Herbal Health

The physical examination should be done repeatedly and systematically. Diagnostic clues can be noticed for the first time, can be transiently present, or can evolve over time. One should view the whole body, removing all clothing, prosthetic limbs, dentures, and bandages. Tooth pain (possible abscess), temporal artery pain or nodularity (suggesting giant cell arteritis), skin rashes or pigmentations, oral or genital ulcerations, pain along any veins (suggestive of septic thrombophlebitis), lymphadenopathy, new cardiac murmurs (possible endocarditis), pelvic pain or abnormalities in women, and testicular pain or genital abnormalities in men can all give clues to various causes of FUO. Given the variety of diagnostic clues that may be gleaned from ophthalmologic examination, it is also not unreasonable to have a thorough fundoscopic evaluation performed by an ophthalmologist. *151/348/5*

If you and your partner have been experiencing sexual problems or dissatisfaction, and if you are being afflicted by one or more relationship trouble spots, chances are that you do not feel as close to each other as you once did. You may be engaging in power struggles and adding distance to your relationship by withdrawing, arguing, or withholding sex. In fact, you may have completely lost sight of each other’s positive qualities and the good things you do get from your relationship. This negative perspective makes you feel like you’re not getting enough, and so you’re likely to give less. And as you give less, your partner is likely to respond in kind. This leads to a downward spiral that leaves both of you feeling deprived.
The first step toward restoring intimacy is rediscovering the up side of a relationship that may have been going downhill for quite some time now. This may be difficult for you to do at first, because conflict, bitterness, anger, and pain are fresh in your mind. The following exercise gives you and your partner an opportunity to pay more attention to the positive elements and potential of your relationship. It asks you to take small, specific steps toward increasing the pleasure of intimate exchanges. Those steps will pave the way for the more difficult steps you may have to take later.
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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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But let’s have a reality check about what HRT, which is starting to look like a magic bullet, can really do. Low bone density is about a lot more than low estrogen—hip fracture rates rise well before menopause for Caucasian women, when their estrogen levels are still high. About half your lifetime bone loss occurs before menopause begins, and taking estrogen around menopause won’t do anything about that. Many, many of the more than a million fractures from low bone density that occur each year are in women who are taking estrogen. Up to 30 percent of women do not lose significant amounts of bone after menopause, and for them, the risks of HRT may outweigh the benefits. For women who do experience a dramatic drop in bone density, estrogen does slow bone loss, but the jury is still out about whether it can, on its own, do anything about increasing bone formation or even about limiting the slowdown in that arena. Your Z-score will eventually get back to normal—the level expected for someone of your age—but your T-score, the true measure of healthy bones, may never be reached using HRT alone. HRT can reverse the trend of bone loss, but it can’t replace what is already gone. And despite what HRT can do for your heart and how it can prevent strokes, we also know that smart diet, exercise, and lifestyle choices can do equally well—or better.
Then comes the biggest downside: an increase in cancer risk. Estrogen ups the risk of endometrial cancer by ten times when it is prescribed on its own. That’s why, for women who have a uterus, it should be taken together with a progestin. The combination of hormones puts the cancer risk back at normal, or is perhaps even protective.
The bigger (though less well documented) fear is of an increase in breast cancer risk. It isn’t hard to find alarmists who want to lay every case of breast cancer in this country at the feet of HRT and birth control pills (which are also estrogen based). Some valid controversy does surround the degree of risk involved. Some studies have shown a negligible difference on HRT, but some have shown an increase of up to 30 percent (in women taking hormones for at least five years before age 65—just what most experts generally recommend you do). And some evidence indicates that women who get breast cancer while taking hormones actually have a lower mortality rate than those who get it while not on HRT. If there is an increase in the rate of breast cancer, it is a small one. But with the lifetime risk of breast cancer already so high—one in nine women in this country, or over 11 percent, will have it—even a 1 percent change puts the rate up over 14 percent. That’s thirty-three more breast cancers detected per thousand women (on top of the 111 you’d already expect).
The key thing to remember—the fact most people overlook— is how much more common heart disease is in women than breast cancer. Breast cancer provokes a more visceral response, but the reality is that the average woman is much more likely to have serious heart disease than to have breast cancer, and far more likely to die from the former than the latter. One of every three women under 40 right now, and one in two women after menopause, will develop heart disease sometime in the future. That’s at least three times the commonly quoted one-in-nine risk for breast cancer.
More American women die from heart disease each year than anything else (conservative estimates put the numbers at 233,000 of them, vs. 43,000 for breast cancer and 65,000 for hip fracture). Of course, that means different things on a statistical and an individual level. If you are the one with breast cancer, the smaller likelihood of that happening means nothing to you. But since most of us can’t reasonably guess ahead of time if we are headed for breast cancer (setting aside those already known to be at high risk), the odds for large groups are the best we have to go on.
