Natural Health and Herbal Remedies Blog – information on herbal medicine

Abdominal fat distribution is reflected in an extended abdomen or ‘pot belly’. This consists of expanded subcutaneous fat cells as well as increased visceral fat. Its extent could, therefore, presumably be measured through a measure of sagittal diameter, i.e. the width of the waist from back to front. This has recently been investigated and a device developed for determining the measure by Dr Henry Kahn from the University of Georgia. The device, called a sagittal diameter scale, measures the thickness of the abdomen at the umbilicus in either the lying or standing position.

The higher the SAD measure, the greater the risk of disease, and although norms have yet to be established for this measure, indications from the Georgia laboratory suggest that a SAD measure of greater than 25cm indicates an elevated health risk.

The abdominal diameter index, also developed by the Kahn team, is an attempt to compensate for the lack of perfect predictability of the SAD measure of visceral fatness.10 Because the sagittal measure includes not just visceral fat but bone, muscle and subcutaneous fat, the Georgia team have attempted to adjust for the non-visceral tissues that are incorporated in the SAD measure by dividing waist thickness by the girth of the mid-thigh. This also adjusts for overall body size as thigh thickness can be a good indication of total body size. ADI then becomes almost twice as powerful for the prediction of cardiovascular risk as the SAD alone.

Again there are, as yet, no well established norms for ADI. Early indications are that ADI measurements of over 0.5 (i.e. the cross-sectional thickness of the waist is over half the circumference of the mid-thigh) are highly predictive of risk for coronary heart disease.

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If the gland is underactive, a condition called hypothyroidism Occurs. In infants and children this is extremely important, for it may have an adverse effect on mental development and a condition called cretinism can take place. Symptoms may come on silently and be unnoticed for many weeks after birth. If left untreated, serious and severe mental defects are possible. (On the other hand, if too much hormone is produced, hyperthyroidism may occur, and this has another set of symptoms.)

The doctor or even a careful and watchful parent may not detect symptoms early, for they are often vague and ill defined. They include mental sluggishness, a pale grey cool skin, often constipation, a large tongue, and flabby muscles; the latter may cause the abdomen to protrude and there may be a swelling over the navel (called an umbilical hernia). The child’s cry or voice may be hoarse.

The baby may develop at a slower rate than normal, the eyes may seem to be widely spaced, and mental development is noticeably slow. Mental reaction is below normal. As the infant becomes older, the symptoms become more apparent, the skin tends to be dry and coarse, the hair dry, brittle and coarse.

Treatment

Today, in most Australian cities, new-born babies are ‘screened’ for thyroid deficiency, and in time this will become universal in hospitals before mother and baby leave. At present, hypothyroidism affects about one baby in 4000.

Treatment is invariably successful. The thyroid hormone (usually in the form of the artificially produced product thyroxine) is given. This must be supervised carefully and perhaps continued for a long time. But it will avoid the serious consequences of untreated thyroid deficiency.

Babies who have missed the screening system, and who develop any of the symptoms described, should have prompt medical investigation by the doctor. The earlier treatment is commenced, the more successful will be the results and the less likely is the risk that the baby will develop serious mental handicaps.

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Chicken pox, or varicella (for those who like tortuous unpronounceable names), is an acute, highly contagious disease caused by a virus which also produces shingles. It is readily spread by infected droplets from person to person, usually from one who has an upper respiratory tract infection. The incubation period (the time from infection until first symptoms appear) is between 14 and 21 days, usually 15 on average. There is usually no prodromal period; symptoms simply set in rapidly. A person is infectious and may readily spread the virus to others. This capacity starts from 24 hours before the onset of the rash, and for six days after. Once a child has sustained one attack of chicken pox, immunity to further ones appears to be lifelong. But an unfortunate aftermath, often in later life, is that shingles (herpes zoster) may occur. The virus may lie dormant in the nerves for many years, and suddenly become reactivated for reasons unknown, causing extremely painful blistery sores, often on the trunk or face.

The rash is typical. It usually commences on the face, and mucous linings, including the lips, oral cavity and even the tongue, and this can be very uncomfortable and make eating and drinking difficult. The rash then spreads to the body, and the blisters may be extremely numerous over the chest, back and shoulders. They are less common on the arms and legs, and fairly rare on the hands and soles of the feet.

