Gripe Water Recipe

Wondering how to make gripe water? Making gripe water at home is quite easy if you know an easy gripe water recipe. This article will provide you with not just one, but many easy and completely natural gripe water recipes.

Gripe water is a very effective remedy for babies suffering from colic and gastrointestinal problem. Infants often face several stomach problems like colic and upset stomach which are mainly caused due to reflux and flatulence. Gripe water is also given to babies during the teething period to decrease the teething pain. It is surely one of the best discoveries of baby care. An interesting fact about gripe water is that it was not researched on, it was accidentally discovered by an American named William Woodward. However gripe water is considered as England's discovery as William Woodward was working in England at that time!

This important discovery was made in the year 1851, so this wonder remedy is not as new as we think! The name 'gripe water' was trademarked by Woodward itself in 1876. New mothers are, however, worried about the gripe water side effects, it is important for them to know that side effects of gripe water depends entirely on its ingredients. So what is gripe water made of? Well, the original gripe water recipe, the one discovered by Woodward contained dill oil, sugar, water, 3.6% alcohol and sodium bicarbonate. Now these ingredients are being replaced by ingredients like fennel seeds, peppermint etc. Read more on gripe water for babies.

There are many commercial gripe water available in the market, however they are quite expensive, and very few brands mention all the ingredients used in their product. That is why it is safe to make gripe water at home itself. The following is a list of safe and unsafe gripe water ingredients, followed by homemade gripe water recipes. Read more on gripe water pros and cons.

Gripe Water Ingredients to be Avoided

Citric Acid

Dairy

Charcoal Vegetable Carbon

Alcohol

Gluten

Sodium Bicarbonate

Yeast

Soy

While buying or preparing gripe water at home, make sure that the above ingredients are not used. You can instead use the following ingredients.

Safe Gripe Water Ingredients

Ginger - Ginger is useful for curing nausea and gastric problems.

Fennel - Fennel helps to control the spasms that occur in intestinal tracts. It also helps to cure indigestion and reduces pain that occurs due to anti-microbial actions.

Peppermint - Peppermint is known to be extremely useful for digestion as it induces gas from the intestines. It is also know to stimulate bile flow, which helps in curing gastric acid reflux.

Lemon Balm - Lemon balm helps to cure insomnia. When combined with peppermint, lemon balm soothes upset stomach.

These were some of the beneficial ingredients that should be included in any recipe for gripe water. Read more on gripe water for newborns.

Easy and Effective Gripe Water Recipes

Following are some easy recipes for gripe water which will help you to get rid of the question, 'how to make gripe water at home?'

Gripe Water Recipe #1

Ingredients

1 tablespoon dill seed

2 cups water

Process

Boil water in a large saucepan. Take a strainer, add the seeds to it and dip in the saucepan when the water is boiling, let stand for 5 minutes. Transfer the water to a bowl and let cool. Discard the seeds. Pour the cooled gripe water in a sterilized bottle.

Gripe Water Recipe #2

Ingredients

2 fresh peppermint leaves

4 cups water

inch peeled ginger

1 teaspoon fennel seed

1 tablespoon corn syrup

Process

Take a heavy bottom pot and add all the ingredients to it. Bring the water to a boil, reduce the heat and then let simmer for about 20 minutes. Let cool for 2 minutes then strain and cool further, at room temperature. Store the cooled mixture in the refrigerator. Brew a new batch if used after 24 hours, discard the old batch. Read more on baby care.

Gripe Water Recipe #3

Ingredients

3 to 4 leaves lemon balm

2 cups water

1 pinch sugar

2 teaspoon Persian cumin

Process

Firstly, grind the cumin seeds into a fine powder. Bring water to a boil and then add lemon balm leaves and the cumin powder to it; boil for about 10 minutes. Strain the gripe water and then add sugar to it.

These were some of the easy gripe water recipes. So now that you know how to make gripe water at home, you do not need to depend on the commercial gripe water products. You can make it anytime you need.