Natural Prescriptions: Dr. Giller's Natural Treatments & Vitamin Therapies For Over 100 Common AilmentsRobert M. Giller, M.D.
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| Hot beverages such as herbal tea, broths, and soups can be substituted.
• Humidify your environment. Use a cool-mist humidifier at home (especially in your bedroom) and in your workplace. When you're suffering from symptoms, take hot showers and hot baths. Tent a towel over your head and inhale deeply above a sink filled with hot water a few times a day.
• Use warm compresses on your nose and eyes to relieve pain.
• Use pressure to relieve pain and stimulate circulation: Press the top of your nose on either side between two fingers for a few minutes and then release. |
Neal Barnard, M.D.
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 Other beverages—even herbal teas—can be triggers.
Condiments: modest amounts of salt, maple syrup, and vanilla extract are usually well-tolerated.
After four weeks, if your symptoms have improved or disappeared, the next step is to nail down which one or more of the trigger foods has been causing your problem. Simply reintroduce the foods you have eliminated back into your diet one at a time, every two days.
Have a generous amount of each newly reintroduced food, and see whether your joints flare up again. |
Robert Becker, M.D., and Gary Selden
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 The means may be direct—the psychic methods mentioned above—or indirect: Herbs can be used to stimulate recovery; this tradition extends from prehistoric wisewomen through the Greek herbal of Dioscorides and those of Renaissance Europe, to the prevailing drug therapies of the present. Fasting, controlled nutrition, and regulation of living habits to avoid stress can be used to coax the latent healing force from the sick body; we can trace this approach back from today's naturopaths to Galen and Hippocrates. |
Neal Barnard, M.D.
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| More and more herbal supplements are also available. It helps to keep an open mind, and to see what they might do for you.
The cornerstone of a program to control menstrual pain is a low-fat, vegetarian diet. By avoiding animal products, keeping vegetable oils to a bare minimum, and having plenty of fiber-rich foods in your routine, you will naturally reduce estrogen's effects on the uterus, avoid most chemical pollutants, and boost your immunity.
CHAPTER 9
Breast Pain
The ebbs and flows of hormones during a woman's monthly cycle can affect almost every part of her body. |
Bradley J. Willcox, D. Craig Willcox, and Makoto Suzuki
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 Their use of natural or herbal tonics far exceeds that of North Americans.
Lifestyle determinants: Traditional diet, herbs, and an open-minded approach to Eastern and Western healing methods.
Research suggests that good health care is one of the main determinants of population health. Certainly places with the highest life expectancies all have good health care coverage for their citizens. Hong Kong ascended to the number two position in terms of world life expectancy among countries only when health care became more widely available and more integrated with Western medicine. |
| In many situations, though not always, the negative side effects of a natural or herbal preparation are less than those of a drug, sometimes with comparable clinical benefits. To help you integrate these methods into your own life, we have identified a number of herbs, foods, and therapeutic techniques that contribute to the Okinawans' impressive health. We present these in Chapters Three to Eleven.
Living the Okinawa Program
The evidence presented in this chapter clearly shows that what we do, how we live, what we eat, think, and believe, has a huge impact on our health and life expectancy. |
| Use Healthy and Aesthetic Garnishes
Herb or leaf garnishes add more than just beauty—they can offer a quick herbal tonic that you may have missed earlier in the day. A more in-depth description of some of the health-promoting qualities of Okinawan and Japanese herbs is provided later in this chapter and in Chapter Five, but here are a few quick tips to beautify a meal and add nutrients at the same time.
• Green mint leaves—perilla (called shiso in Okinawa), peppermint, spearmint, or flat-leaf parsley are excellent garnishes. |
| Store-bought medicine was starting to replace home remedies in the early part of the twentieth century, and traditional herbal medicines seemed a bit old-fashioned and impractical to her. Then World War II came along and gave her a very different perspective. During the war and its aftermath, modern medicines were scarce, almost impossible to come by. The only remedies available to treat the ravages of wartime injuries and the inevitable diseases were medicinal plants and herbs from the Okinawa rain forest. |
Dr. Cass Ingram
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 Sage is one of the most powerful herbal antioxidants known. Researchers determined that when sage is added to food, the shelf life is extended tremendously—even longer than with synthetic preservatives. Could this same action occur within humans?
With the plethora of information disseminated about the protective effects of natural antioxidants, such as vitamin E, vitamin C, and Pycnogenol™, it is revealing that an edible herb like sage is significantly more powerful. According to Taintu sage superceded virtually every substance tested in halting oxidation of fats. |
| You may choose to add a few drops of an antiseptic edible herbal oil to the nut container, i.e. oil of wild oregano, oil of rosemary, oil of cinnamon, oil of sage, oil of bay leaf, oil of cilantro/coriander, etc. One study found that when antioxidant spices were added to vegetable oils (nuts are a type of vegetable) the shelf life was increased as much as 900%.
