Summertime Blues
Along with warmer weather we spend more time outdoors. Picnics, camping, outdoor barbecues and sports leave us exposed to more accidents and injuries. Insect bites, bee stings poison ivy & oak all contribute to adventures we could best do without. Sport accidents are the most common injuries in the Emergency Room during these months. This issue will explore many natural remedies available to us. Their advantage is that they work as well or even better than over-the-counter (OTC) drugs with no side effects.
All functions of the body require enzymes. So whether we use homeopathy, acupuncture or other modalities to bring about healing, metabolic enzymes (those made by the body’s own cells) ultimately must "do their work". When we consume cooked, processed food we use up our metabolic enzymes for digestion. Over time this dramatically reduces our ability to heal quickly and efficiently.
Clearing the site of an insect bite or bee sting requires enzymes to neutralize any poison or venom. Amylase is the enzyme that digests starches in carbohydrates. It is essential in healing insect bites, stings, poison ivy & oak. However, because this culture overemphasizes carbohydrates, we exhaust amylase reserves at an early age. We grow up eating refined cereal for breakfast, sandwiches made from "Wonder Bread" for lunch and potatoes or "Uncle Ben’s" white rice with dinner. Not to mention all the in-between-meal snacks that are nothing more than empty starch and fat. Many people now have life-threatening reactions to what might have been relatively innocuous incidences.
Why do some people have near-death experiences from bee stings or similar allergic reactions while others seem little affected other than pain or swelling? Could it, in part, be due to years of over-consumption of simple carbohydrates? By supplementing with highly concentrated amylase (in a balanced formula) and reducing simple carbohydrates in the diet, one will reduce and eventually eliminate such reactions. By using Homeopathic remedies in conjunction with enzymes, healing takes place naturally & quickly.
Enzyme formulas very high in amylase, speed the healing process while reducing itching and swelling caused by stings, bites, poison ivy & oak. These are taken immediately at the time of the incidence. For those with life-threatening reactions, taking enzyme formulas daily with a Homeopathic remedy specific for the known condition will minimize the reaction and may prevent any serious response in the future.
Protease is one of the enzymes to digest protein in the stomach. It also digests foreign protein in the blood in the form of bacteria, virus or undigested food. Phagocytosis is the action of white blood cells (WBC’s) surrounding foreign elements in the blood and digesting them. WBC’s secrete enzymes, particularly protease, to accomplish this. All cells have the ability to act like white blood cells. They can engulf a foreign object and destroy it by secreting enzymes. This is known as pinocytosis. However, this ability becomes limited due to the over consumption of protein and the demand for the body to digest it. Eating too much food simply exhausts our enzyme reserves. Dr. Edward Howell, the pioneer in plant enzyme therapy, stated," The length of life is inversely proportional to the amount of enzymes we have." The more enzymes we use up in digestion, the shorter our life. Our immune systems need protein to manufacture new white blood cells. WBC’s need concentrated proteases to digest foreign invaders.
Summer colds and flu, infections, parasites, and spider bites (poison) require a healthy immune system to resolve the illness quickly. Protease clears foreign proteins in the blood through the action of the white blood cells. How deficient are you in this key enzyme?
Sports injuries occur at a higher rate during the summer. Joints are more prone to accidents as we slide into home base or jump to get the rebound. Twisting and turning, we forget how old we are and wind up with an injury. Bruising is the action of blood vessels being damaged with blood leaking into the surrounding tissue. Fibrin is created by platelets to help coagulate blood. After we get hit with a baseball, enzymes break down fibrin to remove waste and dead cells from the injured tissue and bring nutrients into the tissue to repair the damaged cells. Protease is the essential enzyme responsible for this action. Blood clots form at the site of trauma to seal the wound, but they also slow the healing process. Enzymes actually speed up the process.
Homeopathy - A Brief Summary
Homeopathy was established in the late 1700’s & early 1800’s by Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, a German physician. Dr. Hahnemann advocated decades before Dr. Lister (Listerine), that physicians wash their hands between patients to prevent transmission of disease from one patient to another. He observed how ineffective medicine was at that time, and the needless suffering caused by doctors. This was a time when doctors gave patients mercury (a highly toxic poison) and performed blood letting to "get the bad blood out".
He discovered in the earlier writings of Hyppocrites and Paraclesus a medical model that made sense. They believed in the innate capacity of human beings to heal themselves. Symptoms are a sign of the body’s attempt to heal. Instead of suppressing them one should stimulate them and encourage the healing process.
"Homoeopathy" (original English spelling) comes from Greek meaning "similar suffering". The basic principles of Homeopathy are:
 | A substance (animal, mineral or vegetable) that, in large doses, causes a certain disease will also cure it; "Similia Similibus Curentur" - "Like Cures Like". |
| By extreme dilution, the medicine’s curative properties are enhanced, while all the poisonous or undesirable side effects are inactivated. |
| Remedies are prescribed by the study of the whole person, according to their individuality - "Treat the patient not the disease by name". |
By matching the symptoms of the patient to the known actions of the substance, the appropriate remedy is administered. Symptoms are merely the sign the body is trying to bring about homeostasis (balance). What is remarkable about Homeopathic medicine is that if you do not use the most appropriate remedy - nothing happens!
In other words, should you not take the "right" remedy there is no reaction, unlike drugs wherein there always will be some negative side effect. This makes Homeopathy especially safe for children. Should a child find a remedy and swallow some of it, nothing will happen if it is not specific for that child’s condition. If it is the "right" remedy, there might be an increase in the symptoms for a short period of time. But there are never any debilitating side effects.
Homeopathic remedies, you do not touch the remedy. Instead, pour a few pellets into the cap of the bottle and place them on your tongue. Hold them there for a few seconds to melt. Do not chew them. Take them away from food. An "Emergency Kit" containing the enzyme formulas and Homeopathic remedies listed here are available from Radiant Health Services. Another wonderful remedy to many things is Tea Tree Oil. Tea Tree oil is a powerful antiseptic, anti-fungal remedy. It can be applied to mosquito & insect bites, Athlete’s foot and many other wounds. Apply to small areas only. To cover larger areas, mix with calendula oil or cream. Keep away from eyes. This can also be obtained through health food stores or as part of the Kit.
Bach Flower remedies are available. Often times there are emotional aspects to illness that we may not be aware of. Stress, whether it is nutritional, mechanical or emotional affects us at deep levels. We may ignore it because we must "get on with life". However, that does not change the stress. Dr. Loomis maintains, along with other doctors, "There is only one disease and it is stress." Initially, stress is reflected in our language, feelings and relationships. How we respond and any predisposition we may have genetically partially determines where in the body it may manifest. Bach Flower remedies were developed by Dr. Edward Bach, an English physician between 1930 and 1936. He practiced Homeopathy and taught that the basis of disease was disharmony between the spiritual and mental aspects of humans.
This disharmony lowered the body’s vitality and allowed disease to manifest. He perfected a system of flower essences from plants that were "potentized" according to the principles of Homeopathy. The 38 remedies were designed to balance the emotional aspect of disease. The remedies have been used successfully for over 50 years worldwide. The best known of these, "Rescue Remedy", is a combination of five flower essences. As the name implies, it is very useful in times of great stress, & trauma.
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