...and we like to write about how we can all achieve better health, naturally. Sometimes tips on how you can DIY to better health and sometimes on the therapies that can make a difference to you, your health and wellbeing. Thank you for reading, We hope you enjoy :)
Milk (as well as dairy products in general) and its impact on our health has been a subject to much debate in the last couple of years with arguments ranging from our inability to properly digest it, through to increased mucus production, IBS as well as animal welfare concerns. Is it one of your diet staples? Cow’s milk is the most popular option of baby milk formula as well as base for many foods and desserts, especially those aimed at the younger population. Think we are all accustomed with a much advertised phrase that ‘milk is good for strong and healthy bones’ but did you know that it is also a leading cause of fatal anaphylactic shock in children? Forget bee stings, peanuts or eggs! According to a 20-year-long study, milk is an undisputed causer of severe and life-threating allergic reactions in the younger generation! Here are some facts: * 30% of all cases of anaphylactic shock episodes are linked to food items * hospital admissions for severe allergic responses have increased every year (1998-2018) but their fatality rate is gradually declining. * EpiPens and other adrenaline injector prescriptions have increased by 336% within the period of this study- that’s 11% more prescriptions needed each year * most hospitalisations involve children under 15 years of age * 26% of fatal anaphylaxis in school aged children is linked to cow’s milk
Aconite, Aconitum, Wolf’s Bane or Monkshood (due to the curious shape of its flowers), is a highly poisonous plant which can be found in mountainous regions of Europe and Asia. Even being in a close proximity to this plant can cause symptoms in those who are very sensitive to it, yet you can find it growing in abundance beside the mountain paths and clearings.
Why would I mention Aconite as a remedy for shock and fever is it’s so highly poisonous?
Because a Homeopathic preparation of Aconite is completely non-toxic! Homeopathy depends on a like-cures-like scenario, so symptoms helped by remedy made from Aconite will be similar to the effects of its poisoning.
When would you benefit from a dose of Homeopathic Aconite: * let’s say you’ve been out for a walk. The weather has turned quite cold just recently and the wind felt even colder. Upon coming back home you are feeling ‘chilled to the bone’, can’t seem to warm up and just KNOW that this will result in you ending up with a cold, fever or even flu! * forwarding from the above scenario where you didn’t take Aconite as soon as you came back home (which would have nipped any development of symptoms ‘in the bud’), you wake up flushed and bothered with a fever of 39 degrees! How did it spike up so high? You try to sit up and all of a sudden you feel pale and need to lie back down. Only problem is that you can’t find a comfortable position in your bed. On top of that, you are feeling too hot, then too cold and you are starting to worry that you might not make it till lunch time! * you have experienced an accident (or narrowly missed one!) which resulted in feelings of intense panic, like the proverbial ‘deer in the headlights’. It might have left you feel paralysed, shaky and your heart might have felt as if it was about to burst out of your chest. It might have happened an hour or a year ago but you can’t seem to shake off the feeling you experienced in that situation, it can even come back in form of nightmares which feel so real that you wake up and sit up bolt straight in you bed, trying to figure out if it really was just a dream or if it was happening again.
In essence, you can take a dose of Homeopathic Aconite if: * you are experiencing an illness which has came on all of a sudden and with great intensity (like a sudden fever after feeling completely healthy the day before). * the symptoms you are experiencing have not been present for more than 48hrs * you are having a panic attack with palpitations and conviction that you will die soon
If you have never used homeopathy before, here are some pointers: * please do not touch the homeopathic granules with your hands, tip one granule onto the lid before putting it in your mouth * don’t swallow the homeopathic remedies! They don’t absorb through your digestive system like the medicines you might be used to, please allow for them to dissolve under your tongue * please leave 15-20 minutes between taking your remedy and having something to eat or drink (apart from water, which you can drink as much and as often as you want!) * 1 granule = 1 dose. Taking 2 (or more) granules of the remedy will not make it work any faster or stronger, homeopathy works a bit like an ‘information’ therapy- it lets your body know where and how to bring back the balance and, once it’s done that, your body if fully capable of applying all of the needed changes. This also means that it’s impossible to overdose on homeopathy- whether you take just 1 granule or the whole remedy vial at once, your body will still receive one dose of the information. * for sudden problems, you can take up to 3 doses of the remedy within 24 hours, each dose will act as a further ‘nudge’ for your body to deal with the symptoms. If, after 48 hours your symptoms change or have not improved, please get in touch with a homeopath as it’s very likely that you may need a different remedy! * peppermint, camphor and menthol act as antidotes to homeopathic remedies. If you diffuse one of them as essential oils or have a peppermint tea whilst taking homeopathy, you have a very good chance of the remedies not working!
