Welcome to Gaia! ::

I started this thread because I''''m somewhat bored, and just got done flipping through a few of my books on alterneative medicine. Trust me, I have a TON of books, print-outs, and other resources regarding alternetaive remedies (since DreamerSpirit dosn''''t much like taking icky meds...).

This thread is basically for if you have any ailments, disorders, and such, to get some information on alternetaive remedies (herbs, dietary changes, aroma therapy, crystal healing, acupuncture, or whatever else might help you)

Also, I should add, certain perscreiption meds and certain herbs should not be taken together... I personally don''''t take any meds, and have little knowledge of what meds/herbs can and can''''t be mixed, so for information regarding that bit you should ask your doctor or pharmacist.

If you have any ailments, disorders, and such (I even know some remedies regardig mental health problems) please feel free to ask me here, or in a PM if you''''d preferr, and I''''ll be more than happy to give you any information I have on available remedies! 3nodding

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DreamerSpirits Guide to Well-Being
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I just felt I should add this little bit. It's just a guide to general well-being. It includes tips which may help prevent certain major health risks as well as reduce the cases of minor illnesses.


Dietary Guide:

Eating well is a key factor when it comes to health. It affects your immune system, and overall sense of well-being.
A large portion of your diet should be composed of fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables. Though overall fruits and vegetables are good for you, I'd have to say that canned fruits and veggies aren't as good for you as fresh or frozen, since canned vegetables often contain perservatives and higher amounts of salt.
As for grains, white bread and 'normal' pasta is not that good for you. They have many nutrientes taken from them during processing. However, whole grains are good. They're high in fiber and nutrients, fill you up more,and have a nummy sweet and nutty taste to them!
As for protine, red meats are discouraged. Poultry is better for you than red meats, and seafood is even better than poultry. (Note: Do not eat seafood if you are pregnant as it contains small amounts of mercury). Soy as well as other beans are also a wonderful source of protine!
Dairy isn't all too good for you. You need calcium of course, but such can be obtained from other sources. Dairy is hard to digest, though small amounts of dairy are ok to have.
As for beverages fruit juices(100% juice without fructose or corn syrup... NOT stuff like Hawiian Punch), soy milk, and some herbal teas are good for you, but water is byfar the best beverage for you. Diet sodas ad Fruit2O are discouraged. The artifical sweeteners are not healthy. Aspertame, a sweetner commonly used in diet sodas, has been linked to weight gain as well as increased risk of some cancers.
Also, a daily multi-vitamin is reccomended. Even if your diet is well-balanced you still may be lacking some nutrients. Another thing I reccomend consuming on a regular basis is garlic. Take it in tablets, make garlic tea, add it to food, or if you're crazy like me just eat a few straight cloves. It helps keep your immune system in check.
Another tip is to not deprive yourself. If you just have to have that bit of chocolate or that bowl of ice cream it's fine, though before you indulge I reccomend having a big bowl of veggies or some fruit, thus you'll have less of an appetite for junk food. You can, and SHOULD, still have it of course, it's just not like you're going to end up eating a whole pint of ice cream or a king-sized candybar. Depriving yourself of your junk food cravings is bad. Moderation is a good thing!
Another reccomendation is to not live off a diet composed largely of animal products. Animal products tend to be high in saturated fat, and humans are not designed to live off an animal-product based diet. Some animal products are all well and fine, but the majority of your diet should be fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.


Exercise:

Taking three to five half hour walks per week is ideal. If you can get more exercise in thats wonderful, but do not strain yourself.
It's better to excercise outdoors as opposed to indoors, weather permitting. Outdoors the air will be less stuffy, and since theres more changes of scenery than if you're walking on a treadmill it tends to be not as boring.


Mental Well-Being:

Meditateing is somthing that you should make time for every single day. It helps calm you, relieve stress, and promotes a positive mental attitude. A good daily meditation routine would be taking 15-30 minutes to meditate right before bed.
Another good idea is to spend at least 15 solid minutes outside every day. On sunny days being exposed to sunlight does indeed promote mental well being. You don't even need to be exercising in your time outside, even leiseurly reading a book outdoors is good.
Sleep is another major factor. Try to keep some sort of regular sleeping pattern, and get at leats 8 hours of sleep per night. I feel like a hypocrite saying this seeing how severe my insomnia has become, but if you can sleep then try to keep a regular sleeping pattern and get a good amount of sleep.

Yes, always it's good to see how you react to certain remedies. 3nodding

And also, I find commercials for many medicines rather amusing... a lot of them state "May cause constipation, nausea, internal bleeding, and serious liver of kidney problems"... why risk all that if you can find a less risky approach to your situation?

However, for some situations regular medications should be taken, especially if perscribed by a doctor. 3nodding

Bipolar Treatments:

Bipolar can never really go away, yet it can be controlled so the person suffering from it won't experience drastic emotional changes with the same intensity that an untreated patient would. I'm actually rather familiar with the disease, my brother is bipolar, yet he dosn't take anything that could help it, but rather self-medicates with marijuana, which actually makes his bipolar worse than if left untreated.

Studies have shown that smoking, alachol consumption, and caffine consumption are not very good for those with bipolar. Not to say that any of those are all too good for you to begin with, but they seem to make bipolar symptoms worse.

