RadioVerso.org – Herbal Health

These are a type of syncope, but deserve a particular mention as the attacks are frequently misdiagnosed as epileptic seizures. Reflex anoxic seizures (also called pallid syncopal attacks) usually affect young children between 12 months and 4 years of age, but can affect older children and even adults. The attacks are always provoked by either a sudden fright, or unexpected pain. This unpleasant experience then stimulates a nerve (the vagus nerve) which causes the heart to slow down or even stop for a few seconds. As a result of this the child becomes pale, then limp, and may even have a brief clonic convulsion. Almost immediately the child will recover, may cry, and then appear sleepy. Within a few minutes the child is usually back to normal. These attacks do not damage the brain or heart, do not need treatment, and usually stop by the age of 5-10 years.

Breath-holding attacks-These attacks occur only in young children, aged usually between one and three years. The typical story is of a child who is frustrated, told off, or spanked. The child becomes angry or upset and will hold their breath. After a few seconds the child becomes blue (cyanosed) because of a lack of oxygen in the blood and loses consciousness, and becomes limp. Because of the reduced oxygen supply to the brain (as the child is not breathing) the child may have some clonic (jerking) movements and wet themselves. The child always starts breathing again and is back to normal within a few minutes. These breath-holding attacks usually stop by the age of 4-5 years.

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And lastly, not only what you eat, but how you eat is extremely important. After all, we are not what we eat, but what we assimilate. And assimilation of nutrients from the foods you eat is to a large degree dependent on proper eating habits.

Many of us eat too fast, gulp our food down without chewing it properly-not to mention the fact that we often eat when we are not really hungry, merely because it is dinner time. Also, we eat when we are tense and irritated or when our thoughts are far away from food. Or, we eat certain foods because we think they are good for us, without really enjoying them.

No, all foods should be eaten slowly and chewed very thoroughly. Never eat in a hurry. It is far better to skip a meal than to eat it in a hurry. Slow eating and good mastication will increase the assimilation of nutrients in the intestinal tract and make you feel satisfied with a smaller quantity of food. Well-chewed and generously salivated food is practically half-digested in the mouth. Saliva contains enzymes and other digestive agents.

And, finally, food should be eaten in a relaxed atmosphere and enjoyed. My old friend and teacher, Dr. Ragnar Berg, one of the world’s most renowned nutritionists, used to say, “Eating should be a pleasure.” Please, don’t misconstrue his statement to mean that you should eat for pleasure! Eat to live—don’t live to eat! The biological fact is that only foods eaten with a genuine pleasure will do you any good. A peaceful, unhurried, pleasurable, and happy atmosphere around the table will pay good dividends in improved digestion and assimilation of food and in better health.

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The latest scientific research shows that the single most important health and longevity factor is a scanty diet or underfeeding. Statistics collected from the several thousands of centenarians in Russia show that one common characteristic of all people who lived 100 years or longer is that throughout their lives they were all moderate eaters. Extensive animal studies reveal that moderate underfeeding increases longevity and decreases incidence of degenerative diseases.2 The eminent scientist, Dr. C. M. McCays of Cornell University, has shown by his research that overeating is the major cause of premature aging in civilized countries. To prolong life and assure good health he recommends a scanty diet of nutritionally superior natural foods.

As Benjamin Franklin said, “A full belly is the mother of all evil.” Obesity is, perhaps, the biggest American health problem and a contributing cause in the contraction of many diseases, including arthritis. As Thomas Edison suggested, “People gorge themselves with rich foods, use their time, ruin their digestion, and poison themselves…”

Food eaten in excess of the actual bodily need acts in the system as a poison; interferes with digestion; causes internal sluggishness, gas, incomplete assimilation, and other metabolic disturbances. It causes fermentation and putrefaction and actually poisons your system.

Leave your table when the food tastes its best. Several smaller meals or snacks are better than a few huge meals. Train yourself to systematically undereat and you will give yourself the best—and the cheapest—health insurance possible.

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Before fasting.

