Herbal Health

Eat regularly. Not eating three proper meals a day can result in very real problems with sugar imbalance generally, which can affect the brain quite markedly. The brain needs good quality, consistent levels of sugar to function – not hits of sugar irregularly via coffee loaded with two to three teaspoons of sugar; or alcohol; or a block of chocolate in place of a regular meal. Good quality simple carbohydrates, from fresh fruits and fresh juices, and complex carbohydrates, from grains such as rice, couscous, grainy breads and steamed mixed vegetables, are essential for brain power.
Exercise regularly. Exercise improves oxygen levels in the brain by increasing the supply of oxygenated blood, and increases the levels of serotonin, the feel-good hormone that prevents depression and keeps you inspired. An hour’s exercise daily is essential to good health. Some of that hour must be devoted to an aerobic form of activity that raises your pulse rate. This could be in the form of a four to five kilometre walk daily, swimming, bike riding, aerobic gym work or rowing.
Make an effort to try new things. Brain cells need continual challenges and mind games. The brain needs exercise like all muscles and cells of our body. Try new brain challenges such as puzzles or word games, or study something completely new and different. For example, if you love languages then try studying something unrelated such as history or wildlife; or even something aesthetically interesting like colours or design; try mathematical studies if you don’t have a head for figures. Take up flying or engineering or anything that changes your outlook and broadens your knowledge. Remember the process of using the brain is more important than the outcome – so you do not have to give yourself a hard time if you are not a famous pianist, painter or mathematician by 80!
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The Institute of Medicine at the American National Academy of Sciences recommends that a normal-weight mother should expect to gain between 25 and 35 lb in pregnancy and an obese or overweight mother between 15 and 25 lb. These figures not only reflect the risk of gaining too much weight during pregnancy but also the doubts about fetal well-being if weight loss, or too little weight gain, occurs.
Women who gain too much weight during pregnancy are four times more likely to be obese a year after delivery. A study at Cornell University (Olson 2001) concluded that excessive weight gain in pregnancy is making a significant contribution to the skyrocketing levels of obesity in the US. The study looked at 577 pregnant women and found that 40% gained more than the recommended weight during gestation and that 25% of all the women were at least 10 lb heavier than the recommended weight 1 year after giving birth.
A similar study looked at weight gain 6 months postpartum and found that mothers who had gained too much weight during pregnancy, and those who had failed to lose this weight after 6 months, are at a higher risk of obesity a decade later. The study also revealed that mothers who breastfeed beyond 3 months have the smallest weight gain, indicating that breastfeeding protects both mother and baby against obesity.
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Spermicide and barrier methods
This group includes condoms, diaphragms and cervical caps. Condoms often have a spermicidal lubricant. With a diaphragm or cervical cap a spermicide has to be used before fitting, both to assist fitting and to improve the barrier effect. Diaphragms may be ineffective and difficult to use if there is any degree of prolapse, but the arch-spring variety and the vimule suction cervical cap can be effective.
Barrier methods are more effective for older women in the main, partly because their fertility is declining but also because they are more experienced in, and careful about, using contraception.
Spermicides
Currently all vaginal spermicides used in the UK employ detergents (surfactants) as their active ingredient; 80 per cent of all of them contain nonoxynol-9, which is altered to produce the same acidity level as the vagina; the remaining 20 per cent use either octoxynol or Di-isobutylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol as their spermicide. They work by causing disintegration of the sperm through ‘membrane disruption’.
There are some reports of vaginal irritation (stinging and burning) during and after spermicidal use, and occasionally infections of the Candida albicans variety (vaginal thrush) have been reported.
The suitability of another product, Chlorhexidine, as a vaginal contraceptive is being investigated. Its spermicidal activity is comparable to that of the surfactant spermicides but it does not act through membrane disruption and it is less sensitive than the former group to dilution by the vaginal and cervical mucus.
Barrier methods
Intra-uterine contraceptive device (IUCD or coil) The IUCD requires insertion by a doctor and usually needs to be changed every 3-5 years. It provides continuous protection against pregnancy, with a low failure rate (2 per cent, which is similar to that of a POP). IUCDs come in various shapes and sizes. Some are made entirely of plastic, while others contain copper.
