Herbal Health

Mrs. R. Kapur was a well-educated and capable house-wife, and had all the wherewithalls of modern life to keep her happy.But she always looked despondent and was hesitant in all activities of life.When asked, why she was so hesitant and diffident, she confessed that she could not explain why she was not feeling equal to others, but it was a fact that she felt there was something lacking in her. There was a lurking fear in her that she could not do anything correctly. She avoided moving in society for fear she might pass some remark which would offend somebody. If she started to do something, she had no confidence that she would do the job correctly, and therefore she was hesitant in doing the job. When she saw others enjoying and laughing, she wanted to be like them, but she felt inferior to them. She further divulged that she inherited this negativism from her father in early childhood, when he was always critical of her in whatever she did. Larch Remedy T.D.S. was given for 2 months to change her temperament to positive thinking with full confidence in herself.*136\308\8*

As a matter of fact the essential oils and fixed oils are not the purified chemicals but they contain certain sterols, fatty acids, aldehydes, terpenes and alcohols. These chemical compounds when present in oils may impart to their antifungal or antibacterial property. However, the inhibitory action in oils may be due to the presence of one active ingradient or it may be a result of a synergestic action of different constituents of the concerned oil. The belief that active principle(s) in isolated form may prove of greater importance triggered interest in certain studies with the purified isolated components from higher plants. Three constituents of essential oils of Ocimum americanum have been tested against keratinophilic fungi by Jain and Agrawal. Their studies indicated strong fungi-toxicity in the samples of eugenol acetate and geranyl acetate. Later studies by Jain et al. have also confirmed the fungitoxic nature of above chemical components against Nannizzia species but the toxicity was less than the control i.e., 1000 ppm griseofulvin. These components have also been tested for their antibacterial properties against Klebsiella and against 3 species of Bacillus, 2 of Staphylococcus a/bus and Vibrio cholerae. All the test components of O. americanum (eugenol acetate, geranyl acetate or methyl heptanone) have indicated antibactrial nature against test bacteria.

Besides above three constituents of essential oils, some fatty acids such as oleic acid, linoleic acid and linolenic acid have been tested individually for their fungitoxic nature against pathogenic fungi by Nathanson . All the fatty acids have been reported to possess fungitoxic properties. Saponins obtained from Asparagus adscendens have also shown remarkable antibacterial properties in some experiments performed by Grover and Rao. However, their fungitoxic nature have not been established.
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Grown commercially throughout many regions of the United States, ginseng is much prized for its reported sexual restorative value. It is believed that ginseng affects the pituitary gland, increasing resistance to stress, affecting metabolism, aiding skin and muscle tone, and providing the hormonal balance necessary for a healthy sex life. Other purported benefits include increased endurance, increased muscle strength, improved recovery from exercise, improved oxygen metabolism during exercise, improved auditory and visual reaction time, and improved mental concentration.
Studies of the effectiveness of ginseng, however, have raised questions about it: primarily, what are appropriate dosages, and how long should it be taken to realize benefits? Because the potency of plants varies considerably, dosage is difficult to control and side effects are fairly common. Noteworthy side effects of high usage include nervousness, insomnia, high blood pressure, headaches, skin eruptions, chest pain, depression, and abnormal vaginal bleeding.
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Echinacea, or the purple cornflower, is found primarily in the Midwest and the prairie regions of the United States. Two of the nine species of echinacea in the United States are now on the federal endangered species list, a cause of growing concern for many environmentalists as the herb’s popularity has grown. Believed to be used extensively by Native Americans for centuries, echinacea eventually gained widespread acceptance in the United States before being shipped to Europe, where its use grew gradually over the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Today, echinacea has emerged as the best-selling herb in health and natural food stores in the United States and is widely used throughout most of the world. It is said to stimulate the immune system and, more specifically, to increase the effectiveness of the white blood cells that attack bacteria and viruses. Many people believe it to be helpful in preventing and treating the symptoms of a cold or flu. In spite of many studies in Europe that have provided preliminary evidence of echinacea’s effectiveness, however, there remains a great deal of skepticism and controversy about it. Recent controlled trials in the United States indicate that echinacea is no more effective in preventing a cold than is a placebo.
As with many of the herbal treatments, little research has been conducted on the benefits and risks of echinacea. Preliminary findings indicate that it should not be taken in certain situations. Because echinacea can affect the immune system, people with autoimmune diseases such as arthritis should not take it. Pregnant women and those with diabetes or multiple sclerosis also should abstain from taking echinacea, as should anyone allergic to the daisy family of plants. Until more is known about echinacea, rest and vitamin С may still be your best bets in warding off a cold.
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Health is the birth-right of man. Health means complete harmony in the working of the body, mind & soul.
Each individual event, howsoever unimportant, has some divine purpose behind it.
Every life has some divine purpose behind it and the soul executes the divine will through the agency of the body and mind so that the harmonious working of the three results in complete peace and happiness.
In the excution of Divine Will no sacrifice is called for. It is not necessary to run to jungles in order to seek peace, Neither it is necessary to shun the beauty of nature and the pleasures therefrom in order to be happy. Rather one should derive the maximum pleasure from all things of the world. One should apply his mind fully to the work he does, and if he derives the maximum pleasure while doing his job, and develops love for his work, then it should be understood that that work is according to the Divine Will and his destiny lies in continuing to do that work without fear or interference from any quarter.
When man is convinced that such and such work is in accordance with the Divine Will and he can spend his life span on this planet with happiness and a sense of fulfilment, only through such work, then he would not brook any interference in his mission from any quarter, nor would he cause any obstruction in the other’s way of life. Whenever an obstruction is placed in the chosen way of life of a person, his mental peace is disturbed. The harmonious working of his soul, mind and body is upset and his health suffers.
Take the case of a child who has a natural liking for Art. If he is forced to take any other profession, say engineering or medical, then his natural development suffers. He cannot feel pleasure or sense of fulfilment in any other line. He will ultimately revert to Art as his profession or if that is not possible due to certain circumstances, he would adopt Art as a part time hobby. It is only Art, through which he can feel a sense of fulfilment and become really happy. It is therefore necessary for a fruitful and a happy healthy life that there should be no obstruction in the chosen way of life of any person, provided that the chosen way of life is according to his natural inclination, his inner voice, the voice of his soul.
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It is mainly young people and athletes who find it difficult to be sensible and not go beyond what is physically good for their health. There are times when they do not seem to understand the importance of warming up in order to help the muscles and internal organs to acquire sufficient elasticity. Sports physicians, gynaecologists and other specialists are well aware of this since they have to deal with the consequences of carelessness. We should not overtax ourselves to the point of exhaustion in our work, and how much less should this be done in sports activities! Those who go beyond what is reasonable when they are supposed to relax and restore their energies show a lack of knowledge and understanding. In some cases they are driven by ambition that, strictly speaking, creates an attitude which has nothing to do with sportsmanship.

