Wednesday 22 February 2012

Feeling Tired?


Many people today complain of feeling tired for long periods (usually greater than six months), even when getting plenty of rest. It’s a difficult thing to suffer from, since there is no “disease” that can be readily blamed for this chronic tiredness or fatigue. Also the sufferer of chronic fatigue gets little or no sympathy from the people around him or her, and it’s usually her with this condition. Women seem to get this very real condition more than men and frequently suffer in silence.
The constant battle to overcome this fatigue, often with little or no improvement, can cause the sufferer to become low-spirited or even occasionally depressed. Depression can be a cause of tiredness, but it can also be an outcome of this condition.
What causes chronic tiredness? The causes are many and wide-ranging. Here I will look only briefly at a few of the primary ones.
The main cause, I have found, is a combination of overwork, stress and a poor diet. Generally, in women looking after a home, holding down a full-time job and giving birth all combine to weaken their nervous and endocrine systems, which leads to chronic tiredness.
In certain individuals, anxiety or depression in itself can be a cause of fatigue. Certain diseases in themselves can lead to tiredness e.g. rheumatic arthritis and many other auto-immune diseases. Your GP will normally give you a blood test if you complain of chronic fatigue. This will rule out any auto-immune diseases like low thyroid function, which can also cause chronic tiredness. But if no “diseases” are found, then what? In these cases, Herbal Medicine can often help insomnia (not being able to get or to stay asleep) can be eased with Valerian, if taken for a number of weeks. In certain types of insomnia, it may be necessary to take a tonic along with the Valerian, for example, Korean Ginseng.
If fatigue combines with poor digestive function, like loose stools, bloating, nausea and not being able to eat heavy, fatty foods, then Korean or Siberian Ginseng and Liquorice will often help.
If a person is very run down with feelings of dizziness or light-headedness and no stamina, then using Spirulina or Bee Pollen, together with Astragalus and/or Korean Ginseng, will often, over time, give them their strength back.
If stress and anxiety are a major factor in fatigue, then Passionflower is excellent. If depression and fatigue combine, then Rhodolia is great for strengthening the whole nervous system.
Sometimes toxic overload can block your energy due to your body storing too many waste products collected over many years in many cases; using a De-tox Herbal formula helps the body flush out the toxins which can give you a real lift.
In the past, before deep-freezers and refrigerators, each spring all over the world people had a Herbal de-tox to clear out many waste build-ups stored over the long winter of eating preserved foods.
Finally, it is always wise to look into chronic fatigue with your GP or Herbalist before self-prescribing in order to rule out any known illness.

David Foley
MNIMH, MRCHM
Medical Herbalist

Tuesday 14 February 2012

Insomnia in Adults and Children


“Sleep, that knits up the ravell’d care of day,” is sometimes too elusive for many of us. At one time or another, everyone has a sleepless night; stress during the day or anxiety about tomorrow can keep us awake and restless all through the night. When this occurs only once in a while, there is nothing much wrong. However, it can become a recurring problem, in which the whole body will sicken since it is during sleep that most healing and revitalising takes place.
 A warm bath at bedtime - to which, say, five drops of Lavender Essential Oil have been added - will create a pleasant, relaxed drowsiness that usually leads to sleep. Insomnia due to worries and anxieties will often be helped by taking Valerian, Passionflower and Scullcap during the day and especially before bedtime.
 A traditional cure for insomnia is a glass of milk with a little honey. We now know that it’s the calcium in the milk that helps you get to sleep. Calcium helps the nerves, since stress can deplete the nerves of vital calcium. A Calcium tablet (300 mg) taken two to three times daily will remedy this.
 For those of us who are able, a brisk walk or short bout of reasonably vigorous exercise, sufficient to bring about a natural tiredness, taken shortly before retiring to bed may be the answer to insomnia.
  Certain Herbal Teas are often useful to aiding sleep; Camomile and Lime blossom teas are great for mild insomnia, especially in children. Also adding a fistful of Lime blossom or Camomile to a warm bath is often a great help in aiding children to get to sleep.
 Women going through the menopause often experience insomnia due to the changes in their hormonal levels; certain herbs can be very helpful for many of the symptoms of the menopause, including insomnia. Black Cohosh, Wild Yam, Red Clover and Liquorice are very useful for menopausal symptoms. And Valerian is especially useful when insomnia is part of the picture of the menopause.
 In certain cases of insomnia, usually when a person is very run down, it may be necessary to use tonics as well as sedatives to ease the body into a restful sleep. In these people, herbs such as Ginseng may be necessary along with sedatives like Valerian or Passionflower.
 Of course, there are many other reasons why people get insomnia - chronic pain, skin problems (e.g. eczema) or chronic lung problems, to name just a few. These will have to be eased before the insomnia can be helped.
 Food and drink can also affect one’s sleep or lack of it. Eating heavy-to-digest foods late in the evening will not help sleep. Likewise drinking too much coffee or strong tea late in the evening won’t help you relax long enough to get a good night’s sleep. Certain foods like cheese can help sleep while red meats don’t. Stimulating drinks like Cola and fizzy minerals should be avoided. Also chocolate will stimulate the brain, often leading to numerous dreams and loss of deep sleep.
 Children especially can be very sensitive to images on television before bedtime. This can lead to nightmares and disturbed sleep. Adults, too, can be affected by watching television programmes. A little relaxing music and time spent looking into a warm fire can put one in the correct mood for the wonder of sleep.


