Herbal Health

Energy can take a number of forms: nuclear, light, chemical, electrical, mechanical, thermal, magnetic and potential.

According to the laws of thermodynamics, all forms of energy are interchangeable and energy is neither gained nor lost, it merely changes form. With respect to humans this means that the body cannot create or destroy energy, but it can convert one form of energy to another. Humans use chemical energy from food for synthesis and other metabolic processes. The chemical energy from food is converted to various forms such as mechanical energy which results in movement, chemical energy to make hormones, or electrical energy to conduct nerve impulses. Unless energy is stored in the body, it is eventually lost, mainly as heat (thermo-genesis). Since living organisms are governed by the laws of thermodynamics, an energy balance equation has been used to forecast changes in body mass when changes in energy intake or expenditure occur, although this is not as clear cut as was once thought.

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Jaundice means the skin and the whites of the eyes turn yellow. All degrees may exist, and often it is so light as to be barely detectable. It invariably indicates liver disease. Generally speaking, liver disease (as occurring in adults) is quite rare in infants and children. The free use of alcohol is one of the major reasons why so many adults are prone to disorders of this vital organ; fortunately, infants have not yet learnt of this beverage. Some unwise mothers who imbibe freely during pregnancy give birth to severely damaged children (mentally and physically) who suffer from the so-called foetal alcohol syndrome—often the babies perish soon after birth.

Infectious hepatitis is a virus infection of the liver which can produce serious illness, but it is usually mild and recovery is common.

Jaundice of the newborn

Jaundice of the newborn, also called physiological jaundice, occurs commonly in normal babies. In fact, it is claimed that about 10 per cent of babies show this. It comes on during the first week of life, but usually not before the first 36 hours. It vanishes just as rapidly after the first week, leaving no aftermath.

The red blood cells of the body are continually being manufactured and broken down. When destroyed, they yield a product called haemoglobin, and this is disposed of by the liver. A baby’s liver is not always geared to cope with the fairly large amounts it has to dispose of in early life, so the by-products build up as a substance called bilirubin.

Other forms of jaundice

If the baby is jaundiced at birth, or if physiological jaundice persists beyond a week, the doctor will seek out other causes. It is a cardinal sign of liver disease, and the cause must be found. If large amounts of bilirubin (the material that causes the yellow discoloration) are allowed to remain in the blood, serious and permanent adverse effects are probable. A condition called kernicterus may take place. This comes from the Greek words meaning kernel (of the brain) and icterus (jaundice). Staining and damage of the vital brain centres may occur. It may cause death at worst, or it may leave the infant with permanent brain palsy, deafness and mental retardation.

A serious and fairly common cause of this in bygone days was the so-called haemolytic disease of the newborn, caused by the blood group Rh factor. It occured in some women who were Rh negative producing a Rh positive child, and whose systems had been sensitized by an Rh baby previously. With each subsequent Rh pregnancy, the condition became more severe and serious. Total blood transfusions were carried out on affected babies in an attempt to save them, and many were highly successful. However, with the ready availability of Rh immunization for these women, given within 72 hours after producing an Rh positive child, this risk has now largely vanished.

There are various other causes but these come within the orbit of obstetricians and paediatricians caring for babies when they are born. The condition is usually picked up and treated at once.

Hepatitis A (infectious hepatitis)

The more common variety is also called Hepatitis A, or viral hepatitis. It is more likely in adults, but may occur in children and infants. It is caused by a virus and is believed to be transmitted by flies which infect food, but there may be other ways of contamination as well.

It takes about two to six weeks for the germ to incubate and produce symptoms. Often it is sub-clinical, meaning no obvious symptoms occur. The child merely feels off-colour. Frequently, as the liver becomes infected, the cells swollen and the normal flow of fluids through the system affected, jaundice occurs. This may be mild, with only a staining of the whites of the eyes. Or it may be more pronounced, and the whole body becomes an obvious yellow.

It may have a rapid onset, with fevers, chills, malaise, lack of appetite, vomiting, headache, and aches and pains all over the system. Jaundice of the eyes and skin may occur; and if so, the skin often becomes very itchy, the child starts scratching and may break and abraid the surface. Sometimes the lymph glands of the body swell and become tender. These may be in the neck, under the jaw, in the armpits and groin. Often the liver and spleen also swell and are tender. The liver, in the right-hand side of the abdomen, may be felt protruding from under the rib cage. On the left-hand side is the spleen, a large organ associated with blood production.

