Ponder Natural Health Notes

Everybody loves a festival, even the folks who shave furry animals and make things out of their soft natural fibers. My home town hosts an annual Fiber Festival, with up-close-and-personal access to exotic fiber-bearing critters, demonstrations by talented artisans, and lots of shopping opportunities. There are food vendors with tasty treats and drinks. There are wood chips on the ground. It’s a lot like the county fair, but they don’t slaughter everything afterwards. Plus, it smells better and the livestock is a lot cuter. 

The stars of these festivals are the animals. This year, first place for adorability was a tie between the Angora rabbits and the alpacas. Fluffy white lambs gamboled in a distant second. The rabbits are a long-eared variety with thick, sumptuous fur. They are the prototype for the common domesticated dust bunny. Alpacas, if you’ve never seen any, are a member of the camel family but much smaller – somewhere between a Saint Bernard and a miniature pony.  They don’t have humps like a camel, but they do have a long neck and slender legs; imagine a furry, four-legged ostrich. 

There were also a lot of llamas around. These are larger, more disdainful cousins of the alpacas. Their fiber is not quite as soft nor as highly valued as the alpacas’ but they make up for it in volume. To make up for their slightly snooty demeanor, they can also serve as pack animals. Surprisingly, they are protective and big enough to work as guard animals for the more vulnerable alpacas. Perhaps it is this sense of responsibility that makes them a bit aloof. 

Members of the camel family are said to spit at other creatures when annoyed. I’ve probably annoyed most members of the camel family at some point (don’t ask), but have yet to see one spit. This has been a great disappointment in an otherwise fulfilling life. When questioned, the animals’ caretakers claim that they (the animals, not the caretakers) mostly spit at one another. I’m not convinced. Such a feature would seem to be a major attraction, since they are otherwise lacking in entertainment skills. At the least, I would expect to see a market for alpaca-spit shoeshine polish, or perhaps llama-spit hair mousse. 

Less exotic perhaps, but with larger speaking roles, were the sheep. These took part in hourly sheep-shearing demonstrations (using a different sheep each hour, in case you were wondering). The human participants wield a set of heavy-duty clippers and show off a variety of sheep-wrangling techniques. Some make use of a rope suspended from a contraption eerily similar to a gallows. Others hogtie the sheep on the ground, and yet others use their body weight to roll the sheep around while they buzz away with the shears. The result is a slow-motion ballet between a tough, lean rancher and a giant marshmallow. The sheep seem pretty well resigned to their submissive roles. Some offer a token bleat or kick of protest, but mostly they stare vacantly into the distance. Come to think of it, that’s what sheep do when they are not being sheared. All in all, they seem to get through it unharmed, although I still wonder about the lamb gyros being sold in the booth next to the holding pens. 

If you ever get the chance to attend a fiber festival, I hope you won’t pass it up. You can stock up on luxuriously soft yarns or socks and sweaters. You can see the fascinating process that transforms raw natural fibers into exquisitely finished products that your cat will love to sleep on. You can learn about animal husbandry from the experts and see exotic animals from around the world. And if you’re lucky, you’ll get to see a llama spit. Just don’t forget to duck.

Have you ever noticed that the honey in your cupboard never goes bad? Honey has been used externally to treat burns and wounds for thousands of years, from Ancient Egypt though World War II. It fell out of favor in recent decades when antibiotic drugs became widely available. Now the appeal has come full circle, as some bacteria have become resistant to almost all current antibiotics.

When honey is used as a dressing for wounds, infection clears quickly, even as swelling, inflammation, and pain are reduced. The disturbing odor produced by some wounds is also alleviated. With honey, the healing process itself also advances much more satisfactorily. Necrotic (dead) tissue sloughs off, and regeneration of tissue and skin can resume. Rather than causing tissue damage like traditional topical antiseptics, honey actually promotes healing and tissue regeneration. It provides nutrients to the growing tissue, including amino acids, vitamins, trace elements and highly usable sugars. Honey also pulls lymph into the area, which provides even more nutrition to the tissues, and helps flush dirt and other contaminants from deep in the wound. This flow of lymph also provides a lubricant layer, allowing honey dressings to be removed without pain or tearing of the wound.

Honey’s ability to heal may be partly due to its acidity. Also, white blood cells called leucocytes use the glucose in honey to produce hydrogen peroxide, an important component of the antibacterial effect. Honey also provides a base for the process of glycolysis, which provides energy to special immune cells called macrophages. It contains high levels of vitamin C, which is needed to synthesize collagen. Meanwhile, honey’s physical properties provide a barrier against external infections, while keeping the wound moist.

