Chicory for stomach ulcers: can you drink it and how to brew it?

Features of the plant

This plant grows primarily in the temperate zone and tropics. This is a perennial plant belonging to the Asteraceae family. In the wild, the plant can be found in vacant lots, on forest edges, and along roads.

But in connection with medicines, the plant has been cultivated and grown in specially designated huge areas. Chicory flowers and leaves were used as a general tonic. Its root system is rich in microelements such as:

vitamins, organic and mineral acids;
tannins and proteins.

Chicory has a general strengthening effect on health:

A component of chicory is pectin, which helps remove toxic substances from the body.
Ascorbic acid helps support immunity.
Potassium is useful for strengthening the heart muscle.
Chicory root has a diuretic effect. This helps the body remove excess fluid and helps normalize water-salt balance. Chicory is rich in:
manganese, iron, sodium, phosphorus.

Most often, drinks prepared from the powder of the rhizomes of this plant are used for diseases of the digestive system.

Is drinking chicory healthy?

So, is drinking chicory healthy, what is healthier? Coffee! But the coffee is not natural, but from common chicory! Nature has given us a plant, the drink from which resembles the taste of natural coffee and is not just harmless, but, on the contrary, healing. Lovers of natural coffee can be advised to add chicory to it - and its harmful effects will be significantly reduced. In the past, natural coffee was sold pre-flavored with chicory.

Yes, there was pure chicory coffee. Among many nations, in particular the Germans and the Baltic states, chicory coffee is always held in high esteem. But what we drink now is practically poison, but it’s aromatic, tasty, easy to prepare...

So, a tale about common, wild chicory - an amazing and useful plant. Driving along a steppe road, along a city or rural street, direct your gaze to the side of the road - and you will not be able to help but notice the stems with blue reed flowers scattered along their entire length, which turn after the sun all summer, until frost. This is it, chicory, a tenacious, annoying perennial “weed”.

No, not a weed, but one of the most grateful plants! I am talking about wild chicory, not cultivated ones such as “witloof”, “endive” or “escarole”. These are also very useful plants, but they are not suitable for salads or coffee. People call common chicory differently: “a waiting plant”, “guardian”, “road watchman”, “enchanted maiden” waiting for a soldier-groom, “bride of the Sun” because she constantly turns her flowers after the Sun, “Petrov” batig" for the shape of the stem, similar to a whip.

Common chicory is a good honey plant and produces a lot of nectar and pollen. And chicory root, due to the presence of easily digestible substances, serves as a valuable food product, especially for diabetics, is widely used in the preparation of sweets and cakes, and is also used in the production of coffee and tea drinks, giving them a specific taste, aroma and color.

The entire plant is used for medicinal purposes. The roots contain the bitter extractive substance chicorin, inulin, choline, highly soluble in water, proteins, fats, pectin, vitamins C, B1, E, fat, gum, essential oil, resin, tannins, mineral salts and a large number of trace elements. The glycoside chicorine was found in the flowers. The milky juice of the stems and leaves contains bitter substances - latcutin and lactucoperine, inulin, ascorbic and chicoric acids. The seeds contain inulin and protocatechin aldehyde.

Chicory preparations have antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, choleretic, diuretic, sedative, astringent and appetite-stimulating effects. They have a regulating effect on metabolism, somewhat increase cardiac activity and reduce sweating.

Chicory for gastritis

The healing properties of chicory and its effects on human health have been well studied. First of all, it has a beneficial effect on the digestive system. Regular use of chicory for gastritis helps:

Reducing inflammation, thereby reducing pain. Improving the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.
Rapid healing of the mucous membrane. Increased production of gastric juice.
Rapid removal of toxins from the entire digestive system.

There are two types of gastritis - with high and low acidity. With increased stomach acidity, the production of hydrochloric acid increases. This leads to irritation and inflammation of the mucous membrane.

Chicory increases the production of gastric juice. Accordingly, increasing the content of hydrochloric acid. The movement of food through the gastrointestinal tract is also accelerated. Therefore, the use of chicory for gastritis with high acidity is dangerous due to its consequences:

erosions are formed;
the action of digestive enzymes is disrupted.

These enzymes lose their activity in an acidic environment. All this leads to painful inflammation and intestinal diseases.

For gastritis with low acidity, in which there is a decrease in the level of hydrochloric acid, eating chicory is very useful. In such patients, a lack of acid leads to stagnation of food, and stagnant processes occur in the body.

Useful properties and composition

Chicory is considered an incredibly useful plant. Its components give the herb many beneficial properties.

Thanks to the presence of pectin, the use of chicory helps to enhance intestinal motility, relieving the patient of constipation, absorbing waste and toxic substances, and removing them out.
Chicory powder also has an anti-inflammatory effect. It accelerates the regeneration and healing of erosive lesions and wounds formed on the mucous membrane.
The plant helps normalize kidney function, has a diuretic effect, eliminates swelling and restores water-salt balance.
Chicory helps dissolve stones in the gallbladder.
The composition also contains inulin, which is a sweetener that is not absorbed into the bloodstream. Consumption of chicory helps reduce the concentration of glucose in the blood plasma.
The plant has a detoxification effect and relieves the symptoms of acute poisoning.
Due to the presence of tannins, chicory is endowed with antimicrobial properties and suppresses pathogenic microflora in the gastrointestinal tract.
The root powder has a choleretic effect and removes excess bile secretion.
The presence of vitamin C in chicory helps normalize the functioning of the immune system, restores elasticity to the vascular walls, strengthening them.
Proteins help speed up the recovery and renewal of affected tissues.
A drink from the plant helps strengthen the body weakened by disease, relieves vitamin deficiency and has a general strengthening effect.
Chicory promotes the secretion of gastric secretions, increases appetite, and is recommended for hypoacid inflammation of the mucous membrane.
The presence of potassium in chicory allows it to be used to normalize cardiovascular functions.
B-group vitamins normalize metabolic processes and support the functionality of nerve tissue.

