Herbal Health

This extreme dizzy sensation is famously associated with a phobic fear of heights. While an attack of vertigo can indeed be triggered by the fear of falling from a high place, vertigo itself is usually the symptom of one of a number of disorders affecting the inner ear. An attack of vertigo usually involves the sensation of the head spinning around and around, and a loss of balance: the patient may suddenly fall right over. Sweating, nausea and vomiting may also occur.

The most common condition behind attacks of vertigo is Meniere’s disease, a degenerative condition of the middle ear usually affecting people for the first time in their fifties. Apart from the dizzy spells and periodic loss of balance, a person with Meniere’s disease (sometimes known as Meniere’s syndrome) may experience ongoing ringing in the ears (called tinnitus), and gradual hearing impairment. The cause of Meniere’s disease is little understood but believed by some medical practitioners to be caused by congestion of the lymphatic system. While medications such as Dramamine help manage the vertigo, they will not cure the disease and will not prevent the loss of hearing.

Simple motion sickness can lead to vertigo as can bacterial infections of the inner ear and viral infections such as influenza. The sensations may continue even after the patient appears to have recovered from the more acute symptoms of the ‘flu. See separate entries in this book for the treatment of these conditions.

Recurrent attacks of vertigo may also be caused by the pressure of a tumour or non-cancerous growth on the auditory or acoustic nerve. High blood pressure or hardening of the arteries may also be responsible and strokes can bring on vertigo in the elderly. If attacks of vertigo are unexplained and recurrent, you should seek medical advice. Some health practitioners recommend acupuncture with moxibustion for the management of dizziness and vertigo.

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How can you monitor your progress on St John’s Wort? The answer to this might seem obvious. Surely the medication either works or it doesn’t. What is there to monitor, you might ask. Well, it is not always so clear-cut when a problem is relatively subtle to start with or when the response is modest or partial. I always find it useful to keep an eye on what are known as the target symptoms – those presenting problems that are part of the reason why someone is seeking help in the first place. We measure whether an anti-depressant is working or not by focusing on changes in the target symptoms. In the case of someone with mild symptoms of depression or stress, such target symptoms might be lack of one’s usual enjoyment or enthusiasm for life, decreased energy, anxiety or sleep difficulties. It is worth listing these target symptoms and observing each week whether you can observe any improvement in them.

I have been impressed with the highly variable time course of response to St John’s Wort. Some people report feeling better within days of beginning the herbal remedy, whereas for others the response is far slower and more subtle. A proper trial takes at least five to six weeks. If you are still feeling down in the dumps or overstressed at that point, I suggest that you take some further step, such as consulting a GP or therapist. If you are feeling better and are not suffering any significant side-effects, you may wish to stay on the St John’s Wort regimen for a further three months before thinking of tapering it and determining whether you can maintain the gains without any further help from the herbal remedy. If you experience unacceptable side-effects, feel free to lower the dosage and see whether you still feel better. You can always raise it again later if you need to.

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The patient is responsible for recording his reactions to the various foods and chemicals according to the instructions which he is given. He is also responsible for other aspects of his own diagnosis and treatment, to an extent unusual in most hospitals.

For example, he is given precise instructions on how to take his own pulse—5 minutes before, and 20, 40, and 60 minutes after the end of each meal. The pulse must be taken for a full minute, and the patient cannot be active or even go to the bathroom immediately before taking it. Any form of physical activity will invalidate the results.

The patient must be disciplined enough not to leave the unit for several weeks nor to eat any substance other than what is ordered for him by the doctor. He also must not smoke at any time while under treatment.

Most of all, the patient must cooperate in learning. There is a great deal to learn: new concepts, many of them quite at variance with conventional wisdom on nutrition and health. This is not an easy task for many patients who come to the hospital in a confused or even a bewildered state. They have been sick, often for years, and have usually been through a gamut of unsuccessful medical experiences. Suddenly, they are confronted by concepts and techniques which seem alien to everything that went before.

Unless the patient has some intellectual curiosity, then, it is difficult for him to get the most out of this program. Some patients are so befuddled by their disease that they find it too much of a challenge. Most patients, however, are eager to try something truly different—an alternative approach to their problems.

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Aluminum-containing antacids, if used regularly, tend to cause extensive loss of calcium and phosphorus from the body, thereby seriously weakening the bones. X-rays of a 60-year-old woman with limb pains and excessive weakness revealed that her bones had lost so much density that they were scarcely able to support her tissues. Her osteoporosis, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association (244:2544), was due to the long-term daily use of an antacid containing aluminum hydroxide.