Cost savings can be substantial in a clinical setting. As wounds heal faster, and with fewer complications, hospitalization times are cut. So is the need for surgery and anesthesia to remove dying tissue and grafting on of new skin. The use of antibiotics may also be curtailed.

Honey also makes an excellent first-aid dressing when more sophisticated treatment is not readily available. Its application can prevent infection of a wound until it can be properly treated. In an emergency, it can be applied to burns that would otherwise have to be cooled with contaminated water, bringing the risk of serious infection of the damaged tissue. The honey provides immediate relief as an anti-inflammatory, fights any local bacteria, and helps prevent exposure to additional infection.

A modern standardized version, Antibacterial Medical Honey™ has been shown in clinical and In Vitro research to be effective against over 200 strains of bacteria, including antibiotic-resistant strains. The product is made in Australia by Medihoney.

Medical honey can be used for both chronic and acute wounds, including deep, necrotic, infected and surgical wounds. It can also be applied to superficial burns. The natural product provides an antibacterial barrier, reducing the risk of infection while providing a moist environment for the wound. It has a debriding action that helps remove necrotic tissue and quickly removes the malodor that accompanies many chronic wounds.

Years of experience with Medihoney have produced mostly positive results. Even chronic wounds infected with bacteria resistant to antibiotic therapies have healed within a few weeks. It is believed that honey treatments are unlikely to cause any bacterial resistance, unlike traditional antibiotics.

Dr Kai Sofka, a wound specialist at the Bonn University Hospital’s Children’s Clinic, where trials of Medihoney have been conducted, has seen the results. He reports that dead tissue in wounds was rejected faster and that the wounds healed more rapidly when using the honey. Trials of the product also found that the dressings were less painful to change, because they were easier to remove. “Even wounds which consistently refused to heal for years can, in our experience, be brought under control with Medihoney - and this frequently happens within a few weeks,” according to Dr. Softka.

Although over twenty hospitals in Germany use honey to treat wounds, and successes have been plentiful, there are not many good clinical studies documenting its effectiveness. To address this, Dr. Arne Simon, an Oncology specialist with the Bonn University Children’s clinic is leading an international group in a study of 150 patients. The study will compare the use of honey against conventional antibiotic treatment.

Dr. Simon has already seen excellent results in treating antibiotic resistant wound infections in children with Leukemia. These patients already have a weakened immune system from the disease. Worse, chemotherapy further impairs the healing process of wounds. “Normally a skin injury heals in a week but with our children it often takes a month or more,” he says.

Medihoney is made up of two different honeys: one of these helps produce higher levels of hydrogen peroxide at the wound site. The other comes from the small Leptospermum tree. Honey from these trees has particularly strong antibacterial activity, possibly due to the phenol-like substances that are found in it.

Non-healing lesions are a common and serious problem for many types of patients – including diabetics and the bed-ridden. It will be interesting to see if honey products can help provide a solution for these patients as well as others. Meanwhile, antibiotics are getting support from an ancient ally in the ever more challenging battle against infection.

A lot of people are interested in herbal medicine but have been scared off by reports of contamination and other quality problems with Chinese herbs. Others spend their money on American-made dietary supplements based on the advertising hype, without knowing if they are getting what they are paying for. Generally speaking, American supplements come under fairly stringent manufacturing requirements – at the least, they shouldn’t have any more rat parts than your hot dogs do. A bigger concern is if they contain what you are led to believe.

Quality and safety are two interconnected but different issues. You can have a great herbal formula, made of the best components and completely free of contaminants; if it is inappropriate for your condition or your constitution, it is still not safe. Here are some tips for finding quality products, and information on some safety issues you may not have considered.

Let’s start with a look at the label. The ingredients list should be very specific. Look for details like these:

• For herbs, the specific species and part of the plant used should be listed. For example the term “Valerian Extract” does not tell you much, but if it also says “Valeriana officinalis (root)” then you’ve got a good idea of what you’re buying. If you get the wrong species or wrong part of the plant, you’re just buying the waste products that better manufacturers wouldn’t touch.

• For supplements, the specific chemical compound should be listed - such as ascorbyl palmitate (Vitamin C) or d-alpha tocopherol succinate (Vitamin E). Not all forms of a nutrient are equally effective. An important issue is bioavailability - how well that nutrient can be absorbed and used by the body.
• The amount of each ingredient should be listed separately. A “proprietary blend” of several ingredients means you have no idea if you are buying 1 mg or 500 mg of any particular ingredient. Chances are, you’re mostly getting the cheapest items in the list.
• Anything manufactured outside of the U.S. should be GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) certified.
• Any fillers and/or preservatives should be listed. Better yet would be a statement that no preservatives and/or fillers have been used. This can be very important if you have allergies to corn, gluten, etc. It is possible to buy supplements without any fillers or coatings, binders, shellacs, artificial colors, fragrance, excipients, wheat, yeast, gluten, corn, sugar, starch, preservatives or hydrogentated oil.
• If you are a strict vegan, make sure any capsules used are not from animal sources such as gelatin.

