Natural Health and Herbal Remedies Blog - information on herbal medicine

NUTRITION FOR INFANT’S GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT: SUPPLEMENTARY FEEDINGS

admin — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 12:39:41 +0000

Neither human nor cow’s milk will meet the full nutritive needs of the infant during the first year of life. Several factors require consideration when planning for supplementary feedings.

Iron-deficiency anemia

It is perhaps the most common nutritional problem in the first year of life. Although supplementary foods furnish some iron the amount is usually not enough to meet the needs of the rapidly growing infant. Therefore, many pediatricians recommend that iron-fortified formulas be continued when the infant substitutes cup feedings for the bottle. Commercial infant cereals fortified with iron are preferable to family-type cereals that are not as highly enriched.

Salt

Babies, like adults, require some sodium and they respond to the taste of salt. During the early months the formula supplies most of the sodium intake. Thereafter, supplementary foods provide increasing amounts of sodium, often far in excess of needs. Nutritionists have criticized the excessive use of salt for two reasons: (1) the infant becomes accustomed to ingesting higher levels that are continued throughout life, a practice that may have some influence on the incidence of hypertension; (2) the intake of excessive salt increases the excretory load on the kidneys. The sodium level of most proprietary infant foods now comes within the levels recommended by a committee of pediatricians and nutritionists.

Over-nutrition

It is a relatively common problem during the first year, and sometimes sets the pattern for later obesity. It can be prevented by allowing the infant to take what he wants from his bottle feeding rather than urging him to finish it, and by using some moderation in the amounts of supplementary feedings that are given.

Many pediatricians believe that the early introduction of supplementary feedings contributes to overfeeding and excessive weight gain.

Skim-milk formulas should not be used during the first year to reduce the caloric intake. To meet the normal requirements for growth such formulas supply excessively high ratios of protein and carbohydrate. The high protein intake increases the load upon the kidneys for the excretion of nitrogenous products, and a high intake of lactose could contribute to diarrhea.

Baby foods

Most pediatricians recommend that semi-solid and solid foods be introduced at 3 to 4 months rather than at 6 weeks to 2 months as had been common practice in recent years. This delay results in fewer instances of excessive weight gain.

Many mothers derive much satisfaction from the preparation of foods for the infant. To do this successfully they must have an understanding of the methods for retention of nutritive values and for maintenance of sanitary controls. Also needed is the appropriate equipment for pureeing foods.

Commercially prepared baby foods are generally higher in cost than those prepared at home. For many mothers they possess these advantages; convenience; safety from bacteriologic contamination; variety; and uniform consistency and composition. The methods of manufacture currently employed result in the high retention of nutritive values, often higher than that achieved in home preparation. Nonetheless, the mother should be aware of the contribution each food makes to the baby’s needs. For example, a high-meat dinner will provide considerably less protein than the strained meat.

Sequence of feeding

Practices vary widely on the sequence with which foods are added and on the age of introducing these foods. Some babies need supplements earlier than others; some are ready for changes in texture sooner than others.

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GENERAL HEALTH

LEARNING ABOUT IMMUNITY

admin — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 12:38:40 +0000

Immunity means the being free from the effects of something and, as generally used in medicine, this is freedom from infection by disease. The methods, with which the body works to accomplish this, affect other situations.

There is no doubt that many aspects of immunity are not understood by scientists; one well-known authority, in fact, says that our understanding of these matters is but that of children. It is self-evident that the writer of the treatise which you are reading cannot assimilate all the large amount of knowledge that these scientists have accumulated. By a sort of law of diminishing returns what is handed over to and taken in by you is bound to be sketchy, but it is believed and hoped that what you see as in a glass darkly is merely indistinct and not distorted.

Undoubtedly all persons are born with some, but varying, degrees of immunity to different diseases. For thousands of years their ancestors had been fighting disease in the body and if they had not developed an immunity they would have ceased to exist. This is called an inherent, or natural, immunity.

