The
Jimmy Young Show on Radio 2
Thursday May 16th at 1pm
Complementary Medicine Special with Susan Clark
note:
for in-depth information about natural and complementary health,
follow the links on the left. New sections,ground breaking articles,
research and a newsletter are coming over the next month!
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 Product
Information Factsheet: 1
Acne
Treat acne from the inside out by using herbs such as dandelion
and burdock which detox the liver, nutrients such as zinc and vitamin
A, plus a probiotic to rebuild good bacteria in the gut. Use Rosa
mosqueta oil to heal acne scars.
The
Sher System Skin Support formula is packed with therapeutic doses
of skin-nourishng herbs, minerals and probiotics; it costs £10.90
for 30 capsules. Mail order on 020-7499 4022 or visit the website
at www.sher.co.uk. To heal acne scars, use
Rio Trading's Rosa mosqueta oil; £9.95 for 20ml; mail order on 01273-570987
Eczema
Eczema is an allergy so cut out the foods you eat most often and
coffee for a week and monitor any changes.
For adults:
Low levels of zinc have been linked so take 30mg a day; Essential
fatty acids in fish, borage or evening primrose oils can help. Use
Chickweed cream if the eczema is hot and itchy and aloe vera if
red and dry.
Green People's Omega 3 &6 sprinkle sachets are a brilliant source
of essential fatty acids in exactly the right ratio. To mail order,
call 01444-401444 and sprinkle a 45g sachet-a-day on cereals,
salads and yoghurts. Order good herbal eczema creams from Natural
Life Remedies (01932-221354), including the aloe vera gel (£3.95
for 60ml) for a raised rash, the starflower cream (£5.50 for 50g)
for dry and flakey skin, chickweed or starflower cream (£5.50 for
50g) for inflammed hot and itchy eczema and an organic calendula
cream (same price) for broken skin.
For
kids:
Allergies to eggs, peanuts and dairy foods (including milk) are
the worst culprits.
Use SK Cream (£9.95 for 30ml; mail order on 01526-832491) or any
of the topical herbal creams recommended above, ), again cut out
suspected allergens and read What Really Works
for Kids by Susan Clark
Product
Information Factsheet: 2
Arthritis
For pain relief - Use anti-inflammatory Bromelain.
To
manage the condition use Nexrutine which comes from the Rue plant
and which, unlike Non-Steroid Anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS),
will not cause gastric upset.
The Boots Alternatives range includes Flexibilty, price is £7.95
and provides a therapeutic dose of Bromelain.
Nexrutine* is available in supplement form from Victoria Health
on 0800-413 596. 90 x 250mg capsules cost £19.95. Take 2-3
capsules daily. (*Note these capsules contain gelatin and so are
not suitable for vegetarians). You can order Herbasway tinctures
which contain anti-inflammatory Knotweed from the same company.
Mouth ulcers/Gum Disease
Myrrh can soothe mouth ulcers and help prevent gum disease.
To make your own mouthwash, simply dilute 4ml of myrrh tincture
with a glass of warm water and swish around the mouth, 2-3 times
a day.
Mail order superstrength CoEnzyme Q10 from Orangeburst (01273-558112;
60 capsules cost £29.95, www.lemonburst.net) and take two a day. The
added bonus of this supplement is an extra energy boost. Nature's
Answer is an alcohol-free Myrrh tincture.
Cold Sores
Lysine is an amino acid which works in the body to inhibit the cold
sore virus.
Solgar's L-Lysine supplement costs £6.45 for 50 x 1000mg tablets.
Call 01442-890355 for local stockists and take 1g, three times a
day)
ViraMedx
is made from plant-oestrogens - the exact agents are a trade secret
but it really does work to reduce the number and severity of outbreaks
and you will not get a cold sore in the same spot again!
ViraMedx costs £17.95 for 3ml ; mail order from Victoria Health
0800-413596 and apply at regular intervals to keep the sore site
covered.
Product
Information Factsheet: 3
Irritable
Bowel Syndrome
This condition affects up to 20% of the adult population and twice
as many women as men. Probiotics rebuild the good bacteria that
will help alleviate it but many brands contain little of the promised
strain so buy with care.
Nutrition Now Œs PB8 is an American formulation that provides not
one or two but EIGHT replacement strainsand 14 billion replacement
bacteria per capsule. (60 capsules cost £15.95 ; mail order from
Victoria Health on 0800-413596). Seven Seas Multibionta is a good
quality combined multisupplement with probiotic. Widely on sale
in pharmacies and supermarkets, 30 tablets cost £4.49. Biocare's
new practitioner-led range Pharma Guard includes an Intestinal Bowel
Supplement made from soothing plant oils including ginger and fennel
priced at £7.95 for 30 capsules. Mail order on 0121-433 3727
Perimenopause/Menopause
Meno-Herb includes all the herbs you could want on your wish-list
to help re-regulate hormones and control the symptoms of both perimenopause
(which can start from the mid-30s) and later menopause. Link with
Women Essence - one of the potent Australian Bush Flower Essences
for extra psychological support.
