This digestion tincture is by far the most used tincture in my home remedy cabinet. It’s simple to make, but effective against lots of digestive issues. If you’re dealing with bloating, IBS, or just need digestive support, then read on.
Digestive Bitters For Gut Health
In modern diets, sugar or salty tastes are often the stars of the show. We don’t naturally rely on a lot of bitter tastes to flavor our food anymore. If you’ve ever had dandelion leaves or frisee lettuce though, then you’ll know what they taste like. Other common digestive bitters include rosemary, orange peel, and coffee. Bitters aid digestive health in several different ways.
These herbs increase our digestive secretions throughout the digestive tract. It all starts with the tongue. As soon as we taste bitter herbs it gets our saliva going and aids digestion the rest of the way down. They also trigger bile flow from the gallbladder to help the healthy digestion of fats.
Aromatic Herbal Blends
Another class of digestion supporting herbal teas and remedies is aromatics. These are more pungent smelling and have strong volatile oils, like mint, fennel, and black pepper. Like bitters they help with digestion, but in a different way. Their volatile oils signal our smooth muscles to relax and tell our nervous system it’s time to settle down and digest.
Herbal Tincture Ingredients
For this digestive tincture blend I use a mix of peppermint, ginger, and fennel.
Peppermint
Peppermint is delicious in mint chocolate chip ice cream, but it’s also great for soothing the digestive system. People with acid reflux may need to exercise caution though. Mint in medicinal amounts can soften the sphincter in the esophagus and trigger heartburn in those already prone to it. If you find that you get heartburn or reflux from using this tincture, then try it without the mint.
Mint helps with an upset stomach and nausea. This makes it great for pregnancy nausea and motion sickness too! Mint also has anti-viral activity and can help with the flu. It both relaxes and stimulates the nervous system to do its job.
Ginger
Ginger is the next herb in the digestion tincture. It stimulates circulation and is great for cold and flu support. Ginger also helps with nausea, motion sickness, and morning sickness. Fresh ginger is easier on sensitive stomachs than dried ginger. There’s some evidence it has anti-inflammatory properties, especially when it comes to arthritis. However, the jury is still out on that one.
Researchers found that ginger performed better than the placebo when it comes to nausea. It helped with nausea and vomiting after surgery, seasickness, and morning sickness. It can also reduce nausea caused by chemotherapy treatment.
Fennel
Fennel, also known as Foeniculum vulgare is another amazing digestive herb. It’s gentle and soothing for all ages, including little ones. You’ll often find it in gripe water preparations. Fennel helps with spasms, and calms colic, and constipation. It’s also a carminative and helps release trapped gas in the intestines. It should be used with caution during early pregnancy though.
How to Use the Digestion Tincture
I’ve used this digestion tincture in transition during labor when nausea hits. It’s also helpful to curb morning sickness and for stomach bugs to help stop vomiting. I also use it for indigestion, heartburn, and other digestive disturbances. If you find that it worsens your heartburn though, then omit the mint and replace it with more of the other herbs. If you’re having a digestive issue of any kind, this will likely work for it.
Getting to the root cause of the problem is always the best idea though. For example, if you have gut dysfunction and a leaky gut, diet changes can help to heal the gut lining. If your baby is always colicky there could be an oral tie or nervous system disruption causing the tummy troubles. In that case, getting evaluated for tongue or lip ties or a chiropractor adjustment can be helpful.
Pregnancy and Nursing
Fennel tea is generally considered gentle and safe for pregnancy, but the tincture is not. It can have estrogenic effects when used in large amounts. Using fennel while breastfeeding can increase milk production and soothe digestive issues for nursing babies.
Mint is commonly used to help with pregnancy nausea. In later stages of pregnancy, it could potentially worsen existing heartburn. Peppermint in larger amounts may reduce breastmilk flow in nursing mothers.
If you’re pregnant then replace the fennel with chamomile. It’s pregnancy safe and has many of the same digestive actions. Be sure to check with your doctor or midwife first before taking any herbal supplements.
Nursing moms may want to omit the peppermint in this digestion tincture. You can replace it with more ginger and fennel instead.
Babies and Children
I always keep this remedy (and homemade chamomile tincture) on hand, especially with kids. This digestive remedy can be used externally on baby’s tummies for colic and gas. You can also rub some on the head (adult or child) for headaches. And of course, it’s what I pull out for my kids when we’re away from home and they’ve indulged in too much unhealthy food.
How Much Do I Take?
Adults can take up to 1 teaspoon in water or tea. For heartburn, indigestion, or nausea, one dose is usually sufficient. You might find you need a second round though. During pregnancy, I used 1/2 teaspoon in the morning for morning sickness. Then I took a few more doses throughout the day as needed.
Children don’t need as much, about 10-20 drops. For babies, you can rub a few drops on their tummies.
If you’re pregnant, nursing, or have a medical condition, check with your doctor or midwife before using any herbal remedy or supplement.
Digestion Tincture Alcohol Strength
Most homemade tinctures are made with 80-proof alcohol (40%). The herbs used in this extract best with a 50-60% alcohol strength though. That’s a little higher than what you can get with your typical vodka. A simple fix is to use 95-proof alcohol and dilute it with distilled water to get to 60%.
That translates to about 2 parts alcohol to 1 part water. This tincture calls for 3 cups total liquid, but if you need more to cover your herbs, use the 2 to 1 ratio. If you’re using fresh mint and ginger, then use 95-proof alcohol with no water added.
Digestion Tincture
Notes
What have you tried to help with digestive issues? Any herbs you would add to this? Leave a comment and let me know!
How do you fill the tincture bottles? I have some I bought with a tincture in it that I want to reuse, but my small metal funnel does not fit. If I pour it it will spill.