Prepare a supply of pure water. Pure means exactly that. Note, that tap water usually contains chlorine, fluoride, heavy metals from pipelines, traces of herbicides, pesticides, solvents etc. and preferably it should not be used for drinking at all. Spring water from a safe source is probably the best. If no spring water is available, collect enough rain water, preferably in the country, where the air is clean. Alternatively well filtered water could be used.

2 days before fasting

Eat only light food, mostly fruit. No meat, no fish, no eggs. No alcohol. Drink at least 2 litres of water. Eat breakfast and lunch only. Skip dinner. Vegetarians could skip this preparation and go to the next phase.

1 day before fasting

Eat only light food, mostly fruit. No meat, no fish, no eggs. No alcohol. Drink at least 2 litres of water. Eat breakfast and a light lunch only. Skip dinner.

In the evening make an enema.. This is the single most important step. Never attempt fasting without making an enema first. The

reason is quite simple. Before fasting, your body expected a new load of food to digest and absorb every day. When your intestines are full, and you stop eating, some of the food waste is absorbed back into your bloodstream. This will cause extra poisoning, because the body absorbs the toxic waste, which was prepared for excretion.

Making the enema cleanses the intestine, and the body, sensing nothing to absorb, enters into a self-purifying mode of operation.

After the enema go to bed early. Your body is already in a self-cleansing state and will continue to cleanse itself when you sleep.

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There is a close relationship between the skin and the nervous system. In the early development of the fertilized human ovum into the embryo, adjacent cells are split off so that some will ultimately develop into the skin and others into the nerve cells of the central nervous system. When our skin is gently stroked our nerves are calmed, but when our skin is tickled our whole nervous system is convulsed. It is therefore not surprising that activity of brain cells is often reflected in the activity of the cells of the skin. In other words, emotional stresses in the mind are apt to produce nervous rashes in the skin. This is such common knowledge that it is reflected in our everyday speech when we talk of something “getting under our skin”; and we can observe emotional reactions in the skin when people blush with embarrassment, go pale with fear, or turn livid in anger. Thus the self-management of nervous rashes involves both a reduction in the general level of anxiety and a reduction of responsiveness to emotional stress.

A doctor’s wife came to see me because of a nervous rash which she had had for the past two years. I showed her a little about relaxation, and as she lived in the country it was arranged that she would return to the city in a month’s time for an extended visit so that I could help her further. But she wrote cancelling her appointment, saying that the rash had already cleared.

She came to see me some two years later when she had a slight recurrence. The rash quickly settled down just as on the previous occasion.

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While medical treatments can cure many forms of back problems, including those that give rise to sciatica, it still remains a fact that many sufferers will continue to experience pain at times because of their underlying condition. Essentially, a patient is most likely to have to cope with pain under the following circumstances:

When the problem first manifests itself, pain being almost invariably the first symptom. Naturally, depending upon the severity of the problem, the sufferer will then either seek medical help immediately or perhaps wait a while in the hope that the symptoms ease or disappear of their own account.

Even when medical treatment or other remedial therapy has been initiated, it may take a while for this to take full effect and pain may still be experienced now and then.

Then, of course, many people have what might be called ‘mild sciatica’ in that occasionally they have pain or perhaps only discomfort, which although bothersome, they feel is not severe enough to seek medical help. It needs to be stated once again that anyone experiencing symptoms severe enough to cause concern should seek medical advice. However, there’s little doubt that good though this advice is, not everyone will take it, many people preferring to try to control or reduce their pain rather than seeking to deal with the problem that may be causing it.

While the many forms of treatment available for back problems are described elsewhere in this book, in this chapter we will concentrate solely on those measures intended to eliminate or reduce pain. But first of all. . .

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While depression is in itself a common condition – according to one estimate it affects about one in ten people in any given year -many others are affected by depressive symptoms to a degree that would not qualify them for this more serious diagnosis. According to Dr Lewis Judd, former Director of the US National Institute of Mental Health, and colleagues, approximately one in five people interviewed reported suffering from one or more depressive symptom in the preceding month. Huge numbers of people are suffering from very distressing problems of mood, behaviour and bodily functions of the type that are associated with depression. Nor are these symptoms benign in terms of their impact on a person’s ability to function. Judd and his colleagues found that people with ’subsyndromal depression’ reported more difficulties in their work and social relationships than were reported by a control group, and that significantly more people with these symptoms had been on disability. Given the reluctance that people have to seek medical attention even for full-blown cases of depression, and the ill-judged care they might receive once they make such a decision, it seems unlikely that a high percentage of people with subsyndromal depression will be properly treated through conventional medical channels. Such people are therefore excellent candidates for self-treatment with St John’s Wort and there is no reason to believe that it will not prove to be helpful for many of them, given its excellent track record in more severely depressed patients.

