Natural remedies for Christmas ailments

With the best will in the world it is easy to overstretch and overstress yourself over the holiday period. Lots of intense activity, probably more food and drink than usual – and richer probably than your everyday diet – can all combine to put you out of sorts. Instead of the medicine cabinet, try these natural remedies to help prevent, and alleviate, those Christmas blues. It can be your seasonal ‘first aid’ kit so make sure you keep it handy.

1 Shock and bruising

Arnica is a wonderful homoeopathic remedy for shock – and you often get quite a few of those in the heat of family exchanges or unwrapping the world’s most unsuitable present. Taken as a couple of tablets under the tongue it will help you recover, and in its cream salve form it works wonders on bruises. In all that rushing about you can get bumped more than usual as your mind is distracted with all those lists and trying to remember if cousin George is still vegetarian or if that was just a short-term effect brought on by last girlfriend. Rub the cream onto the bruise – but only if the skin is unbroken – and it’s anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties will not only bring you relief from the pain but bring the bruising out faster so it passes quicker. As Arnica also helps restore emotional balance – which can seesaw rather violently at this time of year – it is always an excellent remedy to have on hand during the festive season

2 Healing cuts, scrapes, grazes

Under stress our nerves can show in many ways and one of the most popular seems to be picking or biting at cuticles until they bleed, or you might just not be looking carefully enough as you slice the turkey or fight your way through the crowds to get to the last ‘most popular toy of the year’ in the store. Calendula is a herb that has been used for centuries in folk medicine whenever cuts or sores need healing. It contains triterpenes which encourage new cell growth, as well as being antiseptic, and Nelson’s make a Hypercal cream which contains calendula and hypericum which can ease the pain of the wound and Boots the Chemist also make their own version. Make sure wound is clean first by bathing with warm water into which a few drops of tea tree oil have been added as this too is antiseptic and will help clear any infection.

3 Burns

As I am incapable of wresting a roast from the oven, or ironing anything at all, without burning myself somewhere I have amassed several useful remedies. My first option is another homoeopathic remedy from Nelsons, this time specifically for burns, and the second is lavender oil. Apply either immediately to the skin and you will soon feel the heat receding, use the oil neat and reapply as needed. Though if the burn is around food you might want to use the Nelson’s cream instead as lavender oil is rather pungent. If you have an aloe vera plant in the house, then that too is an excellent remedy to treat burns and scars. Just remove a leaf, cut across the tip and squeeze out the gel onto your skin. Aloe vera is one of the remedies used treat radiation burns after Hiroshima and it is very effective at quickly reducing heat and keeping the skin supple and moisturised.

4 Stomach upsets

Well first of all prevention is better than cure, so make a Christmas resolution to be kind to your liver and don’t overload it with too much food and drink – particularly rich foods and things you are not used to having regularly. Avoid things that can irritate or upset the stomach, so cut down on coffee and acid foods and try these natural remedies instead.

* peppermint tea as it soothes the stomach and aids digestion.
* ginger helps with nausea so drink ginger ale or steep ginger slices in a cup with honey and add hot water or eat some candied ginger.
* bananas soothe the stomach and counteract the acids that can cause an upset stomach. They are also easily digested and can help ease diarrhea.
* nux vom is a homoeopathic remedy that is excellent for when you have over-indulged in too much, or too rich, foods. Two tablets of 6 x potency under the tongue and repeated hourly will soon help you overcome any nauseous feelings.

5 Headaches

Lavender oil can be helpful here, just put a couple of dabs either side of your temples, just above your eyebrows and gently massage it in with a circular motion. Do not get the oil anywhere near your eyes. If the headache is very severe you can try a mixture of peppermint oil with lavender and clove in equal parts and inhale this regularly to clear your head If your head is aching then an ice pack might help, so put some crushed iced in a plastic bag, wrap it in a dry towel, and use it as a compress. Ice all been used in the drinks? No problem, just run the cold tap and soak a facecloth then wring it out, lie down and place on your forehead. Close your eyes until you feel better.

6 Emotional overload

If you find yourself weeping into the Brussel sprouts – and who wouldn’t – then keep a bottle of Rescue Remedy to hand. Just a few drops on the tongue of this mixture of floral and herb extracts helps restore emotional balance, reduces shock, calms the nerves and is my first port of call for anyone who is suffering from anxiety and stress. Lavender oil is another fast lifter of the spirit, just open the bottle and inhale, or dab a couple of drops on your wrist and keep sniffing to keep yourself calm and on an even keel – works with virtually everything but no guarantees for insufferable in laws or being left with all the washing up.

Oh Really?