The lesions tend to come in waves, two to four crops, usually in two to six days. They commence as small red blotches. These become raised, and the typical blisters form. They look much like droplets of water with a thin skin over them. These are easy to break. Gradually, the blisters dry out, and scabs form; and these finally fall off, usually by the ninth to thirteenth day. Scabs are said to be highly contagious; and for this reason, pupils are often not readmitted to school until the last scab has vanished.

As the illness progresses, the skin may become itchy. This is usually mild at first, but intensifies as the days pass, and the blisters worsen. As the blister stage advances, a fever often develops.

The blisters often become infected, but apart from this complications are rare, and the disease usually clears up rapidly and leaves little aftermath. Sometimes depressions are left and if on the face they may be lifelong, much to one’s annoyance in later life! On rare occasions a viral encephalitis may take place. In some children who may be on special medication, such as steroids for asthma, and in whom, the body’s normal immune response to infections is reduced, the disease may run a severe course and present a high risk.

Treatment

Treatment is usually simple. Many cases are very mild, some children having only a dozen blisters or fewer. But others are covered with hundreds of them. Most cases may be treated at home with simple measures.

Bed rest for a few days is suggested, especially if there is a fever and the child is obviously off-colour. Most children are sensible and know when it is time to hit the cot. They are excellent barometers of their own illnesses, as most parents know.

Plenty of fluids are advisable. This replaces fluids lost from sweating when feverish. It also helps to rid the system of dead germs and debris that inevitably collect in the system during any acute infective illness. Water, fruit juice, lemonade and similar drinks are suitable. Adding glucose D to fluid equals food; and if the appetite is reduced, this is a good idea.

There are no food restrictions. But in the acute stages, lack of appetite is common. Also, if the mouth, tongue and lips are severely blistered, eating may be difficult. In fact, the oral cavity often looks a mess, and soggy, yellowish sores look extremely uncomfortable. Jellies, junkets, custards, ice-cream, mashed vegetables, soft stewed fruit, clear broth (but nothing too hot, for it may burn) are best. Eggs, done in a variety of ways, are high in protein, easy to eat and digest and highly palatable.

A daily bath is advisable. Luke-warm water is best. Some advocate adding condy’s crystal to the water to make it a very faint pink. This may help check infections if they are present in the blisters. But a note of caution: Condy’s is notorious for staining white baths a dirty brown; so very faint pink is adequate—and get rid of the water and clean the bath promptly when finished. The child should be dabbed dry with a soft towel, and put back to bed. Do not rub the body vigorously, for this may break the blisters and encourage added infection, which may prolong convalescence.

If the itch is maddening, relief may be given in the form of the many antipruritic (anti-itch) lotions and creams readily available from the pharmacist. Apply if and when the itch becomes particularly trying. The warmth of the bed or of heaters may aggravate itching.

If there are obvious skin infections, antibiotics in the form of ointments for local use, and occasionally capsules by mouth, may be prescribed by the doctor. Call the doctor if there are any aspects that worry you, or if the disorder is not responding fairly well to simple home remedies.

Occasionally, mixtures (for infants) or tablets (for older children) may be required to reduce elevated temperatures and relieve pain and discomfort. Paracetamol elixir is effective. It is readily available at pharmacists, and dosage is usually written on the label (it varies with age). Paracetamol or aspirin tablets are suitable for children aged 6 years or older. The dosage is usually on the label for these too, and varies with age.

Complications are unusual, except skin scarring from large blisters, especially if they become infected. On very rare occasions, viral encephalitis (a viral brain infection) may occur, which is extremely serious. A return to normal with most cases of chicken pox is the usual rule.

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This is a form of bodywork derived from the yoga technique Pranayama, which uses controlled rhythmic breathing to raise kundalini energy in the body. By breathing in such a way that there is no pause between inhalation and expiration of air, hyperventilation occurs and a cathartic emotional state is induced. The therapist guides the patient through this experience. Some therapists believe that traumatic experiences at birth can lead to psychological problems later in life and that the rebirthing process can release and overcome traumas and associated emotional blockages.

Rebirthing can be undertaken while lying on a mat or table. Sometimes a therapist may get patients to float face down in warm water, using a snorkel to breathe, so that the experience will more closely resemble that of the foetus in the womb.