Antacids that contain aluminum, Archives of Internal Medicine (143:657) reports, can become a major factor in weakening the bones. However, since they do not produce any noticeable unpleasant side effects, people continue taking them for stomach pains and indigestion.

These drugs work by binding and neutralizing gastric acid. Unfortunately, they also bind with and prevent the absorption of phosphoric acid, which is then carried away in the stools. To compensate the body for this, the bones release some phosphorus into the bloodstream, together with the calcium with which it was bound. This calcium is quickly carried away through the kidneys.

In this way, aluminum antacids taken year after year can deplete the skeleton of calcium and phosphorus and cause thinning and weakness of all the bones. This results in fractures occurring in response to only trivial trauma, and to pseudofractures, a condition in which bones crack but do not break completely, causing weakness, pain, and stiffness that are often mistaken for arthritis.

Doctors, more and more, are becoming aware of this danger, but aluminum-containing antacids are still widely prescribed and can be purchased without prescription. The trouble is that it takes years for the cumulative bad effects of repeated doses to show up and, later in life, people tend to accept bone pain and fractures as a natural effect of aging.

To compensate for this danger, the Archives recommends, we should take extra calcium and phosphorus when using medications that contain aluminum or, better still, take stomach medicines that are aluminum-free. Aluminum, remember, poses other serious threats as well (see, for example, the articles on Alzheimer’s Disease). One of the least expensive and most readily available forms of calcium in tablet form is the antacid Tums. Before purchasing an antacid, read the list of ingredients on the labeling. The pharmacist can tell you about products that are aluminum-free.

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Signs and symptoms

The major symptoms are nasal congestion, sneezing, clear nasal discharge, and itching of the nose. This runny, itchy nose leads to the frequent rubbing of the nose referred to as an “allergic salute.” Membranes inside the nose are pale and white instead of the normal pink.

The eyes may also be affected. Congestion in the sinuses may cause a headache. The ears feel blocked and are sometimes painful. The child may not hear as well as usual if there is congestion in the Eustachian tubes (which connect the nose with the ears). The child may have bluish bags under the eyes, called “allergic shiners.” The child may snore and complain of fatigue (allergic fatigue syndrome). If oral antihistamines quickly relieve the symptoms, this is often a clue that the congestion is due to an allergy rather than to some other illness.

Secondary (additional) bacterial infections are common complications of hay fever. Symptoms of an additional bacterial infection include fever, moderate to severe earache, swollen glands in the neck, or opaque (green, yellow, or milky) nasal discharge.

Home care

Consult your doctor before giving child medications for hay fever. The most common medications for hay fever are oral antihistamines. Decongestants containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine may provide added relief.

Whenever possible, try to avoid exposing the child to substances that seem to cause hay fever reactions. (The dander of a cat or dog allowed in the house only once can remain in the home for four to six weeks.) Keep the windows closed against pollens, and use an air conditioner if possible. Hot air ducts should have filters at room inlets to reduce the amount of dust in the air. Use non-allergenic (non-allergy-causing) pillows and keep the house as dry and free from humidity as possible.

Precautions

• Rubber pillows, which are considered non-allergenic, may breed molds as they age. • Avoid repeated use of decongestant nose drops and nasal sprays. These can cause worse congestion following the initial, brief relief.

Medical treatment

The doctor will confirm the diagnosis by examining the child’s nose and by testing nasal secretions for allergic white blood cells (called eosinophiles). As well as confirming the diagnosis, your doctor can help identify the offending substances by investigating the child’s medical history and, if necessary, conducting allergy skin tests. Your doctor may recommend desensitization shots for severe cases. These shots decrease the child’s sensitivity to the allergy-causing substances.

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Coconut has received a lot of negative press. Most of us consider it to be a fattening food, and one to avoid if we are trying to lose weight or lower our cholesterol. It is true that coconut contains a high amount of saturated fat; however, approximately half of this is lauric acid, which has been shown to not raise cholesterol levels. Lauric acid has antibacterial, antiviral and antiprotozoal properties, helping our immune system to overcome many types of infections. Chronic infections are a potent risk factor for heart disease, and coconut fat can help to strengthen our immune system. Traditional Asian cultures that rely heavily on coconut in their diet do not suffer with the diseases common in Western countries, where low fat diets are encouraged.

