Natural Health and Herbal Remedies Blog – information on herbal medicine

Oestrogen-containing vaginal preparations are often used by women in whom vaginal dryness makes sex distressingly painful. You may also benefit from these preparations if you have urinary symptoms such as a need to urinate frequently, or you experience recurrent urinary tract infections. Severe symptoms of this kind may need more far-reaching hormone therapy.

The oestrogen is absorbed into the bloodstream through the cells lining the vagina, and its major effect is in the immediate vicinity of the vagina and bladder. It is also carried to other parts of the body, including the uterus. For this reason, if you have an intact uterus and use vaginal creams, tablets or pessaries more than three times a week, you should probably be taking an oral progestogen for ten to fourteen days every three months. This ensures that any build-up of endometrial tissue is shed as a withdrawal bleed or, if no bleeding occurs, it provides reassurance that the endometrium is not in any danger.

Hormone rings, which sit in the top of the vagina for three months before needing to be replaced, release a small and constant stream of oestrogen that is absorbed by the cells of the vagina and cervix. Once again, if your uterus is intact you should take a ten-to-fourteen-day course of progestogen every three months to ensure that stimulation of the endometrium does not occur. These devices are on trial in Australia at the time of writing.

Advantages of these forms of local therapy include a concentrated dose of oestrogen at the site of the symptom rather than its widespread dispersal through the body.

Disadvantages include the lack of effect on other menopausal symptoms (such as hot flushes and night sweats); the rare occurrence of unexpected spotting or bleeding or endometrial hyperplasia (excessive thickening of the uterine lining) if used too frequently without added progestogen; their messiness; and the embarrassment felt by some women about putting things into their vaginas.

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Although the blood vessels play an important part in migraines, many doctors believe that they are not the whole story. Some things are difficult to explain on the basis of blood vessels alone – why the pain is usually on one side of the head, for example, or why bright lights should trigger migraine off. These facts suggest that the nervous system is involved as well, but exactly how is not known.

The conventional view of migraine is that it cannot be cured, except in rare instances where a misaligned vertebra, usually in the neck, is at the root of the problem – and this may not be true migraine anyway. For such patients, treatment by an osteopath may be effective. (How a misaligned vertebra might cause migraine in the first place is something of a puzzle, but one that we will return to at the end of this section.) Given that there is no ‘cure’, the main form of conventional treatment is drug therapy, using drugs that can stop an attack, or at least alleviate it. Patients are also advised to identify their particular ‘triggers’ and avoid them.

The relevance of food intolerance to migraine is hotly debated. The conventional wisdom is that certain foods (chocolate, cheese etc) can act as triggers but that commonly eaten foods, such as wheat and milk, are unlikely to play a part in migraine. However, several carefully conducted scientific trials have produced good results, using elimination diets to treat migraine sufferers. One of these studies, involving children with severe migraine, is described on p91. Studies with adults have shown that about 70 per cent of patients recover very well when treated in this way. Doctors working in this field in fact achieve a better success rate than this, because patients who do not respond to a simple elimination diet often turn out to have chemical sensitivities or other problems, such as Candida overgrowth. If these problems can be resolved, then the success rate rises to 80 or 90 per cent.

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Great care should be taken that someone suffering from Graves’ disease (exophthalmic goitre) and others with an increased heart beat are only exposed to soft harmonious music, which will be of greater benefit to them than fast, exciting sounds. On the other hand, a slow heart that can do with perking up will benefit from a little more movement and rhythm, so as to catch a little of the enlivening spirit.

As with all biological methods of treatment, it is necessary to apply intuition, understanding and feeling. Those who lack such sensitivity and do not have the ability to develop it, should at least be considerate and spare the patient at home or in the neighbourhood from the worst of the blaring noises that go under the name of ‘music’ today. It is sad to see the abuse that has been inflicted on us since radio has been invented.

In summary, try the influence of some healing music with your family, friends and acquaintances, at the same time not forgetting to show consideration for your neighbours and especially those who are ill.

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If you have been so infected by a hurried pace of life that it becomes a habit and you cannot even slow down when you should rest and relax, the end result of rushing about will not be what you expect. It will not save time and enable you to relax for longer. If the spare time is not devoted to relaxation but sacrificed to other business activity or intense efforts, do not be surprised to find your interest in work declining.

Our ancestors used to start the day at 4 a.m. in the summer and, as the poet Johann Peter Hebel wrote: ‘The work you do at four in early morning light, will not affect your health and rest at nine at night.’ A working day was not an eight-hour period in which certain work had to be done; but rather, the day was long enough to make work a pleasure and the evening hours a time for ‘recharging one’s batteries’. Because people today want to get more out of life and enjoy it in a different way, all these former pleasures have gone. However, the calculation has misfired. The outcome has not provided a beneficial basis for relaxation. On the contrary, a shorter working week has demanded greater effort from us, often taxing the energy reserves beyond capacity.

An overtired person derives less benefit from a longer period of inactivity than those who work steadily, without hurrying and feeling under pressure, because they prefer to spread their workload over a longer period of time.

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Those who suffer from stomach and intestinal problems and those with circulatory disturbances have a splendid food supplement in yeast extract. In fact, yeast fulfils the requirements the ancient medical researchers looked for in food: that food should be remedy and a remedy should be food.

