The cold winter months not only bring in coughs, colds, and flu, we find it harder to stay warm and our circulation tends to be less effective at throwing out toxins. Not least, we feel less energized and able to find that extra bit of energy. Here are 5 key herbs to help with all those winter aspects.

Cinnamon Stick

A fragrant winter favourite, this herb is able to bring circulation as far as cold fingers and toes. It is also a potent antiviral and antibacterial, making it a vital herb for the worst of the flu season. Not only does it fight these microbes, its constituent, cinnamaldehyde, provides welcome pain reduction and is sedative. It continues to be useful post colds and flu, during the often debilitating convalescence stage. It is also a blood sugar stabilizer useful for helping calm down any post-festive sweet tooth over-indulgence.

Ginger Root

This is ‘the’ classic for warming up circulation and helping colds and flu and it is often twinned as an herbal tea with cinnamon to warm and detoxify. However, it is most effective as an antiviral and antibacterial when freshly grated and eaten raw. (You can add a little honey if you wish or simply chew a teaspoon of it as it is.) The gingerol, zingerone, and shogael and other constituents are 6-15 times stronger in the fresh root, and if the aim is to work as an antimicrobial, do not make as a tea or cook with it. Reserve the latter for digestive assistance and circulatory help.

Siberian Ginseng Root (eleuthero)

(This adaptogen is not a ginseng and can be used as a daily food.) It is perfect for the winter months as it increases the body’s ability to resist infection, lessening the likelihood of picking up colds, and stops the “cold” wearing us down and making us more exposed to microbes. In fact, because of this, we are less likely to gravitate to eating weight-gaining carbs and other cold-weather foods. As an adrenal building herb, it enforces energy conservation generally and fortifies against “winter” stress in all its varying guises, from cold, to support while detoxing.

Elderberry

These anti-viral berries are of increasing interest as findings show they appear to “inactivate” any given flu and virus strain. It helps to shorten and reduce its symptoms and severity. Of course, it has been made and used as a home remedy as a syrup for centuries, to treat tickly coughs, colds, and fevers. If taken at the onset, nastier versions like flu, bronchitis, and pneumonia are less likely to progress. It is good taken throughout the colder winter months on a weekly basis, and daily during a cold.

Nettle Leaves

The leaves are a good winter detox choice. In winter it is harder to sweat and naturally get rid of accumulated toxins. Nettle’s high levels of flavonoids and potassium makes it excellent for moving on waste products via the increased urine production. Nettle is also a specific to help clear the skin, so it is perfect for preventing “detox skin”, where toxins can congregate. Use either as an organic powder of 1 tsp (5g) in smoothies or as an herbal leaf tea.

Recommended Products:

• Mother Earth Organic Root Cider – Barrier Island Organics

Recommended Reading:

• How to Optimize Curcumin Absorption – With Golden Milk Tea Recipe
• Elderberries and Recipes
• The Amazing Herbal Power of Ginger
• Cinnamon – Ceylon Vs Cassia, Health Benefits, and Other Interesting Facts
• Five Common Weeds to Cultivate for Health and Nutrition

Author:

Jill R. Davies, HNH, Phd, FAMH, is a qualified herbalist and naturopath of over 30 years. She is the author of 14 books on herbal medicine. Jill lectures in naturopathy and herbal medicine at CNM (College of Naturopathic Medicine).

Gluten, found in many staple foods, is a substance that gives elasticity to dough. Until recently, a strict gluten-free diet was only of interest to people with celiac disease, an autoimmune disease in which proteins from grains (such as wheat, rye and barley) damage the small intestine. However, more people are now finding that they feel better on a gluten-free diet. So, is this a psychological “placebo effect”, or do people actually benefit physically from a gluten-free diet?

Research has now confirmed that gluten sensitivity does exist. Some experts say that gluten sensitivity is much more common than celiac disease. In celiac disease, the intestine is damaged, but in gluten sensitivity, it is not. Symptoms for both can be similar (including stomach aches and pain, bloating, constipation, diarrhoea, IBS) so it is important to get tested. Symptoms of gluten sensitivity can affect any organ or tissue in your body, and can include muscular and joint pain, fatigue, anaemia, and tingling in hands and feet.

Why are more people now reacting to gluten when we have been eating grains for 10,000 years? First of all, to make those lovely fluffy white breads, modern grain has been cultivated so that it contains much more gluten than it did in the past. Secondly, our diets have changed significantly in the past few decades. We now eat gluten in most meals, unlike in the past. Wheat flour is used in a vast range of modern, mass-produced “ready-made” meals and sauces. (Even your mustard can have it). So we are consuming far greater quantities of gluten, more frequently, than our ancestors.

When our bodies digest gluten, the lining of the intestine is temporarily damaged. This makes it permeable to gluten proteins (hence ‘leaky gut’), which is the mechanism behind both gluten sensitivity and celiac disease. For most people this inflammation is healed relatively quickly after eating but for some it takes much longer. Other aggravating factors include modern additions from the food chain, including pesticides and GMO foods, which have been linked to ‘leaky gut’. To ensure there are no pesticide residues or genetically modified substances, which may affect your gut health, choose organic food.

