CND-0130Stomach and bowels
Old claims, quoted verbatim: not medical advice. A warning sits above the claims and never hides them; no warning does not mean safe, only that no source here has flagged the plant.
and being drank, in a short time it eases all griping pains, windy and choleric humours in the stomach, spleen or belly;
It is an herb of Jupiter, and therefore friendly to nature, for it warms a cold stomach, and opens a stoppage of the liver and spleen;
and at other times to warm and comfort a cold stomach.
It is good for the diseases of the chest or breast, for pains, and stiches in the side, and to expel crude and raw humours from the belly and stomach, by the sweet savour and warming quality.
Let a syrup made with the juice of it and sugar (as you shall be taught at the latter end of this book) be kept in every gentlewoman’s house to relieve the weak stomachs and sick bodies of their poor sickly neighbours;
they get a man a good stomach to his victuals, by strengthening the attractive faculty which is under Mars.
And all the preparations thereof, as barley-water and other things made thereof, give great nourishment to persons troubled with fevers, agues, and heats in the stomach:
The black Bilberries are good in hot agues and to cool the heat of the liver and stomach;
also weak stomachs that cannot retain, but cast up their meat.
They have also a drying and an astringent quality, whereby they are available in all manner of fluxes of blood or humours, to staunch bleedings inward or outward, lasks, scourings, the bloody-flux, women’s too abundant flux of courses, the whites, and the choleric belchings and castings of the stomach, and is a singular wound-herb for all sorts of wounds, both of the head and body, either inward or outward, for all old ulcers, running cankers, and most sores, to be used either by the juice or decoction of the herb, or by the powder of the herb or root, or the water of the distilled herb, or ointment by itself, or with other things to be kept.
and likewise helps the windy pains of the mother, and to procure their courses, and to break and void the stone in the kidneys, to digest cold, viscous, and tough phlegm in the stomach, and is an especial remedy against all kind of venom.
It is profitable for those that are bursten, or troubled with convulsions or cramps, with shortness of breath, or choleric torments and pains in their bellies or stomach;
it is pleasant and comfortable to the stomach, and helps digestion.
The garden Chervil being eaten, doth moderately warm the stomach, and is a certain remedy (saith Tragus) to dissolve congealed or clotted blood in the body, or that which is clotted by bruises, falls, &c.
The distilled water hereof simply, or with Elder flowers and Nightshade, is a singularly good remedy against all hot agues, to drink two ounces at a time, and apply cloths wet therein to the head and stomach, which also does much good, being applied to any hot swellings and inflammations:
It is astringent to the stomach, and strengthens the liver, and all the other inward parts;
The decoction of the herb in wine, helps to expectorate the phlegm out of the chest, and is good for obstructions in the breast, stomach, or bowels, and helps a decayed appetite.
it breaks, digests, and rids away phlegm from the stomach, chest, and lungs.
They are excellently good for a hot stomach, and hot liver;
it also stays the belly and stomach from casting.
The seed of most of the other kinds, whether the gardens or fields, do stay lasks and fluxes of all sorts, the loathing of the stomach through choler, and is helpful for those that spit blood.
The fresh roots of Elecampane preserved with sugar, or made into a syrup or conserve, are very effectual to warm a cold windy stomach, or the pricking therein, and stiches in the sides caused by the spleen;
The decoction of the leaves, or the juice, or the distilled water of Endive, serve well to cool the excessive heat of the liver and stomach, and in the hot fits of agues, and all other inflammations in any part of the body;
It is found by good experience to be available to expectorate tough phlegm from the stomach, chest, and lungs.
The leaves, or rather the seeds, boiled in water, stays the hiccough, and takes away the loathings which oftentimes happen to the stomachs of sick and feverish persons and allays the heat thereof.
The green leaves eaten, purge the belly of choleric and waterish humours that trouble the stomach.
The roots made into powder, and mixed with honey in the form of an electuary, doth much help them whose stomachs are swollen, dissolving and breaking the wind which was the cause thereof;
The juice or decoction of the green root of the flaggy kind of Flower-de-luce, with a little honey drank, doth purge and cleanse the stomach of gross and tough phlegm, and choler therein;
The juice thereof drank in wine, or the decoction of the herb drank, doth kill the worms in the stomach or belly, or the worms that grow in putrid and filthy ulcers, and made into a salve doth quickly heal all old sores, how foul or malignant soever they be.
