Month: September 2007

Categories
Ailmemts & Remedies

Flaky, Itchy And Embarrassing-Dandruff

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Dandruff affects 90 per cent of the population at some time in their lives. It itches uncontrollably and produces an ungroomed appearance, with unsightly white flakes on the hair and clothing. Even newborn babies may develop a greasy, flaky scalp called “cradle cap”. This, fortunately, disappears within a few months.

….
Poor hygiene is not to blame

.Our skin is in a continuous process of renovation. It grows outwards, then dies and is shed. Normally, this is a well-regulated orderly process which takes a little more than 20 days and goes unobserved. In people with dandruff, the process is uncoordinated. The cycle completes itself rapidly in a week or less. Thus there is excessive shedding. The dead cells then cluster together and are visible as clumps or flakes of white material.

Although dandruff is not infectious, it is associated with an organism called Malassezia (formerly called pityrosporum). This is a fat-eating, yeast-like fungus that feeds on the sebum secreted by hair follicles. It is present on the scalps of normal healthy individuals without causing problems. At certain times, overgrowth of Malassezia occurs, resulting in irritation and increased skin cell turn over. A large number of dead skin cells are then formed. As these cells fall off, the natural oil from the scalp makes them stick together. This makes the cells white and visible.

The sudden overgrowth is caused by a change in the biochemical environment of the scalp. This may be precipitated by the natural hormonal fluctuations of adolescence or aggravated in adult life by stress, illness, neurological disorders and diseases of the immune system.

It is a misconception that poor hair hygiene causes dandruff. Actually, excessive use of soaps and shampoos can damage the sensitive skin of the scalp.

Dandruff may be confused with other dermatological conditions with a similar appearance, like psoariasis or seborrhic dermatitis. The diagnosis has to be confirmed before treatment is initiated. Treatment has to be individualised. As dandruff is chronic, treatment may have to be continued lifelong.
• Mild forms can be controlled with daily cleansing using a gentle shampoo. This reduces oiliness and the build up of dead cells. Baby shampoos can be used as they are mild.

• If there has been poor response to the above, one of the various anti-dandruff shampoos sold over the counter can be tried. These contain a range of active ingredients like zinc pyrithione, coal tar, salicylic acid or selenium sulphide. Trial and error will help to determine the most suitable shampoo. Some of these might leave the scalp dry. A conditioner or a non-greasy hair oil can be massaged on the scalp after shampooing.

• After cleansing, the hair can be rinsed with a mug of water in which an aspirin tablet has been dissolved.

• Ketoconazole shampoos contain a broad-spectrum anti-fungal agent. They may work even when other shampoos have failed.

• Dandruff treatment is filled with folklore and word-of-mouth home remedies. Some natural shampoos containing henna, tulasi and neem are effective for some people. In others, if the product is contaminated there may be an allergic reaction.

Use one of these shampoos daily until the dandruff is controlled. After that, use it two or three times a week. Sometimes, alternating shampoos of two or three different groups is more effective.

The shampoo may have to be left on the scalp for a few minutes to give the active ingredients time to act before it is rinsed. The instructions on the container must be strictly followed.

It is better to consult a dermatologist if the dandruff does not improve after a month of self-care. More aggressive treatment with steroid lotions may be required.

The risk of persistent dandruff can be reduced by –

• Eating a healthy diet with adequate proteins, vitamins and minerals, particularly iron, zinc and calcium

• Reducing stress

• Adequate exercise, preferably outdoor as sunlight reduces dandruff

• Shampooing the hair regularly

• Avoiding chemicals like hair sprays, styling gels, mousses and hair waxes

Dandruff does not cause or aggravate baldness and hair loss. It is harmless and can be tackled with a little time and effort.

Source:The Telegraph (Kolkata, India)

Categories
Positive thinking

The Weight Of The Past

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Regret
Holding onto regret is like dragging the weight of the past with us everywhere we go. It drains our energy, leaving less available for life in the present because we are constantly feeding an old issue. This attachment can cause illness the same way watering a dead plant creates decay. We know that something new and beautiful can grow in its place if we only prepare the soil and plant the right seeds. We also know that we create our lives from our thoughts, so dwelling on the past may actually recreate a situation in our lives where we are forced to make the choice again and again. We can choose to move on right now by applying what we have learned to the present and perhaps even sharing with others, transforming the energy into something that is constructive and creative for ourselves and others.

Forgiveness is the soothing balm that can heal regret. In meditation, we can imagine discussing the issue with the self of our past and offering our forgiveness for the choice. In return, we can ask for our selves’ forgiveness for keeping them locked in that space of judgment for so long. We may also want to ask forgiveness from anyone else who may have been affected and perhaps offer our forgiveness. By replaying the event in our minds, we can choose a new ending using all that we now know. Imagine that you have actually gone back into the past and made this change, and then say goodbye to it. Release your former self with a hug and bring the forgiveness and love back with you to the present. Since we are usually our harshest critics, it is amazing how powerfully healing it can be to offer ourselves love.