Then they acquire immunity in various ways. First is that which the mother passes on through the placenta. Thus measles, diphtheria, and chicken pox do not affect infants in the first few months of life. Their bodies are not making this immunity; it has been loaned to them by their mothers, and after a bit it disappears. This is called passive immunity. Other special immunities the mothers do not seem to pass on. It is notorious that infants do not get immunity to whooping cough.

Immunity refers to the ability which an individual possesses or acquires to resist or overcome infection. The body functions in several ways to secure the individual against invading bacteria. The blood carries with it at all times substances and special cells which help to combat bacteria and their poisons (toxins). If certain toxin-producing bacteria gain a foothold somewhere in the body and secrete their poison into the tissues, these poisons are absorbed and disseminated, by the blood and lymph, to bring death and destruction to certain body tissue cells; however, just as soon as this course of events begins, many factors operate to combat the invasion. The white cells gather about the invading bacteria and engulf and destroy them; in addition certain cells in the body respond to the toxin-producing bacteria (antigen) by producing antibodies which act in several ways to defend the body.

One kind of antibody (opsonin) affects bacteria in such a way that they are more readily picked up and destroyed by the white cells of the blood; another kind (antitoxin) neutralizes the specific kind of poison produced by the bacteria quite as an acid is neutralized by a base. A third kind of antibody (agglutinin) immobilizes the bacteria cells and clumps them so that they are more readily removed by the white cells. These substances and other antibodies are produced only when a foreign protein substance, as occurs in viruses, bacteria, and their toxins, gains entrance to the body.

The details of the ensuing skirmish or possibly great battle are complex. If the poison or bacteria win, the war is ended for that body. Fortunately most of us win innumerable skirmishes. These fighters which we enlist at short notice are so highly specialized that it will be necessary at this point to abandon the metaphor about a defending army. If a body is attacked by measles, the “antibodies,” as we call the resisting force, are of no value against pneumonia. Each kind of antibody defends against only one disease. But what a job some of them do in their narrow special line! You all know that there are a number of diseases, one attack of which gives immunity for life.

The enormous amount of antibodies that may be poured out in response to the poison of an infection is demonstrated in diphtheria. This was a terrific scourge a generation or so ago. Diphtheria localized itself on mucous membranes, usually in the throat, where a membrane formed; but it also produced a highly poisonous substance known as diphtheria toxin which circulated through the body. The antitoxin to combat it was obtained by injecting toxin into a horse; first a very small amount which the horse could stand. This dose was slowly increased until in six months the horse could take one thousand times the amount of toxin which would have killed him in the beginning. Then the antitoxin obtained from him, when injected into a child, proved a successful protection.

Years ago, when typhoid was still common, a friend of mine had an attack. Recently she planned to travel in Europe and she consulted me. Would her previous attack of typhoid make her immune to it? It has been generally understood that people did not have second attacks of certain diseases such as typhoid, smallpox, and measles. These surely did give long-lasting immunity. But now it has been found that second attacks may occur as the immunity weakens with time.

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GENERAL HEALTH

CHILD’S HEALTH/INFECTIOUS DISEASES: HEPATITIS

admin — Thu, 21 May 2009 07:20:23 +0000

Although hepatitis is more widespread in developing countries, cases do occur in Australia. It is also a health risk for those travelling overseas.

Cause

Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver caused by infection with various viruses. These are hepatitis A (infectious hepatitis), hepatitis B (serum hepatitis) and non-A non-B hepatitis.

Investigations

The diagnosis of hepatitis can be confirmed with blood tests.

Treatment

If your child’s symptoms are severe he may need to be admitted to hospital for nursing care. A child with hepatitis A usually improves after 2 weeks, while hepatitis B can be a prolonged illness. There is no cure for hepatitis so treatment is directed to relieving symptoms and includes rest as well as a special diet free of fatty foods.

Prevention

Good hygiene and proper sewerage are critical in the prevention of hepatitis. If you are travelling overseas with your child to areas where there is a high risk of exposure to hepatitis, an injection of human immunoglobulin can be given to help avoid infection with hepatitis A. A specific vaccine is now available against hepatitis B. This involves blood tests and three injections over several months — discuss this with your doctor.