It is impossible to establish general rules that would constitute an exact standard or yardstick regarding the energy we can safely spend, because each person has to take into account his constitution, his physical and mental reserves and, last but not least, his age. It really depends upon our individual capabilities and need for rest and sleep, which can vary enormously from one person to another. For this reason, what follows are only guidelines, intended to point you in the right direction regarding how much you can do.

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For several decades now there have been new materials and products on the market, based on fibres that are made synthetically by machines. The principle of manufacture is similar to the one used by the silk worm in making its fibre or thread. Indeed, every time man intends to produce a substitute for a natural material he has to learn from the marvels of nature. A liquid pressed through fine nozzles hardens into a tough thread when exposed to the air. The thread is then spun and woven like silk. The resulting artificial fibre, called nylon, perlon or other names, is of great importance to industry. However, is wearing such synthetic materials healthy and can it be recommended? The answer to this question is of great interest to the many patients whose letters have so often made this enquiry.

We can only base our answer on experience and observed facts; for example, these artificial fibres had hardly been on the market any time at all when many women began to complain of aches and pains after wearing stockings made from them. Synthetic lingerie produced the same unpleasant reactions, such as pain similar to that experienced with rheumatism. Yet it is strange that not all people are affected in the same way when wearing synthetic materials.

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What has been said about sunflower seeds applies equally to poppy seeds. As part of the diet these seeds are worthy of far more consideration than they have hitherto received. One should not be content with making a poppy seed cake once in a while, or on certain holidays during the year as they do in Hungary. Instead of putting them in cakes, poppy seeds should be eaten regularly. They do not contain opiates as some people think, as the opium is obtained from the seed capsule and not from the seeds themselves. It sometimes happens that fruits or nuts do have a slight trace of a harmful substance, for example the hydrocyanic acid contained in plums. However, this is no cause for worry. The substance is an integral part of the fruit and, as such, does not act in the same way as the pure, extracted acid would. It is only found in infinitesimal quantities, in what one could say was a homoeopathic potency, and far from being harmful, it can actually do some good.

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Imported vegetables can pose dangers if they are not 100 per cent clean and so are perhaps infected with typhoid bacilli or carriers of dysentery or some other infectious disease. If you live in a hot country or in the tropics, never eat any raw food or fruit that you cannot peel or disinfect. The same advice goes for anyone who travels to such countries. It as advisable to be scrupulous in this respect, for the damage is quickly done. When peeling fruit, do not forget to disinfect the skin first, since anything adhering to it can stick to your fingers and, in turn, infect the peeled fruit before you eat it. Constant caution is indispensable, even though it may make life a little more complicated.

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For years now I have no longer simply dug or turned over the garden or a field and spread the manure over the soil, in other words, applied a top-dressing. Rather, I cover the manured soil with grass, carrot tops or other vegetable waste, so that the organic manure, such as compost, cannot be dried out by the sun. I plant seedlings with a dipper, then spread freshly cut grass around them, about 1 cm (about Vi inch) thick. This top-dressing, or cover, is renewed after about three months when the soil is still moist, the bacteria have multiplied and the plants have grown much faster than when treated the usual way. This method has also given good results with berry bushes and shrubs. However, you must take care that the grass or weeds used are still young; do not use them when they contain ripe seeds.

This green manure will make hoeing unnecessary. And since any-germinating seeds under the green cover will suffocate and die, weeds will not be able to grow.

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