NATURAL MEDICINE FOR LOW BACK & LEG PAIN

January 18, 2010 by AMA  
Filed under Pain Management

Low back pain doesn’t happen overnight and once understood, can resolve quicker than you realize. We have to look at our lifestyle, nutrition, how we think & feel, etc. to undo the ailment. You could take a pain reliever but still the underlying imbalance will be there after the relief is gone. The key word for low back pain is DEFICIENCY.

Contributing Environment: Our work and personal life may be stressing us out to the degree that our circulation is constricted not allowing nutrients to feed our organs and toxins to be eliminated. Our dietary preferences in the U.S. are excessive while empty of nutrients, full of preservatives, pesticides, hormones and processed with additives. Our generation has to manage more stress, life events, media exposure and emotional changes thus disturbing our sleep quality. The result is we lack the necessary energy or life force to be our best. This further makes us irritable in our relationships which worsens all the scenarios described before.

As we break down our energy, immunity and support, our self image and esteem parallels our internal organs ability to weather the challenge. Specifically, our adrenals and kidneys have become depleted of energy or weak, necessitating our attention to re-establishing our essence, life force and our quality of living.

To begin, we need to construct successful strategies in the areas of nutrition, sleep, and lifestyle. This resource is designed to provide some winning solutions so you can quickly re-engage living rather than aging or dying too soon.

The source of deficiency stems from 4 main areas: 

  • LEFT KIDNEY DEFICIENCY
  • RIGHT KIDNEY DEFICIENCY
  • KIDNEY ENERGY DEFICIENCY
  • EXTREME CHRONIC FATIGUE

FOOD THERAPY: LOW BACK PAIN 

This issue may involve not only low back pain but also sciatic pain complicated by other syndromes such as chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, Epstein Barr, etc. Four causes of low back and leg pain.

There are several categories based on Chinese medicine nutrition and Traditional Chinese herbs that support and correct low back pain:

LEFT KIDNEY (yin) DEFICIENCY:
Characteristics: Heat symptoms such as 1) dry throat and mouth, ringing in the ears, slight fever or heat wave, low back pain, dizziness, weakened leg strength, excessive spontaneous pirspiration, involuntary seminal emission, excessive weight loss, tongue (red) and/or shiny

Foods: millet, barley, tofu, string bean, black bean, black soy bean, mung bean, mung bean sprouts, kidney bean, azuki bean, and most other beans, kuzu root, watermelon and most others, blackberry, mulberry, blueberry, huckleberry, water chestnut, wheat germ, potato, seaweeds, spirulina, chlorella, black sesame seed, sardine, crab, clam, eggs, pork, cheese
Herbs: marshmallow root, rehmannia root, Asparagus root, aloe vera gel, colloidal silver (If the constitution is cold and/or most or low back & sciatic is cold and/or moist then choose from the groups below)

RIGHT KIDNEY (yang) DEFICIENCY:
Characteristics: cold symptoms in the body such as cold extremities, weakened knees, weakened lower back, avoidance of cold environments, pale skin, depression, lethargic thinking, deficient libido, intermittant menstruation and clear vaginal fluid

Foods: walnuts, black beans, onion family (onion, garlic, chives, scallions, leeks), quinoa, chicken, lamb, trout, salmon
Spices: cloves, fenugreek, fennel seeds, dried ginger
Avoid cooling foods, fruit, raw foods, excessive salt, use seaweed cautiously.

KIDNEY ENERGY (qi) DEFICIENCY:
Characteristics: low energy, low back pain, weak knees, pale tongue, minor cold signs, frequent urination, incontinence, inability to urinate, dribbling, involuntary seminal emission, other seminal/urinary problems.