As we step into 2021, with a common understanding of what it is to stay within the bounds of our homes, those 4 walls and our comfort zones we have simultaneously learnt that there is no such thing as security for what is projected to be.
Many of us have lost jobs, began the search for a new one or ventured into starting our own businesses to provide a solution to the world’s current problems.
We know that the world is quite literally rocky terrain and with the prospects of a climate disaster, our generations and the future generations yet to come hold even less security, than what we have felt this year.
I write to provide some hope to the population that maybe we might consider stepping out of our comfort zones to try something new, prescribe to something bigger, something better, a new paradigm that consists of belief; the belief that we are capable of doing a whole heap more, belief in the essence of providing for ourselves and our families in the midst of a pandemic and belief in whatever may come next.
How you provide can come in many ways; financially, physically, emotionally, the basics of shelter, food and water but none of these are successful unless we nurture ourselves with what we need most self-care, love, warmth and kindness. Our outlook and our perception is all it takes to create a luminous world of opportunity. We have knowledge to understand that we don’t know everything and that that is ok. As long as our minds provoke and encourage us to be more and to do more of what makes us feel nourished, mindful in the fact that we can accomplish all we set out to. The more encumbered behaviours we bestow the more we face malnutrition, malnutrition of the values we hold, a filtered down version of that which is good for us.
With the New Year in bloom, I ask that you truly assess whether you are aligned with the nourishing activities that make you feel whole, real and alive. If you are not, I request that you practice mindfulness and sync your reality to the one you wish for.
Coaching can help you hold yourself to account so that more of your behaviours are in line with the world you want to create for yourself.
Despite it already being Spring time, it looks like the season of colds and coughs is nowhere near left behind yet!
The recent outbreak of Coronavirus is not helping the matters in any way, with current NHS advice to self- isolate (which I urge you to follow) on sign of any symptoms which may relate to corona, it becomes very frightening to start noticing a bit of a sore throat or the dreaded cough in yourself or your loved ones!
Whilst there is no current cure or proven treatment for the circulating strain of coronavirus, there are many tried and tested approaches to coughs and colds which may come very useful when used alongside other measures.
With this in mind, my top 4 herbs for a sore throat and dry cough are:
Licorice root- which has a very strong soothing and anti-inflammatory action- you can try it as a syrup, lozenges or even as tea!
Marshmallow root- known to relieve cough which is dry and hacking in character- cost commonly found as a tea or extract
Plantain- especially useful for coughs which seem to have no end and there’s some wheezing involved
Slippery Elm- has a coating and soothing action for throat- you can try it as a tea
My top 4 homeopathic remedies for dry coughs are:
Aconite- if the cough seems to come on suddenly and ‘out of nowhere’, especially if accompanied by high fever and a lot of feelings of anxiety
Bryonia- especially useful if the cough causes a splitting headache and you feel like holding your sides in order to cough
Kali Carb- if you need to sit up in order to be able to get relief whilst coughing and the attacks usually come on at night
Phosphorus- if the cough is a result of a tickling sensation and causes burning in your chest
but:
If you feel very cold and swallowing causes a stabbing pain in your throat (especially if it travels to your right ear), please try Hepar Sulph!
There are many remedies, both herbal and homeopathic, which could be used for cough symptoms and, in order to be of the most benefit, need to be chosen to the exact symptoms you are experiencing.
If you are looking to support your immune system in this stressful and taxing time, I can recommend my top 3 supplements:
Our Homeopath, Jadwiga James, is offering Skype, Whatsapp and Vsee consultations to support you in managing your symptoms. You can contact her directly by emailing: comp.med.clinic@gmail.com