Really? Why not get a funnel that will fit then. I’m aghast at all the lame questions this poor woman gets when she posts something. Folks, do your research, Google stuff. If you want tincture bottles, type in “tincture bottles” in the Google search window. Mountain Rose Herbs has all this stuff. Check it out before asking. Read the posts so you’re not asking the same thing over and over again. Apply some common sense about the alcohol. Try it out yourself and see. This gal is a mom like everyone else just letting you know what works for her.
No need to be so mean heather!!! If you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say anything
Thank you Heather.
With respect, I agree: Heather is trying to spare Katie some exhaustion, even though all the questions were innocently meant. Folks, let’s remember that Katie is a busy home-schooling mother as well as an independent researcher with a solid academic background, sharing her practical common-sense wisdom and experience with us.
I don’t think Heather meant to sound ‘mean’; I think she had a metaphorical exasperated mother smile on her face when she wrote. : ) (I’m allowed to say this because I am 60 and have home-schooled our five kids!) Her advice is wise: we all need to think twice before posing unnecessary questions that we could answer ourselves with a quick Google; if said Google fails to provide the answer, then fine, we can give ourselves permission to ask away.
Thanks to all of you, BTW: my husband is growing some Holy Basil in our small greenhouse (‘hoop house’) in Alberta, and is about to start experimenting with tincture making for the first time. This is all in aid of trying to cure our son, who has chronic IBD (long story) and is in far away Australia doing everything in his power to cure himself. We are not expecting one small thing to provide a complete cure, but if it can add to other small things, each helping bring our son closer to healing, then we shall be eternally grateful.
God bless each and every one of you, and Katie and her family in particular.
I was just wondering if this is safe to take daily. My father has reflux and takes OTC meds daily. He is looking for something healthier than eating tums and rolaids all day. Thanks so much for your site. It is awesome.
Hi Sofie
My husband uses a tincture similar to this. One tsp in a glass of water.
When we are temporarily out of the tincture he uses 1 tsp on aluminum free baking soda in a glass of water. He still carries tums for when we are away from home.
Thanks Katie for this awesome post!!! I can’t wait to mix a batch to try it out. I have a 6 week old, is it ok to use externally? Just their skin is so sensitive, is there a minimum you would recommend?
What is the shelf life of this tincture?
Several years…
I’ve never made a tincture with water before. Can you do this with straight vodka?
Would you recommend a few drops of this internqlly for a 2 week old with gas? We’ve tried the chamomile tinct and it works well with him, but I just decanted this and was wondering about using it with him.
I would use it on my own kids, but it would be gentler to just use on stomach externally instead…
Hi, as I don’t consume alcohol and would like to give those to kids when needed, I would use apple cider vinegar instead of vodka… The hot water will get the mostly out of the herbal property and vinegar will nicely preserve it. Beside, vinegar is good alone in our stomachs, it kinda doubles the purpose. Ever tried it with vinegar ?
Thanks by the way.. Great job… Pining this one as well…
Haven’t tried this specific one with vinegar, but have with others and it should work…
Thanks for the post…great info and I am pinning this one!
Is there a possible substitute for the alcohol? I don’t drink alcohol, but I’d like to try this recipe (even though I’m not pregnant)
You can brew as a tea (it won’t last as long though) and it will still provide the benefits
Would something like this work for chronic reflux?
Bailey, I’m wondering the same thing. I suffer from chronic reflux. Did you get an answer?
Can I replace the vodka with “The Mother”?
Would this help with IBS symptoms/discomfort?
It should offer some relief from the symptoms, though it won’t fix whatever underlying problem is causing the IBS.
Can I use the dried leaves from my tea bags to make a tincture?
As long as they have never been brewed and are dry you can.
You don’t happen to sell this by chance? I would love to buy!! I’m pregnant with constipation issues now… 🙁
Unfortunately no but you could also try some magnesium, probiotics or fermented foods. Good luck!
I eat greek yogurt with cinnamon and about 3 tsp of whole flax seed!!!
What do you think about essential oils and companies like young living?
I use a lot of essential oils and think they are excellent when used safely. I’m personally not a fan of Young Living, and I just order all of mine from other reputable sources which are cheaper and also organic and food grade.
I’m curious why you dislike Young Living? I’m looking into it myself right now. Thanks.
I’m not a fan of any multi-level marketing companies. Their products are overpriced, they make up terms such as “therapeutic grade”, and you can find better quality products elsewhere…
Why do you pour boiling water over the herbs? I’ve made tinctures before, but I just poured the vodka over them? Does there need to be water for using dried herbs in tincturing them?
No, don’t necessarily need water but it still works with half water and you don’t need as much vodka that way. The boiling water just helps extract the properties from the herbs
Vodka is 80 proof or 40 % alcohol 60 % water. If you add more water your cutting the effectiveness of the vodka to extract the essence from the herb.
It’s only important to use vodka for its preservative effect, not because it actually extracts “better” than water.
can you use ground ginger instead of the ginger root?
yep, just make sure to strain well, I’d use a fine strainer or a coffee filter to strain if you use ground ginger.
I’m new to herbal remedies. This is the first one thst i’m trying. It’s in the “cool/dark” phase right now.
This is my question
Is the vodka still a large part of the mixture when it’s over?
Nope, and if you’d prefer not to drink the alcohol at all, just put the tincture in a small glass of water and wait 15 minutes before drinking it… this gives the alcohol time to evaporate so you won’t taste it or get any at all.
H’mm, interesting. I must try this one.
Where do you purchase your tincture bottles?
I just re-use ones that I have, but I’ve seen them online at
different places. A lot of health food type stores also carry them.
Try a health/vitamin store. I got mine at the Vitamin Shoppe
try this website https://www.containerandpackaging.com/catalog/glass-bottles/13/?c=Amber#8694