How to Use Bilberry to Treat Nausea and Indigestion
Bilberry has been used since the seventeenth century to treat all forms of digestive tract problems, such as indigestion and nausea. Bilberry has been shown to relieve irritated tissue all through the digestive tract, from the throat to the colon.
Things You'll Need
- Bilberry tea
- Bilberry extract
- Honey
- Lemon
- Distilled or purified water
- Pomegranate juice (optional)
- Blueberries, cherries or blackberries (optional)
Instructions
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Find a reliable source for bilberry products, such as teas, softgels, extracts, capsules or juices. The berries are available in fresh, dried and frozen form. While fresh bilberry may be hard to come by unless you live in northern parts of the world where the plant grows freely, you can usually find it in some forms in health food stores.
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Use bilberry tea to combat the symptoms of nausea and digestion. Bilberry tea may contain the berries, leaves and blossoms of the bilberry plant, and tastes vaguely like blueberries. Steep the teabags or tea ball in distilled water to reduce some of the minerals that can aggravate nausea and indigestion.
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Add honey and lemon to the bilberry tea once it has properly steeped. This will soothe your throat and reduce some of the tartness of the berry.
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Use a few drops of bilberry extract in the tea to increase the amount of anti-oxidants and anthocynidins, which are found in high levels in bilberry. These compounds increase blood circulation and strengthen blood vessels, which may reduce the swelling and irritation in the intestines that may be causing indigestion. Bilberry extract offers these compounds in a concentrated form that is much more potent than the actual berry.
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Try using other forms of bilberry regularly to prevent nausea and indigestion from recurring. Bilberry juice is often found in small quantities in the various brands of pomegranate juice. If bilberry is unavailable, you can also use blueberries, cherries or blackberries to treat nausea and indigestion since they contain some of the same soothing compounds.
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Tips & Warnings
While the actual berries from the bilberry plant are considered safe, the leaves can have a toxic effect in large quantities when taken over a long period. This is due to tannins in the leaves, which can build up in the digestive tract until they reach toxic levels.