You should also be able to get some information on quality testing - perhaps on the manufacturer’s web site. The best manufacturers test every lot of their finished products (preferably using independent assays). A big problem with supplements, including herbs, is that the finished products simply don’t contain the amounts and proportions of ingredients that they should.

For Chinese herbs, the new Chinese Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) standard is pretty good. The Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) certification is considered one of the most stringent in the world: their guidelines for dietary and herbal supplements are the same as for their pharmaceuticals.

Many of the scare stories in the press are about heavy metals and/or pharmaceuticals being found in herbal supplements. Some heavy metals are picked up from the soil, and some were purposely used in traditional formulas. In China, combining herbs and pharmaceuticals is not necessarily illegal, but those products should certainly not be entering the U.S. as dietary supplements. Sticking with a top quality manufacturer will let you rest easy about these issues.

Note that GMP certification relates to manufacturing standards rather than ingredients. With herbs, proper identification of raw materials is critical. Testing of plant constituents is important, as these vary depending where and how the plants are grown, harvested, etc. Good companies use chemical analyses including TLC (thin layer chromatography) and HPLC (high performance liquid chromatography) to confirm identification, ensure potency and test for levels of active constituents.

If the product is well made, is it safe for me?
Chinese herbal medicine constitutes a highly complex approach to herbal treatments. Most of the formulas contain numerous herbs, and are meant to treat a specific pattern of disease symptoms. It takes years of study to get a good grasp of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) diagnostics, individual herb properties, dosages, cautions and formulation theory. If you are picking formulas for yourself off the shelf or from a web site, understand that you are taking responsibility for diagnosing and treating yourself using principles and medications that you probably don’t understand very well. In TCM, diseases are sub-divided into specific “patterns” which indicate the nature of the disease and imply root causes which can be very different from one another. There might be half a dozen different treatments for a general condition like stomachache, or headache. Without understanding the properties of the formula you are taking, you can easily make yourself worse because it is inappropriate for your specific condition.

Another key point: “natural” does not automatically mean “safe” (think of hemlock, lead, arsenic, etc.) TCM medicinals include a number of potent substances that most definitely are not safe when used inappropriately. A good example is the misuse of ephedra (da huang) as a weight-loss aid. In TCM, its primary application is for certain respiratory problems, and it is noted to be unsafe for those with heart problems and other conditions. It’s a useful herb when properly used. It can be deadly when abused.

The dietary supplement industry is big business, and products can be rushed out with the flimsiest of evidence that they are beneficial. Consumers are the primary testers for side-effects. And yes, herbs - like any other substance that changes the way your body functions - can have side effects.

Herb-Drug Interactions
Another area of concern is adverse drug-herb interactions. Fortunately these appear to be few, but the possibility needs to be considered. St. Johns Wort, for example, has been found to interfere with several classes of drugs. In theory, anything you ingest has the potential to interfere with the metabolism of anything else you ingest. Always follow instructions on how and when to take supplements and herbal medicines, as well as pharmaceuticals.

A more common problem is duplicating the actions of a pharmaceutical prescription with an herbal formula or supplement. For example, many herbs, supplements (and over the counter drugs) can affect the blood-thinning actions of warfarin (coumadin).

This is a rapidly growing area of study. Books on the subject are likely to be dated. Read the package inserts for any pharmaceuticals you take. You can also check the Healthnotes resource, which is licensed to numerous online companies and in-store kiosks. One publicly available access point is at the Pure Encapsulations web site, in their Health Library section: www.purecaps.com/ClinicalEssentials_index.asp

Some General Precautions
It is probably safest to avoid mega-doses of anything. Recent studies suggest that people taking large doses of vitamins, for example, are not as healthy as those taking moderate amounts. Herbal medications as just that - formulas used to treat medical conditions. Most are not meant to be taken indefinitely for general health purposes (look to diet and exercise for that). On the other hand, most of us could probably benefit from a good quality, well-balanced vitamin and mineral supplement, and a little daily fish oil. Here are a few suggestions to keep in mind when considering supplements and herbals.

