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Herbal Health Information on Warts and Verrucas

November 14, 2011 by Leave a Comment

I am going to talk about Warts in general not specific types.

These are caused by the Pappiloma virus. The raised nodules of skin produced by this virus infection are called warts everywhere on the body except on the feet where they are called verrucas, all the same thing though.

A healthy human has virus and bacteria fighting ingredients in the normal skin secretions giving us a certain amount of protection to external invading organisms.

However we now wash our skin secretions off constantly through showering and hand washing which makes our skin more vulnerable to these organisms.

I guess it is useless to say try to wash less, so instead my approach is to build up the immune system internally so that the other body defences can fight off the invaders.

High doses of Vitamin C and Echinacea do the trick internally.

It is one of very few times I would advocate taking a Vitamin C tablet (at least 500mg strength). I have known very stubborn Verrucas which were about to go under the knife fall out after a couple of weeks of taking high doses of Vitamin C.

Echinacea is the all rounder for stimulating the immune system, especially the phagocytic cells which chomp up invading organisms.

When we lived in Slough I had a plant called Greater Celandine growing in my garden. Greater celandine also grew wild all around Berkshire and I am sure it had seeded itself in the garden as it is not a common garden plant.

The juice from the freshly picked stem of the greater Celandine is placed directly on the wart and works very like the orthodox silver nitrate. It is almost a magic cure but sadly only available if the fresh plant is around.

However, Thuja also has anti wart properties as it stops the growth of any abnormal cells. Thuja tincture can be dropped directly on to the Warts or Verrucas twice a day until it has cleared up. You are going to say “how long ?” well it depends on how long they have been there and how deeply they have grown in to the skin, but as a guideline I would say try it for 3 weeks and carry on if you can see the Wart or Verruca is diminishing.

The core of fighting off Warts and Verrucas is the immune system so if you want to know more about that have a look at the article on the immune system in the health section.

To visit me in the Clinic, click here or on the “clinic” tab at the top of the page.

Linda Bostock

Medical Herbalist/Herbal Health Information

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Listen To Your Body

November 14, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Our bodies are in a constant balancing act to maintain something called homeostasis. Homoeostasis is the correct balance of our internal body chemistry. To achieve this we have to provide ourselves with the right ingredients for all these chemical reactions to take place and that means eating and drinking a very well balanced diet.

You may think that the food cravings and odd fads we get are just quirks but I think the body knows best and we need to be more in tune with the messages it sends us.

Also it is easy to change and retrain the things that we think we are used to.

Let’s start with chocolate because it is most peoples favourite.

Chocolate craving is not as mad and bad as it sounds; chocolate has some very good properties. It is high in iron and also has a serotonin (antidepressant neurotransmitter) like action on the brain. But a chocolate bar also has lots of sugar so it is not a good idea to eat it in large amounts. A handful of dried apricots (unsulphred) will provide iron so these are a good substitute if you are craving chocolate and a walk in the fresh air will improve our feeling of well being.

People will often crave strange foods especially during pregnancy. It is the body’s way of saying it is lacking something and needs a bit of help. It is worth taking a little time to sit and think if you have been eating the right foods, getting enough exercise, relaxing and sleeping well.

Look at the food you are craving and research what it is in that food substance that you may need. You will probably be able to eat a more healthy combination of foods that will stop the craving.

There is also the possibility that the digestive system is not working efficiently for whatever reason and although you are eating a sensible diet you are not digesting and absorbing the food well. Try a little live yogurt everyday for a few days to improve gut bacteria which play a part in digestion. I do not recommend taking it for too long as there is a possibility that you will disturb the balance of the gut flora (bacteria) by putting too much “good” bacteria in there.

The message is a simple one…listen to the messages your body is sending you.

Eat a sensible diet

Drink water, not too much caffeine containing drinks

Exercise

Relax/take time for yourself

Sleep a reasonable number of hours.

Have fun

If you have your health everything else is possible.

Linda Bostock

Medical herbalist

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Herbal Health Information on Chickweed (Stellaria Media)

November 14, 2011 by Leave a Comment

This is such a cute little plant with a tiny white star shaped flower that you would not normally bother to look at. It contains saponin glycosides coumarins and is a source of Vitamin C.  You can see it in the Herstmonceaux video.

All Herbalists will tell you it makes the best cream for Eczema because it is moisturising, soothing, healing and anti itch.

I do not use it internally but it is the base of all my Eczema creams.

Linda Bostock

Medical Herbalist/Herbal Health Information.

Filed Under: Herbs and Health Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Herbal Health Information on Chicory (Chicorium Intybus)

November 14, 2011 by Leave a Comment

I find it very interesting that plants growing in the same area have similar properties as shown in the Herstmonceux video. I guess it is obviously the soil type which supplies these plants with the same nutrients from which they make their active ingredients.

Chicory found near Herstmonceux

The root of Chicory  again contains tannin, which has astringent properties.

More interestingly, the root is still dried, roasted, ground and used as a coffee substitute, especially in France where many coffees also contain Chicory.

Linda Bostock

Medical Herbalist

Filed Under: Herbs and Health Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Herbal Health Information on Licorice

November 11, 2011 by Leave a Comment

When I was training all those years ago we had a patient come to the training clinic in Balham who was suffering from a peculiar range of seemingly unconnected  symptoms including, fatigue, low motivation, general aches and pains, digestive disorders and the rest. We treated her for quite a few weeks to try and improve her general well being with no improvement. Then one of the other students had coincidentally been studying the endocrine system and reading about Adrenal exhaustion due to prolonged stress.

