BALTIMORE - A new research has suggested that Hippocrates’ opinion on health and illness, that mind is significant in health and healing, is actually true.
Nurse researchers and clinicians at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing and the Johns Hopkins Hospital are looking at ways to prevent the damage excessive stress does to a young child’s development.
They are also looking at how the mind can help speed or slow healing and help control pain.
JHUSON researcher and professor DeborahGross, DNSc, RN, FAAN has found that some behavioral disorders in young people are preventable, particularly if resilience is taught and risk factors for stress are reduced.
She claims that a key protective factor that can help reduce stress is parenting.
She said: “Parents are a child’s entire world. If parents are preoccupied, or emotionally or physically absent, their child loses out.”
Apparently, when parents don’t engage their child early and often, brain development related to language and learning may be slowed.
Gross intends to buttress child resilience by improving parents’ communications, engagement and involvement.
She said: “Does this kind of prevention program in parenting work for these children? You bet it does. Particularly in these difficult economic times when more families are at risk, we need to safeguard the development of the skills and abilities of infants and young children. After all, those capacities are the foundation for the rest of their lives.”
Some of the factors that lead to stress in youngsters are poverty, unemployment, community violence and family discord.
ROTTERDAM - Score another victory for the cheap, cholesterol-lowering wonder drugs known as statins. People getting an artery unclogged or repaired were much less likely to die or have a heart attack afterward if they took preventive doses of the pills before and after their operations, a Dutch study showed.
Patients given Lescol had half the risk of having a heart attack or dying of a heart problem in the following month compared to those given dummy pills, the study found.
“You get a bonus with the treatment of statins,” said Dr.DonPoldermans, who led the study at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The results are in Thursday’s New England Journal of Medicine.
Statins are widely prescribed to reduce cholesterol and prevent heart disease. Doctors wanted to see if statins could also protect against heart problems that are a common complication of blood vessel surgery — operations like repairing a bulging abdominal artery or unclogging arteries in the neck.
The stress of surgery on arteries can destabilize plaque buildup, causing it to rupture and blood clots to form, particularly in heart arteries. Statins are thought to help by reducing inflammation and stabilizing the plaque.
The researchers enrolled nearly 500 patients who were not on statins and were going to have operations on their aorta or leg or neck arteries. For about a month before and a month after their surgery, half the patients took a statin; the rest got a dummy pill.
Within a month of the operation, 12 patients in the statin group, about 5 percent, had died or had heart attacks, compared to 25 patients, or 10 percent, of those who took a dummy pill. Other signs of heart damage also were less common among those who had taken statins. There was no difference in side effects between the two groups.
When the study began in 2004, Poldermans said, statins were not as widely recommended as they are today for people with peripheral artery disease — stiff and narrow arteries, often in the legs. The patients in the study probably weren’t on statins before their surgery because their cholesterol levels were normal or near normal, he said.
“There’s no reason whatsoever to withhold statins anymore” from these patients,” Poldermans said.
Current guidelines recommend the drugs for everyone with peripheral artery disease, regardless of the need for surgery.
The Dutch study was partially funded by Swiss drug maker Novartis, which makes and supplied Lescol, also known as fluvastatin. Poldermans has received grants and consulting fees from Novartis; two other researchers have received fees and grants from medical companies.
Other statins on the market would likely achieve a comparable effect, said Dr. AlanT.Hirsch, director of the vascular medicine program at the Minneapolis Heart Institute and a spokesman for the American Heart Association. He said statins aren’t being used enough in people with peripheral artery disease, and he hopes the study draws attention to their benefits at the time of surgery, as well as throughout the lifetime of the patient.
“A statin is a seat belt when you drive a damaged artery,” he said.
US TELEMEDICINE RECOMMENDS “POLICOSANOL” AS A NATURAL STATIN.
BEIJING - Chinese scientists have found that the roots of a plant have powerful natural substances that can kill the H1N1 virus.
Researchers Fang-Rong Chang and Yang-Chang Wu identified chemicals in the extracts of the “Dung of the Devil” plant, which were more effective against the H1N1 virus than the antiviral drug currently available for the flu.
The report was published in the Sept. 25 issue of ACS’ Journal of Natural Products.
The plant biologically called ferula assa-foetida, is found in Iran, Afghanistan and mainland China.
The authors say: “Overall, the present study has determined that sesquiterpene coumarins from F. assa-foetida may serve as promising lead components for new drug development against influenza A (H1N1) viral infection.”
The plant was also used as a remedy during the1918 Spanish flu that took a toll of nearly 100 million lives.
However, the antiviral capacity of the plant was not fully confirmed until now.
