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Welcome to Acupuncture and Herbs by Karen Vaughan, L.Ac., Registered Herbalist (AHG)
 
 
And Organic Berries
   
 
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A recent study purports to show that acupuncture does not induce labor. What it actually showed was that mild stimulation of a specific set of points did not affect the onset of labor in 125 women who were characterized as “past due,” at 41 weeks. The points chosen were the same for all women, half of which got acupuncture with needles and the other half had stimulation of the same points with a blunt needle, described as “fake acupuncture.” There was little appreciable difference between the two groups, although the acupuncture group which was slightly older ended up with slightly earlier labor and slightly lower birthweights. The headlines proclaimed, “Study: Acupuncture Doesn’t Help Induce Labor.” Continue reading Is Acupuncture Useful for Labor Induction? Women who eat at least one portion of high-fat dairy food per day have more productive ovulation, by 27% than women who eat low-fat dairy. Women who eat 2 servings or more of low fat dairy have 85% more ovulation-related infertility. Is it the dairy, the fat, or a combination?
 Butter, A Source of CLA We live in a world where low fat is treated as the holy grail of health, yet we forget that fats and fats alone contain certain essential nutrients, including those used to form hormones used in reproduction. The fat from pasture-raised cows contain has as much as five times the CLA (a fatty acid which is a potent anti-cancer agent, muscle builder, and immunity booster) as fat from grain-fed cows. The Omega 3 essential fatty acids are found in similar proportions to deep sea fish. Grass-fed milk contains rumenic acid (a CLA), DHA, vaccenic acid, branched chain fatty acids, butyric acid, lecithin, cysteine-rich whey proteins, calcium, iodine and vitamin D all of which have value from reducing cancer to increasing fertility. Continue reading Full Fat Dairy Helps Ovulation in the Infertile
 Infertility It is well known that insulin resistance is the basis of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) which is a major cause of infertility, but insulin resistance affects other infertility conditions as well. Continue reading Insulin Resistance and Infertility  Vitamin D The symptoms of low vitamin D levels are subtle and difficult to distinguish, given that receptors are found in most organ systems in the body and affect genetic transcription in cells. For chronic pain the Mayo clinic suggests that Vitamin D deficiency is the first thing that should be considered. Vitamin D deficiency contributes to depression, osteoporosis, osteopenia, osteomalacia, rickets, periodontal disease, seasonal affective disorder, increased susceptibility to colds and flu, colon cancer, lung cancer, ovarian cancer, malignant melanoma, Continue reading What is the Right Vitamin D Level?
Sun has been rehabilitated. It isn’t the great killer you thought it was. In fact, despite 40 years of contrary messages from the dermatological society, it helps protect you from cancer. And more important, sunlight is the main way we humans get Vitamin D, the lifesaving hormone that is used to prevent cancer, heart disease, MS, diabetes, fibromyalgia, osteomalacia and rickets. We make the Vitamin D in oils on our skin when the sun is directly overhead. That means you don’t want to block the sun then, or to wash Continue reading How to Make the Most (Vitamin D) from the Summer Sun
The California group, The Environmental Law Fund released a report on June 9 alleging that lead in substantial amounts had been found in children’s food including juice boxes of apple juice, grape juice, packaged pears and peaches (including baby food), and fruit cocktail. Most troubling was that many brands of organic food were included including Earth’s Best, Continue reading Lead Found in Juice Boxes and Children’s Food
The June blog party is hosted by Kristine Brown of Luna Herb Company on the topic of herbs to beat the Summer heat. Those of you who are familiar with Chinese medicine know that there are two categories of herbs, “Herbs for Summerheat” and “Herbs for Summerheat Damp,” the latter of which is a problem on the US Continue reading Herbal Blog Party: Herbs to Beat the Heat  Iced coffee (photo care of Baltimore Sun) When summer comes around I turn to the cooling bitter or astringent drinks, served slightly below room temperature or at most refrigerated. I don’t really like to use ice because it can ruin your digestion but cold feels awfully good. The bitter flavor is also cooling. Sour or astringent flavors help reduce water loss, so I like an infused vinegar in water at times as well as lemon or lime water. And while warm beverages don’t often come to mind, hot tea is often consumed all day long in China or the Mideast. Think of it as homeopathy- like cures like. Or just as a way of reducing the difference between your body and the environment so adjustment isn’t such a shock. One word about caffeinated beverages. You aren’t eating dry leaves or beans, you are drinking a water-based beverage flavored with the leaves or beans. The research shows you don’t lose more water than you take in, but you do lose it sooner, so tissues don’t hydrate as well. Rule of thumb: you lose 25% of the fluid value from coffee compared to water, and Continue reading Cooling Summer Herbal Beverages
The New York Times just published an article indicating that pickle juice (made of salt, vinegar and spices) was helpful at relieving muscle cramps. In a very small trial, 10 men exercised until dehydrated then were electrically stimulated until they cramped, and were given either pickle juice or water. Pickle juice relieved cramps significantly compared to distilled water. The trainers thought that the pickle juice replaced fluids and electrolytes lost during exercise. The researchers thought it was the vinegar. And many of the readers commented that vinegar alone had relieved cramps for them. (One even thought the vinegar in mustard did the same.) Which got me musing about the value of vinegar, and even acids in general. Continue reading Vinegar, Muscle Cramps, Blood Sugar and Acids  Red Opium Poppy Pain is a huge topic. Pain can come from trauma, pressure on nerves, from the wear and tear of osteoarthritis, inflammation due to allergens or pollutants that can set off autoimmune reactions, low Vitamin D status, expanding cartilage under weak bones (osteomalacia), retained placentas, stress, anxiety, PTSD, even viral causes. So the first order of business is to get diagnosed, not only by a western MD but by an herbalist or doctor of Auyrveda or Chinese medicine who knows how do pattern diagnosis. Pain specialists, both eastern and western may be better able to work with chronic pain than general practitioners. Continue reading The Herbal Treatment of Pain
