It may not be a book for dinner table conversation, or then again maybe it is. D. Lindsay Berkson, a consulting scholar and nutritionist for the Center for Bioenvironmental Research associated with Tulane University in New Orleans, is author of “Healthy Digestion the Natural Way: Preventing and Healing Heartburn, Constipation, Gas, Diarrhea, Inflammatory Bowel and Gallbladder Diseases, Ulcers, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Food Allergies and More” (John Wiley & Sons, $16.95). The title itself is a mouthful, but the book is full of practical advice you can try at home, while putting aside the over-the-counter medications.
Each digestive condition is covered in detail with lots of suggestions (“Do not drink ice-cold liquids or more than half a glass of liquid with meals” to avoid chronic heartburn; for gas, “add a pinch of cinnamon and clove to boiled water or tea and sip with meals”; “avoid undiluted fruit juices” for any inflammatory bowel condition). But perhaps its most valuable section is the opening primer on how digestion works in the body. Berkson identifies three keys to the digestive process: 1. Absorption is the “dramatic” moment when food crosses from the outside world inside the middle of your intestinal tube, across your intestinal wall and into your bloodstream; 2. assimilation occurs when the nutrients enter your cells; 3. elimination is part of the clean-up process–getting rid of waste products.
Especially helpful are charts on warning signs for poor digestion (one is feeling frequently cold for no reason) and “daily ways to be extra good to your intestines.” Some good moves include drinking two cups of filtered water first thing in the morning, having yogurt or green tea mid-morning or afternoon, eating two or three different-colored fruits or vegetables each day, then drinking another glass of filtered water right before bed.