Insomnia in Children

Insomnia in children can be very difficult for the unfortunate parents and has nothing to do with parents’ ability to be “good.”
On the whole, children need more sleep than adults and they tend to sleep at least 12 hours a night. However, many parents of young children have never had a full night’s sleep since the child was born. In this case, it is not only the child who needs treatment, but the exhausted parents!
There are many different causes of sleep disturbance:
·      The hyperactive child will have great difficulty getting off to sleep and will sleep for only a few hours at a time.
·      The allergic child, with food intolerances, may have difficulty getting off to sleep or suffer a disturbed night, possibly with bad dreams.
·      Nutritional deficiencies of, for example, zinc, manganese and vitamins C and B.
·      Stresses within the family or a school and insecurity from major changes (such as the arrival of a new baby or a house or school move).
·      Watching too much television or a frightening bedtime story may excite or worry the child, who can be scared of the dark or of being alone in his or her bedroom. Nightmares related to this may wake a child.
·      Getting overtired: one needs energy to sleep and relax.
·      Lack of fresh air and exercise.
·      Chronic problems, such as skin rashes, digestive problems, asthma or catarrh causing difficulty breathing, may disturb sleep.
·      Acute infections, coughs, colds, fevers, headaches will disturb nights.
First, it is important to ascertain the cause of your child’s sleep problems. If there are signs of hyperactivity or food intolerances, then you need to treat these problems in order to aid the child’s sleep.
Omit junk foods, especially sugar from the diet and any stimulating or sugary drinks such as cocoa, chocolate, cola drinks, fizzy pops and tea or coffee because these affect the brain leading to poor sleep and nightmares.
Foods containing plenty of calcium, such as parsley, dried figs, sesame seeds and tahini or milk (if there are no catarrh or food intolerance problems), will help a child to relax before bed.
A vitamin C and zinc lozenge sucked every day until a proper pattern is established is often useful.
A warm bath at night before bed will help relax the child. Make sure you don’t allow the child to get too excited at bath-time with games. A few drops of dilute oils of chamomile or lavender can be added to the bath water.
Massage, using dilute oils of chamomile, lavender or rose just before sleep, can be wonderfully soothing and reassuring for the child and induces sleep.
A cup of warm tea can be given before bed and again in the night if the child wakes. Choose from chamomile, lemon balm or lime flowers and sweeten with honey.
If your child wakes distressed, for example, from a nightmare, always go straight to him or her and put the light on and hold them until the child is relaxed enough to go back to sleep.
Never use bed as a punishment as sleep could be associated with punishment.

The Bach Flower Remedies are also very useful - choose the appropriate one for your child’s needs. 

Friday 3 February 2012

New product on our webstore - The Saltpipe

The Higher Nature Saltpipe™ has been known to help everything from asthma and hay fever, to chronic snoring. It can also help if you suffer from shortness of breath, severe coughs and colds, or the effects of a smoky, polluted environment.

The Higher Nature Saltpipe™ is a natural inhaler which brings the benefits of salt mine therapy to your home

Salt therapy may be beneficial for:
·         Allergy sufferers, especially pollen
·         Asthma
·         Colds and other respiratory infections
·         Nasal congestion
·         Those living in polluted environments
·         Smokers and ex-smokers
·         Snoring

A few minutes of regular daily use:
·         Helps you breathe more easily
·         Helps cleanse the respiratory system
·         Assists recovery from respiratory illness
·         Enhances feelings of wellbeing

Higher Nature Saltpipe™
·         Registered Class1 medical device
·         Can be used with prescribed inhalers
·         Hygienic, easy to clean porcelain
·         Even with daily use will last up to 5 years

The Higher Nature Saltpipe™ is a handy inhaler which offers the benefit of portable salt therapy whenever you need it.