Ask an expert. Go to someone with a few years of formal education and a state or nationally recognized certification in their field (such as nutrition or Chinese herbal medicine). Even then, realize that people who are not trained as medical doctors may miss some “red flag” symptoms that suggest serious disease. If you have an ongoing medical problem that is not being resolved by “alternative” treatments, it’s worth getting a checkup from your doctor. Even if you choose alternative treatments, a biomedical diagnosis can be a powerful piece of information to inform your choices.

• Avoid vendors making unlikely claims and/or operating highly profitable marketing structures. Check www.scholar.google.com to see if you can find any serious research on the product in question.
• Avoid mega-doses of anything, unless there are a couple of decades of experience with those levels of dosing. Avoid harsh and extreme forms of treatment.
• Pay attention to how your body responds. Just because you know someone who did well on a particular product doesn’t mean that you will. Maybe that ill feeling really does mean you getting worse, and not a “healing crisis.”
• Avoid dieting products, unless they are very well grounded in a strong nutritional approach. Any product that promises fast results with no effort or changes on your part should be viewed with a great deal of caution and skepticism.
• Don’t expect a pill (or a handful of them) to make up for poor diet, inadequate exercise and other damaging lifestyle choices.

In the end, you shouldn’t be afraid to access the benefits available to you from dietary supplements and herbals. There are a lot of great products available to enhance the nutrition you get from your food, and some excellent alternatives to pharmaceutical therapies for illness. Armed with the tips from this article, you will be better prepared to make good choices.

Every home should have a few useful remedies on hand for the early stages of common illnesses. Chinese medicine offers some great ready-made formulas (“patent medicines”) but you won’t find information about how to use them on the product labels. Figuring out what’s safe and appropriate even for mild illnesses can be very difficult. Here’s a list of some excellent Chinese herbal products that your medicine cabinet shouldn’t be without.

First, some commonsense precautions: The suggestions listed here are for uncomplicated conditions. A professional Chinese herbalist can customize a formula for more complex or severe problems. There are a lot of Chinese patent medicines, and each is best for a specific application. A qualified herbalist can give you guidance on those, too. If you are on prescription medications, you may need to confirm with an herbalist and/or doctor that taking specific herbal formulas are OK for you.

Meanwhile, the products listed below may be all you need to deal with relatively mild problems. They are convenient to keep at home, and can save you the time and expense of a doctor’s office visit. Having a home health care kit ready to go will also allow you to begin treatment of common illness while they are still in an early stage and easiest to resolve.

Common Colds and Flu

• Ban Lan Gen Chong Ji is a favorite for prevention, and comes in a powder that dissolves into hot water to make a tasty drink. It includes a combination of Southern Isatis root, dandelion and viola with cane sugar. It is a staple beverage in China. It can be continued if you do catch a cold.
• Chuan Xin Lian is an herb with excellent anti-viral properties that is commonly used to treat colds and flu. The taste is bitter, but a sugar-coated version is available. It has a strong effect against “heat” conditions such as an inflamed throat.
• Gan Mao Ling is a relatively modern formulation using herbs that are not commonly seen in traditional formulas, but that are known to have good anti-viral effects. Small doses are great as a preventative (for example, when you know you’ve been exposed) and higher doses are used if a cold and flu sets in. It is common to combine Gan Mao Ling and Chuan Xin Lian.
• Yin Qiao San is a traditional formula available in pill and tea forms. It is especially useful for a cold accompanied by a sore throat.
• Bi Yan Pian is a good general formula for sinus infections and inflammation. It can be used when sinus problems are the predominant sign in a common cold, or with allergies that affect the sinuses.
• The Neti Pot is an ancient Indian device for irrigating the nasal passages and sinuses with saline solution. Some people use it for preventative care, but it is particularly useful during an acute infection. Modern versions are easy to use and clean. Some come with pre-measured packages of a gentle, buffered saline solution.
• Vinegar is of course not unique to Chinese medicine, but it makes a wonderful gargle for sore throat. Use a high quality cider vinegar – not a distilled type. You can cut it down with apple juice or water if the taste is too strong.

Digestive Problems

• Curing Pills (Kang Ning Wan) are great for acute indigestion and other short-term digestive problems. They are sometimes used for relief after overindulging in alcohol.
• Huo Xiang Zheng Qi San is a classic formula that is excellent for cases of “stomach flu” with short-term symptoms like fever and chills, headache, fullness in the chest, pain in the stomach and abdomen, nausea and diarrhea. It can also be very good for a bout of nausea and/or diarrhea without flu signs.

