Individual herbs can be used for specific symptoms; UK doctors prescribe peppermint oil capsules for bloating and cramps in IBS, even though evidence is limited.
However, in unskilled British hands, the results are often, even if just millimetres thick, doughy, dense and bloating.
Many people with IBS turn to herbal medicines to help control symptoms of diarrhoea, bloating and abdominal cramps.
They've never had horrid bloating and dragging tummy aches, bloody knickers, sheets and even mattresses, spent hours washing everything, lying bleeding and clutching hot-water bottles.
He came to office promising to abolish the Department of Education, but ended up bloating its budget from $14.7 billion in 1981 to $21.5 billion in 1989.
But the Catholic University of Argentina calculates that, going by the true cost of living, the correct figure is 27%.Similarly, underestimating inflation has had the effect of bloating the official calculation of GDP since 2007 (see chart).
When he remembered, and forced it down the incinerator chute, it was already bloating, and the gassy innards instantly caught fire.
The best example is the recent boom in bacteria-enriched yogurts, such as Danone's blockbuster brand Activia, which are supposed to fight "bloating" (code for constipation).Functional foods are nothing new, observes Bernard Hours of Danone.
Should the trend of public-sector employment persist, taking demography into account, several hundred thousand more nationals will have to be absorbed by the public sector by 2030, bloating it to more than four times its size today, a fiscally untenable prospect.Meanwhile, the private sector is hamstrung by government regulation and disjointed policies.
The worry is that the money will be spent today rather than saved or invested, further bloating a state whose revenue is already equivalent to 36% of GDP, compared to 20% in Mexico.Of course, these are nice problems to have.
Mr Horwitz was initiated into their ranks by Robert Lee Hodge, who specialises in impersonating a battlefield corpse.Mr Hodge calls it "bloating".
