Natural health: Take manuka honey and fresh ginger to ease bloating

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I love Christmas dinner, from the turkey and roast potatoes to plum pudding. Unfortunately, I tend to feel bloated and uncomfortable after the meal. Is there a natural remedy I could take?

This is can be a difficult time of the year, with an abundance of rich and delicious food almost everywhere we look. Along with eating once-a-year delights, we also tend to overindulge in alcoholic beverages at this time of year. No wonder Christmas dinner leaves us feeling sleepy and bloated.

Some people try to cut calories by skipping meals, filling up on bread, crackers, and nibbles instead. Not only is this ineffective, resulting in us eating more than we intended to, it can also trigger inflammation, fluid retention, and blood-sugar imbalance.

I suggest you try a digestive enzyme supplement to support your gut function. Viridian’s High Potency Digestive Aid is a combination of digestive enzymes and Betaine HCl, which further helps to prevent gas/bloating and discomfort. It is available from health stores, 90 capsules cost €28. Take one capsule before each meal, up to three times daily. Do not take this supplement if you also suffer from stomach ulcers.

Other tactics you can employ include loading up your plate with vegetables, adding a moderate portion of protein, and taking it easy on the starchy and refined carbohydrates. By all means, enjoy your cake or dessert — it’s more likely you’ll eat a sensible sized portion if you have already filled up on vegetables.

Also, as you are not eating refined carbohydrates on an empty stomach, your blood sugar will not spike and drop as it would if you were eating carb snacks before your meal.

The only sweet treat I would recommend before a meal is raw manuka honey. It is well known for its antibacterial properties, but it is also an excellent remedy for digestive disorders. Take a teaspoon before your meal to prevent indigestion and fight the bacteria responsible for stomach ulcers, gastroenteritis, and diarrhoea. Manuka honey also has a prebiotic action, which means it provides a food source for the beneficial gut bacteria.

Ginger is a wonderful digestive aid, and also helps with an upset stomach. You could brew up a cup of ginger and manuka honey tea by combining the honey with a couple of slices of the fresh root, or using ½-1 teaspoon of powdered ginger in a cup of boiling water and infuse for five-10 minutes.

About once a year my GP needs to remove the excess wax from my ears. Is there something I could do to stop the build-up in the first place? I’m a male in my 60s.

The ear produces wax (cerumen) in order to maintain pH balance within the ear canal, along with preventing dust and dirt from entering the inner ear and contributing to infection and other issues. Cerumen is made by glands in the outer region of the ear canal, and production is usually kept in check by a natural ‘self-cleaning’ process where the tiny hairs move the soft wax to the outer ear.

It’s been suggested that dietary sensitivities contribute to the overproduction of earwax, however, it has not been clinically proven. If this is something that you feel is a contributing factor, then look at your diet and avoid inflammatory foods. The health benefits are clear on this, regardless of whether or not it resolves your wax problem.

Audiclean is a spray you can use at home to keep your ears clean and reduce wax build up. It can be used in the bath or shower, utilising the gentle action of bicarbonates to remove excess wax build up. Available from most pharmacies, it costs €14.50.

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NOTE: The information contained in this column is not a substitute for medical advice. Always consult a doctor.