If you feel that you suffer from symptoms that may be caused by gluten, get tested for celiac disease. Then you can try going gluten free for a minimum of 4 weeks, then reintroduce gluten to see the difference in how you feel. Take good care of your general gut health, as the gut is the basis for your overall health. Feed the good bacteria in your intestine by eating plenty of organic vegetables and fruit every day. Also, introduce fermented foods, such as sauerkraut and probiotic yogurts. Avoid damaging your intestinal lining with unnecessary antibiotics, drugs or alcohol.

Author: Marika Walker graduated in Nutritional Therapy from CNM (College of Naturopathic Medicine) the UK’s largest training provider in natural therapies.

Recommended Reading:

• Gluten, Candida, Leaky Gut Syndrome, and Autoimmune Diseases
• Foods To Avoid With Gluten Intolerance or Celiac Disease
• Is Wheat Poison? What’s Behind the Rise of Celiac Disease and Gluten Intolerance
• Understand Hypothyroidism – Prevention and Natural Remedies
• Cheap and Easy Detox Diet Plan

More and more women are turning to acupuncture to increase their chances of conceiving a longed for baby.

Modern life seems to put so many demands on women in their twenties that making a decision to have a child is postponed. Career progression, affording a home, not meeting ‘the one’ until later in life, seem to be the main reasons why many women decide to have their first child over the age of 35, a time when our fertility, supposedly declines.

Of course, there is the inaccurate media message that as soon as we hit 35, all of our eggs are defunct! Interestingly, this message has had such an effect that some women over 35  stop using contraception because they think they are no longer fertile.

So how can acupuncture and diet help boost your fertility? A healthy, regular menstrual cycle is optimum to helping you conceive, being no less than 19 days and no more than 35 days in length.  Acupuncture seems to regulate the menstrual cycle and is particularly beneficial for women who may have been diagnosed with PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome). This is a condition of the endocrine system where cysts develop in the ovaries and cause the body to miss ovulation. PCOS also raises high levels of the male hormone called androgens into the body which reduce the size of the follicles. Follicles produce the hormones oestrogen and progesterone and release an egg when you ovulate.

Having acupuncture around pertinent times of the menstrual cycle such as at ovulation and then at the highest point of progesterone, usually day 21, can encourage the body to work more effectively and contribute to a natural pregnancy without the need to resort to hormone therapy. A diagnosis from a Chinese medicine perspective would identify the best time in your cycle for you to have acupuncture.

For many women, undertaking a course of acupuncture to help conception could simply be because it is going to help de-stress the mind and body. Trying to conceive can be extremely stressful, particularly once all the tests have been undertaken and there are no identifiable issues for not falling pregnant.

Stress causes cortisol, a steroid hormone to rise, which in turn can stop our bodies ovulating, so using acupuncture can keep the body receptive and open. Cortisol also affects the part of the immune system responsible for preventing miscarriage in early pregnancy, so having a course of acupuncture once you are pregnant can also be beneficial.

For women who choose medically assisted fertility cycles, acupuncture is often used to maximise the health of the developing follicles and to encourage the blood supply to the uterine lining, to aid with implantation of the egg. Acupuncture is also used to help minimise the side-effects of the drugs.

Acupuncturists who are also naturopaths are additionally equipped to give nutrition and lifestyle advice. Eating nutrient-boosting foods which suit you, and omitting foods and products from your life which can disrupt the functioning of the endocrine and digestive systems helps to address both toxicity and any vitamin or mineral deficiencies. These powerful natural tools used together can support the body in returning to hormonal balance, and can greatly enhance your chances of a having a naturally conceived healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby.

Author

Acupuncturist Amanda Hair-Bedding is a Course Consultant for CNM (College of Naturopathic Medicine), the UK’s largest training provider in natural therapies. She practices in Bristol, UK.

Acupuncture has been practised for more than 2,000 years in China, and it is becoming ever more popular in the West. It is estimated that more than one million treatments are given per year in the UK.

There is increasingly good evidence that acupuncture can successfully treat a wide range of conditions. The World Health Organisation website lists 28 conditions for which acupuncture has been “proved through controlled trials to be an effective treatment”, including rhinitis, headache, high blood pressure, lowered immunity, rheumatoid arthritis, sciatica, back pain, and knee pain. It lists another 60 conditions for which some “therapeutic effect has been shown”, including asthma, infertility, insomnia, and pre-menstrual syndrome.

Thousands of western doctors and physiotherapists have undergone some training in acupuncture. Despite this, many people are still sceptical about acupuncture because it seems to make no sense that the insertion of tiny needles can treat disease. So how does acupuncture actually work?

Part of the answer is that the insertion of acupuncture needles causes the release of chemicals called “endorphins”. (This word is short for “endogenous morphine”. Endogenous means it is produced inside the body, and the word morphine comes from the Greek God of sleep, Morpheus.) There are many kinds of endorphins in the human body, each with a different function. Some reduce pain, some promote the healing of damaged tissue, some promote good sleep, some calm anxiety, and some play a role in hormone production. So, we can see how acupuncture can be used to treat many conditions.