We discussed the patient’s symptoms and when she returned to the clinic asked her if she had been suffering from stress. She said she had but it was over now so had not mentioned it in her original consultation.

When we are under stress the adrenal glands, which are situated on top of the kidneys, produce adrenaline to help us cope with the stress. You have probably heard about the fight or flight reaction to stress which is actually a production of hormones, adrenaline being the major one, which either give us the ability to run and get away from the source of the stress e.g. BIG MAMMOTH chasing us, RUN! Or help us to stay and face the situation, e.g. BIG MAMMOTH chasing us but actually I would like some for my dinner so I will stay and fire a few stone arrows at it.

If the stress is continuous then the adrenal glands will produce adrenaline for a certain length of time, but then switch off. This is known as adrenal exhaustion and the body then cannot cope with either stress or day to day living. In most cases, the adrenal glands will recover on their own after a period of rest, but if for whatever reason they don’t, then they need help to be switched on again.

We changed tactics and treated this patient with a mixture of herbs to support the endocrine system and the adrenal glands in particular. Licorice was our herb of choice to treat the adrenal glands and it worked like magic (which is of course why herbal medicine had such a mystique surrounding it).Within a month she was back to her old self and full of energy. We kept her on the mix for another two months and then weaned her off after which she was able to maintain her own well being.

Licorice which can also be spelled Liquorice, before you all tell me I have spelled it wrong, is described as “the universal herb”. It has a long history of use by the ancient Chinese, Egyptians and Greeks for strengthening the body.

It is used as a cough remedy, has anti inflammatory properties, is an adrenal restorative, has anti stress, anti viral and anti depressive properties.it also regulates hormones.

This is not all the properties it has but I think it would just be showing off  if I wrote down any more.

Basically it is what is known as an alterative which means it restores body function to normal.

There is always a BUT and that is that if you have high blood pressure you cannot take Licorice as it also has an affect on the kidney blood pressure control mechanism. This will not affect an healthy individual but may affect the blood pressure of someone already suffering from hypertension.

Plants and medicine are so fascinating aren’t they?

If you would like to visit my clinic, to find out more, please click here or click on the tab at the top of the page.

Linda Bostock

Medical Herbalist/herbal Health Information.

Filed Under: Herbs and Health Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Herbal Health Information on the Immune System and Colds

November 7, 2011 by Leave a Comment

The Immune system is the body’s internal defence armoury, which protects us from the millions of germs out there. There are so many factors in modern day living which can affect our immune system, resulting in people picking up any virus going and suffering recurrent colds and coughs.

Stress, poor diet, insomnia and any long term illness can all prevent the proper functioning of the immune system.

We really must look after ourselves. Put a bit of time and effort into YOU and the payback will be a healthier, fitter, happier, more energetic life.

Diet

Breakfast

You must eat it!

Porridge/ muesli/ any wholegrain cereal/ fruit/juice. Not all at once!

Lunch

Salads or baked potato or sandwich some fruit if you didn’t have any at breakfast

Dinner

Cooked meal with some protein foods such as meat eggs or fish /pulses beans for the vegetarians or just if you like them. Fresh veg although fresh frozen will do if you are busy. Some carbohydrate such as rice potato or pasta.

Always vary it though and make sure you do not eat too much of any one thing. For example don’t eat toast for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch and pasta for dinner. That’s three lots of wheat a day and the gut will not like digesting all that!

Loads of Vitamin C containing foods, which is all fruit and veg but especially citrus fruits and zinc containing foods which is oats, peas, pumpkin seeds, lentils and Oysters if you are feeling rich.

Zinc and Vit C help the body fight of viruses.

Drink water and not too much tea and coffee

Stress

Have a look at the article on stress to learn more, but briefly, make relaxation and switching off time for yourself. Dance, sing, read, watch a film, join a meditation or yoga class, anything that helps you to relax.

Exercise I can almost hear you groaning but this is really not an option. It gets the body in good shape to be able to cope with external and internal changes.

Alcohol and cigarettes also affect the immune system, so if you can reduce, it will help.

Herbs

Echinacea is the Media’s herb of choice to boost the immune system which it does by raising the white blood cell count and increases the body’s own powers of resistance. It also has the ability to stimulate Killer cells called Phagocytes, that chomp up any foreign material in the body especially bacteria.

There is a problem with Echinacea though, in that many people are taking it constantly and bacteria are cunning little devils they have the ability to adapt and become immune to anything trying to kill them off. So Echinacea should only be taken,  EITHER when you feel a cold/cough coming on to boost the immune system and help the body fight the virus or bacteria OR for short periods of time to boost the immune system generally. About three weeks taking Echinacea is enough time to boost the immune system and then let the body take over. There are many over the counter preparations of Echinacea but make sure it is a good quality preparation with a licence, meaning it has been through a rigorous testing programme.

St John’s wort and elder flower have directly anti viral properties and elder is my herb of choice if someone presents with recurrent colds.

Never forget Garlic. I know some people won’t touch it because of the smell but eat as much garlic as you can in your food. It is the most astounding food for all kinds of conditions in the body one of them being to boost the immune system as well as having antiviral properties. As it is breathed out through the lungs, the volatile oils sterilise everything on the way up so it is a good cough and cold remedy.

If all else fails come and visit me in clinic! Click here for more information or at the tab at the top of the page

Linda Bostock

Medical Herbalist/Herbal Health Information

Filed Under: Health Conditions Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,
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