NATURE DOCTOR – TEA
If you do not find the idea of taking wood ash as described above appealing, pour hot water over them and brew in the same way you would make a pot of tea, straining through a fine sieve or cheesecloth. This liquid will also neutralise the gastric acid. Clay (white or yellow) dissolved in a little water is equally effective.
In the absence of any of these remedies, sipping fresh milk will give temporary relief. Uncooked oatflakes, eaten dry and well masticated, are known to serve the same purpose and should be preferred to the more harmful bicarbonate of soda. If, however, you want to normalise the secretion of the gastric juices permanently, you will have to modify your diet: keep off spicy food, abstain from white sugar and white flour products, and use less salt. Drinking tea made from centaury and Centaurium extract has also proved helpful.
If none of these remedies produces the desired effect, it may be that the heartburn is caused by dysfunction of the gallbladder or by intestinal worms. In these cases, the appropriate treatments would be required. Both of these complaints are dealt with in Part Two of this book.
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