A study published in 1981 examined the traditional diets of the people in two South Pacific Islands. The study began in the 1960s, when Western foods were not yet a part of the diet of either culture. Coconuts were a huge part of both diets; the saturated fat from coconut formed up to 60 percent of the calories consumed by these people. The study found that these populations were relatively healthy, and free of heart disease and obesity. The researchers found that “Vascular disease is uncommon in both populations, and there is no evidence of the high saturated fat intake having a harmful effect in these populations”.

A very interesting study titled “Choice of cooking oils – myths and realities” was done in India in response to the alarming rise in coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes in this country. Indians have been encouraged to replace traditional saturated cooking fats like ghee and coconut fat with supposedly more “heart friendly” polyunsaturated oils like sunflower, safflower and corn oil. The research found that by increasing their intake of these omega 6 polyunsaturated vegetable oils, Indians are making themselves much more prone to the development of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. The study actually recommended that more traditional cooking fats be used in their place. Coconut is a very healthy addition to your diet; you can use coconut milk in cooking, or to make smoothies. Pure, unrefined coconut fat can be purchased from health food stores and used in place of vegetable oil when making stir fries and other Asian recipes.

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The food you eat has an impact on every cell of your body. This is why a healthy diet is so important, because it really can help you conceive and give birth to a healthy baby. But good nutrition doesn’t have to mean giving up all the things you like. It just means being well-informed about food and making the right choices. In fact, once you start following the guidelines below, you may well find that you enjoy food more than you used to, especially when you consider how much good it’s doing you. If you find it hard to think of recipes, there are plenty of healthy eating cookbooks available from bookshops and libraries. These are a great source of inspiration and ideas, and will prove that healthy food can also taste delicious.

Essential fats

Unfortunately fat has got itself a bad name, although it’s actually only saturated fats that are harmful. Many women now consciously avoid all fats as a matter of course. But there are some fats which are vital for your health – and your fertility.

These are called essential fatty acids and they are found in foods such as nuts seeds and oily fish. These essential fats are a vital component of every human cell and the body needs them to balance hormones, insulate nerve cells, keep the skin and arteries supple, and keep itself warm.

Unsaturated fats can be divided into monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Monounsaturated fats are not classed as essential fatty acids. Olive oil is high in these monounsaturated fats, which are thought to lower the risks of heart attacks and other circulatory problems.

Polyunsaturated fats can be split into Omega 3 oils (found in unrefined safflower, corn, sesame and sunflower oils) and Omega 6 oils (found in fish oils and linseed or flax oil). The body makes beneficial prostaglandins (hormone-like regulating substances) from Omega 3 oils, so that is why they are particularly useful for increasing fertility.

If you are not getting enough of these essential fatty acids, you may notice symptoms such as:

• Dry skin

• Cracked skin on heels or fingertips

• Hair falling out

• Poor wound healing

• Dry, difficult hair

• Dandruff

• Irritability

• Soft or brittle nails

• Allergies

• Fatigue

• Hyperactivity

• Difficulty losing weight

• High blood pressure

• Arthritis

• Pre-menstrual syndrome

• Painful breasts

If you have several of the above symptoms they may also be due to thyroid imbalance which can also affect your fertility, so it is worth checking with your doctor.

To achieve a satisfactory intake of essential fatty acids, have a daily handful of nuts or use a salad dressing made with a good-quality nut or seed oil. You can also eat oily fish (such as mackerel or sardines) and take an essential fatty acid supplement.

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One of the most successful car safety inventions in recent years doesn’t require you to do anything-one of the reasons, perhaps, for its success. We’re talking about the air bag. When it comes to head-on collisions, air bags help reduce the death rate by about 34 percent. While it’s true that in certain circumstances an inflating air bag can actually cause injury, those cases are generally avoidable and also pale in comparison to the number of lives that air bags have saved. The key to getting the full-blown benefits from your air bags is proper usage. Here’s how.

Buckle everyone in. “Unfortunately, many, if not most, of the people who have been hurt by inflating air bags were not properly restrained,” Kennedy says. “Never rely on the air bag alone to save you. You and your passengers, in the front and back, should always wear your seat belts. Younger children-up to 6 years old-according to their size and your state’s regulation, should always be in approved child safety seats.” When taking Junior to batting practice, be sure he’s securely buckled up in the back seat if he’s younger than 12. The impact of an inflating air bag can be fatally overpowering for kids. The same is true for infants in child seats. Always keep them in the back, properly restrained, adds Kennedy.