Meno-herb costs £17.95 for 90 tablets; mail order from Victoria
Health on 0800-413596. Take two a day for maintenance but
when symptoms are acute, increase this dosage to 3 x 2 tablets a
day. Woman essence costs £7.95 for 30ml and is available from
Ancient Roots (0208-421 9877) or visit the website on www.ancient-roots.com.
For best results, take these two remedies at the same time for at
least three months.
High Cholesterol
Most of the cholesterol in your body - over 80% - is not from the
diet but produced by your own liver so you need something that will
reduce this production without damaging that organ. The herb that
does this is a Chinese one called Red Yeast (Hong Qu). In clinical
trials across America, it reduced cholesterol levels by almost 23%
in just eight weeks.
Cholesterol Defence provides Red Yeast extract, plus heart-protecting
garlic, circulation-boosting gingko biloba, hawthorn berry, horsechestnut,
the anti-stress B vitamins and the antioxidant vitamins C and E.
It costs £15.95 for 60 capsules; only from Victoria Health on 0800-413596.
Product
Information Factsheet: 4
Thrush
Everyone has the organism that causes thrust living in and on their
body; the best anti-Candida herb is Pau d'Arco from South America.
If you have an infection, your immune system also needs support.
Rio Trading sells Pau D'Arco (also known as Lapacho). 60 x 500mg
capsules cost £9.99. Take two a day. Biocare's new YeastGuard (£9.75
for a pack of six pessaries; mail order on 0121- 433 3727) provides
probiotics to help fight off candida, plus odourless garlic extrac.
Use Bioforce's Echinacea (from the NutriCentre 0800-587 2290) to
rebuild immunity. Read `Overcoming Candida' by Xandria Williams
(published by Element, £5.99).
Stress
Adaptogenic herbs help the body cope better with stress and according
to newly-releaed Russian research, stressed-out students taking
a little-known herb called Rhodiola for 20 daysperformed better
at exam time and reported higher levels of wellbeing than those
not taking this supplement. The sports nutrient Carnitine has been
shown to reverse some stress-related damage.
Mail order Rhodiola from The NutriCentre and take the equivalent
of 50mg a day. Country Life's L-Carnitine is available from Revital
on 0800-252875
Hayfever
The best anti-inflammatory is a sustance called quercetin which
is found in plants. Herbs that can help hayfever sufferers include
stinging nettles and grapeseed extract. Vitamin C also reduces the
amount of histamine the body releases.
Country Life's Aller-Max includes stinging nettles, bromelain, quercetin,
vitamin C, grapeseed extract and vitamin A. 50 capsules cost £14.95.
For local stockists call 0800-146215. Take 2 a day. 90% of
hayfever patients using a German formulation, B&T's Allergy
Relief (£9.95 for 40 homeopathic tablets, from Victoria Health;
0800- 413596) reported significant relief.
Product
Information Factsheet: 5
PMT/Period Pains
Alleviate cramping pains with a daily 250mg dose Evening Primrose
oil; a rich source of Gamma-Linoleic Acid (GLA) which has anti-inflammatory
properties. Niacin, which triggers a dilation of the blood vessels
to improve blood flow to the contracting uterus, can help too but
use a non-flushing formula. Also take vitamin B6.
Nutrition Now's PMS Support provides hormone balancing herbs including
Dong Quai, Wild Yam and Black Cohosh plus magnesium,, vitamin B6
and diuretic agents. 60 capsules cost £14.95 from Victoria
Health 0800-413596
Migraine
Lots of sufferers take Feverfew but this can take a month to kick-in.
Try a new herb called Butterbur which has done well in clinical
trials. Take 50mg, twice a day.
A new supplement called Migravoid provides 50mg of Butterbur
per capsule and costs £19.95 for 60 tablets. Mail order from Victoria
Health on 0800-413596
Depression
St John's Wort has had an establishment `kicking' but does work
as well as antidepressants and without the risk of side-effects
for mild to moderate depression. If you are taking the contraceptive
pill or anti-coagulant medication do not use this herb without medical
advice.
Serotone 5-HTP is a nutritional alternative which, like St John's
Wort, will boost levels of the feel-good brain chemical, serotonin.
It can also be used for depression- or stress-linked insomnia and
jet lag. Higher Nature (01435-882880) sells tablets which provide
100mg of the active ingredient, 5HTP. 30 veggie capsules cost £12.90.
inc p&p. Take one at bedtime.
*Mail
order all other and general supplements from the NutriCentre (0800-587
2290)
NOTE:
Susan Clark writes a weekly column `What's The Alternative?' for
The Sunday Times and is the author of several books on natural health,
including the new What Really Works for Kids
- The Insider's Guide to Natural Health for Mums & Das. Susan
takes no remuneration from the companies whose products she recommends
or their suppliers.
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