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LEAVING YOUR CHILDREN SOMETHING TO LOVE BY/ THE DANGERS OF FLUNKING SEX EDUCATION: DEPRESSION

admin — Tue, 19 May 2009 05:46:40 +0000

Depression: I mentioned earlier that there is a direct relationship between feelings of loneliness and isolation and serious depression. The sexual needs of the developing person cry out for direction and understanding, for discussion and focus. Adolescent suicide is dangerously increasing, in part because sexual feelings in our young people are not tolerated and have few safe avenues for expression.

There are many myths about teen depression and suicide. If they threaten it, they won’t do it. If they are active andjnvolved, they won’t do it. If they are doing well in school, they won’t do it. If they come from a good home, they won’t do it. These statements are false. If you are worried, there is reason to worry, so reach out now. It is éîã just depressed people who kill themselves. Agitated, afraid, worried, insecure, hyperactive people kill themselves, too. Healthy sexuality is a key part of making it through the stress of young adulthood. Wrong turns on the love maps of these young people can result in death through sexual experimentation gone wrong. Some adolescents hang themselves to cause a high related to lack of oxygen while masturbating, failing at the last moment to control the lack of oxygen. This cause of death is known to all clinicians, but is not often talked about. The sexual problem, called asphyxiophilia, is one of the so-called paraphilias, problems with relationships and loving sexuality. We might hear the comment, “He never said anything at all to me about being really that upset,” after a young person has killed himself, because what he might have said was not something we wanted to hear or were too uncomfortable to allow him to tell us.

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YOUR MARITAL HEALTH/WIVES’ SEXUALITY: TEN MS. MYTHS

admin — Mon, 18 May 2009 12:27:05 +0000

True False

1. Women do not ejaculate.

2. Most women have orgasm in intercourse.

3. Women take a longer time to respond than men.

4. Women have sexual fantasies less often than men.

5. Women are less turned on by visual stimulation than

men.

6. The more lubrication of the vagina, the more aroused the woman is.

7. Women can go on and on. They do not have a re-

fractory period.

8. Women relate sex and love together while men tend

to be able to separate the two.

9. Women prefer one partner and are not interested in

variety.

10. Women do not like oral love but might do it if their

partner really wants it.

All of the answers to this quiz are false because each myth is based on the premise that men and women respond completely differently, and this is not necessarily true.

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TRUE HEALING – PRACTICAL ADVICE: SOME UNUSUAL EFFECTS OF DETOXIFICATION

admin — Mon, 18 May 2009 09:25:15 +0000

Your mind-body system remembers every damage you did to it in the days gone by. If some healing in the past has not been perfect, because of other emergencies in your body (and mind), some of the damage remains unrepaired.

When you purify your body and mind, resources within your body become available, enabling repairs which are long overdue .

The effect of this can be quite’ amazing. Many people on various detoxification programs (oxygen therapies, fasting) observe symptoms of their past diseases in quick succession and in reverse order. Basically, you can expect to re-live every serious disease you experienced in the past. Don’t be frightened. This is healing. Your body is just fixing things which are long overdue. Symptoms are usually very mild, and they last only an hour or two. Many active people do not even notice such symptoms, because they are so mild.

I would like to give you just one example drawn from my own personal experience. At the age of 7 I had a severe ear infection, which was very painful, took a long time to heal and doctors injected me with lots of antibiotics. At the age of 42, during fasting I experienced the symptoms of this disease, accurate in every minute detail. I was astonished, because the situation was restored so perfectly, that I remembered not only my feelings from childhood but also the taste and even the smell of antibiotics I took at that time. The experience lasted only for a few hours.

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MYASTHENIA GRAVIS – GENERAL INFORMATION

admin — Fri, 15 May 2009 09:47:15 +0000

The disorder usually begins in early adult life but may occur in children or in the elderly. It is often associated with other disorders, such as overactivity of the thyroid gland, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and other diseases.

The muscles become progressively weaker as they are used during the day and seem to recover overnight.

