Homeopathic medicine, treatment and remedies for Malnutrition

• Abrotanum
  Common Name: Southernwood
  Symptoms: Abrotanum is known to be the best remedy for people with marasmus (especially in the lower extremities) with a good appetite. It also helps reduce the following symptoms:
  • Persistent hunger
  • Progressive emaciation even though the person has a good appetite
  • Gnawing and cutting pain in the stomach at night
  • Indigestion, the person throws up offensive fluid 
  • Passing undigested food
  • Slimy taste in the mouth
  • Skinny face with blackheads

Symptoms become worse in cold air and improve on moving around.

• Aceticum Acidum
  Common Name: Glacial acetic acid
  Symptoms: This remedy is best suited for people with debility and wasting. It helps treat malnutrition by reducing the following symptoms:
  • Fermentation in the stomach
  • Stomach cancer
  • Sour belching
  • Vomiting 
  • Excessive salivation and burning waterbrash (sudden salivation due to indigestion)
  • Hyperchlorhydria (higher than normal levels of gastric acid in the stomach)
  • Gastralgia (pain in the stomach or upper abdomen)
  • Intense burning pain in the chest and stomach, followed by a feeling of coldness in the skin and cold sweat on the forehead
  • Burning sensation in the stomach as of an ulcer
  • Vomiting after consuming anything
  • Gastric distress on consuming cold drinks
  • Intense thirst with a burning sensation in the stomach
  • Emaciated and pale face 

• Arsenicum Album
  Common Name: Arsenious acid, arsenic trioxide
  Symptoms: This remedy is best suited for people who feel extremely tired after the slightest activity. They also experience irritability, weakness and burning type of pains in their body. Arsenicum Album helps treat malnutrition by reducing the following symptoms:
  • Inability to bear the smell or sight of food
  • Extreme thirst, though the person cannot drink more than a small quantity of water at once 
  • Burning and pain in the stomach
  • Craving for coffee, milk and acidic food
  • Nausea, retching and vomiting every time the person eats or drinks anything 
  • Anxious stomach
  • Prolonged belching
  • Heartburn
  • Throwing up green mucus, bile, or blood
  • Indigestion on consuming acidic food, ice-cream or drinking ice cold water. 
  • Gastralgia after even a small meal
  • A feeling of icy coldness in the body along with fatigue and faintness along with gastralgia
  • A feeling as if everything swallowed is stuck in the oesophagus, as if the oesophagus is closed and no food will pass through

Symptoms become worse at midnight, in cold or damp weather, on consuming cold food or drinks, and near the seashore. The person feels better on elevating their head a bit, from warmth in general and after taking warm drinks.

• Baryta Carbonica
  Common Name: Carbonate of baryta
  Symptoms: This remedy is best suited for infants, old people and people who often experience swelling in their tonsils. It helps to treat the following symptoms:
  • Waterbrash
  • Hiccups
  • Tenderness in the epigastric region (area right above the stomach) after eating warm food
  • A sensation of weight in the stomach along with pain right after meals
  • Gastric weakness in old people

All the complaints worsen when the person thinks about the symptoms or lies on the painful side. Symptoms improve better on walking in open air.

• Calcarea Carbonica
  Common Name: Carbonate of lime
  Symptoms: Calcarea carbonica helps treat malnutrition by reducing the following symptoms:
  • Heartburn
  • Loud and sour burps that occur frequently and leave a sour taste in the mouth
  • Loss of appetite caused due to working too hard
  • Stomach cramps that worsen on drinking cold water and applying pressure to the affected area
  • Insatiable hunger
  • Aversion to hot and fatty and boiled foods and meat. Instead, the person craves eggs, sweet and salty things, cold drinks and things that cannot be digested such as coal or pencils 
  • Intolerance to milk, 
  • Epigastric region painful to touch
  • Hyperchlorhydria

Symptoms aggravate in cold and humid weather, from exertion, on standing and during a full moon. They become better on lying on the painful side, after sneezing and in dry weather.

