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SPICES

Herbs and spices add much more than flavour to our food – they have therapeutic effects when added to food – and there is a growing amount of research on the healing benefits of culinary herbs.

A University of Tasmania study looked at the effects of chillies on health. The researchers found that chilli consumption could improve the quality of sleep, which in turn influenced cardiovascular health.

NOT JUST SOUL FOOD - CHOCOLATE IS GOOD FOR YOU!

There are many types of chocolate, ranging from dark bitter chocolate to milk or white chocolate. The lighter and whiter the chocolate is, the more milk and sugar and the less chocolate liquor it has in it. White chocolate doesn’t have any chocolate liquor in it.

Apart from the fact that for most people chocolate is delicious, chocolate is considered to be an aphrodisiac, mood enhancer and remains after centuries, a luxury item. Even certain religions find a way of justifying an intake! Because chocolate is considered a drink and not a food, it was considered appropriate to drink during fasting periods. Buddhist monks, who eat only before lunchtime, are to this day permitted to eat dark chocolate during the whole day.
The good news is that good quality chocolate is not ‘empty calories’ like other sweets, and is in fact quite nutritious. It has been used as a high-energy food for mountain climbers who need to sustain themselves against the cold and keep their energy levels up.....

TOOTH DECAY A GROWING PROBLEM

TOOTH DECAY ON THE INCREASE – IN THE YOUNG AND OLD
By Nyema Hermiston – Reg Homeopath, Reg Nurse

The problem of tooth decay has re-emerged in Australia, affecting people of all ages, but particularly children and the elderly. Ten years ago South Australian children had one of the lowest rates of tooth decay in the developed world, but recently there has been a major increase in decay rates and it is showing up in adults as well. ? Now, Australia is among the countries with the worst oral health for adults in the developed world. ??Last year in Adelaide alone, more than 1,000 children were hospitalised to have their rotten teeth removed under full anaesthetic.
A key reason for this problem is that in the past five years alone, we have been eating 20 per cent more sugar, (equaling almost one kilo per person, per week.) Where 30 years ago we drank less than one litre of soft drink a week, now we guzzle more than two litres per person, per week.
Dental Health Services Victoria CEO Martin Dooland is worried about adult tooth decay, but even more concerned by the increase in childhood decay rates that is correlating with the obesity epidemic. ? “We thought we were immune to dental decay,” he says. “It had got better for 30 years straight and was still falling and we stopped paying attention. ??

TYPE TWO DIABETES

Even with the best medical management possible, the health risks of long term diabetes remain, particularly blindness, heart disease, and kidney failure. These ailments are difficult to avoid when diabetes has been present for much of a person’s life. In a recent issue of ‘Diabetes Care’ a study has been published which indicates that Vitamin E may have the ability to prevent eye, heart and kidney disease in diabetics, particularly those who have poor blood sugar control. Vitamin E is able to do this by increasing the blood flow to the heart tissue, kidney tissue, and the retina of the eye, which becomes damaged in some diabetics. The patients in the trial took 1800 IU of Vitamin E daily. Vitamin E has the ability to increase the life of red blood cells, and protects the inner lining of blood vessels, which is important when the blood vessels are small and can easily become blocked, as in atherosclerosis. It does this by minimising damage to cell membranes, and balancing the nature of fats in the blood.

CHILDHOOD DIABETES

Health authorities are predicting that childhood (Type II) diabetes is set to reach epidemic levels by increasing 20-fold over the next ten years.
Type II diabetes used to be a disease suffered by overweight men and women over the age of 60 years old. In the past ten years, this middle aged disease has begun to affect children as young as ten years old. A UK study of GP consultations indicates that the prevalence of Type II diabetes has increased by more than 50% in a decade. The data comes from 38 general practices, covering a population of 326,000 in 2001. (British Medical Journal 3 September 2005; 331:474)
The authors stated, "If this is indeed a lifestyle problem there is an urgent need to reverse the trend…”

