Herbal Help for Humans and their Companions

The Key to Good Health
Good health is about turning the flame down, not up, particularly when it comes to negative emotions such as anger, frustration and hurt feelings. Learning to let go of those feelings is just as important for good health as watching what you eat, exercising, getting enough sleep and wearing a seatbelt.

How do you know you have unresolved anger or bitterness towards someone? You're constantly fantasizing about their downfall or dreaming about them. "I tell patients that if they're thinking about the incident twice a year, then it's really not an issue," says psychologist Catherine Gildiner. "If they're thinking about it several times a day, they need to do something about it."

Paying attention to what your body is trying to tell you will also clue you in. Anger can express itself in a clenched jaw, dry mouth, shallow breathing and a raised voice, for instance. Inside the body, your blood pressure is probably spiking, your heart pounding and your gut tightening. The brain releases the "fight or flight" chemicals which flood your body, constricting blood vessels and potentially leading to problems such as migraines,high blood pressure and cardiovacular disease.

Kristin Jenkins is a writer and editor who specializes in health and medicine.

---

---

This week we feature:-

• Feline - Cataracts
  
• Canine - Thrombosis
  
• Equine - Degenerative Joint Disease
  
• Human - Sciatica
  
• Home Remedies - The Elder
  
• Reader Feedback
  

---

Feline - Cataracts

---

Cataracts commonly occurs in all pets. You will notice the cataract as a blue-gray tint in the cat's lens. The lens is contained in a sealed bag or capsule. As old cells die they become trapped within the capsule. Over time, the cells accumulate causing the lens to look cloudy or opaque. This makes the images that the cat sees blurred or fuzzy. A cataracts does not cause any pain but it will damage the cat's ability to see clearly at night and will eventually lead to nearsightedness .Cataracts usually occurs with age but may also be caused by metabolic disorders such as diabetes mellitus, inherited tendencies, or degenerative retinal diseases.

For cataracts, I recommend using the eye wash. It contains concentrated extracts of the herbs Rue, Celendine and Golden Seal and is further described on the link:
http://www.herbal-treatments.com.au/cat_cataracts.html

The important thing is to deliver the correct nutrients directly into the eye to promote circulation and health and this is offers the only real chance of arresting the cataract growth. The treatment is simple, inexpensive and safe to use and it is applied simply by diluting as directed and washing the eye twice daily with the diluted wash. It is not necessary to force the cats eye open to apply; it can just be dropped into the corner of the shut eye a few drops at a time and when the cat blinks, the wash runs over it.

---

Canine - Thrombosis

---

Blood clotting is a natural process in which blood cells and fibrin strands clump together to stop bleeding after a blood vessel has been injured. Eventually the clot will form a protective scab over a healing wound. If the body did not have the ability to clot blood, then we'd bleed to death after even a minor cut.

For treatment to be effective we need to know how the initial injury occurred and if there are any broken bones, open wounds or infection involved. Is your dog overweight or suffering any other medical conditions?

You can start the treatment for this condition by adding 1 cup of Rosehip tea to his diet daily. You can try mixing it with food, or disguise the taste with bonox, vegemite, or chicken stock to get him to drink it.

I also recommend that you place your dog on a diet of raw meat and bones i.e. beef/mutton bones with meat on them or raw chicken necks and wings, mince; definitely no processed food and snacks. You can also add some freshly cooked vegetables and rice. If your dog is not already on this type of diet, then I suggest that you introduce it slowly.

The following articles discuss dogs' diets and why it is important to keep it natural and simple:
http://www.herbal-dogkeeping.com/articles_digestive_system_ofadog.html
http://www.herbal-dogkeeping.com/articles_give_your_dog_abone.html

To this diet add rolled oats, ground millet, linseed and buckwheat. Just 2 dessertspoons of each mixed into food once daily.

This is to ensure that the tissue repairs quickly and to assist the blood to flow more freely. I also recommend a mix along the lines of a human one for DVT/embolisms.
http://www.herbal-treatment.net/herbs_embolism_thrombosis.html

---

Equine - Degenerative Joint Disease

---

Angela wrote -
I have been adding 1 tablespoon of Rosehips daily to my horse's feed (without making it into a tea) is this safe to do? and is it safe to give Rosehips to horses long term? I have just discovered my 6yr old Thoroughbred has degenerative joint disease in her hock and I am looking for a herbal treatment that will help her in conjunction with other treatments I'm pursuing. I'm also wondering what are the best herbal sources of Zinc and Copper?