Foods: wheat berry, sweet rice, parsley
Herbs: rose hips, oyster shell, clam shell, schizandra berry, raspberry and blackberry leaves, gravel root

EXTREME CHRONIC FATIGUE (Jing Deficiency):
Characteristics: dizziness, ringing in ears, loose teeth, loss of head hair, painful knees and lower back

Food: micro-algae (chlorella, spirulina, wild blue-green), fish, liver, kidney, brain, bone and its marrow, human placenta, cereal grasses, wheat grass,solomon seal, almonds, ghee (clarified butter), goat’s milk, nettle leaves, royal jelly, bee pollen, Doddler seeds, millet, wheat, black sesame seeds, soybeans, chestnuts, mulberries, raspberries, strawberries, seitan, walnuts
Herbs: deer antler, deer horn velvet, Deer Placenta, Lycium fruit, Polygonum multiflorum root, Eucommia bark, Dendrobium stem, Cinnamon bark, white ginseng, semen cuscutae, astragali seed (complanati), cordyceps, astragalus, codonopsis, reishi, morinda, eleuthero root, paeonia , gambir, gecko, cibot rhizome, tianshan snow lotus, tibet carthami

For final decision on which foods to choose for your condition, please consult a trained master herbalist with in-depth knowledge of Traditional Chinese herbs and food therapy, American herbology and other nutritional systems.

Menopause Destigmatized! Is It A Hormone Problem? At The Core Not Really! Here Is What Is Really Happening And The Simple Solution!

December 4, 2009 by AMA  
Filed under Alternative Medicine

Most of the menopause products are created based on 3 strategiess:

  • a single supplement/herb wonder
  • a combination of past researched supplements/herbs with an addition of the latest fad herb
  • in most cases a newbie manufacturer/distributer copies another company’s product that is selling well

The result is that it is difficult for the consumer to determine what works. So how do you know what works?

Anyone can create testimonials but long-standing, valid, reliable results are very difficult to manufacture. Even the research that is presented is not the full story but rather a spin on the research to move you to buy a particular product. In most cases, the manufacturer may truely believe they have a formula that will work based on misinformation on a herb’s benefits.

The right herbs for menopause will primarily 1) raise the body’s energy, 2) nourish the blood, 3) cool the body and 4) normalize the body’s thermostat. And indirectly, because the underlying imbalance is corrected, the menopause symptoms will begin to dissapate within 2 hours.  

Most discoveries about herbs have come from Chinese herbal medicine but revealed to the American public in an incomplete manner. The American manufacturers share the info about an herb as a solution for everyone who has a particular symptom. Nevermind, all the body of Chinese medicine and theory that understands that there are different body types or constitutions that may accompany those symptoms. Menopause is a hot body type condition requiring specific emphasis on cooling the liver. 

Chinese herbs which have proven to be effective for hundreds of years on millions of patients. Most Chinese master herbalists understand that after millions of subjects there isn’t much need to research what is obvious, tried and proven. Its essential to apply the right formula to the right constitution and symptoms, not just the symptoms. In addition, in order to discern this  relationship between body constitution and herb formulation, it is essential to choose the most knowledgeable practitioner.

A Practicing Master Herbalist Knows More About Herbs Than Any Other Profession?

A seasoned master herbalist (10 years+) who works with herbs every day is the best source for herb medicine. The time element is critical to allow the practitioner to get the kinks out and test his/her knowledge. What is taught in our traditional Chinese herbs and herb medicine schools is only a beginning knowledge and needs to be tested. Better yet, graduates need long term apprenticeship before they are ready to correct imbalances with their clients. Medical doctors rely on their Physician’s Desk Reference for information on herbs which is truely a beginning base source.Rarely does one herb or two , three herb compound work for the whole public. They may work for a quarter of the population or people who have a similar constitution but not everyone. For instance, the Chinese herb, Black Cohosh, has been exposed as unsuitable for menopause. Its used for fevers. Still, American supplement manufacturers have found a way to exploit the misinformation supplied to the public and so the story continues. Not considering that its temporary benefits cease in 2-3 weeks. A better option would be bupleurum combined with other balancing herbs.

In summary, the best choice of herbs for menopause will take into consideration the woman’s constitution or body type when constructing a formula. In addition, herbs that have a track record for hundreds to thousands of years must be regarded as a superior choice over herbs with a minor history. I encourage everyone to seek a seasoned source in herbal medicine. 

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