Use the 10-inch rule. The Department of Transportation recommends that people sit as far away from the steering wheel as possible, while still having full control of the car. If you can hold a piece of paper lengthwise-roughly 10 inches-between your chest and the steering wheel hub, that’s a safe distance.

Move up, not in. Not everyone is 5 feet 10 inches or taller. And not everyone can comfortably see over the dashboards of bigger cars and trucks. If you’re one of them, don’t squeeze in close to the dash to peer over. Kennedy’s suggestion: Buy a “booster cushion,” which lifts you a couple of inches, instead. If you’re dreading getting ragged by your buddies, buy one for the passenger seat, too, then cover both with seat covers. You’ll both see better on your next trip and be safer, too.

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In struggling to identify precisely the different subtypes of patients with eating disorders, writers have spilled a great deal of ink in the pages of medical books and journals. I’m about to spill a little more, but it’s worth it, because identifying these illnesses and their effects on patients points the way to appropriate treatment.

Hannah reported that one day she was suddenly overwhelmed by the idea that she was fat. At the time she weighed no pounds-by no means an abnormal weight for a girl of thirteen who stood five foot two. Nonetheless, the notion that she was overweight consumed her. She had always been active, but she stepped up her daily exercise to over an hour a day.

When her weight failed to fall fast enough, she began decreasing her food intake. At first she did feel hungry, but she just “trained herself to ignore the feeling. She denied ever inducing vomiting or using laxatives or diuretics.

Strangely, Hannah told me that she believed she “did not deserve food,” and that she wasn’t “good enough” to be allowed to eat. She saw her excessive exercise as a way to “earn” what little food she did consume.

Despite her refusal of food, she began taking over the job of making meals for her entire family. She grew irritable, experienced suicidal feelings, and had trouble sleeping. She never menstruated.

After a couple of months, Hannah said, she was no longer hungry. She managed to get by on as little as one candy bar a day. Although she lost nearly forty pounds over the course of a year- 36 percent of her body weight-she felt as though her weight had never changed.

Hannah’s case is a classic example of restricting anorexia- weight loss through self-starvation exclusively, without bingeing and purging. Restricting anorexics are perhaps the most easily recognized and well-defined of all patients with eating disorders.

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Maureen Keller lost the pounds that marked the end of her old life and the beginning of a new one. And she owes it all to a dog named Bunker.

Recently divorced, Maureen decided to relocate from the Philadelphia area to Littleton, Colorado, to be closer to her family. But she knew it was going to be a long haul, in more ways than one.

During the 6 months leading up to her divorce, Maureen reached a couple of milestones that she found disheartening. First, she turned 50. Second, she climbed four clothing sizes, peaking at 165 pounds. “Even my ‘fat’ pants felt uncomfortable,” she recalls. Overweight and out of shape, Maureen landed in Litdeton with purpose but not a plan. Then she met Bunker, a tail wagging, walk-loving yellow Lab who belonged to her sister, Kathy Irvine, and her family.

Just before Maureen’s arrival, Kathy and her husband, Dave, found their workloads growing. The more time they spent at their offices, the less time they had to walk Bunker. His walks were getting shorter and shorter—and he was gaining weight.

“I volunteered to walk Bunker. I love animals, and I knew we both needed to slim down,” Maureen says. “The first time that we went on a 4-mile route, I was huffing and puffing up the final hill, thinking it would never end. By the end of the walk, Bunker was absolutely exhausted. He slept the rest of the day.”

Their treks soon became a ritual, providing Maureen and Bunker the exercise they needed. It also gave Maureen time for renewal. Gradually, with less stress and more happiness in her life, she lost 25 pounds. “And Bunker’s looking better, too,” Maureen adds.

WINNING ACTION

Let a dog take you walking. If you have a dog, turn your daily constitutionals into workouts. Walk for 30 to 45 minutes at a comfortably brisk pace—and try not to stop at every tree and fire hydrant. What if you don’t have a dog? Ask a friend or neighbor if you can “borrow” hers. Or volunteer as a dog walker at your local animal shelter. Besides providing exercise, having fun with a dog will change your mindset. How can you focus on problems when you’re faced with such a happy, smiling, wagging creature?

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