Addressing GERD, IBS, GI issues with Chinese medicine

From a Chinese medicine perspective, gastrointestinal problems such as GERD, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and general queasiness need to be addressed in two ways: eating habits, and food choices.

Eating habits are the easiest to address. First, keep in mind that digestion begins in the mouth, with the enzymes found in your saliva. Snarfing down your food deprives your body of the opportunity to start breaking things down; this makes your stomach work harder once those clumps of food actually reach its surface. So new eating habit number one is to follow the old-fashioned advice of actually chewing your food.

Next is one you've no doubt also already heard: don't eat too late at night. The reason is simple: when you eat, your stomach begins secreting acids and enzymes to digest that food. For GERD-sufferers in particular, you don't want to do this shortly before bed, as you'll have more acid in the stomach to come sneaking back up the esophagus. Plan ahead and eat early. Seems so simple, right? Need more encouragement to skip the late meals? Studies show GERD can lead to chronic inflammation of the esophagus, which may increase your risk for esophageal cancer.

Next, the food itself. Back to the Chinese perspective: gastrointestinal issues are almost always the result of a weak Spleen. And that's not your Western spleen, by the way. It's your Spleen organ system as defined by Chinese medicine. In TCM, the Spleen is responsible (in concert with the stomach, and other organ systems) for digestion. If you have digestive issues, you need to strengthen your Spleen. If you have Irritable Bowel Syndrome, you likely have Liver Invading Spleen (typical symptoms include constipation when Liver is in control, and loose stools when Liver has backed off but Spleen is still weak).

To strengthen Speen, choose foods like cooked winter squash (acorn, butternut, delicata), clean animal protein (beef, chicken, goose), low-sugar fruits (fig, coconut, grape, cherry, date), sweet potatoes, lentils, oats, rice, and regular potatoes. Oh, and Spleen doesn't like to be chilled, so notice how you feel after eating cold or raw foods. In general, Spleen likes everything to be cooked or at least at room temperature. Experiment to see if eating cold or raw foods increases your gastrointestinal discomfort.

Foods to avoid, at least from a TCM perspective in building Spleen, include empty sweets (alcohol, high-sugar fruits, refined sugars), frozen or iced foods, and some dairy (if you find it hard to digest).

If you're experiencing Irritable Bowel symptoms, you'll want to vary your diet based on whether you're experiencing constipation or loose stools. For loose stools, eat as described above for weak Spleen. For constipation, you'll want foods that soothe Liver, like adding fresh lemon to your water or tea, eating sour foods, and avoiding foods that aggravate Liver (alcohol, spicy foods, and greasy or fatty foods).

For nausea, you can try a Chinese herbal formula called Pill Curing (sometimes Curing Pills or, my personal favorite, Pill Culing); some of the larger natural food stores carry it. If you can't find it there, try contacting a local acupuncturist or Chinese Herbal Practitioner. They often don't sell herbal formulas to the general public as the formulas depend on accurate diagnosis of symptoms to be effective (not to mention safety concerns), but Pill Curing is a fairly common and benign formula and many will sell it to you.

Finally, for nausea, you can also try ginger or mint tea.

For more detailed information about Chinese medicine, try http://www.amfoundation.org/tcm.htm. Another good resource is Prescription for Nutritional Healing by Phyllis Balch.