Color therapy, also known as chromotherapy, is often facilitated in the healing rooms of alternative health practitioners. Color therapy is classified as a vibrational healing modality. Vibrational medicine incorporates the use of chi energies within living organisms such as plants, gemstones and crystals, water, sunlight, and sound.
Color is simply a form of visible light, of electromagnetic energy. All the primary colors reflected in the rainbow carry their own unique healing properties. The sun alone is a wonderful healer! Just imagine what life would be like without sunshine. It has been proven that lack of sunlight contributes to depression for some people.
A therapist trained in color therapy applies light and color in the form of tools, visualization, or verbal suggestion to balance energy in the areas of our bodies that are lacking vibrance, be it physical, emotional, spiritual, or mental.
Tools Used in Color Therapy
* Gemstones
* Candles / Lamps
* Crystal Wands
* Crystal and glass prisms
* Colored fabrics
* Color bath treatments
* Colored eye lenses
* Lasers
Color is introduced to us early in life. We use pastel pinks and blues in our nursery decors to welcome newborn babies into a gentle and restful atmosphere. How often have you been asked What is Your Favorite Color? You cannot probably remember the first time you were asked this question either. On your first day of kindegarten? When you were given your first box of Crayons?
History of Color
The history of color healing has its roots in ancient Egypt. Some Internet references, such as www.reikinurse.com, indicate that color therapy has a connection with ancient civilizations of Atlantis, Lemuria, Mu, and Alatia.
Scientific Color Studies
Applying the famous Luscher’s Color Test can be quite revealing. Scientists, who have have studied color and light extensively, recognize that colors bring about emotional reactions to individuals. Our reactions and attitudes to colors differ from person to person, which makes an interesting study in itself. Our attraction to certain colors may very well signal areas where we are imbalanced. Understanding why certain colors effect us favorably while others bring about negative feelings helps us along our healing journeys.
The Colors You Wear Can Reflect Your Emotional State
Have you taken inventory of your closet lately? You may be in a fashion rut and need to introduce some new articles of clothing into your wardrobe with different colors that will best reflect your mood swings. Wearing the wrong color can make you feel out of sorts with yourself.
Emotions are the root cause of almost every injury and illness. Anger, fear, unworthiness and other emotions get ‘stuffed’ into the body, over time these limiting emotions weaken the physical body creating stiffness, aches, pain and general discomfort, which eventually can cause more serious conditions like tumors and cancer.
In the allopathic and western medicine world we have lost touch with the basic concept of true healing. We substitute a band-aid for a cure and wonder why we don’t feel better. People get ill for many reasons. Each diseased state is telling us that we are ignoring some part of self and change is necessary. While many factors contribute to healing and it happens on many levels, all require attention throughout the entire healing practice. Ignoring the mental, emotional or spiritual bodies would not provide adequate and long-term good health.
Emotions are the foundation on which we build our life. They inspire and they limit us. Joy, bliss and happiness along with anger, fear confusion and unworthiness make us a whole person. Anger is often the impetus of motivation to accomplish goals while fear has the exact opposite effect. Confusion on the other hand, keeps whiling thoughts spinning causing a cloud of chaos. Happiness and joy are contagious and elevate everything we do. But why is it that joy is often the least experienced while fear, anger, confusion and unworthiness dominate?
Limiting emotions cause us to stay stuck in a false perception about the self. Fear plays havoc with relationships, careers, success and finances. Head colds for instance, are a direct result of emotional confusion while a toxic liver motivates anger.
Emotions and beliefs also shroud our true divine Self. As we explore spirituality it is necessary to also acknowledge and eventually release (let go) of limitation in the form of fear, denial and disbelief. This action takes courage and trust as we explore the inner workings of the Self. As our world transitions there is a real (urgent) need to change. External circumstances perpetuate the already abundant level of fear around us. Anger, confusion and mistrust all contribute to a society that is overwhelmed. It’s time for change.
How To Identify Limiting Emotions
Look at friends and family members as mirrors or reflections. What you see in another that bothers you or angers you is a part of yourself that has not yet been healed and loved. I suggest you begin criticizing your dearest friends and then turn all that criticism around to yourself. This exercise gives you an opportunity to look at your limiting emotional issues. Allow others to reflect back your brilliance or limitation. Once you located your personal limitation it’s time for change. Emotional patterns begin in the first place when we place a judgment upon them. This time experience (feel) the energy of anger but don’t judge it—just experience it. Allow anger to run all the way down to your toes. As if you are sitting in a pond of red water—now enjoy it. Love the feeling that anger produces. From here we can begin dialoguing with anger.