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If one treats a large number of depressed patients, as I do, the use of anti-depressant combinations is standard operating procedure, as the anti-depressants frequently don’t work when administered individually. If one has to be depressed, the late 20th century is not such a bad time for it as there is an ever-increasing array of available medications that act on different elements of the neurones responsible for transmitting the signals that regulate our moods. The skilful clinician, working in collaboration with an observant patient, can mix and blend these medications in such a way as to maximize their benefits while minimizing their side-effects.

St John’s Wort appears to work very well in combination with all anti-depressants except for the MAOIs, such as Parnate or

Nardil, where adding them can be dangerous. This is not to say that medications should be mindlessly shaken into a cocktail in full dosage. After all, if these medications can interact with one another in positive ways that enhance their anti-depressant effects, they also have the potential to enhance one another’s side-effects. When mixing medications it is important therefore to move more cautiously with dosages and timing. Certainly, such medication combinations should not be tried on one’s own but rather under the supervision of a good doctor.

When properly handled, I have seen people manage to decrease the dosage of anti-depressants that were giving them unpleasant side-effects, and add in St John’s Wort instead. For example, Fred, a 52-year-old computer scientist, wrote to tell me that he had added St John’s Wort to the anti-depressants he was previously using, which had been helpful in removing his feelings of ‘doom and gloom’ but did not completely resolve his problems. According to Fred, St John’s Wort ‘takes the edge off feelings of anxiety and depression and flips the switch from negative to positive’. He was able to reduce his dosage of anti-depressant medication from 450 mg to 300 mg per day and, in addition, noticed that he did not need to be quite so precise as to when he took it. Before starting St John’s Wort he had observed that ‘If I missed a pill by one or two hours, I’d get very tired and the glass started looking half empty instead of half full. By taking 250 mg of St John’s Wort with 150 mg of my usual anti-depressant, I can delay taking the next dose by two to four hours.’

Besides helping Fred get by with less anti-depressant medication and space the pills out at wider intervals, the addition of St John’s Wort also gave him a more sustained feeling of well-being. As he put it, T feel like good things will happen – a feeling that I am OK – not perfect – but me. I sense life is going to get better.’

I have similarly observed in my own patients the highly beneficial interactions between St John’s Wort and other antidepressants, sometimes subtle, sometimes very robust. Although I have read of people who have experienced problems with such combinations, such as jitteriness or increased blood pressure, to date I have not observed them in my own patients, perhaps because of my practice of altering dosages of medications gradually, which enables one to detect potential problems early before they become too unpleasant.

Many of my patients are on complicated combinations of anti-depressants and I have been pleasantly surprised to find that the addition of St John’s Wort may nevertheless provide additional anti-depressant protection even in people with depressions that have been hard to reverse. Sometimes the addition of the herb has been so helpful that it has been possible to decrease the dose of some of the other medications or even to remove one or more of them, thereby simplifying the overall medication regimen. As always, the key to successfully combining medications – and St John’s Wort is no exception in this regard – is to change dosages slowly and observe carefully for any untoward effects.

Remember: If you are on a MAOI such as Parnate or Nardil, do not take St John’s Wort. Also, if you have discontinued an MAOI, wait at least two weeks before starting St John’s Wort.

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Joan Kowan was one of my earliest and most difficult headache patients. She had been a student nurse until she was expelled from the nurses’ training program for poor attendance. Her constant, severe headaches had prevented her from being able to keep up with her classmates. So severe were these attacks that, in desperation, she had consented to two brain operations. They were complete failures, and the surgeons could find nothing organically wrong.

In my office, she was found to be highly sensitive to milk. By avoiding milk and dairy products in all of their forms, she was able to control her headache problem and return to school. As time went by, however, it became increasingly difficult for her to avoid all forms of milk. She lived in a college dormitory and ate institutional food. While the regular cook had cooperated with her requests, he was not always there. For example, her vegetables were cooked and set aside before butter was added. A substitute cook, however, did not do this, and Joan unknowingly ate the buttered vegetables. Within an hour, she suddenly fell to the floor in the nurse’s station, overcome by violent head pains. The cause of this reaction was traced, in retrospect, to the seemingly insignificant amount of butter on her vegetables. Such inadvertent exposures to milk were fairly common and most troublesome.