Even studies showing an increase in breast cancer in women taking estrogen do not show an increase in the death rate. In fact, women who take estrogen turn out to live longer on the whole, probably because of the many health benefits of being on HRT. Part of the confusion may arise from the fact that on HRT, breast cancer seems to appear earlier, but then have a lower recurrence rate. Estrogen may play a role, but probably promotes breast cancer that is already there rather than causing a new cancer itself. The most alarming studies were on estrogen alone, so it remains unclear if the addition of progestins mitigates or intensifies any increase in risk. At least one study suggests that your risk will return to normal (if it in fact increased) within five years of discontinuing estrogen use, and other studies show that the higher the lifetime dose of estrogen, the higher the breast cancer risk is.
You also have to throw into the mix the various potential side effects of HRT, which run the gamut from weight gain, nausea, vomiting, cramps, breast swelling and tenderness, hair loss, jaundice, irregular and uncontrollable vaginal bleeding, inability to wear contacts, yeast infections, dizziness, loss of sex drive, low blood sugar (making you crave sweets), bloating and headaches to increased risk of gallstones, higher risk of blood clots (which can lead to a stroke or heart attack), endometriosis, high blood pressure, fibrocystic breast disease, depression, liver problems, and fibroids. That’s a disheartening list, and on top of that is what progestins can do to you. Even if you experience only a couple of these items, they can make your life miserable. Altering the kind of estrogen you take, the dose you take, the schedule of dosing, or the combination with a progestin may alleviate the side effects, but it may also require a lengthy trial-and-error period. Of course, many women take estrogen with no symptoms whatsoever. Keep in mind that most studies have been done with conjugated estrogen, so other forms, like estradiol, may not have the same side effects.
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The inflammation that occurs in RA involves the white cells mentioned above, but the inciting event, or the cause of the inflammation, is unknown. This trigger could be a virus or another foreign substance or antigen (the term used to describe something that is foreign to the body). Normally, antigens are removed and destroyed by the body’s immune system. Some theories hold that it is this process that has gone awry in RA. When a protective cell called the macrophage hooks up to the antigen (or foreign invader), it stimulates an increase in the number of lymphocytes. Two types of lymphocytes, T and В cells, generally play an integral but self-limited role in fighting infection. In RA these cells become chronically “overexcited,” and this overexcited state works to maintain inflammation in the joints. Continued inflammation produces the heat, swelling, and pain of arthritis – and damage to joints.
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Oral contraceptive pills were first marketed in the United States in 1960. Their convenience quickly made them the most widely used reversible method of fertility control.
Most oral contraceptives work through the combined effects of synthetic estrogen and progesterone. Because the levels of estrogen in the pill are higher than those produced by the body, the pituitary gland is never signaled to produce follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), without which ova will not develop in the ovaries. Progesterone in the pill prevents proper growth of the uterine lining and thickens the cervical mucus, forming a barrier against sperm.
Pills are meant to be taken in a cycle. At the end of each three-week cycle, the user discontinues the drug or takes a placebo pill for one week. The resultant drop in hormones causes the uterine lining to disintegrate, and the user will have a menstrual period, usually within one to three days. The same cycle is repeated every 28 days. Menstrual flow is generally lighter than it is for women who don’t use the pill because the hormones in the pill prevent thick endometrial buildup.
Today’s pill is different from the one introduced more than four decades ago. The original pill contained large amounts of estrogen, which caused certain risks for the user, whereas the current pill contains the minimal amount of estrogen necessary to prevent pregnancy.
Because the chemicals in oral contraceptives change the way the body metabolizes certain nutrients, all women using the pill should check with their prescribing practitioners regarding dietary supplements. The nutrients of concern include vitamin С and the B-complex vitamins -B2, B6, and B12. A nutritious diet that includes whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats, fish and poultry, and nonfat dairy products is advised.
Oral contraceptives can interact negatively with other drugs. For example, some antibiotics diminish the pill’s effectiveness and may require an adjustment in dosage to maintain the desired effectiveness. Women in doubt should check with their prescribing practitioners, their pharmacists, or other knowledgeable health professionals.
Return of fertility may be delayed after discontinuing the pill, but the pill is not known to cause infertility. Women who had irregular menstrual cycles before going on the pill are more likely to have problems conceiving, regardless of pill use.