SALT THERAPY
Created by nature over millions of years, the salty atmosphere in the Transylvania Praid salt mines has been used for centuries to ease respiratory problems. However, research suggests that the potential benefits of salt therapy may have far-reaching health benefits, especially for our modern-day lives.

The salty microclimate calms the cells lining the respiratory system and stimulates their natural cleaning mechanisms.

Millions of people have experienced a form of ‘salt therapy’. Since the industrial revolution, a good dose of salty sea air has had a reputation for helping people with breathing problems. This is one of the reasons people used to flock to the seaside.

THE SALT
The active ingredients are salt crystals from the Transylvanian Praid Salt Mine. The Praid salt hill is a geological curiosity with approximately three billion tons of salt which has been mined since the second century AD. The salt’s curative properties are well known and it is now used in therapeutic treatment facilities located in the disused parts of the mine.

HOW IT WORKS
Salt crystals are located between the porcelain filters in the body of the Higher Nature Saltpipe™. When inhaling, the moisture from the air passing through the salt crystals absorbs micron-sized salt particles, which then enter the respiratory system with each intake of breath, bringing the beneficial effects of natural salt therapy.

WHAT IS THE HIGHER NATURE SALTPIPE™?
The Higher Nature Saltpipe™ is made from the highest quality porcelain, unlike some others. It’s smooth and warm to the touch, and it’s been painstakingly designed to feel comfortable in your hand.

WHAT THE EXPERT SAYS
The benefits of using Higher Nature’s Saltpipe™ have been proven in clinical trials.
Allergy specialist, Dr Zoltan Ronai, tested the Higher Nature Saltpipe™ on 50 people over two weeks. Here’s what she found:
·         73.9% of the subjects who usually experienced breathing problems during the day claimed there was a vast improvement.
·         65.2% of those with chronic choughs indicated that they felt much better after two weeks.
·         65.4% of the test subjects who coughed at night reported a significant improvement.

DIRECTIONS FOR USE
Place mouth over the mouthpiece, breath in normally through the mouth and exhale through the nose. Prolonged inhalation in not necessary. Do not breathe out through the Higher Nature Saltpipe™.

When you first use the Higher Nature Saltpipe™, you may experience some coughing or sneezing as your respiratory system clears.

For best results, use the Higher Nature Saltpipe™ regularly.

Recommended usage: 15-20 minutes every day. (Suitable for children over 5 years).

Warning: For hygiene reasons, to be used by one person only.

To keep the Higher Nature Saltpipe™ in good working order, clean with a damp cloth, avoid placing in water, dry thoroughly and store in a dry place.

Warning: Please read the enclosed instructions before use.

Active ingredients: Miocene salt crystals composed of sodium chloride, magnesium and calcium. The active ingredients will last up to five years under normal usage.

The Higher Nature Saltpipe™ retails at €29.95 and is available on our webstore


TESTIMONIALS

“Higher Nature’s Saltpipe™ is fantastic and not only has my health improved dramatically, I have also been able to give up my dependence on steroid drugs. I still carry my Ventolin as a precautionary measure, but, amazingly, I have not used it for weeks.
I am also delighted that for the first time in four years, and since moving to the country, I’ve been free of using antihistamines. The Saltpipe™ has, in short, been the answer to all my respiratory and allergy problems.”

Mrs F. Hammond, UK

“I’ve had chronic asthma for 20 years and have always had to use my inhalers several times a day without fail. But now I’m free of them. I gained real benefit from the pipe within a couple of weeks. It feels like I don’t have asthma anymore.”

S. Clayton, UK

“I obtained my Higher Nature Saltpipe™ in September and started to use it for 15-20 minutes daily. After one month, I felt a fresh energy in my lungs and the tiredness feeling had gone!”

H. Robinson, UK

“I’ve had hay fever for six years. The symptoms attack me especially during the summer months, but at other times of the year as well. I received my Higher Nature Saltpipe™ as a present last August. I started using it immediately. To my greatest surprise, I started to feel its benefits after a couple of days. I couldn’t believe how well it worked!”

E. Farkas, UK