Health Benefits of Natural Products to Overcome Digestive Problems

Abstract

Digestive health is an indicator of proper laxation and proper functioning of the gastro-intestinal system. Digestion-related problems not only lead to/give discomfort, but also pave way for more serious manifestations, which may either last for some time or prolong till lifetime or in some cases end fatal. The drugs which help in relieving certain digestive problems, mainly flatulence, are carminative and most of the spices and evaluating the effectiveness of the carminative bar in overcoming digestive problems and to develop an educational package to create awareness among the selected subjects on medical and carminative nature of spices and importance of digestive health. The methodology involved household (N = 100) and market survey (N = 10) and interviews with healthcare professionals (N = 50), to identify the commonly used carminative natured spices in different combinations of carminative bars, using 16 spices, with sweeteners like honey and jaggery were formulated. In each combination, five different variations were developed and sensory evaluation was conducted individually for ten different combinations. Among the ten carminative bars, five bars which obtained highest scores (from different combinations) were selected and their acceptability was tested in three trials. The 34 subjects, suffering from digestive problems were identified through surveys and were administered with the carminative bar for a period of ten days and after the study period their responses were recorded. An educational package was developed and education on nature of spices was imparted to the selected families. The findings of the study indicated that majority of the subjects were adults who were non-vegetarians. A blend of carminative spices in the form of a bar has proved to be effective against digestive problems of individuals and the education imparted to the selected families was also found to be effective. This positive effect on adults with digestive problems is encouraging and being a dietary intervention, it is devoid of other side effects, proving that spices supplementation is a cost-effective and sustainable strategy in the management of digestive problems.

Keywords: Digestive disorders, spices, carminative

Cite this Article

Thirumani Devi A, Sreeja Panneerselvam V. Health benefits of natural products to overcome digestive problems. Research & Reviews: Journal of Food Science and Technology.2015; 4(2): 33–40p.