When considering this form of contraception, certain disadvantages should be borne in mind: insertion may be painful; infection of the pelvic area can sometimes result from IUD usage; periods may be heavier, painful and/or last longer; the risk of ectopic pregnancy will be higher; and if there is a known metal allergy (for example, causing problems with rings and watches), the user may not be able to tolerate copper in the device.
Diaphragms and caps Diaphragms are thin rubber circular domes that are kept in place and shape by a rubber-covered metal rim. Caps are smaller and fit firmly over the cervix; they come in three forms, the vault, the cervical and the vimule. These devices are used in conjunction with a spermicidal jelly or cream. They may be inserted hours before intercourse and must remain in position for at least 6 hours afterwards. The failure rate is 2-5 per cent and there are no side effects.
Initial fitting must be done by a doctor or nurse to ensure the correct size.
These devices are worth considering by women who cannot use hormonal contraception and are prepared to accept a slightly lower level of protection. However, practice will help to achieve better contraception, as well as greater peace of mind. They are generally more suitable for women living with a partner.
Sponges Made of polyurethane foam impregnated with spermicide, these are 5 cm wide and have a small loop to assist removal. They can be purchased over the counter. One size fits all and the user can fit her own. However, the failure rate is 20-25 per cent, so these are more suitable for women over 40 whose fertility has begun to decline.
Condoms (male) Made of thin latex rubber and available either pre-lubricated (with spermicide or otherwise) or dry, these can be purchased over the counter. The condom is rolled on to the erect penis prior to any vaginal contact. There are no side effects, effectiveness is high with proper usage (but lower than that of the contraceptive pill), and some protection against sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS, is provided. Where sexual union is infrequent, where medical history makes hormonal contraception inadvisable, and where the woman wishes her male partner to take responsibility for contraceptive protection, the condom is a viable option, and there is of course no need to consult a doctor or nurse before use.
Condoms (female) Available in the UK from August 1992, these are worth considering where other methods are medically inadvisable or are for other reasons not acceptable to the individual. They provide good protection against sexually transmitted diseases and their success rate in preventing pregnancy is probably higher than that achieved by the male condom. They are particularly convenient in cases where the male partner is not prepared to use a condom.
Natural methods None of the following methods of birth control is recommended, as all are unreliable, but if religious beliefs, for example, prohibit all forms of contraceptive protection they may be better than nothing. Note that the effectiveness of the temperature and mucus evaluation methods depends on the female partner having regular cycles and being free of infection.
Temperature A graph is kept of the basal body temperature (taken rectally before getting out of bed each morning). When ovulation occurs, a sharp rise in temperature will be noticed. The raised temperature should continue for three days, after which begins the ‘safe period’, lasting until the next menstrual bleed.
Mucus evaluation Cervical mucus is evaluated daily. Ovulation occurs when the cervical mucus is at its most slippery and stretchable. The ‘safe period’ begins after the wet and slippery discharge ceases.
Coitus interruptus During intercourse, the penis is withdrawn from the vagina before ejaculation to prevent sperm entering the cervix. However, it is possible that sperm will be present at the tip of the erect penis prior to ejaculation. Moreover, whatever the intention before intercourse, it is likely that in the heat of the moment the penile withdrawal may not take place. Risk of pregnancy with this method is therefore high, as is the level of frustration felt by one or both partners through unfulfilled desire.
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Diabetes tends to run in families, and a tendency toward being overweight, coupled with inactivity, dramatically increases a person’s risk. Older persons and mothers of babies weighing over 9 pounds also run an increased risk. Approximately 80 percent of all patients are overweight at the time of diagnosis. Weight loss and exercise are important factors in lowering blood sugar and improving the efficiency of cellular use of insulin. Both can help to prevent overwork of the pancreas and the development of diabetes. African Americans, Hispanics, and American Indians have the highest rates of type II diabetes in the world – much higher than that оf Caucasians. The reasons for this increased risk are not clear.
People who develop diabetes today have a much better prognosis than did those who developed diabetes just 20 years ago. Our present understanding of the role that stress, illness, alcohol, smoking, and other lifestyle characteristics may play in the development of diabetes can aid in prevention and earlier diagnosis. Recognizing your risks and taking steps to reduce the likelihood of developing this problem are a good start.
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Pick any of the combinations, and eat as much as you want. Once you have made your decision, that is it. No “just one bite.” That doesn’t belong. Eat until you are really full, until you have had enough. Not included in your choices are string beans and salad. You can have them 364 days of the year. Why bother on Thanksgiving? If you decide on an Open Miscombination or Open Human, follow through with care and discipline.
