Scratchy Throat?

A burning, raw, or scratchy throat is common this time of year. Mostly caused by viral infections, sore throats respond well to natural medicine. A recent randomized, double-blind, controlled European study shows that a combination of echinacea and sage in a throat spray is as effective as pharmaceutical drugs, for example.

Approximately 20% of sore throats are caused by strep, a dangerous bacteria, so always get a throat culture if pain lingers. But continue using echinacea, an herb that fights both bacterial and viral infections. --Taste for Life, Jan. 2010.

Suzanne

Tummyache? Start Moving!

Before you reach for the antacids, you may want to hit the gym. Though exercise may be the last thing on your mind, you'll probably feel much better afterwards, according to researachers at the University of Washington and other institutions. In their study of over 930 obese or overweight men and women, they found that those who exercised the most had the fewest GI problems, such as abdominal pain or diarrhea.

What gives? It may be that by exercising you feel better overall, so you noitice painful GI symptoms less. Or it might be that by exercising, you kick in something physiologically that reduces GI symptoms, says study author Rona Levy, a psychologist. This study examined only overweight people, but the researachers suspect that exercise could also help normal-weight or underweight people with GI problems. --Reader's Digest, Jan. 2006.

Suzanne

Avoid Gallstones

Regular strenuous exercise can dramatically cut the risk of developing gallstones, according to a study of over 24,500 men and women. Research at a British university found that people who were the most active had a 70% reduced rate of gallstone complaints.

Even those who did moderate amounts of exercise had a lower risk of painful gallstone symptoms than the inactive group. "If everyone was to achieve the impossible and do the same amount of exercise as those in the most active category, gallstones could be reduced by 70%," says Dr. Paul Banim, who headed the study.

Suzanne

Nervousness and Hand Tremor
Magnesium, the mineral, can improve hand tremor, according to a study of samples of handwriting. A patient signed his name. The signature was completely illegible. Magnesium therapy was started. Four hours later the man signed his name again and the letters were now distinguishable. For test purposes therapy was halted. Twenty-eight hours later the signature was again illegible. Magnesium therapy was resumed and 24 hours later the signature was well formed, the letters clear and legible. Nine days later the handwriting was still legible and normal. --Linda Clark, writing in Get Well Naturally.

Comment: Food sources of magnesium include vegetables, nuts, seeds, blackstrap molasses, bananas, whole grains and legumes (beans). Unfortunately, we have abandoned many of these protective foods in favor of magnesium-deficient junk and fast food.

Suzanne

Relief for Stuttering

This is from the Los Angeles Times, April 12, 2010:

A retired professor noted that he was a stutterer. He discovered a "cure" for it. He took B-complex vitamins each morning and sailed unimpeded through the day. At lecture time, he took a bit more and floated through his presentation fearlessly.

This is certainly worth a try for those who may have this problem!

Suzanne

How about a natural remedy for hay-fever allergy? I have yet to come across any. I tried eating ragweed pollen but that stuff is nasty tasting and neither helped nor made it worse. Only tried it once or twice, though. Seed formation is the best help, but not something I have control of.

kland,

The biggest help with hay fever is to avoid foods that you are allergic to during the pollen season. If you do not know what foods those might be, find a specialist who will do an IgG RAST blood test. When allergens (pollens, foods, bee stings, etc.) enter the body at the same time, the immune reaction is multiplied. So if you can eliminate foods that you are sensitive to during that pollen season, you can dramatically reduce (but not eliminate) the hay fever.

Vitamin C is also a natural antihistamine, and can help in some cases. Don't try to get your Vitamin C from oranges if you're allergic to them, though.

Common allergens include:
milk and milk products (whey, calcium/sodium caseinate, casein, cheese, yogurt, milk solids)
legumes, beans, peanuts and nuts
wheat, corn, rye
citrus fruits
black pepper, irritating spices (sometimes "natural flavors")

And, of course, any food can be an allergen, depending on the person. If you don't like visiting the doctor, keep a log of what you eat, and note the response you get within the following eight hours, and if you eat the same food again in less than three days, watch for a response. If you're desperate, eat only plain salted rice for a couple of days (few people ever develop an allergy to rice), then start adding foods back into your diet, one at time, and note the reaction. It is possible with allergies to have an immediate reaction, but often the effect comes about eight hours later.

Blessings,

Green Cochoa.

Interesting thought I hadn't considered. Kind of relates to disease theory where one idea is that outside factors cause disease whereas the other theory (rejected by the moneymakers) says that poor body condition cause disease. I always thought my allergies were caused by a certain pollen. Cedar pollen is bad for me, ragweed is worse. But maybe, just maybe, something else is going on which makes me sensitive to those factors and it is not really the pollen itself?

I once thought it was wheat and so avoided wheat for several days, but it was just as bad. Best help for me is seed formation, but I can't control that. As far as other allergens causing allergies to other things, do you think there could be a possibility that something is causing allergy to those? For instance, with other people, eating sugar and other refined foods may cause such reactions.

And I may just think I'm eating healthy. I thought I was eating vegetarian gelatin in making substitute cheese with Emes gelatin, but then found out it was probably the worst - most likely from pork. So how many other things are we doing which we think is healthy, but really is hurting us?

I'd like a natural remedy for it. A quick fix. But fixing the underlying problem would be better. One area which could be a problem is drinking water. The last several months I've been drinking filtered water (not sure if the charcoal filter filters many things), but wonder if tap water could cause problems with allergies?

What about the genetic component of allergies?

People can be predisposed to certain allergies through weaknesses in their genetics, but allergies are developed immune responses and can be acquired at any time during one's life. The most likely times are during illness, when the immune system is actively fighting a disease and is attempting to make its antigens and/or antibodies. It may see the proteins from the foods just eaten as "the enemy," and thus an allergy is formed.

I get hay fever. I have to lay off on certain foods during pollen season. If you're allergic to grass pollens, eating grains (wheat, corn, rye) probably would be contraindicated during grass pollen season. In fact, if you also have allergy to oranges, don't eat them either. I have to avoid milk, soy, citrus, banana and black pepper during pollen season if I want to be more comfortable. Others may not have it so hard as I do. Once, when I was a child, my eyes swelled shut so bad I couldn't see and had to stay home from school for a day or two.

When you deal with allergies, it is often best to rotate the foods so that you don't eat the same one three times a day, and best if you wait three days before eating it again. This gives your body time to flush it out before the next exposure. If you consume several allergens in the same meal or day, once they get into your intestinal tract, the reaction to the allergens is multiplied. I can eat black pepper without much reaction if I don't eat any other allergens with it. If I combine black pepper and banana I will likely break out in hives. Also, different foods may cause different reactions. Strawberries make my eyes sore. Black pepper is the only one that causes hives, it seems, for me. Other allergens generally lower my resistance, or may accentuate my hay fever (itchy eyes, runny nose, sore throat).

Trust me, when it comes to allergies, I'm a man of experience. Fortunately, I have less problems in Asia in this climate and diet than I would where I was raised. So, if all else fails--move!

Blessings,

Green Cochoa.