Probiotics have been shown to help in:
• reducing general inflammation
• improving immune function to generally fight infections
• lowering blood pressure (that alone is such a surprising outcome: HOW do they do do it??)
• preventing harmful bacterial growth in stress situations
• lowering cholesterol
• mitigating irritable bowel syndrome and colitis
• improving mineral absorption
• the prevention of colon cancer
• to alleviate rotavirus infections in children
• healing travelers' diarrhea in adults
• preventing secondary infections in antibiotic therapy
• preventing Helicobacter pylori infection of the stomach
• preventing urinary tract infections and infectious prostatitis
• lowering the incidence of antibiotic-associated diarrhea due to Clostridium difficile
Translated, probiotic means “for life’ and is obviously the contrary expression to antibiotic, “against life.” Don’t get me wrong, antibiotics can save lives, but there is no doubt that physicians have over-prescribed them since they came on the market during World War II. Now we have to live with the consequences: Resistant bacteria.
Probiotics, on the other hand, are not likely to do any harm to your body. In fact, they are the most helpful supplement money can buy, in my opinion (the second is fish oil). Try different strains because the above effects have been shown not to be general to be related to individual bacterial strains.
Side effects may be cramping and occasional diarrhea. If one strain bothers you, try another brand. I personally like PrimalDefense which also contains chlorella - but as usual, I do not endorse a product, and want to hear from you which brand you prefer. Also, start with a low dose, and slowly go up, as your bowels get used to it.
The thinking is that helpful gut bacteria like Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium will repopulate the intestines, but one study showed that the benefits even accrue with dead bacteria. However they work - they do work. Read More
Blog: On Health. On Writing. On Life. On Everything.
Happy birthday, Sebastian!
May 17, 2010
Sebastian Kneipp (1821 to 1897)
Sebastian Kneipp (1821 to1897) celebrates his birthday today, May 17th.
He was born as a poor weaver’s son in Bavaria/Germany, destined to become a weaver, too. But he was a gifted child. Supported by the local teacher and his mother, he finally made it into priest seminary – only to get sick with consumption (tuberculosis). Given up by several physicians, he embarked on his own healing process, found a little booklet about the Cold Water Cure that had been inspired by the Staffordshire physician John Floyer. In case you think, Floyer was just another British quack: He introduced counting the pulse rate into medicine.
Sebastian Kneipp, without medical training, jumped into the gray Danube River in winter, three times a week, and cured himself. From there, he went on to develop his Five Pillars of Health (water, movement, food, herbs, order) and became world famous.
With World War I, World War I and the Holocaust everything German was despised here – and natural healing was replaced by scientific medicine, especially after the Flexner report denounced everything that did not come from modern medicine as “unscientific.” It took disgruntled patients (and the Internet) to return to the old truths.
My connection to Sebastian Kneipp? I grew up in Germany after World War II, and Kneipp’s principles were part of the landscape: We took cold showers, ate heartily and slept with windows open – but in medical school I found “scientific” medicine so much more enticing and scoffed at the old folk medicine that was way too much connected to the Nazis for my sensibilities.
Until I started practicing real medicine and realized that for chronic disease we physicians had not much to offer. The pills - because of side-effects - were often a worse cure than the disease. So, I read up on the old stuff, only half convinced, but always looking out for things to help my patients.
During a sabbatical year in my home country I did courses for a degree in Natural Medicine, and it was then that I spotted a reprint of Sebastian Kneipp’s most famous book (sold in the millions): My Water Cure. I took it in my hand, a bit curious how the old Kneipp would hold up to modern times – and I was immediately hooked. He understood the human body and the rest of the human predicament so well, I found, that on that spot I decided to write and bring his ideas again to the U.S. I say “back” because around the beginning of the twentieth century a “cold water craze” had already swept this country, with spas and doctors practicing natural medicine; they even had their own magazines and newspapers!
Of course, it is not an either-or – we need modern medicine and natural medicine, and both have to stand up to scientific scrutiny. But our bodies and souls are ancient, with ancient requirements. For acute diseases like infections, accidents, even some cancers, modern medicine has made great strife, and we are grateful for it. In chronic disease, modern medicine is still looking for that miracle pill – when only going to the roots and changing your lifestyle the old-fashioned way will get you to that glowing state of health that is your birthright.
Happy birthday, Sebastian!
You'll find an etching of Sebastian Kneipp on the "medical questions?" page. Read More
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Teenage Hell On Earth: Acne
May 16, 2010
In Natural Medicine, the skin is one of the four elimination organs. The other three are the lungs, the kidney/bladder and the bowel. If one of these is diseased or overloaded with toxins, the excess has to be dealt with by the skin. And it often comes out as acne, especially in young people when hormones totter from childhood to adulthood. Imbalances in hormones during puberty might trigger acne but are usually not the whole problem. And acne is not solely a teenage problem.
In acne – as in many skin diseases – the gut is ailing. The main culprit in the SAD diet (Standard American Diet) is dairy – cheese, milk, and so on.
Besides giving your inflamed bowel a respite from inflammatory food, here is what else you can do against acne:
• Take a probiotic to re-establish gut flora. Add fish oil against inflammation.
• Do not touch face or other areas with your fingers because bacteria – fed by unhealthy fare – bring a pimple to bloom.
• Use a face cloth only once. Everyone should at least have two dozen face cloths. Buy them in bulk, cheap.
• Do not squeeze pimples as this can leave scars. You can squeeze blackheads (comedones) after a bath or shower when they are soft. Always disinfect with rubbing alcohol, hamamelis water (witch hazel) or tea tree oil.
• Take a cold shower always after a hot one or a bath.
• Wash your face frequently with cold water during the day.
• Do not use soap, detergents, make-up, creams in your face. Cold water is all it needs. With very oily skin, a once or twice per week facial scrub (ground almonds, apricot kernels, rolled oats – the simpler, the better) is recommended. Avoid soapy additions. Keep hair grease away from your face.
• Sauna supports the skin in its elimination functions.
• Daily short exposure to sun is essential for healing.
• Incorporate breathing exercises in your routine. For a starter take three deep breaths (always start with exhalation) every hour on the hour (or as often as you think about it; don’t hold your breath; let it flow).
• The salty water of the ocean has healing properties that can be used during vacation times. At home, salt baths (with or without herbal additions) or mud compresses can simulate the real thing.
• Get involved in sports. All movement will help to eliminate your bowels faster – and the bowel is at the root of most cases of acne.
• Drink plenty of water – at least seven cups per day, more with exercise, from a beautiful cup. No purpose, though, running around all day with a bottle of water in your hand. One does not dehydrate that fast!
• Facial steam baths with chamomile are soothing.
• A Hildegard of Bingen recipe: Store grated horseradish in apple vinegar; clean skin with the solution (I have not tried it yet - let me know if you have!).
• Herbs for internal cleansing: dandelion root and stinging nettle (as a mix or single ingredients), together or singly. As capsules or tea.
• Beyond dairy: Eat fruit and vegetables as much as possible. Rule out gluten intolerance). Reduce animal fats and meats. No dairy and milk chocolate. Avoid all sugars and white starches.
• Quit smoking.
• Get enough sleep.
• Move! Walk and do yoga. The more you move, the better your body gets rid of ugly toxins.
• Against scarring acne get the help of a dermatologist – but avoid long-term antibiotics for minor acne because they only will confound the underlying problems in your bowels. Read More