Eat your Open Human the way Laurie did. “Thanksgiving on a diet meant being able to eat whatever I wanted, from Mom’s apple pie to Aunt Elana’s staffing. For once in my life, I was able to really taste what I was eating. I think I probably could have told you the spices each contained. Eating just a little bit of everything felt so much better. After dinner was over, I felt so good because, even though I had eaten until I was full, I knew that I hadn’t blown it. And getting on the scale this morning and seeing that I hadn’t gained any weight made yesterday even better.”
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A complete appreciation of our sexuality cannot be achieved without an awareness of what our bodies look like and how our genitals function. While this statement may seem to be an obvious one, the unfortunate truth is that few of us are encouraged to explore our bodies in general, and we thus remain sadly ignorant of genital characteristics in particular.
This hands-off attitude, so to speak, can typically be traced back to our childhood. Whereas parents will readily discuss the digestive and respiratory systems, for example, in a straightforward manner, discussion of sexual functions, if it occurs at all, is usually oblique and euphemistic. What is communicated to the child, under these circumstances, is a negative perspective that suppresses curiosity and promotes embarrassment rather than healthy self-exploration. Small wonder then that many adults find it difficult to examine their genitals, even for ordinary health and sanitary reasons. Moreover, the secretiveness, shame, and guilt associated with these early experiences causes many people to regard their sex organs as ugly, rather than as a natural and acceptable part of their anatomy.
Sometimes ignorance of our genitals can lead to both physical and sexual problems. Certain disease processes start with detectable changes in the breast or genitals, but an aversion to checking those body parts may result in symptoms progressing to serious stages. A lack of understanding of how our bodies respond sexually can lead to inappropriate expectations and thus hinder sexual expression. Sex therapists, for example, report that a considerable percentage of the problems presented to them are the result of their clients’ lack of relevant information or education.
Not only does the lack of suitable education at home and in the schools, coupled with misinformation gathered from peers, foster our ignorance, but also the current attitudes toward sexuality in our culture work to further our misunderstandings. These attitudes create for us a paradox: on the one hand, we are bombarded, through advertising and through the media in general, with sexual imagery; on the other hand, the “official” cultural taboo undercuts our ability to deal with and speak about sexual matters in open, healthy, positive ways.
In order to accept the implications of our sexuality — an awareness of our values, a sense of responsibility for ourselves and others, an ability to take pleasure in our bodies, and an acceptance of and confidence in our own sexuality — we need to have a foundation of basic knowledge.
In this chapter, therefore, we will discuss the anatomy, both female and male, relevant to human sexuality and the process of sexual response.
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TEETH GRINDING: GIVE YOUR JAW A REST
In movies, in sports, in the barroom, it is the stereotypical action of the hard, angry man. In real life it is either a foolish habit of nervous men or an innocent nocturnal problem. Either way, it’s no good for you.
We’re talking about clenching the jaw and grinding the teeth—dentists call it bruxism. Most bruxing takes place when we’re fast asleep. For that reason many teeth grinders aren’t even aware they have the habit unless their mate or their dentist tells them about it.
Researchers believe that bruxism is an inherited behavior—if your mom or dad is a bruxer, chances are you will be, too. Stress, however, is the trigger that sets the habit in motion. “Often these people are working two or three jobs and faced with significant life challenges,” says John D. Rugh, Ph.D., professor of orthodontics at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. “They’re really pushing hard.”
Serious teeth grinders can damage fillings or grind right through a tooth’s outer coating of enamel. That exposes the softer inner part of the tooth, causing the nerve to die. Clenchers are more apt to strain their jaw muscles, causing facial pain, headaches or, some dentists believe, dislocation of the jaw joint.
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A surprising number of people habitually over-tense the abdominal muscles. This can be the result of excessive stress in their lives, which often seems to focus in the stomach area, or it can be because they pull their tummies in, trying to achieve a flat stomach. Many people also think -wrongly – that they need to hold on with their abdominal muscles to support the spine, or help a back problem. In pregnancy this becomes impossible anyway.
Over-tense abdominal muscles are particularly harmful to your use because they pull the spine forwards from the upper back. The muscles of the back then over-contract to keep you upright and the whole spine is pulled out of alignment. Another effect of over-tense abdominals is that the space in the abdominal cavity is diminished, which cramps the organs and restricts blood and nerve supply, and the rhythmic movement necessary for their functioning. In some people, however, the abdominals can be too lax, and this can also adversely affect overall use.