At one time barm or beer yeast was used to produce yeast extract, but its bitter taste, which cannot be completely eliminated without altering its health value, led to this method being replaced by a precultured and special control method, usually using molasses as a base. So, if possible, obtain the cultured extract.

Herbaforce and Plantaforce are yeast extracts enriched with juices from organically grown herbs and vegetables. Their taste and flavour are superb. Herbaforce is especially suitable for use as a sandwich spread.

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However intensively one may campaign against the use of white flour and other refined foods, there is still far too little attention given to the fact that cereal deprived of its germ and bran is no longer a health food. Vitamins, minerals, highly valuable oils and other substances are no longer present in refined flour. As a result, it is not the least bit surprising that the general standard of nutrition is decreasing despite the abundance of other varieties of food. Even though many may not want to see that the health and physical strength of the people are drastically reduced when white flour, white sugar and other refined products are the common fare, the facts cannot be denied. Modern nutritionists and researchers tell us clearly that minerals and vitamins are essential to good health, yet what do we do? Most of us simply ignore such clear-cut statements based on scientific research.

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One kilogram (2.2 lb) of carrots contains approximately 2.5 g potassium, about 300 mg calcium, 6 mg iron and 0.6 mg copper. If you consider the importance to our blood of iron and copper in organic form, that is, from plants, you will have every reason to give your children plenty of carrots or Biocarottin. Moreover, it is good to know that there are about 300 mg of phosphorus in every kilogram of carrots, and we all appreciate the significance of phosphorus for the brain, particularly our memory. Carrots are also good for the glands because of their content of iodine. Furthermore, they are a source of magnesium and cobalt, as well as carotene (provitamin A) at the rate of 70 mg per kilogram of carrots.

Carotene is extremely important in our effort to keep the cellular system healthy and the digestive organs functioning efficiently. It promotes healthy growth and the development of strong, resistant teeth. In fact, vitamin A, that is, carotene, together with calcium and vitamin D, contributes considerably to good teeth.

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As already stated, fasting is an excellent means of resting the pancreas. Moreover, whatever the patient eats, it is important to ingest small quantities, chew everything thoroughly and insalivate well before swallowing. These are inexpensive ways and means of supporting the pancreas in the healing process. If you feel a slight pain after eating, you have probably had something that did not agree with you, did not chew your food well enough, drank too fast or ate too much. The answer to the problem is in the patient himself; he should watch himself carefully to avoid unpleasant reactions.

Regular deep-breathing exercises, with diaphragm-breathing, practised in the open air are also effective and promote the healing process at the same time. In conclusion, then, breathing exercises, together with a proper diet, warm water therapy and moist hot herbal packs, will help to rectify any condition where the pancreas is weak or upset. Many a serious, chronic ailment can be prevented if its proper function is restored. All it needs is a little understanding and perseverance with the treatment.

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Even more dangerous than the cattle tapeworm, which can reach a length of several metres, is the dog tapeworm, of the genus Echinococcus. It is only about 5-6 mm (lA inch) long but its size bears no relationship to its danger, for this little worm is capable of causing greater damage than the much longer cattle tapeworm. Although called the dog tapeworm, it has been known to infest sheep, goats, pigs and even cattle. When this happens, blisters the size of a walnut form in the lungs of cattle, and in the case of swine, these formations are found in the liver. The Swiss Information Service to Physicians reported that in 1963, for example, 508 cattle and 62 swine brought into the Zurich abattoir were infested with the Echinococcus. As far as domestic animals and pets are concerned, extreme precautions need to be taken, especially with dogs and cats. Adults who are otherwise meticulously clean, are often offended when reminded to be careful when handling pets. They think nothing of patting their pets while eating. But it is unwise to do this. Neither should we allow a dog or cat to lick the hand or the face, because of the danger attached to it. What is more, young animals, puppies and kittens, should be trained not to do so. To minimise the risk of infection, dog owners would be wise to abstain from feeding raw lungs or liver to their dogs. After a long journey, perhaps abroad, check your dog’s faeces, since 7-8 weeks after infection small flecks with thousands of eggs may be seen. You certainly cannot be called over-fussy for taking such proper care and precautions in the interest of your health.

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In the past it was thought that being underweight was caused by an insufficient intake of food and that eating too much resulted in obesity. However, there are some people who eat a lot and remain extraordinarily thin, and others who eat very little and still put on weight. Everything, they say, turns to fat!

Meanwhile, research has shown that dysfunction of the endocrine glands, the glands with internal secretions, is largely responsible for both excessive corpulence and thinness. These glands are, primarily, the pituitary, the ovaries, the testicles and the thyroid. Their overactivity or imbalance usually leads to thinness, while their insufficiency (or underactivity) leads to corpulence. It has been observed that removal of the ovaries, or a disease causing ovarian insufficiency, causes a person to put on weight. Obesity following the menopause confirms the truth of this statement. Typical examples are the inhabitants of southern climates. How slim and supple the Italian or the Latin and South American girls are in the early prime of life. But as soon as the glandular secretions diminish, which is usually at a much earlier age in hot countries, they become plump. If the older generation is stout, stolid and comfortable, the reason for this can be traced to the insufficient functioning of the endocrine glands and, more than anything else, the sluggishness of the ovaries. In such cases sitz baths and other therapies which stimulate the ovaries (see below) would be of immense help towards reducing corpulence.

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