Herbs for Stomach Viruses and Tummy Troubles

Well it’s that time of year again-when stomach viruses, flus, and all kinds of sickness are going around.  Although I have a plethora of herbs at my house, there are just a few that I take with me EVERYWHERE I go and those are herbs for stomach viruses and tummy troubles.****aff*affiliate*aff

What herbs do we take for stomach viruses and how do we take them?

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Well, we always have on hand three natural remedies that have actually headed off many stomach viruses.  Yes, I did say, they have actually stopped them!  Those three things are ginger, charcoal, and peppermint.  And no, I literally don’t go anywhere without them.

For the ginger, we usually take them in capsules.  For my kiddos, I just open them and pour into water, juice or applesauce.  Capsules are great for on the go herbs.  Recently, I have found Sliced Ginger for my kids to take and they love them!  They even ask to snack on them.  These do have sugar on them, but your probably not going to get kids to eat ginger by itself because it’s quite spicy.  I’ll compromise on that to get some ginger in them and these travel easy too (motion sickness anyone?).

Next we take Activated Charcoal

Charcoal is amazing at absorbing toxins that cause stomach viruses and troubles.

Activated Charcoal is what hospitals use for poisoning and that’s another reason I always have some on hand.  Not only does it work on stomach troubles from viruses, but it also works on food poisoning or ingesting other toxic and poisonous materials.  Charcoal adsorbs instead of absorbs.  That means is doesn’t suck materials into it that can be squeezed out, but instead molecularly attracts toxins and binds to them.  The amazing thing that happens when you take charcoal internally is that it binds to the virus or toxins causing your stomach troubles.  Then your body can rid itself of those toxins-hopefully through the colon-without them causing further damage to your body or being further absorbed into your body.  Even if your body rids them the other way (throwing up) usually once is all it takes and then the virus or toxins are gone and your body will begin to get well instead of taking a day or two to get rid of the virus.

Now that you know what charcoal does, you might be asking how to take it.  If you can swallow capsules, that is the easiest way to take charcoal, but it can also be poured into water, juice, applesauce or yogurt.  And while it does look funny drinking black water, it doesn’t change the taste.   We’ve taken charcoal in liquids as a detox.  Just know that if you are taking medications, charcoal can cause them to be less effective.

Last, but certainly not least is peppermint.  Peppermint is well known for it’s ability to aid in digestion and rightfully so.  Peppermint can be taken in capsules, tea and even used in essential oil form.

While peppermint is a great herb for digestion, it works wonders for settling stomachs and stopping diarrhea.

In our house, we almost always use the dried herb form of peppermint for internal use.  We do use Peppermint Essential Oil for things (like our homemade toothpaste) but I don’t ever give it to my children internally-they are too young for that.  But it can be diluted 1 drop in about 1/2 tsp carrier oil and rubbed onto the abdomen or soles of feet.  That is a simple way to use peppermint, especially if your children aren’t big herbal tea drinkers.

And there you have my three herbs for stomach troubles that I never leave home without.  If you want to hear more about how we deal with stomach troubles or more on these herbs, you can watch my scope on it.

How do you deal with stomach viruses and tummy troubles at your house?  I’d love to hear what works best for you.

Hoping you stay healthy and well and until next time,

Happy HerbingItUp!

Brigett