Recent scientific investigations have given us more clues. Using an MRI scanner, it has been shown that the shallow insertion of needles at specific points causes increased activity in the pain control centres of the brain. However, what the neuroscientists found really interesting and surprising, was that if the needles are inserted deeper into the skin, and manipulated until the patient feels a tingling around the needle, the pain control areas become less active (you can see this remarkable experiment on You Tube). This would explain why experienced practitioners get better results than novices, as getting the tingling sensation is an acquired skill.

One study showed that acupuncture caused changes in the brain which promoted stroke recovery. In this experiment, normal acupuncture was compared to “sham” acupuncture, where needles are deliberately inserted in the wrong points. Only the correct acupuncture had the desired effect.

According to Chinese medicine, energy, or “qi”, gathers in certain points near the surface of the body and flows along channels called “meridians.” It has been speculated that this “qi” is a very low level of electrical impulse, and indeed acupuncture points and channels have been found to be areas of low electrical resistance. When a person is ill, the electrical activity at the acupuncture points changes. The insertion of needles helps to return the electrical activity of the acupuncture point to its normal level. Experiments have been done where substances have been injected into acupuncture points and have been observed to move along the acupuncture channels.

So, there is mounting evidence that acupuncture has real health benefits, and that it has a scientific basis of action.

Author

Henry McGrath is an Acupuncturist and the author of a number of books on traditional Chinese medicine, including Harmony in the Face of the Tiger, about TCM approaches to cancer. He is Academic Director at CNM (College of Naturopathic Medicine) the UK’s largest training provider in natural therapies.

Normally our skin renews itself in 28-30 days, but in people with psoriasis, skin production is accelerated. New skin accumulates faster than old skin is shed, forming thickened patches of raised, silvery scales over the skin, called plaques, which are often itchy.

People with psoriasis experience cycles of flare-ups and remission. Attacks are related to times of stress, illness, surgery, cuts, certain viral and bacterial infections, sunburn, faulty fat assimilation, and food allergies! Previous vaccinations seem to be a causative factor for some people. Certain drugs also cause flare-ups. Conventional medical treatment may include steroid ointment, which can help suppress symptoms, but its long-term use can damage and thin the connective tissue of the skin.

The naturopathic approach, as with any health condition, is to find the root cause of the problem. In many years of working with clients who have psoriasis, alongside various contributing factors, I have frequently noted the phenomenon of leaky gut syndrome.

Leaky gut is where disruption to the intestine lining allows toxins, yeast, and other waste material to enter the bloodstream, provoking an undesirable immune system response.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution. A consultation with a naturopathic practitioner will take into account the individual’s constitution before developing a programme that can support the sufferer’s overall health. This may include recommending an elimination diet in order to identify any specific foods that provoke an allergic response, providing nutritional advice, tailor-making a bowel cleansing formula (essential to a long-term health strategy), and building a healthy gut.Self-help

Tips for Psoriasis Sufferers

• Eliminate all junk food from your diet. Avoid processed food, white flour, sugar, and citrus fruit.
• Milk, cheese, eggs, meat and poultry contain arachidonic acid, which causes psoriasis lesions to turn red and swell, so you could reduce these for a two-month trial, or at least cut them out when you are having a flare-up.
• Focus on eating a diet high in raw food with plenty of vegetables, non-citrus fruits, whole grains, nuts and legumes, as Vitamins A, B complex, and D, plus calcium, magnesium and zinc are all important in reducing symptoms.
• Eat organic food to reduce your overall toxic burden.
• Take some flaxseed oil and/or sesame oil, or primrose oil every day. These contain a chemical, which tends to reduce psoriasis.
• Lose weight if you are overweight.
• Since stress can aggravate it, try to develop a calm, cheerful outlook on life.
• Exposure to regular, safe amounts of sunlight helps.
• Swimming in the ocean is helpful, or put sea salt or a few handfuls of oatmeal into a warm bath to relieve itching.
• Creams containing capsicum can reduce both scaling and redness.
• Licorice contains glycyrrhetenic acid which studies have shown works better than hydrocortisone in treating both psoriasis and eczema. Apply it directly as a cream from your herbalist.
• A naturopathic herbalist can also mix you an appropriate combination of milk thistle seed, dandelion root, and yellow dock, which, taken as a tea, can work fantastically well in helping to reverse psoriasis.

Editor’s Note

If you suffer from psoriasis you need to heal the gut in order to get well. Check out Gluten, Candida, Leaky Gut Syndrome, and Autoimmune Diseases.

Recommended Supplements:

• Shillington’s Intestinal Cleanse
• Formula SF722
• FloraMend-Prime by Thorne

Further Reading:

• Gluten, Candida, Leaky Gut Syndrome, and Autoimmune Diseases
• How to Kill Candida and Balance Your Inner Ecosystem

Author

Shaf Khan is a Naturopathic Herbalist who studied Herbal Medicine, Naturopathy and Iridology at CNM (College of Naturopathic Medicine) in the UK. Originally a property developer, he decided to retrain to do “something more meaningful.” He describes being able to help people on a daily basis as a natural health practitioner, as “living my dream.” He runs a very busy practice near Birmingham, UK.