Topical Applications

• Yin Care is a liquid solution of many different herbs. At different levels of dilution, it can be applied externally for problems including acne, poison ivy, nail fungus, and yeast infections.
• Ching Wan Hung ointment is a classic salve for burns, including sunburn. It is soothing and cooling, and is also suitable for hemorrhoids. (Be careful with clothing – it can stain.)
• Yun Nan Bai Yao is a famous medicine used to stop bleeding (it was used in the Vietnam War for emergency treatment of gunshot wounds). It can be taken internally, but is most appropriate in a first aid kit for cuts and mild trauma with bleeding. The capsules can be opened and the powder shaken onto the cut to quickly stop bleeding (apply pressure too!).
• Essential Balm is an excellent all-purpose balm with menthol, camphor, peppermint, eucalyptus, clove and cinnamon. It’s a good alternative to Tiger Balm.
• Po Sum On Oil is an excellent invigorating oil for muscle and joint pain, tightness and bruises. It contains cinnamon, dragon’s blood resin (from a plant, not a mythical beast), peppermint and tea oil in an oil base that is slippery enough to make it a good massage oil.
• Zheng Gu Shui is a more penetrating topical application specially formulated for trauma to bones, tendons and ligaments. Main ingredients are camphor and menthol, and it penetrates quickly without oily residue.

All of these products can probably be ordered on line, and will be carried by most Chinese herbalists. When choosing an herbalist, look for one who has National Board Certification in Chinese herbal medicine (or who is certified as a Diplomate of Oriental Medicine, which includes the herbal certification). Many licensed acupuncturists have good herbal training, but many do not – licensing requirements and education are different in every state. The products themselves should be Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certified to ensure they are free of contaminants. Avoid products that use filler ingredients or dyes.

Keeping these precautions in mind, you’re now ready to do some shopping. You’ll be delighted to find how much relief you can get from herbal products. With some new additions to your medicine cabinet, you’ll be better prepared for minor medical problems, and better able to participate in your own health care.

You probably know that vitamin D is important for bone health. It may also help protect against colds, diabetes, and even cancer. Vitamin deficiencies are suspected in various chronic disease states, including fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Now there is more evidence that a lack of vitamin D can affect muscle strength and performance, at least in the elderly. This is the finding of a recent study conducted by the Wake Forest University of Medicine in Winston-Salem.

This study of 976 seniors found that in those with low blood levels of vitamin D, there was a 5-10% decrease in physical performance and grip strength (which is a pretty good indicator of disability in the future). The physical tests in the study included common activities such as getting up from a sitting position, and keeping balanced while standing in a series of increasingly difficult positions. The results held up even after taking into account other factors such as overall health condition, anemia levels, weight, level of physical activity, mental ability and even the season of the year.

This is a concern for a lot of people. The study found that amongst the participants, almost 29% of women and 14% of men had vitamin D deficiency, as determined by measuring their blood levels of 25-hydroxy-vitamin D. (This test is frequently used, and is considered an accurate measure of the vitamin.) Estimates of how many people have insufficient vitamin D range from 25% to half of those over 60 years old.

You can get your vitamin D from foods such as milk products and fatty fish like salmon, vitamin fortified juices and cereals, and from natural sunlight. Foods with natural vitamin D content and sunlight are usually better than taking the vitamin as a supplement. The vitamin D manufactured by the body as a result of sunlight exposure actually lasts longer in the body. Besides, digestive disorders prevent some from absorbing the vitamin in the gut. Three to four percent of people with osteoporosis have the bone disease because they have celiac disease, which makes them unable to absorb normal amounts of calcium and vitamin D. Also, studies at two universities (Aberdeen and York) have demonstrated that taking supplemental vitamin D does not reduce bone fractures in elderly people. A healthy, balanced diet with moderate sun exposure is considered superior to supplements.

For Caucasians, exposing the hands, face and arms to sunlight for five to ten minutes two to three times a week should be enough to build the body’s vitamin D stores. Because the vitamin is fat soluble, if you get sufficient sun through most of the year, you can get through the winter months with less sun exposure by relying on your body’s stores. Dark skinned people, however, can need up to 10-20 times the sun exposure that light skinned people, do because their skin allows less UV-B radiation to penetrate. Also, the skin of older people does not produce vitamin D from sun exposure as effectively as it does in the younger population. Prolonged exposure to UV rays can of course lead to skin damage and even skin cancer, and should be avoided.

Current guidelines for dietary intake recommend that people between the ages of 50 and 69 get 400 international units (IUs) of vitamin D per day and for those over age 70 to get 600 IUs. But those recommendations consider the vitamin’s affect on bone health. More is probably needed to optimize the nutrient’s other functions, such as preserving muscle function and protecting against cancer.