When first starting this paper I thought I would be writing about the herbs I’ve been learning in my other course, however I was very interested to find a study on the effects of yoga with Crohn’s disease/Irritable bowel syndrome, as well as on anxiety which may cause some of the flare up’s associated with Crohn’s. I had always seen yoga as a beneficial tool in aiding in optimal health but not necessarily as an alternative medicine method.
In a study conducted by the Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy (CCRYN) the looked at patients suffering from Irritable bowel syndrome and those diagnosed with Crohn’s disease over an 8 week period. Out of 100 patients in the study 60 suffered from ulcerative colitis while the other 40 had Crohn’s. Randomly they were divided either into the yoga group, who for the next 8 weeks would practice yoga and meditation for an hour a day in addition to their other medical therapies, and into a group that would be known as the control and would continue with their regular regime. The results of the study were that yoga can in fact improve wellbeing with individuals who suffer from IBD or Crohn’s. By the end of it patients from both groups still reported some stomach pains, however that number was higher in the control group. In the yoga group less patients reported arthralgia. Also in those in the yoga showed lower anxiety levels leading to less discomfort and pain associated with these diseases. There were however no large change in cardiovascular functions or other chemical responses associated. (Sharma, P., Poojary, G., Agudelo Vélez, D. M., Dwivedi, S. N., & Deepak, K. K. ,2015) I think that more studies could definitely be done with yoga and Crohn’s, as well as other autoimmune disease. We underestimate the true healing powers of being relaxed and at peace and I think that with further studies we could prove this to be true and maybe even see conventional doctors suggesting yoga in the future. Although this study didn’t show a significant improvement, I believe with the little bit that it did show is enough to say that the patients wellbeing was improved. References: Sharma, P., Poojary, G., Agudelo Vélez, D. M., Dwivedi, S. N., & Deepak, K. K. (2015). Effect of Yoga-Based Intervention in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease. International Journal of Yoga Therapy, 25(1), 101-112.
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After reading through the module it’s apparent that vitamin deficiencies are much more common than I originally thought. In my personal opinion I think this is why so many issues run ramped. One example was a simple issue like dandruff, many people would quickly run to the drug store for some head and shoulders thinking they just have dry skin, I know in the past I have. When in reality it leads to a deficiency of Vitamin A, B2, B6, Magnesium, and Zinc. If these nutrients were able to get into the system rather than using a chemical filled shampoo that potentially could cause greater harm than good. (Petersen, 2015)
I learned this week that Vitamin A is very important for the body, especially children and pregnant or breastfeeding women. I was shocked to learn than when the vitamin A gets low it uses the ‘extra storage’ in the liver and when that is depleted it can lead to night blindness. Allow this has a smaller chance of happening in developed countries it still is quite frequent. I think this is partially to blame on our food sources. By eating cod liver oil and real whole raw milk we could easily be getting our daily amounts, however the milk offered at our children’s school has been pasteurized and homogenized holding no nutritional value. (Petersen, 2015) I think that vitamin deficiencies are so common in the United States because, quite frankly, we’ve become lazy. We’ve relied too much on others to keep our food safe and holding the nutritional value that our bodies need because we’re too busy, but really our health should be priority. Vitamin deficiencies will continue to grow as long as we’re depending on others for our food sources, it’s time to know your farmer or become your own! References: Petersen, D. (2015). NAT 308 Holistic NutritionAmerican College of Healthcare Sciences. How I understand inflammation is as a communitcation tool between the body and yourself. Often in response to something foreign going on in the body, it seems as though your body is just letting you know that somethings not right. One thing I’ve learned from my personal chiropractor is that inflammation can be a response to either something obvious like falling on your knee or it can happen from something such as laying on your stomach often or sitting with your legs crossed often. (Phillips, 2015) This can alter the spine causing nerves to be pinched resulting in inflammation. This video from their website is a great help: twwclinics.com/?s=inflammation. Aside from the thyroid example given in the video, Inflammation has also been linked to Cardiovascular Disease, leading to many other problems such as heart failure and atherosclerosis. (Wang & Nakayama, n.d.) Often caused by obesity the CVD is in response to the blood vessels being inflamed causing them to constrict the blood flow. They are basically being squished, when your blood isn’t being pumped properly it will lead to a whirlwind of issues One of the greatest tools I’ve learned about in regards to inflammation is finding a gonstead chiropractor. This has made a significant change in our family’s life and aided in my daughters inflamed bowels as well as my sons Intermittent Exotropia. Our regular doctors wanted to prescribe my daughter with pharmaceuticals and they wanted to operate on my son’s eye, which have both been manageable by keeping the inflammation down via chiropractic care. References: Phillips, A. personal communication, 2015, January 15 Wang, Z., & Nakayama, T. Inflammation, a link between obeisty and cardiovascular disease. Retrieved January 28, 2016, from www.ncbi.nlm.nih.goc/pubmed/20847813 I was amazed to learn of all the healing properties of plantain this past week. It truly seems like a super herb! Plantain is able to work both internally and externally. One of the uses of this powerful herb is as a blood cleanser, taken as a tea, paste, or simply chewed on .This is possible because it acts much like a diuretic, pulling out excess fluids which decreases the swelling and allows the toxins to be released. This is helpful for mercury poisoning. (Legacy, n.d.)
One of the many other uses of plantain internally is that it will soothe the mucus membranes soothing out ulcers providing relief. By digesting the plantain it is also helpful for a sore throat as it layers the mucus membrane of the throat with a coating allowing it to heal. (Legacy, n.d.) Externally plantain is very helpful healing open sore, cuts, and bruises. The herb contains epidermal growth factor it is a great tool for healing such things and being that it is so easily found in yards or school yards it is an easy grab when there is an injury. Aside from bruises, plantain is also very helpful when it comes to eczema, much like the throat is layers on protective coating offering relief from the skin condition. (Hoffmann & Hoffmann, 2003) References: Hoffmann, D., & Hoffmann, F. N. (2003). Medical herbalism: The science and practice of herbal medicine. Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions Bear & Company. Legacy, H. The benefits of the use of plantain in herbal preparations. Retrieved January 28, 2016, from http://herballegacy.com/Ahlborn_Medicinal.html While going through the favorite formula’s earlier in the week I was intrigued to try the garlic oil. My one year old is just getting over Rosella and has had an earache since the fever. After trying melaleuca and basil oils his ears was still a bit red so I had tried the garlic oil.
I followed the recipe pretty closely as the e-text instructed, I minced fresh garlic and warmed Olive oil. Once the oil had heated I added it to my garlic, being sure that the garlic was fully covered and put a muslin cloth over the jar (Petersen, 2015). I was in a bit of a hurry so I put it in the window sill and let it be for about a day and a half versus the recommended 2-3 days. I then used the muslin cloth to strain the oil into a dropper. At this point my son was still very irritable and didn’t want much to do with the dropper so I first tried soaking the oil on a cotton ball and holding it on his ear. I did this once about every 3 hours and the redness started to cease by that evening. Once he went to sleep for the night I was able to use the dropper and sneak a drop of garlic oil in his ear. By morning his ears were much better. He’s still on the mend and waiting for the rash to cease completely, but were boosting that immune system! I would definitely use this method again. Even though I strained it a little earlier that recommended it was still very effective. I am planning on making more just to have in the refrigerator if needed. References: Peteresen, D. (2015). HERB 201: Herbal Studies American College of Health Care Sciences. |
AuthorHello. I'm Jena, a 27 year old mother of 3. Thanks for visiting my journal! ArchivesCategories |