Professor Martin Silink, head of the Institute of Endocrinology at Sydney’s Royal Alexandra Hospital, says that childhood diabetes was almost unheard of as little as five years ago. “Now it is almost like a new disease.” Professor Paul Zimmet, head of the International Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, believes that soon the number of Type II childhood diabetics will outnumber the Type I childhood diabetics. He estimates that in Australia 5000 children under the age of 18 now have Type II diabetes, where ten or more years ago it was unheard of in children.
The childhood diabetes which we are familiar with, is Type I diabetes, where children’s ability to produce insulin ceases, so they need injections of insulin in order to maintain normal blood sugar levels. Without treatment, Type I diabetes becomes life threatening.
The new childhood diabetes is Type II, caused by high blood sugar levels from a diet high in sugar, fat and lack of exercise. Since 1985 the number of overweight and obese children in Australia has doubled, which is part of a worldwide trend. One in four Australian children are overweight and one in 20 children are obese. It is these overweight and obese children who are suffering from Type II diabetes.
In their adult life, children who now have Type II diabetes will suffer from health problems like a hugely increased risk of heart disease, blindness, kidney disease and poor limb circulation.
The cause of this trend is quite clear to medical personnel – an excess of sugary, fatty foods and a lack of exercise. Long working hours, fast food, TV and computer games are huge contributing factors. Unless this trend changes with an improved diet and increased physical activity, the course of Type II diabetes in children is set to continue.
Treatment is very, very simple. Better diet and more exercise – meaning less TV, computer games and fast food. Given the choice, children almost always choose chocolate, potato chips, ice cream and hamburgers, so parents are faced with a crucial challenge.
An interesting study was conducted in a UK school, where during lunchtimes children were given the choice to either use school computers, or play in the playground. Given the choice, most children became involved in computer games. However, when they were actually instructed to play in the playground and questioned afterwards, most said that although they would have chosen to use the computer, they enjoyed playing in the playground much more, and felt better afterwards.
Children are not always able to make healthy choices for themselves until they reach their mid-late teens. They need to be taught what is healthy. It is a rare child who refuses to watch television or eat takeaway, given the chance. They will always say they prefer pizza, chips, ice cream and fizzy drinks in place of vegetables or fruit.
The information is here, the alarm has been sounded. So far, there are no government objectives I am aware to address this problem. Apart from individual efforts on the part of parents, some community efforts can be made, by changing the type of food available in school tuck shops. Let’s hope that there is enough awareness and concern in the community to prevent childhood diabetes from growing worse.

COELIAC DISEASE

Some 200,000 Australians, suffer from coeliac disease and most of them don’t know that they have it. The most common and obvious symptoms of coeliac disease are diarrhoea and abdominal pain. Other symptoms can be mouth ulcers, tiredness and aching joints, osteoporosis, iron deficiency and delayed development. Some people with coeliac disease have no clear symptoms at all and suffer from a range of vague symptoms and general unwellness. Coeliac disease is easily diagnosed with a simple blood test. More details can be found at www.coeliac.org.au
While coeliac disease is an inherited genetic disorder, some of the symptoms that do not disappear once gluten has been eliminated from the diet, can be managed with homeopathic medicines.

ALLERGIES

Allergies are on the rise. Up to 40 % of children and 30% of adults in the UK have been diagnosed with asthma, eczema, hay fever or all three. Peanut allergy, once quite rare, is now common.
This trend does seem to be evident in Australia too, as allergies seem much more common now, than ten or 20 years ago. Certainly, the numbers of patients who have allergies who come to clinics around Australia are increasing. With health information and education better than ever before, it seems mysterious that so many children and adults now suffer from asthma, sinusitis and other allergies.
Some sources say that modern lifestyles are responsible for the soaring allergy rate. This can mean we are too clean! Exposure to some 'dirt' appears to stimulate the immune system in young children so that immune problems like allergies don’t develop. The Royal College of Physicians says that babies are no longer exposed to agents that stimulate their immune systems. Infections like the common childhood illnesses, dirt and bacteria are rare for children to be exposed to. Also antibiotics, which are commonly prescribed for coughs and colds, wipe out the natural, protective bacteria in the human gut.