Haven’t done one of these for a while, but sometimes one comes along that is irresistible. Are you ready for this earth shattering revelation? John P. Robinson and Steven Martin are the happy sociologists from the University of Maryland who were given real money by apparently sane people to find out what activities contribute most to a happy life.

Now lots of people have already written many books on this subject, but as always there is still more to learn. They ploughed through the diaries of over 30,000 adults over a 30 year period and analysed what they did and how pleasurable they found it.

What their research has shown them is that people who described themselves as happy were more socially active, attended more religious services and read more newspapers. Unhappy people, however, watched more television. As one of the prime symptoms of depression and unhappiness is withdrawal from the society of others this doesn’t strike me as a major breakthrough, but what do I know.

Apparently television watching provides temporary pleasure to unhappy people; but, in the long run is a waste of time and not particularly fulfilling. The others compare it to an addiction where you get momentary pleasure and long-term misery. They must have been watching Strictly Come Dancing, but they did come up with a neat catch phrase, that ‘tuning in’ can be an easy way of ‘tuning out’ so I can forgive them for making me feel like a social outcast because of my addiction to brilliant US drama series like Boston Legal and The Closer. ”

So, stun your family by letting them know that happy people read and socialize while unhappy people watch TV. If that doesn’t get them playing charades or monopoly after Christmas dinner, then nothing will.

Anyone interested in paying me to study whether breathing is a necessary evil?

Upset stomach at Xmas – help!

Now I know you are going to be entirely sensible over the next few weeks, and those Christmas parties and drinks won’t tempt you to overindulge. But, if you do then it’s as well to be prepared. If you get an upset stomach that remains sensitive then slippery elm is a good supplement to help soothe any irritation – it’s also a good thing to line your stomach with if you know you are going to be faced with food or drink that might be a bit much for your system. If you are offered coffee after the meal, see if you can’t get peppermint or green tea instead as they will help you digest better. If by any mischance you need more help then there is a very good Ayurvedic recipe for tea which will help those feelings of being bloated and sluggish from too many mince pies or slices of Christmas cake. It is a blend of aniseed, fennel, cardamom, coriander and celery seeds to help purify your system, clear your mind and help your body to recover it’s normal balance. You can find Ayurvedic teas in many supermarkets and health stores, and if you have a Whittard of Chelsea’s store near you then their own Ayurvedic Detox tea will put you on the road to recovery for a very reasonable £2.30 for 20 teabags.

Important new finding on bone health

For the first time ever, a link has been made between the body’s production of serotonin in the gut and the production of osteoblasts, the cells that create new bone. Normally we associate serotonin with the brain and its role in our ‘feel good’ moods, but apparently a new study has found that 95% of the body’s supply of this molecule is produced in the gut and it is acting as a hormone to regulate bone mass,”

In an online paper published in the Journal Cell, a team led by Dr. Gerard Karsenty, chairman of the department of genetics and development at Columbia University in the USA have uncovered what could be a new way to control bone formation and treat could osteoporosis. Dr. Karsenty has found that gut serotonin is released into the blood, and the more serotonin that reaches bone, the more bone is lost. The reverse also applies; the less serotinin in the bloodstream then the denser and stronger bones become. As part of his study Dr. Karsenty was able to prevent menopause-induced osteoporosis in mice by slowing serotonin production. Osteoporosis is often dubbed ‘the silent killer’ because it is rarely diagnosed until the condition is established and bones start to break and fracture under little pressure. Conventional osteoporosis treatment has focused on preventing bone loss, such as with bisphosphonate drugs like Didronel, Fosamax and HRT, but unless action is taken to build bone then the situation eventually deteriorates. There are two more natural alternatives to such osteoporosis drugs, one of which is made known to us through this new study. Its findings have huge implications for osteoporosis treatment, as it could be a simple matter of regulating your diet. The basic building block for serotonin in the body is the amino acid tryptophan, which is found in red meat and turkey and in chocolate, oats, bananas, milk, yogurt, eggs, fish, poultry, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, and peanuts. So if you have a tendency to osteoporosis in your family, which is one of the biggest risk factors, then aim for a diet low in tryptophan foods to help minimise your bone loss.

The other approach, that has been tried and tested by many osteoporosis sufferers, is to use the hormone that is essential for bone-building and that is progesterone. Its levels decline with age and it is a simple matter to supplement with natural progesterone cream, patches or tablets. Though notionally available on the NHS in the UK, it is more likely to be offered as a private prescription and it cannot be bought over the counter in the UK, though it is perfectly legal to import it for your own use. If you want to know more about this hormone, the book Natural Progesterone by Dr Shirley Bond and myself will answer all your questions (you will find it on my website) and you can find plenty of suppliers of the cream that Dr John Lee recommended including Wellspring who operate out of Guernsey and have a helpful website at www.progesterone.co.uk

Natural help for eyes

As we get older our eyes become vulnerable, and around 1 in 7 over 55 year olds will suffer from macular degeneration. This is the leading cause of blindness and severe vision impairment worldwide, and a study in the Archives of Ophthalmology reports on the benefits of Omega-3 for reducing the risk.