Use of the pill is convenient and does not interfere with lovemaking. It may lessen menstrual difficulties, such as cramps and premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Women using oral contraceptives have lower risks for developing endometrial and ovarian cancers. They are also less likely than nonusers to develop fibrocystic breast disease. In addition, pill users have lower incidences of ectopic pregnancies, ovarian cysts, pelvic inflammatory disease, and iron deficiency anemia. But possible serious health problems associated with the pill include the tendency for pill users’ blood to form clots and an increased risk for high blood pressure in a few women. Clotting can lead to strokes or heart attacks. The risk is low for most healthy women under 35 who do not smoke; it increases with age and especially with cigarette smoking.
Outside these risk factors and certain side effects associated with the pill, its greatest disadvantage is that it must be taken every day. If a woman misses taking one pill, she is advised to use an alternative form of contraception for the remainder of that cycle, while another disadvantage is that the pill does not protect against sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The cost of the pill may also be a problem for some women. Finally, some teenagers report that the requirement to have a complete gynecological examination in order to get a prescription for the pill is a huge obstacle. Educating young women about what goes on in a gynecological exam would certainly help ease their anxiety.
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So why is refined sugar allowed at all?
Good question. Sugar, salt, and additives are among the three worst things we can put in our bodies. But who among us is going to give up something we love—forever? Even if we know it is bad for us?
The problem with most diets is there are too many nevers. Just knowing that we have to give up something forever makes us want it even more.
My hope is that by this stage of the game your awareness and food sensitivity is heightened to the point where either you will choose not to eat sugar or you will make it the exception rather than the rule. Not because it doesn’t taste good, but because it doesn’t feel good.
The objective, though, is to be able to eat some sugar and get away with it. After all, that’s what the corrective counterparts are all about—learning how to make a positive out of a negative.
It sounds awfully complicated. How do I find all these strange fruits?
If you live in a metropolitan area, they should be readily available. Some of the fruits may not be stocked in discount supermarkets, but even then, you may be surprised. To make sure, make your first stop a good market. If you’re in a rural area, preorder the fruits through your grocer. They will find them as easy to get as apples and oranges.
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The reverse of an unplanned pregnancy occasionally occurs. That is, a couple may plan to have children but find that conception does not take place. If this sterility continues, some help, or at least an explanation of the difficulty, may be obtained from a physician. There is a very simple test, consisting of an examination of the spermatozoa, which can prove whether the husband is sterile or not. In the case of the wife, it can be proved positively that one or both tubes are open, so that one may be sure that there is no obstruction which prevents the descent of the ova. It is, however, not possible to be sure that ripe ova are being extruded or that the ova extruded are normal. Sometimes sterility is due to the peculiar angle which the cervix of the uterus has in relation to the vagina. If it is inclined in such a way that the semen is not discharged directly upon the cervix, some degree of sterility is likely to exist. On the other hand, in some cases in which direct contact is usual, a woman may be sterile because of a twist in the Fallopian tubes. Tenacity of the mucus in the cervix may also cause sterility by blocking the entrance of spermatozoa. Sterility resulting from an inadequate development of the genital organs in woman, may be due to a defect in the activity of the ovaries or other related glands. There are now blood tests which can be used to determine both the absence of hormones and their low concentration. Advice may be given as to how to overcome some of these conditions, although one should not always expect results. In some cases the administration of certain ovarian extracts has been successful in developing the uterus of a sterile woman to the point that she was able to become pregnant.
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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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The potential benefits of HRT are enormous. We have nothing else currently available that is anywhere near as effective at slowing or stopping the bone loss women experience as their periods stop. In addition, estrogen supplements offer protection against heart disease—still the number one killer for all Americans—lowering cholesterol levels, boosting “good cholesterol,” and preventing arteriosclerosis (“hardening of the arteries”). It reduces your risk of stroke and cataracts, and relieves osteoarthritis symptoms. There is some good evidence it helps prevent, delay, or at least mitigate Alzheimer’s disease, and it decreases your risk of colon cancer by 50 percent. It also relieves many of the unpleasant and disruptive symptoms of menopause, including hot flashes, vaginal dryness, difficulty sleeping, short-term memory decline, skin aging, tooth loss, and mood swings. And maintaining estrogen levels also keeps your skin younger looking. It is as close as we have to an elixir of youth, or so it seems from the marketing materials.
The drug companies are right to tout the fact that taking hormone replacement therapy can decrease bone loss by 30 to 100 percent. Taking it cuts your risk of fractures at least in half, not to mention cutting your risk of heart disease and death from heart disease in half, too. That’s a powerful one-two punch, and accounts for why HRT is always near the top of the list when you look up the most commonly prescribed drugs, or which drugs bring the most money into manufacturers’ coffers each year.
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