Natural Herbs – Nausea, a Side Effect of Chemotherapy
Nausea is one of the more uncomfortable sensations a person can experience. The causes of nausea range from motion sickness to side-effects from Western drugs. Eating excessive amounts of cold, fatty, sweet, spicy, or processed food can also lead to conditions where nausea is a symptom. Chinese medicine views nausea as an abnormal upward movement of “qi” from the stomach, and anyone who has experienced nausea can attest to the “abnormal” feeling like something that should be down, wants to come up.
In light of this, Chinese medicine treats nausea with a number of different methods. First, to deal with the acute sick feeling Chinese medicine uses herbs that help to “redirect” the qi of the stomach downward. There are a number of herbs that are very good for this purpose Fennel, Tangerine peel, and Ginger are three of the most important. Ginger is very well researched for this and all three are very safe as well as being effective.
Next, Chinese medicine looks at the possible causes of nausea and treats them. One of the most common causes is poor digestion or the inability to digest excessively in the diet. This can be due to either weakness or poor eating habits. When a person has poor eating habits food can accumulate, especially meat and fats. Chinese Hawthorne is the most important herb to treat this condition and is widely used in China by people on a daily basis or during holidays when they tend to over-eat.
To strengthen the digestion there are a number of excellent herbs. The combination of Bai-zhu Atractylodes, Codonopsis, Chinese Licorice, and Poria is called the “Four Gentlemen” is the most famous combination in Chinese medicine to strengthen the digestion. When Ginger and Tangerine peel are added this become the “Six Gentlemen” and is particularly useful when there is digestive weakness leading to nausea, vomiting, and other digestive difficulties.
When the digestion is weak its ability to process food and fluids is poor and they can accumulate, especially fluids. The combination of Job’s Tears, Poria, and Astragalus are very good for both strengthening and helping the body to rid itself of this accumulated fluid. Finally, sometimes there is inflammation in the stomach and the combination of Dendrobium and Job’s Tears is excellent to cool the inflammation and nourish the stomach.
Most people will suffer occasionally from this very uncomfortable ailment. The use of Chinese herbs can be extremely helpful in treating this and relieving the suffering of an otherwise disturbing time. For those that have a chronic nausea problem, Chinese herbs could be the answer they are looking for.
Thomas Avery Garran is a Chinese medicine practitioner with 17 years of experience, a number of articles, and a book, “Western Herbs According Traditional Chinese Medicine: A Practitioners Guide.” His blog is http://sourcepointherbs.blogspot.com and he is writing for the website, http://www.immuneenhance.com/products/apazin
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