Gentle Digest Capsules

Description

Gentle Digest is a combination of Ayurveda’s 5 spices for digestion. These spices, ginger, cumin, fennel, coriander, and cardamom, have been time-tested for thousands of years and have a library of good science to support their digestion-boosting benefits.*

Suggested Use: Take 1 capsule 2 times per day before meals or as directed by your health care professional.

Bottle Contains: 90 vegetarian capsules, 500mg each

Ingredients: Organic Foeniculum vulgare (Fennel Seed), Organic Cuminum cyminum (Cumin Seed), Organic Coriandrum sativum (Coriander Seed), Organic Elettaria cardamomum (Cardamom Seed), Organic Zingiber officinale (Ginger Root)

(Go to Ayurvedic Herbal Makeup)

Does not contain:: Yeast, gluten, corn, soy, milk, fish, animal products, binders, fillers, preservatives, or artificial coloring.

Kosher Certified: No animal derivatives

---

The Science

The spices in Gentle Digest are extremely gentle and help to reset digestive function while balancing digestive issues like gas, bloating and others. Studies show that they improved fat and sugar metabolism by boosting more bile acid and pancreatic enzyme flow, rather than masking or only treating the symptoms. (2,6)

In one study, ginger was shown to support healthy cells of the intestinal wall as well as boost the proliferation of good microbes in the gut. (5) In another study, these spices negatively affected the microbe H. pylori – which is linked to indigestion in the stomach – from proliferation and adhering to the stomach lining. (4) The spices seem to work with the body’s digestive intelligence by supporting digestive function, a healthy environment for the digestive microbes, healthy villi and improved intestinal function. (2,3,5)

The 5 Spices in Depth

Coriander Seed (Coriandrum sativum)

Coriander is perhaps the most cooling of the five digestive spices. The seeds are commonly used in herbal formulas for a host of imbalances. The leaves, known as cilantro, are slightly less cooling than the seeds. The seeds are best known for their digestive properties by cooling excess pitta in the body and intestinal tract. Therefore, it is used effectively for occasional heartburn. It is a natural “carminative,” which means it prevents or relieves gas from the intestinal tract, and is beneficial for numerous heat-related pitta conditions.

Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum)

As a member of the ginger family, Ayurvedic texts celebrated cardamom’s ability to make foods easier to digest and enhance the taste of most ordinary foods. Its taste is most recognizable in a cup of Indian chai tea as it neutralizes the stimulating effects of caffeine, allowing the chai to boost the digestive process without taxing the nervous system. Cardamom is known to reduce the extreme acidity of many foods and caffeinated beverages including coffee; it is the signature spice in traditional Turkish coffee. When cooked into your food, it also balances mucus, gas and bloating in the stomach and small intestine.

Cumin Seed (Cuminum cyminum)

Cumin is perhaps the most powerful digestive tonic of the five spices of digestion. It has a strong taste and, while very effective alone, it blends well in both taste and effectiveness with the other four spices for boosting digestion and reducing gas and bloating. It is much like coriander in that it cools the digestive system while boosting digestive strength. It supports healthy assimilation, the proliferation of good microbes, as well as the detoxification of the intestinal tract.

Fennel Seed (Foeniculum vulgare)

Fennel is best-known as the tri-doshic digestive spice. Not only does it combat gas and bloating in the digestive tract, it is one of Ayurveda’s favorite lymph-movers. As a lymph-mover, it supports healthy lactation and radiant skin on both the inside and outside. Fennel seeds are considered the most sattvic (promoting purity and balance) of the spices because of its very balancing effect on vata, kapha, and pitta. It is one of the best herbs for digestion, as it strengthens the digestive fire without aggravating pitta, and is beneficial for intestinal discomfort, nausea, and dispelling flatulence.

Ginger Root (Zingiber officinale)

In Ayurveda, ginger is called the universal spice because of its many health benefits. It is heating for the upper digestion with its pungent taste, but cooling and soothing for the lower digestion as a result of its sweet aftertaste. It is therefore considered to be a tri-doshic herb, meaning it balances vata, pitta, and kapha – although in excess it can be too heating to the upper digestion. It is the classic kindling to start the digestive fire in the stomach. Scientific studies have shown that it supports healthy microbes, a healthy intestinal wall, and acts as a digestive stimulant. (5)

General Disclaimer:

Warning: Keep out of reach of children. Not intended for use by pregnant women. Store in a cool, dry place.

Ayurvedic Herbal Makeup

(Back to Ingredients)

WordPress Tables

References:

1. http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/11/22/survey-shows-74-percent-americans-experience-gi-discomfort/

2. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/food.200390091/abstract

3. Journal of Herbal Pharmacotherapy. Vol. 4: Issue. 2: Pages. 1-10. 2004 DOI: 10.1080/J157v04n02_01

4. http://206.192.68.20/courses/fall2007/alternative_medicine/resources.attachments/OMahonyMedicinalPlantsHPylori2005.pdf

5. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23765551

6. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22010973

7. Nutrition Research October 2000, Vol.20(10):14931503, doi:10.1016/S0271-5317(00)80030-5