Rice bran and rice polish
This is far more nourishing than any other grain-like food. Grain allergy is common. However, allergy to rice, which is a seed instead of a grain, is rather rare. |
| However, the shelf life after opening may be extended by adding antioxidant herbal oils such as oil of sage, rosemary, oregano, and cumin.
Salmon
Canned salmon is highly nourishing for all age groups and is one of the most convenient nutrient rich foods available. It is an excellent source of amino acids, fatty acids, B vitamins, and minerals. In other words, it is a complete food.
Salmon may be regarded as sort of the nutritional cadillac of all fish. It is inordinately rich in fish oils, which offer dozens of benefits to human cellular function. |
| Use a natural herbal based lip balm. Take additional folic acid, 5 mg daily. Other invaluable substances include healing essential oils such as oils of bay berry, myrtle, and lavender.
Chickenpox
This is one of the most contagious of all diseases. It is caused by a virus: the Herpes virus. The chickenpox (herpes) virus usually attacks children, who have no immunity to it. If an outbreak occurs, fully 80% of all non-immune sensitized individuals exposed to it will become infected, including adults. However, it usually strikes children ages 4 to 8 years. |
Samuel S. Epstein, M.D.
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 These include vitamin and mineral regimens, herbal formulas, unusual drugs from land and sea, immunological techniques, electromagnetic treatments, and utilization of the mind-body connection.
On a recent trip to Germany I was astonished to see the scope and freedom with which many progressive oncologists treat cancer. |
Susun S. Weed
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 Supplemental zinc in excess of actual need will suppress the immune system. herbal sources of zinc: echinacea, nettles, seaweed.
Building rowertul Immunity yi
• The B-vitamin complex, especially Bg (pyridoxine), is critical to immune system health. Lack of B6 causes a diminishment of thymus function. The usual supplemental dose is 100 mg daily. Foods rich in pyridoxine include broccoli, prunes, and lentils.
•k Carotenes, or pro-vitamin A, strengthen and activate the immune system. |
Bradley J. Willcox, D. Craig Willcox, and Makoto Suzuki
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| Although the Japanese don't call it evidence-based medicine, a similar open-minded philosophy has existed for many years in Japan, the country with the largest number of patents in herbal medicines. It has also existed for over two decades in Germany, where there is a special government agency called Commission E to evaluate alternative therapies, such as herbs, for their healing efficacy. |
Thomas J. Moore
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 Herbal remedies are more likely to be harmless than poisonous. However, notable exceptions have occurred. A manufacturing error in the amino acid L-tryptophan—taken to promote sleep—caused serious blood disorders.13 Beta-carotene supplements have caused increased risk of cancer.14 High doses of selenium or vitamin E may lead to serious health problems.15
With the top 50 prescription drugs, consumers get chemicals subject to FDA-mandated rigorous testing, established purity, scientifically documented benefits, and reasonably well-known risks at least over the short term. |
American Medical Publishing
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| Some of the major diet drug killers on the market today are those that contain an herbal substance called ephedra. Ephedrine alkaloids in dietary supplements are usually derived from one of several species of herbs of the genus Ephedra, sometimes called Ma huang, Chinese Ephedra and epitonin. Other botanical sources include Sida cordifolia. Ephedrine alkaloids, as they are known, are amphetamine-like compounds with potentially powerful stimulant effects on the nervous system and heart. Hundreds of consumer illnesses and injuries associated with the use of these products have been reported. |
| But if you take one prescription drug, and a number of over-the-counter drugs, and even a few herbal or natural supplements, this should include you too. But for people who take more than one prescription drug, making a personal medical index may just save your life.
A personal medical index is a chart, or merely a list that records every drug you are now taking, and beside it or under it, all the basic facts about the drug, including effects, side effects, drug interactions, food interactions, and so on. Its probably best to organize your information in a series of columns. |
Natural Prescriptions: Dr. Giller's Natural Treatments & Vitamin Therapies For Over 100 Common AilmentsRobert M. Giller, M.D.
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| Available in health food stores, they contain the herbal bitter wormwood (Artemisia absinthium). Follow the directions on the package. psoriasis psoriasis is a skin disorder characterized by red patches covered by silvery white scales, which can develop almost anywhere on the body, from the scalp down to the soles of the feet. These patches may itch and be quite uncomfortable as well as be a cosmetic embarrassment. The condition is caused by skin cells that divide too rapidly—up to 1,000 times faster than normal skin cells—and accumulate instead of being shed. Psoriasis is not contagious. |
| Look in your health food store for remedies that contain the herbal bitter wormwood (Artemisia absinthium). The packages will give precise directions on how much to take and how often.
