Gymnema for Diabetes-Fish Oil for Blood Thinning-Heart Disease

[Guest guest]

Diabetes help that's good for the whole family

 

Q: In one of your past newsletters, I remember reading about controlling

diabetes with the herb gymnema. Can this be used with children and if so what

dosage for what ages?

 

Dr. Wright: We featured gymnema in the " Botanical of the Month " column in

the January 2002 issue. While I read just about everything I can get my hands

on to stay on top of nutritional therapies, no one knows herbs better than the

author of the original article, my friend and colleague, Kerry Bone. So, I

passed your question on to him. Here's what Kerry had to say:

 

I've found that gymnema is suitable for use in children, and is particularly

valuable in delaying the onset of Type 1 diabetes (where there is sufficient

warning of its development). For adults, I recommend taking 4 grams in

tablet form two to three times a day, for a total daily dose of 8 to 12 grams.

Children should be given a fraction of the adult dose.

 

To figure out how much to give, divide the child's weight in pounds by the

number 130. That's the fraction of the adult dose you should use. For example,

if the child weighs 65 lbs. then he would receive half the adult dose. But,

of course, it's always best to work with a physician skilled in herbal

medicine to establish the exact dose and protocol. To locate one in your area,

contact the American College for Advancement in Medicine at (800)532-3688 or

visit www.acam.org.

 

You should be able to find gymnema at your local health food store.

 

 

 

**************************************************** Dear Reader,

 

Dr. Wright refers to Coumadin as one of the all-time worst " hangovers " from

the " heyday " of patent medications: No matter how many alternatives there are

for it, it just won't go away. Don't get me wrong: It certainly does its

job, which is to thin the blood. But it creates quite a bit of collateral

damage

in the process. Including a serious problem discovered recently in a study

published in the September issue of the journal of the American Academy of

Neurology.

 

Researchers recruited 258 people who'd experienced a brain hemorrhage. Those

people who were taking warfarin (the generic name for Coumadin) experienced

twice as much bleeding during their hemorrhage as patients who weren't on the

medication. As you might imagine, this increased bleeding means increased

risk of death.

 

And, unfortunately, the threat of increased hemorrhage is just the latest

addition to the list of warfarin's risks. It also poisons and kills off the

vitamin K in your body. Over time, the near-total lack of vitamin K will (not

" could, " will) cause osteoporosis, arterial calcification, cognitive

malfunction, and many, many other problems.

 

When we were talking about the recent American Academy of Neurology study,

Dr. Wright reminded me that there's a very good alternative to Coumadin—one

he's been using in his practice for over 30 years with great success: fish oil.

Fish oil works by making platelets so slippery that they can't stick

together easily to form a clot.

 

Granted, it is possible to use so much fish oil that it could cause the same

increased risk of brain hemorrhage that warfarin did in the study mentioned

above. But you'd have to take 5 to 6 tablespoons daily for this to be a

significant risk—and I don't know anyone who can swallow that much (it's not

the

tastiest stuff, so if you have trouble getting it down, you can blend it with

rice or almond milk). For blood-thinning purposes, Dr. Wright recommends 2 to

3 tablespoons of cod liver oil each day along with 800-1,000 IU of vitamin

E.

 

Of course, it's never a good idea to switch from Coumadin to cod liver oil

without the advice of a physician skilled and knowledgeable in nutritional

and natural medicine. To find one near you, contact the American College for

Advancement in Medicine at (800)532-3688 or visit their website, www.acam.org.

 

Yours in good health,

 

Amanda Ross

Editor

Nutrition & Healing

 

 

 

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