Macular degeneration (MD) affects central vision and this gradually deteriorates causing functional blindness. Peripheral vision is not at first greatly affected; but over time peripheral vision is also reduced. A study of 8,000 people in the Netherlands found that those who developed the disease were more likely to be smokers and have high cholesterol and that because free radical damage has been linked to MD that antioxidants can reduce the disease’s progress.

However, a more recent study has shown a clear link between consumption of Omega-3 and reduction in age-related MD. Dr Chong of the University of Melbourne did a meta-analysis of nine studies which covered 90,000 people, and 3000 of those had age-related MD.

Back to the benefits of fish again, because her study found that eating just one portion of Omega-3 rich fish may reduce the risk of contracting MD by over 50%. In fact increasing your daily intake by 300 mg per day of the Omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA, reduces the risk of MD by about 70%.

If fish really isn’t your favourite then you can get Omega-3 from flaxseed oil which is also rich in lutein and that’s one of the antioxidants that boosts eye health and prevents cataracts and macular degeneration. These are the essential elements for good eye health:

BETA-CAROTENE which destroys free radicals and helps keep eye tissue healthy.

VITAMIN C and VITAMIN E are antioxidant and protect the eye from sun damage

ZINC and COPPER are antioxidant and protect our eyes

B VITAMIN complex to fight free radicals in your eyes, particularly the cornea and the myelin sheath around the optic nerve

TAURINE is an essential amino acid for retina health and blocks out UV rays and environmental toxins.

EYEBRIGHT is a herb that been traditionally used to relieve irritated eyes and strengthen blood vessels in the eyes.

Otherwise it’s the usual mix of dark green leafy vegetables, particularly spinach, and a varied daily diet to keep your eyes sparkling.

Cheer up your heart

I was extolling the virtues of laughter in this article about laughter yoga, and now here’s another of my favourite stress busters which can have a wonderful effect on your heart health. No drugs and no side effects are involved you just need to listen to some joyful music and the function of your blood vessels will be vastly improved, and that’s good for your heart.

No I didn’t make it up just because I love listening to music, it’s based on research presented by the University of Maryland School of Medicine at the recent American Heart Association Scientific Sessions meeting in New Orleans. So, tune in your radio, or get out your favourite piece of music – the only criteria is that it must give you a great sense of joy – so whether it’s Bach, the Beatles, or Bonzo Dog they will all have the same health-giving benefits.

What happens when you listen to music is that the tissue in the inner lining of your blood vessels dilates and that increases blood flow. Known as the endothelium, the lining of blood vessels has a powerful effect on health, especially the development of cardiovascular disease, because it regulates blood flow and adjusts blood thickening and coagulation. Plus, at no extra cost, it releases substances in response to wounds, infections or irritation. So be kind to it and play it something wonderful! Don’t however put on the funeral march or anything that stresses you like heavy metal, as if then your blood vessels will narrow and restrict blood flow.

For the statistically minded, the research showed that blood vessels dilated an extra 26% for joyful music and music that stressed the listener narrowed blood vessels by 6%. I think it might be time to give up listening to Leonard Cohen – or at least ration my intake on health grounds. Oh, and I also know that signing has the same good effect, and as I have been lucky enough to be in a couple of passenger choirs on cruise ships recently I can highly recommend it as both joyful, and stimulating as you try to remember the words and work out if it’s you or your neighbour that is singing off-key!

Diabetes Updates

With over 2.3 million diabetics in the UK, and a further 750000 people who have the condition but don’t know it, I like to keep you updated and there are two new developments to report this week – both involving everyday food items.

First let’s do the positive and give you yet another reason to eat more fish. A UK study has found that in a study of 517 diabetics those who had fish less than once a week were four times more likely to have albumin in their system, a protein whose presence indicates kidney damage. This is a serious complication of diabetes and the study suggests that eating fish at least twice a week could help protect diabetics from this potential problem. The researchers didn’t single out any particular variety of fish, so help your diabetes, and your heart, by having oily fish like salmon and salt water fish like haddock at least twice a week to get the maximum benefit.

Fish is also of benefit for eye health, so keep reading.

AND A WARNING If you go to work, or play, on an egg then you want to rethink your breakfast options. Over twenty years of research funded by the National Cancer Institute and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute seems to indicate that people who eat eggs every day may substantially increase their risk of type 2 diabetes.