Robert replied - Rosehips is best soaked in water first and is a good source of copper as well. It is not unsafe to take dry just absorbed more slowly by a horses gut.
Consult my bone healing page.
http://www.herbal-horsekeeping.com/horse_tendon_bone_healing.html

It would be good to start taking some Millet ,Linseed and Comfrey into the horse diet.

---

Human - Sciatica

---

Sciatica is an inflammation from postural distortion of the sciatic nerve.This can be caused by damage to vertebra or to disks that then puts pressure on this nerve which emerges at that sciatic nottch area. It can occur when we lifta load wrongly or lift too much. It usually oocurs only on one side and is much worse when still.

The mix I make for Sciatica includes Burdock, Tansy, Oak, Mugwort, Yarrow, Equisetum and Parsley as well as the Bach Flowers Vervain, Oak, Olive, Vine Scleranthus and Star of Bethlehem. These herbs are also found in my bone healing and spinal trauma mixes so overtime they should bring relief of the twitching and aching and general healing.
You may like to read the web site below.
http://www.altivoe.com/herbs_athletes_oil.html

This has Arnica, Wintergreen Linseed oil, Comfrey and White Willow in it however if you can obtain Wintergreen Oil from your pharmacy or health food shop it can be rubbed on and bring relief.

---

Home Remedies - The Elder

---

The Elder is the Old Crone aspect of the Triple Goddess, and powerful indeed is her protection and blessing.

The elder grows rapidly from any part, and so speaks to us of regeneration and the power of the life force. It makes a fast growing hedge, which can be clipped to thicken it. Like willow, it can be planted easily by pushing the small young branches into the ground. It is a useful small tree for a garden, but best a back corner as not much will grow beneath it. There are so many things to use it for that it is a valuable tree to have near.

Elderberry wine has curative powers of established repute. Taken hot at night it will help in the early stages of a cold or 'flu, and is excellent for a sore throat and catarrh. This is due to the viburnic acid contained in the berries which induces perspiration and helps to "bring the cold out". It also had a reputation in the past as an excellent remedy for asthma.

The flowers, which are at their best at midsummer, also have many uses from eye bath to skin tonic, for colds and 'flu and catarrhal inflammation of the upper respiratory tract, such as hay fever and sinusitis. Gather the flowers on a dry day and dry them fast. They do discolour but are perfectly OK. I have found the best method is to hand the clusters upside down in paper bags in the sunshine. The bags catch the flowers as they dry and drop off. When completely dry, store them in dark screw-top jars. A tea made of the fresh flowers makes an excellent spring/summer tonic, take fresh each morning to purify the blood. They can also be added to salads, cakes and made into wonderful summer drinks such as elderflower cordial and elderflower champagne.

Elder Flower Champagne:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A593363

---

Reader Feed Back

---

Thankyou for the following messages. If any of our readers would like to contribute to this forum please do so, we'd love to hear from you.

1) Linda wrote:
Love your newsletter by the way and I just want to report that I and several people related to me experience sleep disturbance during the full moon. Inability to get to sleep as easily as usual and restlessnes while sleeping.


2) Navniet wrote:
A friend once told me that the new moon signifies a finishing of some old issue and a new start. I find it true in my life. Just about every time I feel like I've put some issue behind me and am making a different new approach in my life I discover its a new moon day! They call it 'amavasya' in India and many major festivals which signify the start of a new cycle happen on these days.

I think that eons of companionship by living beings on Earth with the Moon (and the other planets) has made us 'live together', in the way people who work together or live together - and are naturally influenced by one another in ways more than they can document.

(I also have always noticed that every time Mercury - the planet that rules communication - is retrograde is slowly moving back into normal motion, things go crazy with post, emails, the internet in general - and most painfully, with the websites - as happened last week. Thankfully Mercury - which is also my ruling planet - has just gotten to its normal position now - making a favorable aspect with the planet of sudden shocks and out-of-the-box creativity - Uranus. I wonder what that means!)

---

---

We value your feedback so much that we are making it easier for you to send us a sentence or two.
Please fill in the form below and click 'Submit'

Name:
Your Email Address:
Topic:

Comments or questions:

Wishing you and your companions the best of health and happiness.

Yours Truly,
Judith Burton for
Robert McDowell