Keeping our minds and our energy fully in the present allows us to fuel our physical and emotional healing and well-being today. This action frees our energy to create the dreams we dream for the future. By taking responsibility and action in the present, we can release our hold on the past.

Source:Daily Om

Categories
Positive thinking

Conscious Brilliance

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Autumn’s Beauty
The birth of autumn is an event missed by many. Autumn reveals itself slowly, hovering on the edges of our consciousness until its crisp breezes are strong enough to pierce our summer clothing, and we notice for the first time the transformations taking place all around us. It is only when the last fruits and vegetables have emerged in the crisp tangy air and the trees have begun to deck themselves in shifting patterns of crimson and gold that we internalize that fall has indeed returned. Autumn is invigorating and a time to gather our thoughts, in the same way that we might once have collected crops. Just as animals collect acorns to store them, we reap the fruit of our accomplishments. Autumn also ushers in a new slowness of being for most of us, as the tone and tempo of our lives change along with those of all of Mother Earth’s children.

As the days grow shorter and the blossoms that brightened our gardens through summer’s heat begin to droop and wilt, we tend to acknowledge the changing season without understanding that we, too, are in transition. The brilliance of autumn’s foliage, the flocks of southbound geese honking overhead, and the arrival of a bountiful harvest are all signs that our lives will soon be changing. Whether the season’s cooler days are a prelude to a cold winter or a long stretch of sweater weather, we feel obliged to slow down and take stock of our lives. Autumn’s pleasures and rituals revolve around the gathering of abundance in preparation for the winter to come. There is ample time to contemplate what we accomplished during the warmer seasons while tasting the year’s first cider or breathing in the sweet fragrance of leaves breaking down. The same stirring that inspires animals to burrow deep into the earth compels us to celebrate the rich bounty we instinctively know will not appea! r again until springtime.

Appearances deceive in autumn. The transformations undergone by living beings seem much more like endings than the transitions they really are. Dormancy, not death, is the hallmark of fall. Your priorities will likely change as nature flares into sunset brilliance and then lapses slowly into slumber, but remember to rejoice in the beauty of nature where every finale serves as an overture for a new beginning.

Source:Daily Om

Categories
News on Health & Science

Gas And Flatulence After Meals

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Avoid high-fat meals :
Eating a high-fat meal can generate a large amount of carbon dioxide, some of which is released as gas. That’s because carbon dioxide is produced in the small intestine when bicarbonate is released to neutralise stomach acid and fat during meals.
Eat smaller, more frequent meals instead of three large meals

1. Eat smaller, more frequent meals instead of three large meals.
2. Avoid high-fat meals.
3. Consult your doctor to rule out the possibility of fat malabsorption. Signs of fat malabsorption include loose and light-coloured stools.

Odorous Flatulence and Gas :
Gas that has a strong odour usually results from the metabolism of sulfur-containing proteins and amino acids in the intestines.
1. Chew meat and other protein foods carefully. Avoid excessive protein in your diet.
2. Taking activated charcoal tablets can help to remove the odour.

Eating Foods that Produce Gas:
Certain foods are inherently gas-producing. Gas-producing foods include beans, cabbage, onions, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, fluffy wheat products such as bread, apples, peaches, pears, prunes, corn, oats, potatoes, milk, ice cream, and soft cheese.

Foods that produce minimal gas include rice, bananas, citrus, grapes, hard cheese, meat, eggs, peanut butter, non-carbonated beverages, and yogurt made with live bacteria.

When someone has persisting bloating and flatulence, lab tests and x-rays are first conducted to exclude the presence of medical disease. Colorectal cancer often presents with the symptoms of abdomen discomfort and bloating. Celiac disease and inflammatory bowel disease may have similar symptoms.
It’s important to remember that gas and bloating are vague symptoms that can be associated with many medical diseases, so consultation with your primary care provider should always be the first step.

Source: The Times Of India

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Categories
Herbs & Plants

Black Birch (Betula lenta)

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Betula lenta
Image via Wikipedia

Botanical Name: Betula lenta
Family: Betulaceae
Genus: Betula
Subgenus:Betulenta
Species:B. lenta
Kingdom:Plantae
Order: Fagales


 Popular Name(s):Cherry birch, mahogany birch, mountain mahogany, spice birch, and sweet birch. Mountain Mahogany,

Parts Used: Inner bark, twigs & leaves
Flowers: April – May

Habitat: Black Birch is native to eastern North America. Forests or open woods, especially moist, north facing, protected slopes; in deep, rich, well-drained soils. Southern Quebec, southwest Maine to northern Georgia, Alabama; north to eastern Ohio.It is a species of birch native to eastern North America, from southern Maine west to southernmost Ontario and southern Michigan, and south in the Appalachian Mountains to northern Georgia.

