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Original Medicines
Did you know many modern medicines and drugs are based on plants and herbs?
Foxglove is probably the most famous.
Unlike many medicinal plants, which have a long history of uses, foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) was not an important medicine until the late 18th century. In 1776, William Withering was a physician with a large country practice in England. A lady was dying from a disease called dropsy, or edema, in which liquids accumulate in the body and cause swelling of tissues and body cavities. He left her, expecting her to die shortly, but he later learned that she had recovered after taking an old cure of a garden plant called foxglove. For ten years, Withering conducted experiments to demonstrate the uses of foxglove and discovered that dropsy is actually a symptom of heart disease in which the heart does not pump hard enough to get rid of fluid. He showed that foxglove stimulated urination by pumping more liquids to the kidneys. Withering died before his results appeared in print, so he never got to see how foxglove, or digitalis, became a lifesaver for heart disease patients.
Unfortunately
foxglove is highly toxic, so is not used by herbalists these days,
but many plants are wonderfully strengthening and nourishing. If only
you
knew where to find them, when to find them, how to prepare them and
how to take them. In these days of convenience and fast foods, these
skills are all but lost.
There
are, however, a few highly trained specialists in this area who can
tell you exactly how to use herbs for better health. They are called
Medical Herbalists.
Medical
Herbalists are trained in the Medical Sciences, such as anatomy,
physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology, as well as clinical skills.
They are also, of course, trained in botany and phytochemistry, as
well as herbal therapeutics and materia
medica.
Although
they share the same view of the body and illness as conventional
medicine, herbalists are holistic practitioners, and consider their
clients as complete human beings, with mind, emotion and spirit, as
well as body, they are trained to look behind the presenting
complaint for any underlying cause and to treat that too. Herbalists
have the training to understand health issues and the time to listen.
Your
initial consultation will be a 'getting to know you' session and
a full medical history will be taken. Your herbalist may then carry
out any examinations necessary before agreeing a treatment plan with
you. In all the initial consultation will take an hour or so.
Following
the consultation, an herbal prescription, tailored to suit your own
needs, will be prepared and dispensed.
The
herbal medicines used are made from plants that are mostly
organically grown or harvested from the wild in a responsible and
sustainable manner. Tinctures are the preferred medium, as they can
be made from fresh plants, without the need for drying. The alcohol
they contain acts both as a preservative, giving a long shelf life
and as a solvent for oily components within the plant. Other mediums
are possible, including teas, powders, vinegars and honey based
medicines. Creams and ointments are used where appropriate.
Plant
based medicines are more natural than synthesised drugs and many
plants contain protective ingredients, so side effects are rare.
We
are delighted to welcome David Hammond to Naturality as our Medical
Herbalist.
David
studied herbal medicine at the University of Westminster, gaining an
honours degree and completing more than 500 hours of supervised
clinical practice before qualifying. He is a member of the National
Institute of Medical Herbalists and of the College of Practitioners
of Phytotherapy.
David
is able to provide you with an herbal formula using a combination of
up to seven or eight herbs, sometimes more, specifically chosen for
your needs. Herbs are chosen taking into account any
prescription drugs that you may be taking and will not interfere with
them. Herbalists are allowed to prescribe many herbs that are not
sold 'over the counter' and may use stronger doses, if
appropriate.
His charges are:
£40 for Initial Consultation
£20 for follow up
Medicines cost aprrox £1 per day
For more information on David and his services please click on http://www.naturality.org.uk/herbalism.html
David works from the centre on Wednesdays, for bookings please ring front desk 01442 800400
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Some people think chiropractic is just about "bone cracking" (to our knowledge, we have never cracked a bone) or putting "something back into place."
Of course those very basic and simple ideas of Chiropractic are just not true. Chiropractic aims to restore the natural health and healing processes of the body to normal (better than normal, actually).
We know that a healthy, nutritious diet coupled with rest, exercise and spinal adjustments are an integral part of preventative health care.
In order to function to its optimum capacity, our body needs to absorb essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, minerals, proteins and various vitamins. These ensure healthy digestion, metabolising and excreting which, in turn, lead to better homeostasis.
Poor diets that include foods rich in sugars and fats can contribute to other health issues such as diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers.
One of the conditions that typically interferes with good digestion is "excessive stomach acid", also known a GERD, heartburn or hiatus hernia.
This is another one of those situations when the simple and obvious solution is often plain wrong.
There is a reason our stomachs contain high concentrations of hydrochloric acid. Many reasons in fact. Not only is acid essential to start the digestion of proteins, it also signals via messenger hormones to the gall bladder to contract and to the pancreas to fire up as it will be needed soon.
As we get a bit older, our acid secretions tend to diminish. We fail to properly digest our food and our stomachs empty more slowly. This can cause the foods to ferment, releasing organic acids, which give us the heartburn.
When you take a stomach acid inhibitor, you not only inhibit the function of the gall bladder and pancreas, further destroying your digestion, but you inhibit protein digestion which is a disaster for your bones and joints. Chiropractic patients often turn up complaining of arthritis, bone and joint pain about 18 months after starting on stomach acid medication.
One simple test, if your heartburn is relieved by drinking a teaspoon of organic apple cider vinegar in a mug of water before or after you eat, you probably have too little acid, not too much.
A chiropractor can find out why your digestion isn't working and help you find a solution that works without making you worse.
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Have Any Questions? 
If you had a question, to ask Amy about Chiropractic and if it could help you, a relative, your children, or your new born, please feel free to reply to this newsletter, and Amy could clarify anything you may be wondering about.
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Have A Topic Idea? 
IIs ther anything you would like the team here to research andgive ideas about? Drop us a line. Be grateful of current thinking and concerns
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