It is also very profitable to dissolve and expel wind in the stomach, belly, or bowels, to procure women’s courses, and expel windiness in the matrix, if it be bruised and often smelled unto, as also applied to the lower part of the belly.
beat them well together, and put as much honey as will make it up into an electuary (but you must first steep your cummin seed in vinegar twenty four hours, and then dry it, or rather roast it in a hot fire-shovel, or in an oven) and is a remedy for the pains or griefs in the chest or stomach, of the spleen, belly, or sides, by wind or stitches;
it strengthens the stomach exceedingly, helps digestion, comforts the heart, and preserves it against faintings and swoonings:
The berries, while they are unripe, being scalded or baked, are good to stir up a fainting or decayed appetite, especially such whose stomachs are afflicted by choleric humours:
The seed thereof taken, eases the gnawing and griping pains of the stomach, and takes away the loathing thereof unto meat.
For all the purposes aforesaid, the herb being tunned up in new drink and drank, is almost as effectual, but far more acceptable to weak and dainty stomachs.
Hart’s Tongue is much commended against the hardness and stoppings of the spleen and liver, and against the heat of the liver and stomach, and against lasks, and the bloody-flux.
Hawk-weed (saith Dioscorides) is cooling, somewhat drying and binding, and therefore good for the heat of the stomach, and gnawings therein;
A syrup made of the juice and sugar, cures the yellow jaundice, eases the head-ache that comes of heat, and tempers the heat of the liver and stomach, and is profitably given in long and hot agues that rise in choler and blood.
The root is very effectually used in pills, as well as the decoction, or otherwise, to stay all sharp and thin defluxions of rheum from the head into the eyes or nose, or upon the stomach or lungs, as also for coughs and shortness of breath.
It provokes the terms, helps the fits of the mother, strengthens the stomach exceedingly, and expels the wind.
The juice or the distilled water being drank, is very effectual for all inflammations and unnatural heats, to cool a fainting hot stomach, a hot liver, or the bowels:
it stays distillation of thin and sharp humours from the head upon the stomach and lungs;
It is no less effectual to cool and temper the heat of the blood and stomach, and to stay any flux of the blood and humours, as lasks, bloody-flux, women’s courses, and running of the reins.
they are excellently good for the scurvy, they provoke urine, and break the stone, and excellently warm a cold and weak stomach, restoring lost appetite, and help digestion.
It strengthens the stomach, and frees the liver and spleen from obstructions, provokes women’s courses, and expels the dead child and after-birth.
It helps digestion, quenches thirst, increases milk in nurses, eases griping pains in the stomach or bowels, that come of choler.
Half a dram at a time of the dried root in powder taken in wine, doth wonderfully warm a cold stomach, helps digestion, and consumes all raw and superfluous moisture therein;
The root of Masterwort is hotter than pepper, and very available in cold griefs and diseases both of the stomach and body, dissolving very powerfully upwards and downwards.
It helps the pains of the stomach, being applied fresh, or boiled with any of the aforenamed things;
It suffers not milk to curdle in the stomach, if the leaves thereof be steeped or boiled in it before you drink it.
Moneywort is singularly good to stay all fluxes in man or woman, whether they be lasks, bloody-fluxes, bleeding inwardly or outwardly, or the weakness of the stomach that is given to casting.
The same being drank, stays the stomach that is troubled with casting, or hiccough;
It is an excellent sauce for such whose blood wants clarifying, and for weak stomachs, being an herb of Mars, but naught for choleric people, though as good for such as are aged, or troubled with cold diseases.
It is also used in pains of the head coming of any cold cause, catarrhs, rheums, and for swimming and giddiness thereof, and is of special use for the windiness of the stomach and belly.
Orpine is seldom used in inward medicines with us, although Tragus saith from experience in Germany, that the distilled water thereof is profitable for gnawings or excoriations in the stomach or bowels, or for ulcers in the lungs, liver, or other inward parts, as also in the matrix, and helps all those diseases, being drank for certain days together.
is very comfortable to the stomach;
It is conducible to the stomach and reins, and provokes urine.
It eases head-aches, pains of the breast and belly, and gnawings of the stomach;
As there is great diversity of kinds, so there is in the operation of Plums, for some that are sweet moisten the stomach, and make the belly soluble;
The garden Poppy heads with seeds made into a syrup, is frequently, and to good effect used to procure rest, and sleep, in the sick and weak, and to stay catarrhs and defluxions of thin rheums from the head into the stomach and lungs, causing a continual cough, the fore-runner of a consumption;
There is a sweet water also distilled from the flowers, that is good for all those diseases that need cooling and drying, and therefore helps all fluxes of the belly or stomach, bloody-fluxes, and women’s courses, being either drank or applied;
It is good to cool any heat in the liver, blood, reins, and stomach, and in hot agues nothing better:
The physical use of it (being my present task) is very much used both for inward and outward diseases, for by the warming and comforting heat thereof it helps all cold diseases, both of the head, stomach, liver, and belly.
as also St. Anthony’s fire, and other diseases of the stomach.
