Protect Your GI Tract With This Summertime Vegetable

Rhubarb always reminds me of spring and summertime. This celery-like vegetable is often paired with fruit--especially strawberries--in pies, tarts, and cobblers to balance out its extreme tartness. Along with being a delicious treat, rhubarb has some pretty impressive health benefits, too. It can be very effective at stopping upper digestive tract bleeding. 

In China, researchers discovered that 15 grams daily of raw rhubarb powder, raw rhubarb tablets, or roasted rhubarb powder stopped digestive tract bleeding in 95 percent of cases. The 15-gram dose was divided and given throughout the day. And although practically all of the 400 individuals who were given the rhubarb initially experienced abdominal pain and cramping, the rhubarb quickly stopped the bleeding. The initial pain was not so intense that it required intervention, and it lessened or stopped completely once the individual had a bowel movement. And, unlike many medications used in an attempt to stop gastrointestinal bleeding, rhubarb increased bowel movements instead of bringing them to a halt. This fact makes it easier to determine whether or not the bleeding has stopped. 

If you take daily aspirin for heart or cardiovascular problems, keep in mind that you are at much, much higher risk of internal bleeding. Knowing about rhubarb could one day help save your life. Severe gastrointestinal bleeding seems to be a more common occurrence these days and, in many cases, it can't be stopped using conventional medicine.

Bulk rhubarb powder isn't always easy to find in health food stores, but it can be ordered through the mail from places like Penn Herb Co. Ltd. 

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