An infection with jaundice occurring during childhood, and with the symptoms listed, is most likely infectious hepatitis. However, see the doctor for a confirming diagnosis and be guided by the doctor’s recommendations for treatment.

Treatment of hepatitis A

Most cases are mild and may be managed at home. Children prefer to stay in bed for the first few days at least, and maybe longer. It depends on how quickly they start to recover.

There are no restrictions on food intake. Giving a good nutritious diet is advisable, if the patient is inclined to take this. Fat-containing foods may be unacceptable because the patient experiences nausea. (The old idea of withholding fats for medical reasons no longer applies.) All the child’s usual foods may be given. However, from a practical side, small portions of attractively served foods along the lines of the patient’s favourites are probably the best idea. Plenty of fluids are recommended, for these help to wash toxins and debris from the system and always help in recovery of any infection.

Usually there is no medication given, for the liver would then have to cope with drugs and it is already inflamed and battling itself. Additional vitamins (especially the vitamin B series) can help strengthen the liver.

This infection is usually self-limiting, and recovery is the usual result. Most patients suffer minimum or no jaundice, but sometimes there is major and serious yellowing which may indicate a severe degree of the disease.

If one member of the family has infectious hepatitis, a good deal of protection for the other members may be gained by an injection of gamma globulin. The doctor arranges and administers this.

Hepatitis B (serum hepatitis)

Today this is better known as Hepatitis B, and it is also caused by a virus. In children it is much rarer. It is transmitted by infected blood and for this reason it occurs in persons receiving injections with needles previously used by an infected person—so is more probable in drug addicts. Hepatitis B used to occur occasionally after blood transfusions, but now, with screening tests for blood, this is unlikely in this country; the infection is more common overseas, especially with commercially bought blood. However, it is claimed that the virus can also be transmitted via breast milk and various other body fluids. It is worth noting that many cases have occurred in young people after they have been tattooed and also in girls (often children) after they have had their ears pierced; on checking, it has been found that the instruments used were not completely sterilized. Now that pre-sterilized studs are widely used for ears, the incidence has been reduced, but parents should still be careful to check that this is so if their children intend having their ears pierced.

It may take six months or more for symptoms to develop from the time of infection. The illness is serious and many deaths have occurred.

Treatment of hepatitis B

It is essential that treatment be under full medical supervision. This is best carried out in a major hospital, where clinics are geared for diagnosis and treatment of this unfortunate illness.

For any case of obvious jaundice, treatment must be under proper medical supervision. Although certain cases may be treated quite satisfactorily at home, proper diagnosis in the first place is essential. After this, it is important to be guided by the doctor’s suggestions. The advice offered in this section is to be used only as a general guide, to give some idea of the nature of therapy that will probably be recommended. The only medication, if any, to be taken is that prescribed by your doctor. Drugs given are usually minimal, and then only for the more serious forms of the disease. Parents should not self-medicate, for this could aggravate the disorder and prolong convalescence.

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‘Ideally the less medication you take the better, for it is often transmitted to the baby via breast milk. But make certain you take only medicine that is prescribed by me, as your doctor. Small amounts of tea, coffee or even alcohol are fairly innocuous. But smoking is bad news, and I strongly recommend any young mother who smokes to stop right now. Ideally, she will have stopped before she became pregnant, for the hazards during pregnancy are high. Poisons may be transmitted via the milk, and the baby’s system is not geared to the toxins in cigarette smoke. A lot of research confirms this.

‘Karen, a close relationship between you and your baby is the ideal. Although this is best achieved when breast feeding, it can also become established with artificial feeding. It is best to weigh all options, to try breast feeding to begin with and persist with it for as long as practical,’ I said.

‘Does demand feeding continue right throughout the feeding business?’ Karen asked.

‘Very soon your baby will establish her own alarm system and will settle down to regular feeding schedules. So whether you feed by the clock or on demand, it makes very little difference long term. Many arguments are still being waged about the benefits and disadvantages of each system—in reality it matters little. If the baby is gaining weight and obviously growing normally, the method in use is satisfactory. If there is any doubt, have her weighed at the clinic and you will soon discover if there is anything wrong.

‘There is no need to let the baby rule your life, incidentally. So many mothers tire themselves out needlessly by letting the new arrival rule not only their own life but the total running of the home. This is foolish. Stick to sensible time schedules, but you must live your own life at the same time.

‘At about three months, the baby will sleep right through the night, and the tiring night feeds will come to an end. You can then give a sigh of relief, for this makes life so much easier for everyone.’