This helps us locate the core issue underneath the anger. Yes, that is correct, strike up a conversation with anger. Ask it questions like, “What are you teaching me?” or “Why am I so angry all the time?” With these answers you are able to make change.
(Please use the search function to find Native American Herbal Remedies #1)
Diabetes
Wild Carrot - The Mohegans steeped the blossoms of this wild species in warm water when they were in full bloom and took the drink for diabetes.
Devil’ Club -The Indians of British Columbia utilized a tea of the root bark to offset the effects of diabetes.
Diarrhea
Blackcherry - A tea of blackberry roots was the most frequently used remedy for diarrhea among Indians of northern California.
Wild Black Cherry - The Mohegans allowed the ripe wild black cherry to ferment naturally in a jar about one year than then drank the juice to cure dysentery.
Dogwood - The Menominees boiled the inner bark of the dogwood and passed the warm solution into the rectum with a rectal syringe made from the bladder of a small mammal and the hollow bone of a bird.
Geranium- Chippewa and Ottawa tribes boiled the entire geranium plant and drank the tea for diarrhea.
White Oak - Iroquois and Penobscots boiled the bark of the white oak and drank the liquid for bleeding piles and diarrhea.
Black Raspberry - The Pawnee, Omaha, and Dakota tribes boiled the root bark of black raspberry for dysentery.
Star Grass - Catawbas drank a tea of star grass leaves for dysentery.
Digestive Disorders
Dandelion - A tea of the roots was drunk for heartburn by the Pillager Ojibwas. Mohegans drank a tea of the leaves for a tonic.
Yellow Root - A tea from the root was used by the Catawbas and the Cherokee as a stomach ache remedy.
Fevers
Dogwood - The Delaware Indians, who called the tree Hat-ta-wa-no-min-schi, boiled the inner bark in water, using the tea to reduce fevers.
Willow - The Pomo tribe boiled the inner root bark, then drank strong doses of the resulting tea to induce sweating in cases of chills and fever. In the south, the Natchez prepared their fever remedies from the bark of the red willow, while the Alabama and Creek Indians plunged into willow root baths for the same purpose.
Feverwort - The Cherokees drank a decoction of the coarse, leafy, perennial herb to cure fevers.
Headache
Pennyroyal - The Onondagas steeped pennyroyal leaves and drank the tea to cure headaches.
Heart and Circulatory Problems
Green Hellebore - The Cherokee used the green hellebore to relive body pains.
American Hemp and Dogbane - Used by the Prairie Potawatomis as a heart medicine, the fruit was boiled when it was still green, and the resulting decoction drunk. It was also used for kidney problems and for dropsy.
Hemorrhoids
White Oak - The Menominee tribe treated piles by squirting an infusion of the scraped inner bark of oak into the rectum with a syringe made from an animal bladder and the hollow bone of a bird.
Inflammations and Swellings
Witch Hazel - The Menominees of Wisconsin boiled the leaves and rubbed the liquid on the legs of tribesmen who were participating in sporting games. A decoction of the boiled twigs was used to cure aching backs, while steam derived by placing the twigs in water with hot rocks was a favorite Potawatomi treatment for muscle aches.
Influenza
Native Hemlock - The Menominees prepared a tea if the inner bark and drank it to relieve cold symptoms. A similar tea was used by the Forest Potawatomis to induce sweating and relieve colds and feverish conditions.
Insect Bites and Stings
FendlerBladderpod - The Navajos made a tea and used it to treat spider bites.
Purple Coneflower - The Plains Indians used this as a universal application for the bites and stings of all crawling, flying, or leaping bugs. Between June and September, the bristly stemmed plant, which grows in dry, open woods and on prairies, bears a striking purplish flower.
Stiff Goldenrod - The Meskwaki Indians of Minnesota ground the flowers into a lotion and applied it to bee stings.
Trumpet Honeysuckle - The leaves were ground by chewing and then applied to bees stings.
Wild Onion and Garlic - The Dakotas and Winnebagos applied the crushed bulbs of wild onions and garlics.
Saltbush - The Navajos chewed the stems and placed the pulpy mash on areas of swelling caused by ant, bee and wasp bites. The Zunis applied the dried, powdered roots and flowers mixed with saliva to ant bites.
Broom Snakeweed - The Navajos chewed the stem and applied the resin to insect bites and stings of all kinds.
Tobacco - A favorite remedy for bee stings was the application of wet tobacco leaves.
Insect Repellents and Insecticides
Goldenseal - The Cherokee pounded the large rootstock with bear fat and smeared it on their bodies as an insect repellent. It was also used as a tonic, stimulant, and astringent.