Men who ate seven or more eggs a week were 58% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who did not eat any eggs. However, the problem is potentially greater for women as they are 77% more likely to become diabetic if they ate an egg a day. The research was reported online in the magazine Diabetes Care.

A single egg contains about 200 mg of cholesterol and adds about 1.5 g of saturated fat to the diet, both of which increase diabetes risk, and the exact risk figures are:

Men
9% for less than one egg a week
9% for one egg a week
18% for two to four eggs a week
46% for five to six eggs a week
58% for seven or more eggs a week

Women
% for less than one egg a week
3% for one egg a week
19% for two to four eggs a week
18% for five to six eggs a week
77% for seven or more a week

This does not mean giving up eggs entirely, they are a beneficial food, but it might be wise to limit your intake if you have any other risk factors for diabetes. These include being overweight, not taking any exercise, and long term use of drugs such as diuretics and steroids as they can impair insulin secretion from the pancreas.

3D images of your arteries now on show!

I love science, it is amazing to see the developments and increase in our knowledge that would have seemed unimaginable a few years ago. You need healthy arteries, and up to now it hasn’t been possible to get an all round view of them to help your doctor and surgeon to get a complete picture of what is going on. Now, it is a reality according to a report this week from Massachusetts General Hospital. They have shown the first 3-D all round view of the lining of a patient’s right coronary artery and it revealed a recently placed stent and lipid deposits. No more guesswork for the surgeon as they will be able to see more clearly and check for areas of inflammation or the calcium or lipid deposits that can cause a heart attack. Mass General developed the optical frequency-domain imaging (OFDI) device to get the 3-D views inside a human artery. The previous imaging device made by the same investigators could only examine tissues one point at a time, but this one can look at more than 1,000 points of artery tissue. The surgeon uses the device to physically probe through the coronary artery and as wavelengths are emitted and reflected back, they can in seconds get the data they need to create the detailed microscopic images.

Dr. Gary Tearney, associate professor of pathology at Harvard Medical School sees very positive benefits for this new technology. “The wealth of information that we can now obtain will undoubtedly improve our ability to understand coronary artery disease and may allow cardiologists to diagnose and treat plaque before it leads to serious problems.” A further development is the combining of the OFDI probe with intravascular ultrasound as it is not able to penetrate deep into tissues. This was the first venture, and it is hoped to have it available to surgeons within 1-2 years.

Christmas caution

As a child I received a tin of Quality Street, a box of Black Magic, a chest of All Gold and various other chocolate treats every Christmas. After the war that kind of easy access to things we had done without was irresistible, now 60 odd years later we can see the dangers. A recent study in the USA of obese children as young as 10 showed that they had the arteries of 45-year-olds and other heart abnormalities that greatly raise their risk of heart disease. Currently about a third of American children are overweight and one-fifth are obese and although many parents think that this kind of puppy fat will melt away as they get older it is establishing eating patterns and health habits that are best avoided. Ultrasound tests on the children found that they also had more rigid arteries than was expected and this is a possible sign of plaque deposits starting to form. So if you are buying presents for children, exercise love with caution and cut down on the selection boxes and chocolate in general.

Natural Christmas ideas

You know how keen I am for you all to rush out and try a herbal tea occasionally, and this present makes it easy – and fun. Teastar is a beautifully coloured star containing a mix of individually wrapped organic loose leaf teabags. It comes from one of my favourite tea companies, called Today was Fun, and you don’t just get amazing teas you also get an inspirational message with each one to read while you wait for it to brew. Each star has a ribbon threaded through the top and once opened, the box is like an old fashioned paperyap yap toy. You can peer inside and choose which tea you’d like to brew and then read the individual message attached to each bag. At the end of a dinner party when the inevitable who wants coffee/tea/herbal question is asked you could just put the star in the middle open it up and ask people to choose which one they want. Each star contains 2 x Happiness teabags, 2 x Sleepy, 2 x Inspiration, 2 x Love and 2 x Friendship for £9.99. I would hold off on the sleepy tea though, unless it’s you who are hosting the party!

Now about those socks, obviously I wouldn’t suggest anything so mundane but one idea I did find at the Mind Body Exhibition was some very ‘Star Trek’ looking socks. They have been designed by a reflexologist to help relieve pain and have unique patented ridges which stimulate specific reflexology zones on the bottom of the feet as you walk or stand. They look odd, but then who is going to see them inside your shoes? They have good testimonials from satisfied users, and are machine washable and apparently 91% of wearers say Reflosocks help to alleviate their aches and pains. Go have a look at www.reflotherapies.co.uk

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