‘What are some of the pitfalls of feeding Joanna? I’m sure there are many I will discover,’ Karen said.

‘Yes, feeding difficulties will certainly happen. Babies that are highly strung may present the greatest number; they tend to demand a lot of attention. Wind, colic and bowel upsets are common in the superactive baby. Many are difficult when their nappies are wet or if they are left alone for a while.

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The loss of a foetus in early pregnancy is a distressing experience. While the risk of miscarriage exists with every pregnancy, it can be reduced. All pregnant women should cease smoking and drinking alcohol. Try to avoid taking medications but, if you must, check with your doctor to ensure that they will not induce spontaneous abortion or harm the foetus in any way. This also applies for herbal remedies, many of which can induce miscarriages.

Vitamin E is thought to reduce the risk of miscarriage as is the regular drinking of raspberry leaf tea which strengthens the uterus. Avoid eating new or green potatoes. These contain the toxin solanine which can cause women to miscarry.

Throughout pregnancy, exercise should be regular and gentle. In the early months of the pregnancy, some doctors advise against having sexual intercourse during the days when the women would normally have her period. If the women has miscarried previously, particular care should be taken at the stage of the pregnancy when the last miscarriage occured.

Generally, a balanced diet, perhaps a little more rich in protein, will prepare a woman well to carry her baby full term. If spotting occurs, immediate and complete bed rest is advised until professional advice is sought.

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Anxiety often shows itself in difficulty in our interpersonal relations. We feel that we are no longer at ease when meeting people, strangers, and even those whom we know quite well. Oddly enough, it is usual for us to be noticeably easier in our professional and business dealings with people than we are on social occasions, even when the social occasion is quite casual and of no consequence. The reason for this is that in our professional and business dealings both we and the others have something definite to do; we have an allotted role, as it were, and we know what has to be done; but small talk and polite conversation on a casual social basis is much more difficult. Tension makes us awkward. It seems hard to establish friendly communication. We tend to become self-conscious, and aware of what we are doing and saying, whereas in a healthy state of mind our conversation happens naturally and spontaneously without any great conscious control on our part. Things seem strained. Any pause in the conversation worries us. Silence becomes unbearable, so we feel we must keep talking at all cost. Because of our inner tension we lose our easy flow of thought, relevant subjects elude us, and we become aware that pur conversation is mere chatter. We are prattling, jabbering; and we try to pull ourselves together to keep our tension from those about us. On other occasions there is a poverty of speech, and we are embarrassed because we cannot say anything. Our silence is caused by the overactivity of the inhibitory process making an attempt to damp down our reaction to our anxiety. But it goes too far, and we find ourselves so inhibited that we cannot say anything. A tenseness comes between us and our friends. They in turn come to sense that we are not fully at ease, and as a result they tend to behave towards us less freely and in a more guarded fashion. The social occasion which we used to enjoy becomes a kind of nightmare—something to be avoided at all costs.

Recently, I saw a lad whose main symptom was his difficulty with his friends. To be more accurate, I should say his difficulty was with those around him, as he was fast losing all his friends.

He is a nice lad, quite a gifted university student, and a good athlete as well. But he is incredibly tense and extremely rigid in his way of thinking, so once he gets some idea in his head, whether it be good or bad, there is no shaking him from it.

His tension and irritability were so great that I could easily see that there would be no fun for young people in the company of a lad like this. His former friends had left him for the simple reason that his tension made them feel uncomfortable.

This difficulty in interpersonal relationships resulting from anxiety may come between husband and wife so that they almost become strangers to one another; with young lovers an invisible something comes between them, cutting off the free interchange of their emotion. In a similar way the anxious mother may become separated from her baby; and try as she will, she is unable to re-establish their harmony together because the infant, in animal fashion, senses her tension and reacts to it.

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The next thing is to provide yourself with a heap of cushions or pillows, so that you can get yourself into the most comfortable position lying down. Eventually you’ll learn how to relax sitting down or even standing up, but it’s easier to learn the techniques if you’re lying down in a really comfortable position, either on a bed or sofa or on a carpeted floor.

Many people find it pleasant to lie on their backs with a mound of pillows or cushions supporting their head, neck and shoulders and a bolster under their knees. Others only need support under the nape of the neck. Some need a thin cushion in the small of the back. And if you’re skinny you may need cushions under your elbows. Others find that lying flat on their backs like this puts too much strain on their spines, especially if they are lying on the floor or on a firm mattress. They prefer to lie in a half-front, half-sideways position, with their head turned sideways on the pillow and their upper leg tucked up and possibly supported by a cushion. Take your time over this. Experiment until you find the position that’s just right. But don’t be surprised if you have to alter it as you go along, as you learn to relax various parts of your body. A relaxed body lies in a different position to a tense one.