It is reccomended to take in vitamins C, B6, B12, and folic acid, as well as Omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 can be obtained from most seafood, and B6, B12, and folic acid containg tablets are available in the vitamin section of most pharmacies, supplement stores, and healthfood stores. Most multi vitamins contain C, B6, B12, and folic acid.

A good diet and a decnt amount of exercise can also help with bipolar. In terms of diet, a diet rich in fresh (preferably raw) fruits and vegtables (or at the veryleast frozen and canned) and low in cholesterol, salt, sugar, saturated fats, refined carbohydrates, and processed foods. I know that a diet with all those qualifications isn't easy to obtain, so all in all just try to eat healthfully.

Another dietary factor which is believed to be linked to increase of bipolar symptoms isa diet high in the chemichal vanadium. A low vanadium die is reccomended. Here's a list of some foods with low, moderate, and high levels of vanadium:

Low Levels: Oils, fats, fresh fruits&veggies.

Moderate Levels: Whole grains, meat, dairy, seafood.

High Levels: Prepared/processed foods (ex. white bread, peanut butter, breakfast cereals, etc.)

In terms of exercise four 30-minute walks per week is reccomended. If you can get more exercise in then thats great.

I have also heard that light therapy can help those with bipolar, since it's supposed to help regulate horomne release.


As far as other remedies for bipolar, such as herbs and naturally derived chemichals, it is HIGHLY RECCOMENDED that you have a physician or psychatrist moniter you while taking such remedies due to the seriousness of bipolar.

5-Hydroxytryptophan(5-HTP) is a natural chemical extracted from the seeds of an African plant, griffonia simplicifolia, and has been shown to increase serationin levels in the brain. It has actually been prven to be as effective an anti-depressant as Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil. 5-HTP does have sideeffects though, yet compared to unnnatural anti-depressents theres a much lower risk. The most common side effect is nausea, which approx 9% or 5-HTP users expierence. Second to most common is dry mouth which approx 7% expierence, yet compared to the side effects of modern medicines used to treat the same conditions the side effects are very low! 5-HTP can be found at many supplement stores.

Tryptophan is another natural chemichal with a similar effect as 5-HTP, yet it is harder for the body to prosess, thus less of the chemichal is actually used in seratonin production, so 5-HTP is more effective, though tryptophan can be used. Tryptophan is naturally found in turkey, yet a relatively high doseage is nessacary to be effective in bipolar treatment. A perscription for tryptophan tablets can be obtained from a doctor.

St. Johns Wort is another seratonin-increasing supplement. It's an herb. St. Johns Wort can easily be found in the form of tea or tablets at many healthfood and supplument stores. If you do happen to try St. Johns Wort, I used to take it for my depression, and I must say the tea tastes wonderful, though St. Johns Wort is slightly addictive. Kava is also supposed to help in the same manner which St. Johns Wort does. Kava can also be found at many supplement stores.

Phosphatidylcholine is a type of fat found in our cell membrane as well as in soy lecithin. A doseage of 15-30grams of phosphatidylcholine helps to raise levels of the important neurotransmitter, acetylcholine. Increase of acetylcholine has been shown to reduce bipolar symptoms in some patients.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder(OCD) Treatments:

Amongst all my books, I have rlatively little information on OCD.

I looked it up in the indexes of all my natural healing books, as well and went through all my print-outs. I found it in the idex of one book, and it led me to a page titled 'Anxiety Disorders'. It's not OCD-specific, but I'll list what it reccomends nonetheless.

As always a good diet and exercise is reccomended. It recomends swimming and spending time in/near water. Another dietary change which is reccomended is the 'grazing' approach, where several small meals and snacks are spread out over the course ofa day to avoid low blood sugar, which can often aid in indcuing symptoms. Fresh celery, carrot, apple, and lettuce juices are reccomended to be taken as part of your daily diet.

In terms of herbs, reccomended supplements are chamomile, clary sage, hawthorn, a mix of melissa and mint, or valerian. However, most of those herbs are sedatives, and may make you a bit sleepy, and also valerian tea smells and tastes terrible, though it is extremely calming, and I use it to treat my insomnia.

In terms of aromatherapy the essential oils which are reccomended are clary sage, lavendar, ylang-ylang, mandarin, and marjoram. Oils can be burned in an oil burner, put in a tera cotta diffuser, or added to bathwater. Essential oils can be found at most new age stores.

A regular meditation routine is also believed to help. It also says that counseling may be good to look into.

eek Thank you so much! I've always been a little hesitant to suggest alternative medicine to my doctors because I'm just that shy. But now I'm sure to mention it to them; I just started a new type of therapy called DBT (or Dialectical Behavior Therapy) and my new psychaitrist is fabulous, I feel really comfortable with her. So I printed these out and stuck them in my new little 'medical scrap folder' that I cart around with me everywhere just so I can keep track of myself. I really appreciate all the time and effort you took to respond to those, my sincere thanks again! mrgreen heart

Depression Treatment Summary:

Some of the treatments for bipolar can also be used to help treat depression. 5-HTP and St. Johns wort are known to help increase seratonian levels, thus helping to relieve depression.

Smoking, alochol, caffine, and exxessive intake of sugar should be avoided if possible.

A regular exercise routine as well as increasedexposure to sunlight are also supposed to help.