The top herbal supplements for digestive health

Help your patients improve their digestive issues by ‘prescribing’ herbal supplements for digestive health

Aside from musculoskeletal issues, such as osteoarthritis or tendonitis, digestive issues are one of the most common chronic health conditions that can bring patients into your office for the first time, but can be countered with herbal supplements for digestive health.

Chronic digestive issues can be particularly frustrating because the root cause is often elusive. Many medical professionals simply shrug and tell patients to lose weight or reduce stress, but don’t provide any concrete treatment plans or guidelines on how to accomplish this. To make matters even worse, there is a tremendous amount of social stigma attached to many digestive disorders.

‘Prescribing’ herbal supplements for digestive health

The practical upshot is that you have patients in a great deal of discomfort, who has tried numerous times to find relief, but to no avail. What little advice they have received seems to reinforce the message that they should just learn to live with the problem or that it is all inside their head. The reality, however, is quite the opposite.

Several herbal preparations have been shown to be quite effective in treating a number of chronic digestive issues. Read further to find out how you can help your patients improve their digestive issues by “prescribing” herbal supplements for digestive health, particularly about black cumin and berberine.

How common are digestive issues?

According to the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, digestive diseases affect 60-70 million people each year, accounting for 72 million outpatient visits (including 22.4 million physician visits), more than 4.5 million hospitalizations, and 236,000 deaths. Furthermore, digestive disease diagnoses are more common among men than women (14.4% versus 12.6%).¹ Ulcers, colitis, and irritable bowel syndrome are among the most common digestive issues for which patients seek treatment.

Black cumin (Nigella sativa)

Black cumin (Nigella sativa) is a popular medicinal plant, mainly within the Ayurvedic and traditional Arabic systems. Both the seeds and oil were used to treat hypertension and diarrhea, as well as to stimulate the appetite.²

A review article from the Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine examined the pharmacological properties of black cumin, as well as it protective effects against gastro-intestinal and renal diseases.² According to the authors of this article, black cumin’s healing properties are thought to come from thymoquinone, which is a major bioactive compound within black cumin oil, making it one of the most impactful herbal supplements for digestive health.

Berberine (Berberis vulgaris L.)

Barberry (Berberis vulgaris L.), much like black cumin, has strong roots within Persian culinary and medicinal traditions, including treatment of various digestive disorders. Its main active ingredient, berberine, is an alkaloid, and can be found in the roots, rhizomes, stem, and bark of the plant.³

A 2019 article published in Phytotherapy Research reviewed a number of studies regarding the use of berberine to treat a wide variety of health issues, including those related to the digestive system. In looking at the results from these papers, the researchers not only found berberine to be effective in treating digestive diseases, but it also only had mild side effects, so was well tolerated, making it another of the major herbal supplements for digestive health.

Of course, you should also be advising your patients to also eat a balanced diet, exercise regularly, and reduce their stress as much as possible. These lifestyle improvements, combined with black cumin or berberine supplements should help your patients stomach any future digestive issues.

References

1. Pal S. Trends in medical visits for digestive diseases. US Pharmacist. 2019:12(44):16.
2. Ahmad A, Husain A, Mujeeb M, et al. A review on therapeutic potential of Nigella sativa. Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine. 2013;3(5):337-352.
3. Imenshahidi M, Hosseinzadeh H. Berberine and barberry (Berberis vulgaris): A clinical review. Phytotherapy Research. 2019;33(3):504-523.