The same also helps stitches in the sides, griping pains of the stomach or belly, the obstructions of the liver, and cures the yellow jaundice;
It is a safe herb, very pleasant both to taste and stomach, helps digestion, and in some sort opening obstructions of the liver and spleen:
being steeped in wine, and then distilled, the water thereof drank, is singularly good to ease all gnawings in the stomach, or other pains of the body, as also the pains of the mother:
It warms also the stomach, and causes digestion.
to quench thirst, and procure an appetite in fainting or decaying stomachs:
Sow Thistles are cooling, and somewhat binding, and are very fit to cool a hot stomach, and ease the pains thereof.
The roots boiled in wine or water, and drank, helps the stranguary and stoppings of the urine, the wind, swellings and pains in the stomach, pains of the mother, and all joint-aches.
Two drams of the seed of St. John’s Wort made into powder, and drank in a little broth, doth gently expel choler or congealed blood in the stomach.
and some take the leaves, which serve well for the weaker stomach:
The berries are excellently good to cool the liver, the blood, and the spleen, or an hot choleric stomach;
The distilled water of the herb and flowers (if you can take them in time) hath the like properties, and is especially good for hot stomachs, and in agues, either pestilential or of long continuance;
The root boiled, and eaten with oil and vinegar, (or without oil) do much please and warm old and cold stomachs oppressed with wind or phlegm, or those that have the phthisic or consumption of the lungs.
Our common Sweet Marjoram is warming and comfortable in cold diseases of the head, stomach, sinews, and other parts, taken inwardly, or outwardly applied.
The oil made of the berries is very comfortable in all cold griefs of the joints, nerves, arteries, stomach, belly, or womb, and helps palsies, convulsions, cramp, aches, tremblings, and numbness in any part, weariness also, and pains that come by sore travelling.
the lask of the belly or stomach, or the bloody flux, the too much abounding of women’s courses, and helps to ease the pains of the sides, and bowels, that come by overmuch scouring, to drink the decoction of the bark of the roots, or more usually the decoction of the berries, either fresh or dried.
It provokes also women’s courses, and frees and cleanses the stomach and lungs from thick and tough phlegm that trouble them.
If a poultice or plaister be made with dried medlars, beaten and mixed with the juice of red roses, whereunto a few cloves and nutmegs may be added, and a little red coral also, and applied to the stomach that is given to casting or loathing of meat, it effectually helps.
The said Pears boiled with a little honey, help much the oppressed stomach, as all sorts of them do, some more, some less:
if a little vinegar be added, it stirs up the languishing appetite, and the stomach given to casting;
The young green nuts taken before they be half ripe, and preserved with sugar, are of good use for those that have weak stomachs, or defluctions thereon.
being boiled in wine and drank, and are said to help a stinking breath, and to strengthen the stomach.
The herb taken any way inwardly, comforts the stomach much, and expels wind.
The root taken inwardly is most effectual to help any flux of the belly, stomach, spleen, or blood;
it kills and expels worms in the belly, and causes a good colour in the face and body, strengthens as well as corrects the diseases of the stomach, liver, and spleen;
The decoction of the herb Maiden-Hair being drank, helps those that are troubled with the cough, shortness of breath, the yellow jaundice, diseases of the spleen, stopping of urine, and helps exceedingly to break the stone in the kidneys, (in all which diseases the Wall Rue is also very effectual.) It provokes women’s courses, and stays both bleedings and fluxes of the stomach and belly, especially when the herb is dry;
A decoction of the leaves being drank, warms the stomach, and it is a wonder if it should not, the stomach being under Cancer, the house of the Moon.
it comforts and strengthens the head, stomach, reins, and womb, expels wind, and breaks the stone.
It strengthens the stomach and head much, there being scarce a better remedy growing for such as are troubled with a sour humour in the stomach;
They are both of them hot and dry, especially the Summer kind, which is both sharp and quick in taste, expelling wind in the stomach and bowels, and is a present help for the rising of the mother procured by wind;
it helps those that loath and cannot digest their meat, those that have weak stomachs and sour belchings, or continual rising in their stomachs, using it familiarly either green or dry;
Wood Sorrel serves to all the purposes that the other Sorrels do, and is more effectual in hindering putrefaction of blood, and ulcers in the mouth and body, and to quench thirst, to strengthen a weak stomach, to procure an appetite, to stay vomiting, and very excellent in any contagious sickness or pestilential fevers.
inwardly taken it helps the retentive faculty of the stomach:
Nicholas Culpeper, The Complete Herbal, a new edition (London: Thomas Kelly, 1850). Project Gutenberg eBook #49513. SRC-CUL-1850