Natural Pain Relief

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Natural Pain Relief JoAnn Guest Jun 15, 2003 14:36 PDT

Natural Pain Relief

 

 

Pain is your body’s way of telling you something is wrong. That said,

nobody wants to put up with chronic pain for weeks on end - so if you

are in pain, use a natural pain-relief remedy to tackle the symptom. If

the pain persists, go to your doctor or natural health practitioner to

find out more about the underlying cause.

 

The word drug comes from the German word droge meaning ‘to dry’, as in

drying herbs. It is estimated that up to half of all prescription drugs

come either directly from plants or are a chemical imitation of the

active medicinal ingredient found naturally in plants. This means that

the idea of relying on a herb to take away the pain is not as silly as

it might first sound. Herbs can be just as potent as prescription

medicines, which is why (of course) they work.

 

For general pain relief I use an Indian herb called boswellia, which is

every bit as powerful as Ibuprofen or other over-the-counter

painkillers. Produced from the gum of the Boswellia serrata tree, the

key active ingredient is Boswellic acid. This is a powerful

anti-inflammatory and vascular-supporting herb that can help relieve

headaches, for example, by opening up the blood vessels that are

constricting and causing the pain.

 

*Solgar's Boswellia serrata costs £14.75 for 60 veggie capsules. For

local stockists, call 01442-890355. Do not confuse Boswellia serrata

with Boswellia carteri. Both are often called frankincense, but they

have different actions in the body.

 

This is an excellent general painkiller, but you can also use different

natural remedies to tackle specific types of pain, from migraines to

stomach cramps.

 

Migraine Headaches

The best remedy for an excruciating migraine headache is the everyday

herb, feverfew. You need to take one x 125mg standardised dose (or 50

drops of tincture) every day - and since the active ingredients can take

almost a month to really kick in, you need to be patient. Sufferers

report different types of migraine headaches and homeopathy, which has

proven highly effective for many sufferers, keys in to these

differences, making a point of prescribing remedies according to not

only the type of pain but also how it starts. If the headache is worse

on the right side, for example, and if trying to concentrate makes the

pain worse, you need Lycopodium 6c (this figure denotes the strength or

potency of the dilution.) Blurring of the vision and vomiting would

suggest Iris 6c, while a throbbing, blinding headache with a feeling of

congestion in the head would probably be best treated by Natrum mur 6c.

All of these remedies are widely on sale in good health stores.

 

*Do not use Feverfew if you are pregnant or taking Warfarin

 

Period Pains

Females who suffer from cramping have been shown to produce greater

levels of prostaglandins (the hormones secreted by the uterine lining).

Evening primrose oil is rich in Gamma-Linoleic Acid (GLA) an

anti-inflammatory prostaglandin that can counter the inflammatory

hormones causing pain. If you suffer, take the equivalent of 250mg of

GLA a day for three months and monitor the relief. Nutritionists also

recommend niacin (vitamin B3), which triggers a dilation of the blood

vessels to improve blood flow to the contracting uterus. Look for a

non-flushing form and take, as directed on the bottle, for five days

from the onset of symptoms.

 

Stomachache

Stomach pains, especially after eating, are often caused by inflammation

of the lining of the gut. The single best healing agent for this part of

the body is aloe vera, a bitter-tasting juice that you will need to mix

with fruit juice to disguise the taste. Aloe vera is rich in substances

called mucopolysaccharides, which help counter griping pains. It does

this by blocking the inflammatory agents, thromboxanes and bradykinin,

which would otherwise cause pain, inflammation, and tissue swelling.

 

Sports Injuries/Arthritis/Rheumatism

One of the best anti-inflammatory painkillers for the joints and for

sports injuries is an substance called bromelain, which is actually an

enzyme from fresh pineapple juice. Bromelain reduces inflammation by

first breaking down fibrin, a substance that would otherwise work in the

body to cause local swelling. It has also been shown to be as effective

as antibiotics in treating a variety of infectious and painful

conditions, from bronchitis to pneumonia.

 

Five Star Tip: Vets give horses B vitamins to strengthen their hooves -

and so when Swiss researchers decided to see whether the same nutrients

would work wonders for human nails they were very pleased to find the

answer was a resounding Yes! They gave biotin - one of the B vitamins,

which you can buy from your local health store - to women complaining of

brittle nails and found that after six months, their nail thickness had

increased by 25%. For the same results, take 2.5 mg of biotin every day.

 

JoAnn Guest

mrsjo-

DietaryTi-

http://www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/AIM.html

 

 

 

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