How to Use Complementary Health

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1. How To Use Complementary Health

Keywords: Agnus castus / Artherosclerotic plaque / Betacarotene /

Bio-Resonance / Calcium / Cholesterol / Choosing a practitioner / Cramping /

Echinacea / Flavanoids / Folic acid / Food state supplements / Ginseng / Heart

Problems / Herbalism / Holistic specialists / Homeopathy / Homocysteine /

Hormonal imbalance / Immune System / Magnesium / Minerals / Naturopathy / Neural

tube defects / Nutrition / Osteoporosis / Peppermint / Practitioners / Pregnancy

/ Spina bifida / Stress / Supplements / Synergy / Trace elements / Vitamins

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When seeking natural and complementary health remedies, you are going to be

investigating three main areas -nutrition, herbalism and homeopathy. Often, an

holistic practitioner, especially a naturopath who treats illness without

resorting to conventional drugs, will prescribe a combination of all three. It

helps, as you start to take some of the responsibility for your everyday health

into your own hands, to know some of the basic tools and the reason you are

likely to benefit from the types of remedies recommended in this section.

 

Nutrition - Why take supplements?

 

In a perfect world, we would not need to take dietary supplements. However, with

food production and processing techniques that strip so many natural nutrients

from the raw ingredients, we need to supplement our dietary intake to come even

close to getting optimum levels of these important vitamins, minerals, and trace

elements. Self-diagnosing for everyday ailments can be helpful in the short-term

but if the problem persists, and for more serious conditions, it is always best

to seek advice from a qualified nutritionist or naturopath. A simple biochemical

sweat test or hair analysis will reveal exactly which minerals and vitamins your

body is lacking. A good practitioner will prescribe the exact amount you need to

take and recommend the right brand for you. One big problem with the

Do-It-Yourself approach is that these substances can work with and against each

other and so levels of one nutrient can affect levels of another in the body.

This is what nutritionists call synergy. If you take a calcium supplement, for

example, to protect against osteoporosis in later life, you also need to take

magnesium. The recommended ratio when taking these two together is 2:1 in favour

of the calcium. I cannot understand why there is still any debate over whether

supplementing a diet is helpful or not. My own preference is to try the path of

what I call ‘True Nutrition’ first, where you rely on natural foods to try and

remedy the problem - but there can be no question that for many conditions and

problems there is an important place for supplements in holistic healthcare.

 

One of the counter-arguments is that there is no scientific research to support

the growing use of vitamin and mineral tablets. This is not true. The research

is out there, but it is often fragmented - which means you just have to look

harder for it. It is true there is not the same volume of research as in

allopathic medicine and one reason for this is that companies who make and sell

natural products cannot patent the active ingredient. This acts as a

disincentive, since a small company could practically bankrupt itself by funding

clinical trials when it has no way of preventing other companies from jumping on

the bandwagon to make the same product and, since it has had no research costs,

sell it cheaper. This is an on-going problem in complementary health but with

the recent explosion of interest in the field, I am sure this will change.

Hopefully, companies will themselves adopt a more co-operative approach to

business in the 21st century.

 

There is also no question that solid, scientific research is effectively ‘sat

on’ for years before reaching the public. Take the case of folic acid (vitamin

M) and its proven role in preventing spina bifida and other neural tube defects

in early pregnancy. The discovery that taking 400mcg of folic acid per day could

reduce the incidence of this distressing condition by 80% is now cited as one of

the greatest breakthroughs in 20th century medicine. Yet, according to the

authors of The Natural Pharmacy (one of my most well-thumbed health bibles), an

astonishing 30 years passed between researchers reporting this breakthrough and

doctors passing the information on to their pregnant patients. The same is true

of another discovery that could and should help reduce the risk of the Western

world’s number 1 killer - heart disease.

 

Homocysteine is a normal by-product of the metabolism of protein, but high

levels in the blood have been shown to be 40 times more accurate as an indicator

of the risk of heart disease than cholesterol. When levels are elevated, it

rapidly damages the arteries and causes an immediate build-up of

artherosclerotic plaque - the main trigger for both heart attacks and stoke.

 

This link was first discovered by a Havard scientist called Dr Kilmer McCully,

who was investigating the cases of several infants and young children who had

mysteriously died of advanced heart disease. His research, which won him no

friends at the time, was first published 30 years ago. However, for political

and probably financial reasons, his findings were ignored and McCully was forced

to leave Harvard.