Both over-tense muscles and muscles that are too lax are an indication of poor use and are contrary to Alexander thinking. In the Alexander Technique we achieve a healthy tone in the abdominal muscles by maintaining a good head/neck/back relationship, and thinking long through the abdominals in an upward direction. We are looking for a ‘lengthening’ of the spine, i.e. a reduction in the curves, and an increase in stature. When this happens we get a balanced working of the muscles of the front of the trunk with those of the back – the muscles that were over-tense will release, and those that were too lax will be brought into play and be energized.
‘That habit of mine of holding on with my tummy muscles has had to go because they are so stretched. It seems physically impossible.’ Sarah

‘I realize now how much I have always used my abdominal muscles to
move and to bend and to lift myself up. Since I have become pregnant I
have found that I have to find other ways of moving.’ Jenny
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Community facilities mean anything from ante-natal classes in a local church hall rather than a district hospital to local clinics and health centres which offer ante-natal medical care. But this requires health authorities and staff who are committed to providing them and such a commitment is not common. The rise in influence of the hospital-based obstetrician has led to a progressive eclipse of both the midwife’s and the GP’s role in obstetrics and with them have gone the local facilities. Few parts of the country now have an adequate community midwifery service.
Many GPs have become acutely aware that, even when they share ante-natal care with a hospital consultant, they are the junior partner. Interesting or complicated cases tend to be taken under the wing of the hospital specialist, while a GP’s surgery cannot offer the same range of diagnostic tests available to a hospital consultant. They may not know how to perform them or even what they mean. The rise of the specialist has undermined the confidence of the general practitioner. In the ten years between 1967 and 1977 the number of community midwives in Britain fell by nearly half. Yet midwives are the key to a good community-based maternity service. Unlike GPs they are trained to care for pregnant women and may well have a good deal more experience in doing so.
The Sighthill scheme, which is based in a large health centre, is jointly run by midwives and doctors and relies on them being virtual equals. Pregnant women will be seen by a doctor or midwife depending almost entirely on who happens to be available at the time. Midwives are also responsible for home visits and if necessary will visit a woman daily at home so that she doesn’t have to go into hospital. They also provide ante-natal and parent-craft classes. The centre is visited monthly by a consultant obstetrician from the district hospital who sees women who may have unusual and particularly acute complications. Interestingly though, in the five years or so that the project has been going, consultant visits have become less and less frequent as the GPs and midwives have become both more skilful and more confident in looking after pregnant women.
Calderdale in South Yorkshire is another area which is placing a greater emphasis on community-based services. It is developing a network of pregnancy-support groups with the aid of community midwives and health visitors. Its scheme is partly a response to concern about the high perinatal mortality rate in the area, and special funds were allocated to the health education department for this purpose. But unlike other health education initiatives intent on reducing perinatal mortality rates, it has not fallen into the trap of merely exhorting women to be more responsible. Instead, seeing that women needed encouragement to help themselves, they used the extra resources made available for health education to concentrate on helping women to take initiatives. These arc the first pregnancy-support groups to be set up under the NHS.
One of the main aims of the project is ‘to try to get more consumer bias into the service’. Health education staff work closely with such groups as the Association of Radical Midwives and the Association
for Improvements in the Maternity Services. The eventual aim is
that the consumers will be recognised as the appropriate people to
monitor the maternity services.
The project is gradually turning the traditional ante-natal class into something radically different: where women can give and receive real support from each other, and where the teachers learn just as much from pregnant women as they have to teach them. The organisers are clear where their loyalites and commitments lie:
What we’re really concerned about is women themselves, and how they can deal with the trauma that professionals put them through.
Already, in the words of another organiser, women are becoming more confident to ‘take on the system’.
Calderdale Health Education Department has also shown how NHS ante-natal classes can be improved, made more accessible, useful and even fun – by taking them out of health service institutions. For a pilot period they ran some classes in a community centre. This small step had a big effect on the people who attended. No longer did they feel they were on alien territory – a sure way to feel undermined and powerless. Instead, the professionals were there by invitation only. The atmosphere was therefore far less intimidating and men also felt more comfortable about attending the classes. In fact, the classes ended up being quite a social event.
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