Description: Black Birch is a deciduous tree growing up to a height of 20 m. Its twigs, when scraped, have a strong scent of oil of wintergreen. The leaves are pointed, alternate, ovate, 5-10 cm in length and 4-8 cm in breadth. The male trees bear flowers about 3 inches long. Female catkins produce flowers about 1 inch long. It fruits are composed of numerous tiny winged seeds which are packed between the catkin bracts.

Medium-size tree with rounded crown and smooth, dark red to almost black bark. Broken twigs have wintergreen fragrance. Buds alternate, both side and end buds present, about 3/10 of an inch long, light brown, broadest near base and tapering to a point. Fruits are erect brown cones 1 to 1-1/2 inches long, containing many tiny, winged seeds. Fruits mature in late summer and early
fall. Cones persist into winter. Leaves oval, toothed, and up to 6 inches long.

The flowers are wind-pollinated catkins 3-6 cm long, the male catkins pendulous, the female catkins erect. The fruit, maturing in fall, is composed of numerous tiny winged seeds packed between the catkin bracts.

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Black Birch was used commercially in the past for production of oil of wintergreen before modern industrial synthesis; the tree’s name reflects this scent of the shoots.

The sap flows about a month later than maple sap, and much faster. The trees can be tapped in a similar fashion, but must be gathered about three times more often. Birch sap can be boiled the same as maple sap, but its syrup is stronger (like molasses).

The Sweet Birch‘s leaves serve as food for some lepidopteran caterpillars. See List of Lepidoptera which feed on Birches.

History: The black birch was widely used by American Indians, in bark tea for fevers, stomachaches, lung ailments; twig tea for fever. Essential oil (methyl salicylate) distilled from bark was used for rheumatism, gout, scrofulas, bladder infection, and neuralgia.

Harvest: Twigs, red inner bark, and bark of larger roots year round, but best in late winter and spring. Sap in early spring, 3 to 4 weeks later than Sugar Maple.Harvest during Spring (sap & inner bark); All Year (twigs).

Constituents: Essential oil (methyl salicylate).
Nutrients: Vitamins A, B1, B2, C, and E. Calcium, chlorine, copper, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and silicon.

Note: It has been recorded that during the civil war, the edible bark of Black Birch probably saved the lives of hundreds of confederate soldiers.

Edible Uses: Tea, flour.
Medicinal Properties & Uses: Black Birch has anthelmintic, astringent and diuretic properties.It is Anti-inflammatory, Analgesic, Anthelmintic, Astringent, Diuretic, Diaphoretic, Stimulant. A tea made from the inner bark is used as a mouthwash and in diarrhoea, rheumatism, gout and boils. It purifies the blood also.
Used in the treatment of diarrhea, dysentery and cholera. The natural properties are cleansing to the blood and it is used specifically for rheumatism, dropsy, gout, stones in the kidneys and bladder, and to expel worms.
To alleviate pain or sore muscles, the oil has been applied as a counterirritant. The essential oil was formerly produced in Appalachia. But now, methyl salicylate is produced synthetically, using menthol as the precursor.
The oil of Birch is applied to the skin for eczema and cutaneous diseases; the tea is effective when gargled for canker and mouth sores.
The cambium (the layer directly under the bark) is eaten in the spring, cut into strips like vermicelli. The bark, in the form of an infusion is used as a general stimulant and to promote sweating. As a decoction or syrup, it is used as a tonic for dysentery and is said to be useful in genito-urinary irritation. The flavor of wintergreen and birch bark, in the form of a tea, was popular with Native Americans and European settlers. The juice of the leaves once made a gargle for mouth sores. Throughout the centuries, the sap has been used in making medicinal wine and were made into a diuretic tea. Also an ingredient in skin lotions.

Preparation And Dosages:
Bark – Strong decoction, (1 to 2 ounces, up to 4 times a day).
Leaves – Standard infusion as bath or wash as needed.

Tincture: Inner bark – (1:2, in 60% alcohol), 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon.

Black Birch Tea:Steep twigs or fresh or dried inner bark in water, or preferably, birch sap. (Do not boil. Boiling removes volatile wintergreen essence.) Sweeten to taste.

Black Birch is also a wild food.

Disclaimer : The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplement, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.

 

Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betula_lenta
http://www.indianspringherbs.com/BlackBirch_M.htm
http://www.herbsguide.net/black-birch.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_Birch
http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_RST.htm

 

 

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