upsets. Specially if you are losing lots of water. But lime might not suit everyone. It causes acidity is some so you gotta test it first. Avoid having lime juice on an empty stomach.
The next best thing is to have Dal(lentils) water. Thats very good for running stomach. Banana is also good for a running stomach.
In South India I have seen that curd is very good for digestion. There is actually a dish which is made of curd and rice and a little spice. It is a tasty dish and very filling. It acts a neutraliser for the rich food we Indians have. If you have to cook for a person with running stomach, you could cook a curry with raw banana or potatoes with jeera( cumin seeds). Raw Banana tightens your stomach. It tastes very good if you just fry the slices in little oil with salt and turmeric.
Ideally in the North east, people have the habit of applying mustard oil in the navel while taking bath. Dont ask me why but it somehow strengthens your immune system.
There is a certain fruit( unfortunately I dont know the name). This is called’Thekeda’ in assamese and’Thoikod’ in Bengali. This stuff is dried with salt. This is mixed with hot water. The juice of this dried fruit is very helpful for the stomach. I wish I could give you the english equivalent for this fruit.Sorry readers! its not helpful, but I mentioned it, just in case.Its another important herbal remedy of the place from where I come.
There are lots of leaves and green vegetables that are very much useful for the stomach but unfortunately I dont know the names in English and I dont want to confuse my readers:). People in the villages survive on these vegetables and they lead a very healthy life too.
And last but not the least a pickle made of lime is also very helpful. This pickle is very common in Assam. Anyone can make it. You just have to mix whole round lemons with lots of salt and keep it in a ceramic bottle or a glass bottle. Keep it in the sun for about one or two months and this salt then penetrates the lemon and the lemon becomes brown and soft. This is excellent for the stomach. Its very tasty as a pickle and it is very good for digestion. This pickle takes time but the end result is what it matters.
So heres wishing you a very healthy stomach!