 

Perhaps the major sources of funding for heart disease research were only

interested in those projects investigating the link between cholesterol and

heart disease. This is bizarre, though, not least because 80% of all fatal heart

attacks occur in men who do NOT have high cholesterol levels. A cynic might

suggest the reason this information was suppressed was because commercially,

there was less money to be made from a safe and natural supplement than from

pharmaceuticals or cholesterol-free foods. The good news is that this injustice

has recently been exposed in the US where homocysteine research is finally

getting the attention and funding it deserves. Sadly, we have yet to see the

same trend in the UK.

 

*You can ask your GP to test your homocysteine levels - and if they are too

high, you need to supplement your diet with vitamins B6, B12, and folic acid.

 

 

Food State Supplements

 

Food State is a way of describing those supplements that have, according to the

manufacturers (and as the name suggests), been made to mimic the natural state

of the nutrient. So, for example, instead of taking a vitamin C tablet that has,

in fact, been sourced from dextrose extracted from corn syrup, you take a

formulation that copies vitamin C in its natural state in citrus fruit - where

you would be eating it along with the flavanoids that scientists have now

identified as being important for its proper assimilation.

 

The aim of Food State supplements is to present the active ingredients in a way

that is as close to nature as possible. So in that Food State vitamin C, the

stress-busting antioxidant has been complexed with a fruit pulp made from

oranges containing flavanoids. Likewise, a betacarotene formulation will have

been complexed with carrot concentrate. The argument is that this also makes it

easier for the body to recognise and then utilise these nutrients. There have

been long legal battles over whether this claim can be substantiated with writs

flying between companies who swear by Food State and those who argue that it

makes no difference.

 

Whatever the eventual outcome of these disagreements, it makes sense to try and

eat as natural a diet as possible. In fact, some nutritionists now argue that

vitamin and mineral supplements have nothing to do with nutrition - which, in

its truest sense, should be primarily concerned with the food on your plate.

 

 

Herbalism - How to use herbs

 

The fastest way to get the standardised, active ingredient of a herb into the

bloodstream is by taking it in tincture form. This is always my preferred method

when I am in a rush and don’t have the time to grind, pulp, or infuse fresh

herbs. You can also buy herbs and herbal combinations in tablet, capsule,

powdered, and dried form.

 

Organic Tincture:

Organic tinctures are now readily available in health stores and by mail order.

Each herb will have instructions for how much to take and when on the label, so

keep a supply in the cupboard for when you need them. Handy standbys in my

cupboard include echinacea for boosting the immune system, agnus castus for

female hormonal fluctuations, Siberian ginseng for stress and peppermint for

stomach cramps.

 

Infusion:

This is the method that herbalists use when they need to extract water-soluble

ingredients from the less dense parts of the plant such as the leaves, stems,

and flowers. You can also use it with the roots and fruits if these have been

chopped finely enough.

What to do: Pour 500ml of boiling water on to 30g of the finely cut herb in a

container with a tight-fitting lid. This cover means that volatile substances

that might otherwise evaporate are retained. Leave the solution for 10-15

minutes to infuse. Strain the liquid and allow to cool to body temperature. The

usual dose is one cup of infused liquid taken three times a day, before meals.

 

Poultice:

This simply describes the technique where the fresh plant is bruised or crushed

to a pulp, which is then mixed with a moistening material ready to apply

directly to the area where it is needed. You can mix the dried herbs with a

little hot water or use a host paste such as flour, bran, or corn meal.

What to do: To make a poultice paste, mix 60g of the dried herb or herbs with

500ml of loose paste. Sandwich this paste between layers of sterile, thin cloth

or gauze and apply to the wound or affected area.

 

Compress:

If you have ever placed a warm facecloth over tired eyes then you have already

used this technique.

What to do: Soak a clean towel or sterile cloth in a hot or cold herbal infusion

or decoction. Wring it out and place gently over the affected area. Repeat

several times. If you are in a rush, you can use this same technique with water

in which you have dissolved a few drops of your favourite essential oil.

 

Decoction:

The harder parts of plants - especially the bark, seeds, roots, and rhizomes -

only release their active ingredients after a more prolonged hot water

treatment.

What to do: Soak 30g of your chosen herb in 500ml of cold water for 10 minutes.

Pour this mixture into a saucepan, cover and bring to the boil. Lower the heat

and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Remove from the heat, keep covered and allow the

liquid to sit and cool for another 15 minutes. Strain and drink as a tea, in the

same way as an infusion.

 

 

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