Underground Herbs (02) Stomach Soother

Underground Herbs is a series that I've created to shed light on lesser known herbs, foods, and nutrients that have potent health benefits. Happy Healing!

Underground Herbs (02) Stomach Soother

Last night I fell asleep on the floor of my living room. I bundled up in my favorite nook, a 3x3 foot carpeted zone, wedged in between a window and the half wall outlining a staircase that leads downstairs. This area has become a safe haven for me. It’s condensed and cozy like the hug I’m dying for.

I spent my evening here, pleading and praying to God for clarity on what the hell is happening to me. I didn’t have enough energy to walk the 15 foot stretch to my bedroom, so I decided just to call it quits, and sleep on the floor in my little nook.

I moved into this apartment 6 weeks ago, and I’m still adjusting to the space. It's lipstick on a pig. It looks old, smells old, and feels cold, but I’m doing my best to fengshui't, and reprogram the air with all of the purifiers and incense I’ve got. I virtually toured this place during Covid, and signed the lease on a whim. It was a “good deal.”

Ever since I’ve moved here, I’ve experienced a dramatic drop in my energy. My brain feels heavy and slow. I’m struggling to focus. I don’t have the energy to do simple tasks like put away dishes or lift the shampoo bottles in my shower. I just want to flop on my bed and float away. I think I’m depressed. Covid lockdown has just begun though, so the variables are blurred.

Now my face is covered in a foreign texture. The skin above my eyes is red, rough and swollen. My lungs feel full and fuzzy and it's hard to breathe. This stress has become normalcy. With personal traumas congruently being sorted, I wonder if it's just emotional. Maybe it’s all in my head.

When I awake from the carpet this morning, I slip on an outfit, pack my purse, and head into the office like any other day. But the body keeps the score, and it couldn’t take any more, so a painful, pinching sensation develops in my stomach.

I’m now at the office, rolling around in my desk chair as my mind rolls over yesterday. I didn’t recall eating anything out of the ordinary and I haven’t had a stomach bug in over 7 years. I'm without answers but the sensation becomes so painful that I have no choice but to end work and head home.

As I climb the stairs to my apartment, hunched over and brain blurred, I am sucked into my kitchen. I have no appetite, and all I want to do is lay in bed, but this peculiar force pulling me towards the upper right kitchen cabinet. My mind is blank but my body is yanked. I’m not sure what it’s doing.

It pulls out a sealed jar of coconut oil that's been hidden deep within my cupboard. I know this as a popular culinary agent, but I’ve never used it before. I have actually never tasted coconut oil before. My fingers break the plastic seal and I wrench the lid open. I feed 2 large tablespoons of coconut mush into my mouth. Now my mouth is buttery slick and I’m really not sure what is happening. I’m told to lie down in my bed, so I listen. I close my eyes. I take a deep breath, and I lay there still.

My stomach transmutes into total calm. My body becomes silent. No pain, no pinching, nothing. I am so in awe by the eradication of pain, that I get up to challenge my own healing. As I float around my apartment, still, I feel nothing. The pain is gone.

I return to my bed and allow my body to soak in its healed and happy state. I can only wonder, was it the coconut oil? I open my laptop and begin researching. Why I was called to crack open this food that I had no experience consuming?

The Healing Potential of Coconut Oil

Digestive diseases develop when there is an unbalanced growth of bacteria, fungi, viruses, and other parasites in our gut. Seventy to eighty percent of our immune cells are also located in our gut.

Even though my diet was nearly perfect at the time, I later learned that I was living in a mold-infested apartment. The bacteria and fungi in my home were slowly wreaking havoc in my system. Sleeping on the mold infested carpet might have been the last straw for my body.

Coconut oil is rich in fatty acids and monoglycerides that are strategic in killing off many strains of bacteria, viruses, fungus and parasites. It contains a compound called Monolaurin, which destroys bacteria biofilms. A biofilm is a protective housing for bacteria. Even when using antimicrobials or antibiotics, bacteria will hide in these films, making them difficult to kill. Coconut oil has the superpower of breaking through this casing.

Coconut oil has ketones that act as superfuel the brain, which was especially healing for the brain fog that I experienced from mold-poisoning. The anti-inflammatory properties of coconut oil reduced my stomach swelling and diffused the pinching pain. It's a soft and soothing food that I still lean on today for lots of benefits.

Here are some special uses of coconut oil:

For gut healing, consume in the morning on an empty stomach. Wait at least 1-2 hours to consume food thereafter.
Use as a natural hair conditioner. Moisturize into the scalp leave in for at least 1 hour as a nourishing mask.
Massage as a body oil (not for the face).
Whiten teeth while oil pulling.
Mix into your morning coffee to prolong your intermittent fast and boost energy. It does not raise your glucose levels but in fact lowers them.
Use as a digestive aid as it lubricates the intestinal tract.

Here are some of my favorite ways to eat coconut oil:

Mix a tablespoon in with warm wild rice or kasha and add cinnamon.
Melt onto a hot sweet potato and add sea salt and rosemary.
Toss among chopped veggies and allow to crisp in the pan.
Experiment with an iteration of Coconut Oil Fudge.
Spread on toasted bread.

Closing Thoughts

This story illustrates an experience that I had back in July of 2020. It taught me a couple major lessons. First, we are highly porous beings. Our bodies are not separate from the environment around us. We are consuming nutrients 24/7, and not just through the food we eat, but the air we breathe, and energies that encapsulate us.

Second, there is an innate genius built into each of our bodies. As we quiet the mind, we increase the volume on our psychic senses, and our body's intelligence can take the wheel. When I returned home from work that day, I felt so weak and defeated that I could not bear to mentalize what my body might need. In this state of surrender, my body took the lead.

From this moment forward, I became hyper aware of the deeply intuitive nature of body, particularly around food. Since this day, I’ve built a catalogue of experiences, all in which I've craved unusual nutrients that end up being super-healers for me.

I hope this story inspires you to become a bit more attuned to your own body's genius. Reflect and ask yourself,