Interesting, isn’t it, that the less bacteria we are exposed to, the more infections we seem to be getting? With less infections being seen by parents, the less experience parents have in seeing illness and the more frightening it is when children get them. Of course, it is frightening when a child becomes ill - the first stop is the family doctor.
In child care, children are exposed to far more infections than before the days of childcare, and far more likely to get colds and coughs, which may lead to a prescription for antibiotics. When a child becomes sick, it means a parent has to take time off work, there is pressure for the child to get well quickly, and antibiotics are a solution to this.

THE SOLUTION?
There are no clear answers for these problems, but there are some measures which people can generally take. One reason for allergies say the UK doctors, is a diet low in fruit and vegetables. Many children simply won’t eat fruit and vegetables, and many adults too! If these people enjoy good health, then it’s hardly problematic, but if someone who has repeated infections has a poor diet, this is something that can be done.

Avoiding too many antibiotics is another possible solution. Antibiotics are an essential part of health care, but we can manage without them sometimes. In my practice, ‘getting patients off antibiotics’ is often part of their treatment. Once the health is improved, and one or two coughs and colds have been managed without antibiotics, patients can usually handle an infection without too many side effects and tend to get fewer infections. Once getting off the ‘antibiotic treadmill’, health seems to improve.

There is much work and research to be done around allergies. Certainly, they are causing increasing health problems with no clear solution in sight. One solution has been offered by a number of childhood feeding authorities is to keep children off dairy and wheat products before the age of one year. This is particularly relevant if there are already allergies in the family. Avoiding wheat and dairy products before one year is the best strategy put forward so far, as to protecting children against allergies in their future life.
The other clear solution is to let the body ‘fight its own fight’ with infections, if at all possible. This is more likely to strengthen, not weaken the immune system, particularly with young children. Easier said than done, but could be a step to fewer allergies and better quality of life.

Apart from dietary change, homeopathic medicines can help to stimulate immunity in many children.

SLEEP - GETTING ENOUGH OF IT

It's estimated that 80 per cent of Australia's adult population will go through a sustained period of insomnia at some point in their lives.
Chronic tiredness seems to be on the rise. Lack of sleep can affect everything - work and home safety, productivity and general enjoyment of life.
If you are feeling fatigued - are you getting enough sleep? People who are consistently under-sleeping, are going to feel chronically tired. There is a difference between ongoing fatigue and insomnia though. Insomniacs are fatigued, but not sleepy. So those of us who could easily take a catnap, are probably getting less sleep than we need.
If you are going to bed early enough, and still not sleeping, then you probably suffer from insomnia, which homeopathic medicine can treat.

WOMEN'S HEALTH

IN THIS SECTION:
• TAKING HRT
• INCREASING BREAST CANCER SURVIVAL
• OLIVE OIL AS PROTECTION AGAINST BREAST CANCER

MEN'S HEALTH

In this section:
• POMEGRANATE JUICE HELPS PROSTATE CANCER
• KEEPING YOUR PROSTATE HEALTHY
• PROSTATE SCREENING
• IRRITABLE MALE SYNDROME

CHEMICALS THAT AFFECT OUR HEALTH

“Since the 1940’s the world’s production of synthetic organic chemicals has risen 600-fold, exposing our bodies to a huge toxic load” says Samuel Epstein, professor of environmental medicine at the University of Illinois. A US study found that children living beside busy roads are six times more likely to suffer from cancer as children living in quieter areas. The two most carcinogenic compounds known are produced by diesel engines. There are many other sources of chemicals that we are exposed to.