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When children make developmental strides, it can send them into disequilibrium—and sleep is disrupted. This can affect a child in several ways. He may be so excited about learning a new skill that he has a hard time settling down—he may even be driven to practice skills in his sleep. During normal arousal, instead of going right back to sleep, the new “stander” stands in his crib. It may be easier to understand if you relate it to yourself: think about a time you were learning a new skill—when you were dreaming at tennis, going over that shot you missed, or worrying about the match next day.

Mastering one skill brings a child quickly to the next frustration. When stands in her crib, she may cry desperately because she hasn’t yet learned how to get herself down. She needs you to help until she can help herself again, needs a little extra reassurance, so separation difficulties are common.

Dealing with developmental sleep issues may be particularly frustrating because parents do not have control over a child’s development. Sometimes only “cure” is allowing the development to continue on its own with encouraging messages from you. It helps to recognize that the transition probably be short-lived. Overreacting and doing too much can only prolong problem if she becomes dependent upon your help to go to sleep.

Although each child is an individual, there are guidelines and Ü information that apply to all. Table 3 summarizes the affect of development sleep. With this foundation, you can begin to look at the specific is concerning you about your child.

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Let go of fear. There is nothing in this world worth fearing about. This is not simply my belief. I know. To fear is one of the worst things you can do to your mind. All logical reasoning, not to mention the connection to your higher mind is completely blocked. People know about it, and some of them use fear techniques to take advantage of others. Look around. The field of medicine prospers by promoting the fear of disease. If they succeed, you fear disease, even if you don’t have any, and this feeling actually replaces the feeling of well being! Instead of enjoying your perfect health and being happy, you worry! Fear blocks your thinking, and in this state you are easy to control by others, who know it and want to take advantage of it. The technique of fear is frequently used by government and religious leaders as a tool to control people. Let go of fear. It blocks your mind. Never use the technique of fear to control children. Use explanation, examples and reasoning instead.

Eliminate feelings of anger, hate and anxiety. – they also block your mind at all levels, preventing the natural state of well being and spiritual development.

Forgive everyone and everything. Hate and resentment also clog your mind. By nourishing hatred and resentment you cannot gain anything except the same things from others. On the other hand, forgiveness and tolerance could give you a key to gaining respect and love.

Do not think of harming anyone or anything. Think of others the way you would like others to think about you.

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Some congenital abnormalities (present at birth) are not inherited. For example, the abnormalities in the limbs of the children whose mothers had taken the drug thalidomide during pregnancy are congenital and will not be passed on to their children, as the thalidomide affected the developing cells in the limbs without, (although there continues to be some debate), causing any mutations in the baby’s own ovaries or testes. Other congenital abnormalities may have an inherited basis.

One congenital abnormality relevant to epilepsy is a maldevelopment of blood vessels known as an angioma. The abnormal vessels may be either arterial, venous, or capillary. Sometimes a clot or thrombus forms in one or more of the abnormal vessels, exacerbating the situation. One type of capillary angioma of the brain is associated with a similar malformation of blood vessels in the skin of the upper part of the face—the Sturge-Weber syndrome. Children with this particular combination of angiomatous abnormalities have a high probability of developing seizures.

More common than angiomas as a cause of epilepsy are disorders oi migration of nerve cells during fetal development, so some end up in the wrong place, the wrong layer of the brain, or with the wrong connections. They are congenital abnormalities, but unlike a harelip, for example, externally invisible. The causes of such disorders are not known, but some probably have a genetic basis. This sort of abnormal brain development may cause seizures and fits in the first few weeks or months of life, including infantile spasms (West’s syndrome).

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