by Karen Vaughan, L.Ac. RH (AHG) Allergies, especially food allergies and sensitivities are not well understood in any form of medicine. Western medicine distinguishes between allergies and sensitivities, with imunoglobulin E (IgE) being the hallmark of allergy and IgG being the hallmark of sensitivity. There may be Igs that we have not yet discovered. Either or both can cause virtually any symptom ranging from itchy skin, rashes, and minor pains to complex problems such as obesity, schizophrenia, depression, ADD/ADHD, arthritis and autoimmune disease. In fact even the RAST test and IgG tests have huge error rates, approaching 30%, with both false positives and false negatives. The only reliable way of identifying food allergens is elimination for a number of weeks and rechallenge. Food intolerances, Continue reading Musings on the Treatment of Allergies  Sean Donahue Greenman Sean Donahue, of Green Man Ramblings is host to the May Herbal Blog Party on Herbs for Sexual Health and Vitality. A number of prominent herbalists have written articles on various facets of sexuality and herbs, from improving function to contraception. Here is his reblogged post with the links to the articles: Saturday, May 15, 2010 May Blog Party: Herbs For Sexual Health and VitalityHow do you promote healthy, vital, joyful sexuality? Continue reading May Blog Party: Herbs for Sexual Health and Vitality
 Avena Sativa, milky oats, are good for sex problems due to adrenal exhaustion. From Matt Lavin at http://www.flickr.com/photos/35478170@N08/3927738998 Sexual response is not just about sexuality, it is about overall health. When you aren’t functioning sexually, it is a sign of overall ill health. Sexual response is complex and sexual dysfunction refers to a wide variety of conditions. Because of this you should not go willy nilly into popping herbs, or for that matter Viagra. The herbal treatment of sexual dysfunction depends on a good differential diagnosis. So here are some basic questions. 1. First, do you trust your partner? Should you be having sex with them? Are you in love? Are you angry? Is your communication not good? Maybe you don’t want to be available to just anyone or with someone who does not value you. If your body is refusing to become aroused, maybe it is trying to tell you something about your partner or the state of your relationship. Address that first. Continue reading Herbs for Sex and Sexual Response
Herbalism consumes me. My idea of a vacation is to go wildcrafting in the woods or to explore the spice markets of exotic locales. Escape reading for me is luscious accounts of life enhanced by flavors and spices, biographies of curanderos, accounts of life in the jungle, the natural history of food. It doesn’t need to be fiction, an unusual locale, or a different way of life, as long as the herbs are there. If you share the passion, try these books: 1. The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Initiated in the ways of turmeric, cinnamon, fenugreek and cloves, the spice mistress Continue reading Escape Reading for People Who Love Herbal Medicine  Napping is not only restful but it helps them learn When I lived in Italy, we went to school until 12:30 then returned home for 2 hours for lunch and a nap. Afterward we went back to study until 6:00. At the time I was astounded at how much more Italian high school students learned compared to American students. New research shows that the napping might have something to do with it. A University of California, Berkeley study took 39 healthy adults and studied their ability to learn and memorize with or without naps. The participants who napped between learning sessions (for 90 minutes) improved their own scores by 10 percent while their non-napping counterparts saw scores dropping by 10 percent. Continue reading Sleep and Learning: More sleep means less study needed  Image via Wikipedia It is known that having children increases the chances of women developing Type 2 diabetes in later life. New research shows that breastfeeding can reduce this risk to the same level as that of women who have never had children. Continue reading Breastfeeding Protects Mothers From Diabetes  Grapefruit seed found sprouted in the fruit, used with permission I am not a fan of grapefruit seed extract, because as a natural antibiotic it is a scam, a drug basically. But grapefruit seeds themselves do have antimicrobial effects and apparently, like many herbs, can reverse antibiotic resistance. Continue reading Grapefruit seeds for urinary tract infections and diabetes  Cory at Aquarian Baths is hosting the Spring Herbs blog posts this month. Here is her post:Spring is such a wonderful time of year for the herbalist and gardener. I am pleased to present an amazing collection of Spring Herbs blog posts this month. Make yourself a cup of herbal tea and settle in a while to read what others are doing with herbs this time of year. What are you doing with herbs? We would love to know, so leave us some comments. For more information on ongoing blog parties visit the Herbwifery Forum. Continue reading April Herbal Blog Party
For many years I struggled with feeling that I couldn’t be an authentic herbalist living in the city. I thought “real herbalists” should be living off of the land Continue reading Springtime in an Urban Garden |
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Allergies may be permanent or changeable, may respond to threshold reduction or require elimination. Difficult to treat and respond to various treatment strategies.
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