Video about the beneficial properties and use of chicory for gastritis:

For peptic ulcers, pancreatitis and cholecystitis

Pancreatitis is a disease of the pancreas. As you know, the pancreas produces insulin. And a large amount of this hormone contained in chicory normalizes the functioning of the pancreas. Therefore, eating chicory, especially for people suffering from diabetes, is very beneficial.

In case of gastric ulcer, the use of chicory, on the contrary, is contraindicated, due to the fact that the plant causes an increase in acidity.

Cholecystitis is a fairly common disease associated with inflammation of the gallbladder wall. Due to its unique properties: increasing appetite and stimulating the release of bile, chicory is recommended for this type of disease. Having choleretic properties, chicory is not recommended for people suffering from cholelithiasis. Due to the large release of bile, the stones are broken into sand. The withdrawal process begins, which is accompanied by severe pain. Large fractions can clog the duct. This pathology can only be corrected surgically.

Contraindications

Not all patients can drink chicory.

It is contraindicated to use the infusion for ulcerative pathology of the duodenum and stomach;
The drink is not recommended for hyperacid gastritis;
You should drink this drink with caution if you have cholelithiasis, because the plant has a choleretic effect, which leads to the dissolution of the stones and their removal in the form of sand. This process is accompanied by very painful sensations, and if the stones are too large, they can clog the ducts. As a result, surgery will be required to correct the problem.
It is not recommended to drink the drink if you have hemorrhoids and varicose veins, as well as the presence of allergic intolerance to chicory.

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How to use chicory

To preserve the healing properties of the plant, you must adhere to the following rules:

Do not drink the prepared drink hot. This can harm the stomach lining.
Do not exceed the amount of drink you drink. The recommended daily intake is 2-3 cups.
Be sure to eat chicory with honey. This way its medicinal properties are enhanced and revealed.
If you have any of the diseases listed above, it is recommended to consult a doctor.

Dried chicory rhizomes are eaten. They are pre-dried, ground into powder, and then infusions, decoctions and drinks are prepared.

It has long been known that many people replace coffee with chicory in the form of a drink. The consumption rate for this drink is up to three glasses per day. It's quite easy to prepare:

pour one teaspoon of powder into a cup;
pour boiling water and add milk and sugar to taste.

This masterpiece tastes like instant coffee. To prepare a concentrated decoction, you will need half a glass of powdered ingredient and a liter of water:

Bring the water to a boil and add the powder.
Then simmer over low heat for 30 minutes.

This decoction is recommended for people who have gastritis with low acidity before each meal.

Chicory is also widely used in cooking. It is added to dough when baking, giving baked goods a pleasant aroma; chicory is added to salads, baked with cheese, and many other cooking methods.

As it turned out, chicory is useful during pregnancy due to its healing properties of quickly removing toxins. Children can take chicory drinks once they reach one year of age.

Tips and tricks

To get the maximum benefit from the drink, you need to drink it without sugar and milk. The plant contains a large amount of iron, and milk interferes with the absorption of the element ;
Do not combine the drink with alcohol;
When taking medications, you should consult your doctor about the compatibility of chicory and medications.

On our website: Salo for gastritis - can you eat it?

If you have gastritis, you need to be especially careful when taking a herbal drink. Even if the product is prepared independently at home, this does not guarantee its safe effect on the stomach.

Before drinking, you must always consult your doctor about the dosage, even if the doctor has allowed you to drink the drink, you need to take it wisely, without fanaticism. Also, don’t forget about your diet and be healthy!

What are the benefits of chicory?

For the preparation of medicines, it is better to use common chicory (cychorium intibus). The beneficial and medicinal properties of cultivated varieties (witloof, endive and others) are somewhat reduced, although they are tasty and contain a lot of vitamin C.

The plant is useful because it stimulates metabolic processes and heart activity, slows down the rhythm of its contractions and increases the amplitude, lowers blood pressure due to its vasodilating effect, and normalizes cholesterol levels.

Chicory is used for colds, sore throat, flu, respiratory diseases, and toothache.

Drinking drinks from a healthy plant improves the functioning of the pancreas and helps increase the concentration of hemoglobin in the blood. And the property of lowering glucose levels contributes to weight loss, prevention and treatment of diabetes.

Drinks made from chicory leaves and roots improve liver function, increase blood flow and metabolism in it, and have a choleretic, diuretic, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory effect.

Calming properties are used in cases of insomnia, neuroses and stress. Chicory improves mood, gives strength and vigor, and helps cope with loss of strength.

The plant has a beneficial effect on the thyroid gland, has a thyreostatic effect, and helps cope with thyrotoxicosis.

Recipes with chicory improve appetite and digestive processes, destroy intestinal parasites, eliminate constipation, cleanse the intestines from the inside, and have a mild laxative effect.

Chicory is useful both when used independently and in combination with other medicinal plants, enhancing their therapeutic effect.

Traditional medicine uses the roots of the plant; decoctions and infusions are prepared from its powder. For medicinal purposes, fresh juice is taken, and salads are prepared from the leaves. Fresh or dried stems, flowers, and leaves bring health benefits.