People who suffer from serious heartburn often use PPI medications such as Dexilant or Nexium to control their symptoms. When a home remedy helps, however, they greet it with glee. Many people find that a persimmon tea with quite a bit of ginger in it can help tame acid reflux.
Persimmon Tea for Reflux:
Q. A while ago I read about persimmon tea for acid reflux. I suffer from time to time, but my husband suffers constantly. It is so bad that he wakes up almost every night and throws up! Prilosec, Nexium and a host of other drugs along with extra strength Gaviscon or Pepcid do nothing.
I made the persimmon tea. He drank a shot glass full the first morning and a shot glass after supper. From day one, he has slept soundly, and so have I. Nothing he eats now has caused him heartburn since we made it. The recipe was simple, though we did have trouble finding persimmons at first.
We just found out our insurance will no longer cover any of his expensive acid-suppressing drugs, so we are extra grateful!
Ginger and Cinnamon as Well as Persimmon:
A. We first heard about persimmon punch, a concentrated cinnamon-ginger drink, early in 2005. A woman wrote that she had tried it in a Korean restaurant and found that it stopped her heartburn. She made some at home and added 3 tablespoons to her tea morning and evening. After several months, her cholesterol and blood sugar were also lower. Perhaps the ginger and the cinnamon in the beverage produced those outcomes (Azimi et al, Review of Diabetic Studies, Fall-Winter 2014).
How Do You Make Persimmon Punch?
We looked for a recipe for persimmon punch. This one is in our book, Recipes & Remedies from The People’s Pharmacy.
- 2 quarts water
- 2/3 cup fresh ginger root, peeled and sliced
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 fresh ripe persimmon, sliced thinly (or 1/2 cup sliced dried persimmon)
Add ginger and cinnamon to the water and bring it to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer the tea for 30 minutes. Strain the liquid and add the honey and persimmon. Refrigerate the tea; it will keep for up to a week.
Some people may find that reducing the amount of honey helps their heartburn even more. Research indicates that decreasing sugar in the diet can be helpful in some cases of acid reflux (Newberry & Lynch, Current Gastroenterology Reports, Aug. 2017). An elimination diet may also help control symptoms.
Revised 7/24/2017