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The same sort of problems which are caused by hidden food allergies can also be caused by exposure to common environmental chemicals. Many people now know that such chemicals may have long-term, harmful effects on the body and may cause cancer and other diseases. The damage done actually goes far beyond this, however. Common environmental chemicals have become a major source of chronic illnesses of many types in the United States and other industrialized countries.

Knowledge of this problem emerged slowly from the study of food allergy. Dr. Albert Rowe, one of the fathers of this field, reported in the 1930s on a peculiar reaction which he called “multiple fruit sensitivity.” A characteristic of this problem was that certain patients tended to become ill when they ingested a wide variety of fruits.

Susceptibility to fruit is fairly common, but usually such allergies center on one or more of the botanically distinct fruit families (see Appendix A). These patients, however, had allergies to most, or all, domestically grown fruit, including examples of up to ten different food families. It would be understandable for a person who was allergic to peaches also to be allergic to apricots, for they both form part of the same botanical group—the rose family. But why should a person react to peaches and also to, say, pineapples, bananas, and dates, which are members of two other distinctly different biological families?

I confirmed Rowe’s observations in my own practice, but neither he nor I could offer any logical explanation of the problem, and our reports caused a good deal of scepticism among some of our colleagues.

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Circumcision is the removal of the foreskin of the penis. Most boy babies have a cuff of skin (foreskin) that covers the end of the penis (the glans). The natural opening in the foreskin is usually large enough to allow urine through (rarely is there no opening at all). But in a condition called phimosis, the opening is not large enough to allow the foreskin to be pulled back to uncover the glans. It is important to be able to pull back the foreskin so that the normal, waxy material that forms under the foreskin (smegma) can be removed during bathing. When the opening in the foreskin is too small to allow the foreskin to be pulled back, the foreskin can be stretched by a doctor. However, if the penis is uncircumcised, there is some possibility that the pulled back foreskin cannot be drawn forward again and may act as a tourniquet, cutting off the blood supply to the glans (paraphimosis).

Circumcision has been practiced on all continents for centuries, both for religious reasons and as a ritual to reaching manhood. Its advantages are easier cleansing and lessened possibility of paraphimosis. However, contrary to what many people believe, circumcision does not protect the male against cancer of the penis. The disadvantages of circumcision are a slight chance of infection or bleeding after the operation (less than 1 percent); the brief pain of the operation; and rare, accidental injury to the glans during the operation.

In recent years many doctors have declared that circumcision is unnecessary surgery. On the other hand, many other doctors feel that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. The decision whether or not to circumcise male infants remains with the parents. Parents should ask questions and gather as much information as possible to help them make the decision.

Signs and symptoms

Circumcision is required only when boys are born with no opening in the foreskin, when the opening is too small to allow passage of urine, or when paraphimosis has developed and must be immediately corrected.

Home care

A circumcision should be covered, until healed (two to five days), with a nonstick bandage and gauze coated with petroleum jelly. The area should not be submerged in bath water until the wound has healed.

Precautions

• Any bleeding of the circumcised penis beyond a few drops should be reported to your doctor.

• If there are any signs of infection (pus, spreading redness, swelling of the shaft of the penis), see your doctor.

• Any part of the foreskin left after circumcision should be pulled back to expose the base of the glans, and this area should be cleansed during bathing.

• Boy babies born with malformations of the penis should not be circumcised because the foreskin may be used later during surgery to correct the malformation.

Medical treatment

Your doctor or religious leader will perform the circumcision, using one of a variety of approved techniques. Ask for specific directions for care of the circumcision. In a rare instance of postoperative infection, the doctor will culture the circumcision and blood, and start antibiotics.

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Clearly, few of these causes can be readily prevented by any one man or his partner because they go back to his upbringing-or indeed hers. Often a professional can help cure such background misunderstandings or inhibitions and so help the man regain his control. For many such men their premature ejaculation is an unconscious way of avoiding sex yet neither they nor their partners realize this is so. The prevention of further trouble involves sorting out the root cause and this can be time-consuming and difficult.

However, many couples don’t want to go down this path and would like to try something themselves. This is certainly worth doing, as it can produce good results and prevent premature ejaculation becoming a way of life. Here then are some basic preventive tips:

• If the man thinks the woman in any way contributes to the problem he should say so and the couple should talk it through. If he feels that he is trying to get back at her for some other dissatisfaction in life then they should talk it out and resolve the other problem in another way so that they don’t carry it over into sex.

