Enjoy Eating Again! 10 Tips for Avoiding Heartburn

If you suffer from heartburn, here are some easy suggestions for effective food therapies. 1. Avoid tomatoes, dark chocolate, raw onions, fried food, mint teas, and red wine.2. Drink demulcent teas such as slippery elm, marshmallow and licorice. Fennel tea is also good. Stay away from peppermint tea, which relaxes the esophagus and can actually contribute to reflux. 3. Drink carrot juice (1-2 cups/day). Carrots are alkaline-forming and anti-inflammatory and help many digestive problems. 4. Eat fresh papaya or take papaya enzymes. 5. Eat smaller, more frequent meals.6. Take acidophilus or other probiotics, or drink kefir. 7. Drink other fresh vegetable juices such as cabbage, celery and even raw potato (leave skin on). 8. Avoid eating for at least 3 hours before bedtime.9. Avoid aspirin and ibuprofen, which can aggravate heartburn. 10. Reduce carbonated beverages and caffeine.

Acupuncture and Chinese herbs are also great for reducing heartburn as they can resolve "Stomach Heat," the most common Chinese diagnosis for heartburn and GERD.

Follow these guidelines for a month and see how much better you feel! You might even be able to eat a bowl of spaghetti bolognese again without worry.

Warm a Cold, Cool a Fever

When life is interrupted by sudden sneezing or a sore throat, you can easily make the following at home from common pantry items: • For common cold with runny nose, chills, head/neck ache, but no sore throat: Sweat it out with a soup of fresh ginger, scallion, cilantro, cabbage, and cayenne (high in vitamin C). Drink cinnamon stick tea (gui zhi) or fresh ginger tea (sheng jiang) with brown sugar. Avoid cold foods like salad, iced drinks and ice cream (sorry!). This is called "wind-cold" in Chinese medicine and is the most common type of cold.

• For swollen sore throat, bodyache, fever and possibly a cough: Drink tea made from a Chinese herb like peppermint (bo he). Chrysanthemum tea (ju hua) is also great but you might have to make a trip to the Asian market. Keep food intake light, drink lots of fruit and veggie juices, and add honey to your tea. This is called "wind-heat" and can correspond to the flu or tonsillitis in Western parlance.

Herbs for Tummy Trouble

Does your child ever complain of a tummy ache? Try fennel (xiao hui xiang), a Chinese medicinal used to treat stomachache and colic. Make a tea by pouring boiling water over 2 tsp. of crushed fennel seeds, let cool and then drink. You can also get fennel extract from an herbal practitioner.

If Irritable Bowel Syndrome or "nervous stomach” is what troubles your child, try enteric-coated peppermint capsules such as Pepogest brand. Peppermint oil (called bo he in Chinese/Pinyin) helps ease spasms but shouldn't be used for acid reflux.

Probiotics from the refrigerated section of the health food store will also help over the short and long terms, especially if your child has had to take antibiotics, and they now even make them specifically formulated for kids.

Top 12 Chinese Herbs Familiar to Westerners

The use of herbs, whether animal, vegetable or mineral, is an essential part of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and generally produces zero side effects. Most often, we combine herbs in a formula of 4-15 ingredients customized to the individual. You might be familiar with many of the following herbs used in TCM. I’ve listed their common uses and pinyin names.1. Cinnamon (gui zhi and rou gui): common cold with chills; arthritis; type 2 diabetes. Daily use has been shown to lower blood sugar, triglycerides and cholesterol levels just as well as the class of drugs known as statins. (Best to use medicinal extracts, not the powder from the spice rack.)

2. Hawthorn (shan zha): high blood pressure; coronary artery disease; high cholesterol

3. Fresh ginger (sheng jiang): nausea; upset stomach; morning sickness; motion sickness; common cold with chills; cough

4. Mint (bo he): common cold with fever and sore throat; headache; rashes

5. Licorice (gan cao): diarrhea; cough; asthma; ulcers; leg spasms; high cholesterol. (Taken long-term, licorice can cause high blood pressure and/or water retention, so only use under the care of a licensed acupuncturist.)

6. Watermelon (xi gua): summertime colds, when it's hot and humid out

7. Hemp seed (huo ma ren): constipation

8. Jujube (da zao): fatigue; low appetite

9. Barley malt sugar, or maltose (yi tang): low appetite; dry cough

10. Gelatin (e jiao): dizziness; palpitations; chronic bleeding; dry cough

11. Garlic (da suan): diarrhea; flu prevention

12. Ginseng(ren shen):Like caffeine, the famous ginseng, sold in tiny bottled “shots” even at the local convenience store, is a stimulant that increases energy. It has been widely studied and shown to be beneficial to people with diabetes, peptic ulcers, stress, anxiety, fatigue and wheezing. The herb should only be taken in consultation with a TCM practitioner, however, as it can also act as a sedative, increase blood pressure, and cause headache, insomnia and/or palpitations in people for whom it is not indicated (in other words, who don’t have a problem where ginseng would be useful).

Curious About Ayurveda?

Curious about Ayurveda, the traditional medicine of India? Discover which of the three energies (doshas) predominates in your constitution with this diagnostic test, then get balanced and maintain best health through food therapy, massage and yoga (not to mention acupuncture). Many of the questions are things you've probably never asked yourself! TEA RECIPE: Good Chai: 2 c. water; 3 peppermint teabags; 1 qt. cow or soymilk; 1 stick cinnamon; 1/4 t. ground cloves; 1 t. dry ginger; 3/4 t. ground cardamom; 1 t. black peppercorns; 2 T. honey. Pour boiling water over teabags, steep 20 mins then remove. Add milk, spices and sweetener. Heat on low for 30 mins, then strain. (From The Ayurveda Cookbook).