To alleviate the pain, she began to take codeine tablets, until she became addicted to them. She also became dependent on other pain-killers to which milk sugar was added as a filler. Thus, while these drugs appeared to give relief, they were actually perpetuating her basic problem.

Miss Kowan was so amazingly susceptible to milk that I thought it would be worth recording some of the features of her case for the medical record. She agreed to take an EEG (electroencephalogram) test, which records brain waves, while drinking a minute amount of milk.

To make the test “blind,” she was given two drops of milk in a glass of water. This, at least, is what she was told she was receiving. Actually, the first sample she chose contained several drops of an inert antacid, aluminum hydroxide (Amphojel), in a glass of water. The water became slightly cloudy, just as if it had had milk added. She drank this with fear and trembling, since she anticipated one of her characteristic headaches. Nothing happened. She was then given two drops of actual milk in a glass of water, but she was told she was receiving more of the previous substance. This time she rapidly went into agonizing pain. In her writhing, she pulled herself free of the EEG machine, ruining that part of the experiment.

Her case made clear, however, the ability of even small amounts of an incriminated substance to cause severe and chronic headaches.

Miss Kowan eventually managed to get her allergy under control and to graduate. Years later I received a letter from her. She had obtained an excellent position with a large manufacturing concern and had a good work record, with few absences. “Since you saw me last,” she wrote, “I have not faltered in my quest for a new future.”

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Most mechanical devices require petroleum-derived oil as a lubricant. As these machines operate, some of the oil escapes into the air. This atmospheric pollutant may pose a problem for certain people. The most common source of such oil in the home is the air conditioner. The air-conditioning unit not only emits a “normal” amount of oil as it runs but generally has an oil-impregnated glass-wool or fiber filter. Some patients who were affected by air conditioners have been able to use the appliance with impunity when unoiled filters were substituted.

Kitchen devices with motors may be another source of indoor air pollution. These time-saving appliances are proliferating, often without a thought being given to their possible drawbacks. If a refrigerator, food processor, electric hand beater, can opener, and air conditioner are all operating in a kitchen, this can represent a considerable source of oil fumes. In addition, it should be noted that such electric motors emit minute amounts of ozone, a rare form of oxygen, which is highly toxic. American and Soviet scientists have found that humans may be endangered by exposure to fifty parts per billion of ozone in the atmosphere. Susceptible persons may be even more likely to incur damage from ozone in a closed environment.

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Encephalitis is an inflammation of the brain. The causes are many, including poisons, bacteria, vaccines, and parasites. Most cases are caused by viruses, many of which cause familiar diseases such as mumps, measles, rubella, chicken pox, herpes, mononucleosis, hepatitis, and influenza. The whooping cough bacterium can cause encephalitis, as can the vaccines used to prevent whooping cough, measles, influenza, yellow fever, and typhoid. The vaccines are far less likely to cause encephalitis, however, than are the illnesses they prevent. Lead, mercury, and other poisons also may cause encephalitis.

Signs and symptoms

Encephalitis may start with the symptoms of a common cold. The child may have no fever or a high fever (40.6°C). The child usually has a headache, vomits, and is disoriented (confused) and sleepy. Occasionally, convulsions and unconsciousness may occur.

A child with encephalitis will usually be unable to flex his or her neck forward to touch the chin to the chest while the mouth is closed. Sometimes the child cannot sit up without supporting the trunk with both hands braced behind (in a tripod fashion). This is a life-threatening situation.

Home care

None. See your doctor immediately if your child shows any symptoms of encephalitis.

Precaution

• If your child has had a severe reaction to any of the vaccines listed, be sure to tell your doctor before a booster of the vaccine is given.

Medical treatment

Since encephalitis may be a complication of another disease (such as measles, mumps, whooping cough), a child with such a disease and encephalitis symptoms will probably be examined for encephalitis. Knowing that the child has been exposed to poisons may also lead the doctor to suspect encephalitis.

A definite diagnosis is based on the child’s medical history; a blood count; a spinal tap; identification of the infecting organism in the spinal fluid, nose, throat, or stools; and the presence of antibodies (protective substances made by the body to fight the infecting organism) in the patient’s blood.