• If the couple are having sex too infrequently so that he becomes ‘trigger-happy’ the answer is usually obvious. If more regular intercourse is not possible the man should masturbate every few days or his partner could masturbate him.

• Open display of the woman’s sexuality, including the sharing of her fantasies, helps many such men to start to see women as earthy sex-loving human beings instead of a sexless Madonna who should not be defiled. This sort of revelation alone can make a lot of difference.

• A very good and well-proven preventive is for the man to masturbate or get the woman to masturbate him (to orgasm) before intercourse. This defuses the situation and the man can later have a controllable orgasm to the pleasure of them both.

• Using a sheath can so reduce the level of sensation that the man receives from his penis that he can sometimes be totally cured of his problem.

• Weak anaesthetic creams or ointments work in the same way.

• Contracting the anus tightly at the end of each thrust helps some men gain control, as does penetrating deeply with the penis.

• Stop-start intercourse can also produce good results. In this the man makes love, but as soon as things begin to get too excited he stops thrusting and concentrates on the pattern of the wallpaper or counts the rings on the curtain rail, for example. Many women enjoy this teasing intercourse and it can help the man learn how to control his progress to ejaculation.

• A little alcohol can be a good preventive. It reduces the man’s anxiety about the act of intercourse (and he also has an excuse should things go badly).

• Here is an exercise for a woman to do with her partner, to help him learn to recognize the ‘almost there’ signs that his body produces and to be able to control them. This can be done by any caring couple who really want to succeed.

Set some time aside one evening and take the phone off the hook. Read something sexy or get in the mood in whatever way you choose. The woman should stimulate the man’s penis until it is fully erect. He then tells her when he feels he is about to climax, so that she can squeeze his penis very firmly (putting her finger and thumb on opposite sides of the rim at the base of the head), which will stop his erection in seconds.

Once he is limp she can start to re-stimulate him until he is erect again, whereupon she can squeeze him again. Continue this cycle until the woman can erect the man and collapse him at will for up to half an hour. At the end of this session she should masturbate him, or he should do so himself, so that he is not left ‘high and dry’.

Once you have practiced this for a few sessions you will be confident that he can control his ejaculations. In the next few sessions the woman can stimulate the man as before, but instead of squeezing his penis to stop the erection, she should leave his penis alone when he says he is about to climax, perhaps even getting him to do something else around the house. Repeat this procedure several times at one session. End with masturbating him as before.

The next stage involves the woman giving the man a really hard erection and then getting on top of him and gently putting his penis inside her. She should just sit on it without moving, getting him used to the feeling of being erect inside her and not ‘coming off. She should then move gently, and when he feels he is about to come off she either squeezes him with her fingers as before or lets him go down of his own accord.

Slowly, over several weeks the woman will be able to exert such control over the man’s penis that he will never come unless they both want him to. After such training most men can take over their own ejaculatory control and remain erect for half an hour or more inside their partner’s vagina, only coming when she is also ready.

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Unless you’ve had lessons, chances are that you don’t know how to breathe. And that’s trouble, says breath researcher and psychologist Gay Hendricks, Ph.D., who has taught Olympic athletes and thousands of other people how to breathe at his Hendricks Institute in Santa Barbara, California.

Dr. Hendricks conducted experiments and reviewed more than 300 scientific studies of “breathwork” while researching his popular book Conscious Breathing. He is convinced that most of us could use a few breathing lessons. Here’s why.

Breathing is how we rid most toxins, like carbon dioxide, from our bodies and how we cleanse and oxygenate our blood and every cell, says Dr. Hendricks. The remaining wastes are discharged through urine, sweat, and defecation. If we aren’t breathing right, other purification systems-such as our kidneys-get overworked.

But, Dr. Hendricks says, “there is one universal breathing problem: the tendency to hold your belly muscles too tense so that you can’t get a deep breath down into the center of your body.” Instead most of us breathe from the top of our lungs. Here’s the problem with that. “Less than Mo liter of blood per minute flows through the top of the lungs; 2/3 liter per minute flows through the middle of the lungs, and more than a liter flows through the bottom,” says Dr. Hendricks.

The chest breather constantly discharges too much carbon dioxide and takes in too little oxygen through short, shallow breaths. The imbalance forces the heart to work unauthorized overtime, and that raises the blood pressure.

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