Rheumatism
Pokeweed - Indians of Virginia drank a tea of the boiled berries to cure rheumatism. The dried root was also used to allay inflammation.
Bloodroot - A favorite rheumatism remedy among the Indians of the Mississippi region - the Rappahannocks of Virginia drank a tea of the root.
Sedatives
Wild Black Cherry - The Meskwaki tribe made a sedative tea of the root bark.
Hops - The Mohegans prepared a sedative medicine from the conelike strobiles and sometimes heated the blossoms and applied them for toothache. The Dakota tribe used a tea of the steeped strobiles to relieve pains of the digestive organs, and the Menominee tribe regarded a related species of hops as a panacea.
Wild Lettuce - Indigenous to North American, it was used for sedative purposes, especially in nervous complaints.
Thrush
Geranium - The Cherokee boiled geranium root together with wild grape, and with the liquid, rinsed the mouths of children affected with thrush.
Persimmon - The Catawba stripped the bark from the tree and boiled it in water, using the resulting dark liquid as a mouth rinse.
Many people are exploring herbal remedies and natural healing these days. The most exciting aspect of herbal medicine is utilizing the common plants found in backyards throughout Europe, Canada, and the United States. Do not take any herbs without talking to you doctor. If you buy your herbs you can file an insurance claim for the expenses at www.gembpatinets.com.
The White Cedar Evergreens that decorate many yards can be used for urinary, bronchial and vaginal infections. The twigs are know to have anti-viral and anti-fungal qualities. Leaves and twigs are also used to treat rheumatism and coughs.
The Lawn Daisy that is often found in meadows and grassy areas. The sap from the stem can be used on skin spots. A flower infusion (An infusion consists of 1 teaspoon of dried herb added to 1 cup of water. Boil the mixture for 5 minutes and strain.) can be used a skin wash for eczema. In some areas tea is made from the flowers to give energy to listless children. It has many positive uses, but the lawn daisy can exacerbate allergies in some people.
The Houseleek, which is also know as hen and chicks has many uses. The leaves can be eaten in salads. These are also used in baths to aid the skin, and made into tea to assist with mouth sores. The liquidy substance contained in the leaves can be soothing to skin abrasions, burns, and insect stings.
The Dandelion. which is quite prolific in lawns everywhere, has many hidden virtues. The leaves can be used as an effective diuretic. They can treat urinary disorders, and deal with fluid retention without depleting the body of needed potassium. The white sap that comes from the stem is used to treat corns and worts. The root is good for reducing inflammation, and can stimulate liver functioning. This all from a weed that many people try to banish from their yards.
The Cornflower is a beautiful annual that is often used in dried arrangements since they do not lose their color. Their flower has some antibiotic and stimulant qualities. A leaf or flower infusion can assist in digestion and lesson symptoms of rheumatism.
The French Marigold’s leaves are considered a hallucinogen; these were given by ancient Aztecs to calm victims of human sacrifice. Today secretions from the roots are used to repel harmful organisms in gardens and organic farms. Sometimes the flowers of the Sweet Marigold are used to make a condiment.
Queen Anne’s Lace can be found on the borders of wooded areas, in meadows, and in cultivated wildflower displays. The roots of this plant are rich in vitamin C and contain carotene. The seeds have been used as a hangover treatment. A herb tea made from the plant can be used as a diuretic and a urinary antiseptic.
The Morning Glory, which is found everywhere from the United States to Argentina, has many applications. The entire plant can be used as a purgative. The dried seeds are used as a hallucinogenic, although they are considered toxic. In some areas these are used to get rid of intestinal parasites, and treat constipation.
The Raspberry Plant, known to produce tasty berries has other uses. The fruit is used to treat anemia. In some areas raspberries are used to treat kidney problems and bedwetting.The leaves, prepared carefully to eliminate toxins, are used in the last trimester of pregnancy to tone the uterine muscles. A tea prepared from these leaves can relieve menstrual discomfort.
St. John’s Wort, which has gained popularity for its treatment of depression , grows wild in meadowlands in a variety of areas including Europe, the United States, and China. This versatile plant can be soothing when applied directly to burns. The leaves flavor salads and liqueurs. Extracts taken from the flower are used for its antiviral, astringent and sedative qualities. This is also used to treat hemorrhoids, cuts, and varicose veins. This simple meadowland herb is being investigated for its possible use in the treatment of AIDS.
It is exciting to learn about the herbs available to the suburban gardener. These herbs can be helpful in many areas of health maintenance. The world of herbs offers many other interesting treatments that are waiting for the inquiring naturopath to utilize. This list can be a beginning to your exploration in the amazing healing qualities of common herbs.