• Calcarea Phosphorica
  Common Name: Phosphate of lime
  Symptoms: Calcarea phosphorica is best suited for anaemic children who are irritable and have weak digestion. It is also given to infants who want to nurse frequently and vomit easily. This remedy helps treat malnutrition by reducing the following symptoms:
  • Excessive gassiness
  • Extreme hunger with gassiness and thirst, which is relieved by sour belches
  • Heartburn
  • Vomiting, especially in children

Symptoms become worse in cold and damp weather and especially with melting snow. Symptoms get better in a warm and dry atmosphere and in summer.

• Hepar Sulphur
  Common Name: Hahnemann's calcium sulphide
  Symptoms: This remedy is suitable for people who often have a sensation as if wind is blowing on some part of their body. It helps treat malnutrition by reducing the following symptoms:
  • Aversion to fatty foods and craving for strong-tasting foods, acidic foods and wine
  • Frequent burps without smell or taste
  • Abdominal distension
  • A burning sensation in the stomach
  • A feeling of heaviness along with pressure in the stomach even after having a small or light meal

All complaints become worse in cool and dry winds, and on lying on the painful side. They become better in damp and humid weather, post meals, in warm conditions and when the person wraps their head.

• Hydrastis Canadensis
  Common Name: Golden seal
  Symptoms: Hydrastis anadensis is most suitable for people who experience thick yellowish secretions from their mucous membranes (inner lining of some organs like the nose, eye, mouth and gut). It helps treat malnutrition by healing the following symptoms:
  • Indigestion due to weak stomach muscles. The person is unable to eat vegetables or bread
  • A constant sore feeling in the stomach 
  • A feeling of emptiness in the stomach
  • Vibration or throbbing sensation in the epigastric region
  • Stomach cancer
  • Stomach ulcers
  • Inflammation of the stomach lining

• Iodium
  Common Name: Iodine
  Symptoms: Iodine is best suited for people who are physically very weak and start sweating after a bit of work. It helps treat malnutrition by reducing the following symptoms:
  • Excessive hunger and thirst
  • Worry and anxiety on skipping meals
  • The person loses weight even after taking a healthy diet
  • A throbbing sensation deep in the stomach

Symptoms worsen when the person is quiet, sitting in a warm room, and is lying on their right side. They become better after walking in open air.

Living a healthy lifestyle not only improves overall health and helps achieve better recovery, but also promotes the action of homeopathic remedies. Dr Hahnemann, the father of homeopathic medicine, recommends making the following lifestyle changes in order to achieve complete therapeutic benefits from the homeopathic medications and maintain good health: 

Do’s: 

• Include nutritious foods in your diet. 
• Live in hygienic conditions.
• Follow an active lifestyle.

Don’ts: 

• Do not consume liquids with strong odours and beverages like coffee and herbal teas and liquors prepared from medicinal herbs and spices.
• Avoid physical and mental exertion.
• Avoid negative feelings like sadness and anger.

According to the holistic principles of homeopathy, nutritional disorders are not only caused due to nutrient and micronutrient deficiencies but also due to the body’s inability to absorb and assimilate food. Homeopathic treatments enable the body systems to optimally utilise nutrients from food. Moreover, the treatments provide long-term relief as they act on a fundamental level, unlike conventional supplements, which may cause recurrence of malnutrition, if discontinued.

Though there isn't much confirmatory evidence of the benefits of homeopathic medicines for malnutrition, there are some studies that indicate the benefits of these remedies. 

A pilot study done in India indicated that homeopathic remedies are effective in treating malnutrition in children aged one to four, especially when taken along with appropriate dietary and lifestyle modifications. 

Another study published in the Indian Journal of Research in Homeopathy found that alfalfa can be used to treat malnutrition along with some other conditions like anemia, headache, fever, depression and lethargy.

Homeopathic remedies are made from highly diluted natural substances. They don't have any side effects or toxic properties. Since the medicines are taken in small doses, they are safe for children as well as pregnant women. However, it is important to take homeopathic remedies according to the prescription of a qualified homeopathic doctor as not all medicines suit everyone well.

Malnutrition is a term used for both under or over nutrition. It is a severe condition that needs to be addressed promptly and comprehensively. Homeopathic remedies are effective in treating malnutrition by improving appetite, reducing digestive problems and enhancing overall health of the patient. Homeopathic remedies are not only effective but also safe and do not produce any side effects. Homeopathy can be taken as a standalone therapy or along with conventional medicines for treating malnutrition. Consult a qualified doctor before taking any remedy.