If encephalitis is diagnosed, hospitalization may be required. There is specific treatment for only a few types of encephalitis, since most viral infections are hard to treat. There is no medication that can kill the invading virus after it has caused the infection. Usually, however, treatment to ease the symptoms and to help the patient withstand the disease until it runs its course leads to recovery.

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The process of hydrogenation converts a liquid vegetable oil into a more solid state. This occurs through forcing hydrogen atoms into a vegetable oil under high pressure and high temperatures (120 to 210 degrees Celsius). A metal catalyst is used; it may be nickel, copper or platinum, and the process takes six to eight hours. Hydrogenation may be complete or partial.

Complete hydrogenation is where this process continues until all the double bonds in the oil are saturated with hydrogen. In effect this creates a fully saturated fat which is now very hard at room temperature. Because there are no more double bonds, there are no trans fatty acids in this type of fat. This means that the fat is not as harmful to health as partially hydrogenated oil; however all essential fatty acids in the oil have been destroyed. Commonly tropical fats such as coconut fat and palm oil undergo this process, to make them more useful to food manufacturers. This is the type of vegetable fat that is often used in chocolate to make sure it melts at mouth temperature.

Partial hydrogenation is where the process is halted before the oil is totally saturated. This means the resulting fat is not as hard; it has a semi solid, spreadable texture. Many trans fatty acids are present in partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. The essential fatty acids in the oil are also damaged. The word “partially hydrogenated vegetable oil” is present on the label of very many processed foods. This type of fat is present in most margarines, vegetable shortening and processed food such as cakes, biscuits, donuts, crisps and hot chips.

Are there any benefits of hydrogenated oils?

These types of fats benefit the food industry greatly, but our health suffers as a consequence. Usually cheap oils are used for this purpose, such as canola, cottonseed, soy or corn oil, which generally do not have health benefits. It is usually too expensive to use olive oil in manufacturing processed food. Hydrogenated fats, being solid give some foods the required consistency; biscuits for instance are usually made from a solid fat like butter or margarine. Butter is more expensive to use than margarine, and it spoils much faster. Basically hydrogenated vegetable oil is used by the food industry because it is cheap, and gives the foods containing it a longer shelf life.

McDonalds replaced beef tallow with partially hydrogenated soybean oil in 1990. In September 2002 McDonalds promised to use healthier oil in its US stores by February 2003. However, nothing has been done so far: there are still six grams îf trans fat in a large serve of fries. In September 2004, McDonalds Australia began using a canola oil blend. This oil is 75 percent lower in saturated fat than their previous oil, but the trans fat content is not mentioned, and there are other potential problems with canola oil. The canola oil blend McDonalds use contains an antifoam agent called dimethyl polysiloxane.

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Your weight is crucial for your fertility. Being very underweight or very overweight can make conception difficult or impossible. So it’s important that your weight is within a certain range in order to give you the best chance of conceiving.

Nature gave women proportionately more body fat for a specific purpose, in order to reproduce and then feed our young. That is why fat accounts for 27 per cent of an average woman’s body weight, while it is only 15 per cent for a man.

Fat is essential to fertility and it is necessary in order to ovulate. Young girls do not begin to menstruate until their bodies are composed of at least 17 per cent fat.

Underweight

If a woman’s body fat drops too low, then her periods can stop. This low level of body fat may be caused by excessive exercise, as sometimes happens with ballet dancers or athletes who have very tough physical regimes.

Infertility can also be caused by excessive dieting. When a woman is anorexic, for instance, her periods stop. With so much publicity about anorexia and an increasing number of young women falling victim to the ‘summer’s disease’, the long-term damage to fertility caused by drastic weight loss is well-known. But not so many people realize that being overweight can also affect fertility.

Overweight

If a woman is overweight it can stop her ovulating. Studies have shown that just losing a small amount of weight, 10 per cent, for instance, can be enough to increase fertility by stimulating ovulation, improving hormone balance and making periods more regular.

In another study, on women who previously did not ovulate, 11 out of 12 conceived naturally after exercising and dieting over a period of six months to get their weight down.

Fortunately your dietary intake is fully within your control, and eating the right food may be the single most important thing you can do to achieve a successful pregnancy.

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