When we wish to use muscles, we send an impulse down the nerve to the muscle. At the nerve ending, a chemical, acetylcholine, is released and this stimulates the muscle to contract.

In myasthenia gravis, the supply of acetylcholine appears to run out with repeated use and the muscles become progressively weaker. The supply appears to build up with rest. Sometimes the muscle become permanently weak.

The drug neostigmine, or its derivatives, is used to overcome the lack of acetylcholine and, if given several times a day, can control the symptoms. The disease tends to remit and relapse but, occasionally, is rapidly progressive and may be fatal.

In some, removal of the thymus does seem to lead to remission but the operation is still controversial.

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CHINESE FOOD RISKS

admin — Fri, 15 May 2009 07:59:20 +0000

Eating Chinese food may not only leave you still hungry after an hour or two, it may give a few individuals severe headaches and other symptoms.

What has been called the Chinese Restaurant Syndrome comes on usually within half an hour to an hour of eating out at a Chinese restaurant. The symptoms are believed to be caused by monosodium glutamate or MSG which is often added to Chinese cooking.

Those who are sensitive to this substance react by developing feelings of pressure, tightness and burning over the face, neck, shoulders and chest. It is usually associated with a severe throbbing headache.

The symptoms are frightening and many sufferers experiencing their first attack believe they have had a stroke.

They seem to develop only when a sufficient quantity of MSG is taken on an empty stomach. Hence, it is often the soup eaten at the beginning of the meal which causes the problem.

So, if you are unlucky enough to be sensitive to MSG and still be partial to Chinese food, miss out on the soup or have a small snack before you go to the restaurant — or change and learn to like Italian cooking.

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YOUR CANCER YOUR LIFE – RIGHT TO MORE THAN ONE OPINION (INTRODUCTION)

admin — Tue, 12 May 2009 12:01:36 +0000

Remember, if you find it impossible to get the information you want from your practitioner, there are alternatives. Every patient is entitled to a second (or third, or more) opinion. This may be from doctors or any other type of practitioner. You may quite happy with your practitioner’s experience and technical skill but find that he or she is no good at communicating. This is sufficient reason to ask for another opinion. If the problem is with a medical specialist, you may be able to get the information through the doctor who referred you, or ask to be referred to another specialist. The referral can be from your local doctor or the first specialist. After seeing the second (or third, or more) practitioner(s) you are entitled to choose whichever one you prefer for your continuing care. You can always go back to the first one if you wish. Don’t feel silly about doing this if, in the end, that is what you prefer.

This sounds easy on paper but, of course, we all know it’s not. It takes courage and determination to ask for a second opinion. Many practitioners will try to talk you out of it because it is inconvenient—they may even see it as insulting. Stick to your guns. You are that important. You deserve the best. You’re not there to protect your practitioner’s ego.

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SKIN CARE: BASAL CELL CARCINOMA

admin — Fri, 08 May 2009 14:40:34 +0000

The B.C.C. is a tumour arising from the cells of the basal layer of the epidermis. The abnormal cells leave their normal position and invade the dermis. It is a relatively innocent cancer, as it does not usually invade blood vessels and spread to distant sites. If left untreated, however, it will quietly spread to the surrounding skin and erode underlying tissues, such as bone. Hence, in the past, these cancers have been called ‘rodent ulcers’.

Causes. Unlike most S.C.Cs, B.C.C.s are not usually preceded by an obvious pre-malignant lesion. Although prolonged sunlight exposure is an important factor in their causation, other factors must be involved also. B.C.C.s are much more common in sunny climates and in light-skinned individuals, and two-thirds occur on the head and neck. However, one-third occur in relatively protected sites, such as on the body, eyelids, and behind the ears. It is therefore thought that regional factors must also be involved.

Features. Patients often describe how they have noticed a spot which, although it is not troubling them, does not go away; it may bleed or crust over, but will never quite heal. The appearances are varied. Most typically, it is a small pearl-like nodule with fine blood vessels overlying it. Sometimes it looks like a very small erosion of the skin, or an ulcer. Overlying it. there may be a small crust. Occasionally it appears like a red scaly plaque with o scalloped margin.

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