Nausea
Queasiness, motion, or a stomach that will not settle.
Why Fire
Warming bitters and pungents, especially ginger, were the traveler’s and midwife’s first sip when the stomach rebelled.
Bitter is first hot, then cold. It speeds digestion, moves lymph and waste, wakes circulation, and calls bile from the gallbladder. As that hot, caustic bile travels, the body cools — which is why the old bitter cups were given for fever. Bitter is the strongest medicine in this tradition.
Fire · bitter
2Ginger
Zingiber officinale
The stillroom’s first answer to a cold belly or a coming chill.
Nausea · Indigestion · Chill & congestion
Warm, move, and stimulate
Allspice
Pimenta dioica
The berry that tastes like cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg in one jar.
Bloating · Indigestion · Crampy cycle
Warm, move, and stimulate
Earth · sweet
2Fennel
Foeniculum vulgare
The after-dinner seed that lets wind leave quietly.
Bloating · Indigestion · Nausea
Ground, build, and settle
Cardamom
Elettaria cardamomum
A sweet, eucalyptus-green seed that finishes a heavy meal.
Indigestion · Bloating · Hollow energy
Ground, build, and settle
Air · sour
5Peppermint
Mentha × piperita
The lift in the cupboard — head, belly, and a closed room.
Bloating · Indigestion · Headache
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Basil
Ocimum basilicum
The pesto leaf that also wakes a dull head and a cold meal.
Indigestion · Dull focus · Nausea
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Spearmint
Mentha spicata
The sweeter mint — kinder to children and to a tender stomach.
Bloating · Indigestion · Nausea
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Peach leaf
Prunus persica
The orchard leaf for a queasy, heated middle.
Nausea · Indigestion · Feverish & flushed
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Dill
Anethum graveolens
The pickle seed — a bright, green ease for a windy belly.
Bloating · Indigestion · Nausea
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Traditional kitchen and folk use only. This is not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are pregnant, nursing, on medicine, or unwell, ask a clinician before drinking anything as a remedy.