Natural Prescription for Protozoa Disease
• If you have unexplained symptoms as described above, you should discuss the possibility of protozoa disease with your doctor. If you test positive for protozoa, you will be given medication that should relieve your symptoms; some people find that they must take as many as three courses. |
| An herbal migraine treatment that has long been popular in Europe and is now available here is feverfew. A double-blind study of patients who reported they had been helped by feverfew was performed at the London Migraine Clinic. A test group was given a placebo to determine if their symptoms worsened. They did, increasing in both the frequency and severity of the attack.
Feverfew has some of the same antiinflammatory effects as aspirin, without aspirin's side effects. It must be taken for several weeks before the effects are felt. |
Lita Lee, Lisa Turner and Burton Goldberg
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 A detailed discussion of herbal remedies is beyond the scope of this book, so the herbs included here are only some of the many you can use.
?Burdock {Arctium lappa): to cleanse the blood and the liver; has a reputation as an antitumor herb, although it is unclear if that property is the result of its cleansing and detoxifying action rather than a direct effect on the tumor itself
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Natural Prescriptions: Dr. Giller's Natural Treatments & Vitamin Therapies For Over 100 Common AilmentsRobert M. Giller, M.D.
See book keywords and concepts |
| Drink warm liquids, including herbal teas and soups, to relax bronchial passages.
• If you feel an attack coming on and medication is not available, drink one or two cups of caffeinated coffee.
• Avoid all smoke from cigarettes, auto exhaust, wood fires, and industry. If you exercise outdoors, do so well away from busy roads.
• Avoid cold air. Try to stay indoors on extremely cold days. If you do go out in the cold, cover your mouth and nose with a mask or scarf.
• Learn to breathe deeply. Practice the exercise described to recondition your breathing habits.
• Clean air is important. |
| Use an herbal or decaffeinated tea. Alternatively, you can also sip warm water with honey and lemon.
• If your room is very dry, use a humidifier.
• If you suffer from recurrent sore throats, try changing your toothbrush frequently.
• If you suffer from recurring sore throats, particularly ones associated with ear infections, investigate the possibility of a milk or other food allergy. See Food Allergy, page 146 and Ear Infections, page 126.
• If you suffer from recurring sore throats that are worse in the morning but disappear as the day goes on, you could have some form of hay fever. |
Zorba Paster, M.D. and Susan Meltsner
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 The seminar you attend for your mind's sake may stimulate a career change or trigger a moneymaking idea for your matter sphere, connect you with a social support group, or tip you off to an herbal remedy for a physical ailment. Once we understand the give-and-take among spheres of wellness, we can consciously use it to enhance our lives and extend our life spans.
For Grant, the same interplay that dragged him downhill from successful triple-drug therapy to utter despair would pull him back up to health and happiness—one step at a time. |
Lesley Tierra
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 Each of these requires different herbs and a different herbal approach.
In the first condition, expectorants and diaphoretics are used; in the second, carminatives, cholagogues and a tonic that improves digestive ability are called for; in the third, energy and immune-enhancing tonics are specific. Therefore, the first step in creating a formula is deciding its major thrust and desired effects.
Once this is known, the energy of the condition needs to be determined. |
| Knowing the proper location of the illness then helps determine which herbal approach to use.
Internal hot and cold symptoms were given under the previous section on the energy of disease. |
Ralph Golan, M.D.
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 Also, see the combination herbal formulas listed under "Antibacterial" in Chapter Nineteen.
• Take chlorophyll (10 to 20 milligrams of the fat-soluble variety three or four times a day) available as Chlorolipids from Biotherapeutics of Green Bay, Wisconsin (one or two perles three or four times a day).
• If antibiotics are prescribed, bromelain (one or two 250-milligram or 2,000 m.c.u. [milk-clotting units] per gram capsules/tablets) should be taken with each antibiotic dose to improve absorption. |
Lesley Tierra
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| Finally, we combine all the resulting information to determine the appropriate treatment approach and match the proper herbal energies for healing.
At the end of the chapter are several diagrams displaying various combinations with examples of their signs and symptoms and possible appropriate treatments. There is also a simple test to help you determine your current condition according to these principles. This test may be copied and used for others, too.
Detemiriing the cause and nature of illness can be complicated. |
Bradley J. Willcox, D. Craig Willcox, and Makoto Suzuki
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| It uses modern Western strategies for disease control and risk reduction while incorporating ancient healing traditions of the East, including herbal remedies and spiritual practices. It emphasizes personal responsibility for health, yet shows how to gain strength from others. It focuses not just on the absence of disease but also on optimum health, both physical and psychospiritual, cultivated through a lifestyle conducive to wellness. Essentially, the program gives you the tools to health, a road map for healing. |
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