OT

[Guest guest]

Just a word about some herbal remedies ;=) Most of us use them to some

degree - if it's only chamomile tea in the evening instead of the more

stimulating coffee or peppermint for indigestion or nausea, ginger for motion

sickness, etc. But remember (and here I am probably telling my grandmother

how to, er, suck flax seeds) if they are to be effective for some ailments, then

by definition they are to be counter-indicated for others. And all persons don't

respond in the same way to herbal remedies much as all do not respond in

the same way to manufactured medicines (many of which, yes, come from

herbs or replicate them).

 

Among others, for eg., the following have been mentioned over the last

couple of days.

 

* St John's Wort - often used as an antidepressant, but must not be taken

alongside other antidepressants, and sometimes successful in cases of

menopausal depression. (A member said that it gave her tachycardia rather

than calming her, which is not nice at all!)

 

* Motherwort for calming. It's often used effectively for postpartum depression

(google and see), but I can add that I know it is also used for amenorrhoea

and therefore is counter-indicated in the case of excessive menstruation and

should *not* be used during pregnancy - see, among many, http://

www.purplesage.org.uk/profiles/motherwort.htm);

 

* Milk Thistle (again) for the liver, which I understand is a good standby for

such complaints but which has some serious adverse affects for some people

as I have noted before

http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/epcsums/milktsum.htm even though one of the

persons recommending it noted 'no side effects' herself. You see?

 

When I was in London, Ontario, I picked up my herbals from a wonderfully

knowledgable man - and he was very very careful to ask questions before

recommending anything. And I was even more careful to go and check them

out via the library and online before going back to him to consider buying

them for use. I highly recommend that approach ;=)

 

It's easy to forget that recommending herbal medications is not like

recommending one's favourite salad dressing or vegan gravy recipe ;=) And,

oh yes, this is a *slimming* group, I promise!!!!

 

Best,

 

Pat ;=)