Wisdom of Healing

Far too many people are finding themselves suffering with chronic, often debilitating, pain. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has stated that an estimated 20 million Americans suffer with various forms of arthritis. Add to this those who experience fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, lupus, stress, anxiety, depression, nerve damage or the latest mysterious condition their doctor can’t figure out, and it is easy to see that we have an epidemic of chronic pain on our hands. The pain is there as a warning sign, and if we find health promoting ways to correct the imbalances that lead to our discomforts, we may certainly feel a great deal better and prevent more serious health threats in the process.

Inflammation has become quite the buzz word, being found to be associated with virtually all painful conditions. Inflammation has now been linked to everything from Alzheimer’s and type 2 diabetes to cardiovascular disease and many types of cancer. Inflammation is also believed to contribute to headaches, allergies, asthma, PMS, menopause, IBS and bowel diseases. It seems that at least one of these challenging conditions, many considered uncommon just a generation ago, is affecting just about everyone these days, including many children.

If you or a loved one experience chronic pain, you may want to speak to a knowledgeable holistic healthcare provider about herbs, healthy foods, nutritional supplements and regular, gentle exercises to reduce the inflammation and help you reclaim optimal health. There is a wealth of recent research to support what our ancestors knew about using foods and herbs for the prevention of joint and muscle pain and to keep the internal organs functioning properly. In the coming weeks and months, we will discuss dozens of sensible approaches to calming the fires of inflammation and regaining a healthy mind, body and soul with healing foods, herbs and lifestyle choices.

The media has reported frequently on the dangers of anti-inflammatory drugs since the end of September, 2004 when Vioxx was pulled from the market due to concerns about a significantly higher risk of heart attack with the users of this and other similar medications. Many folks have been at a loss as to how to manage their pain without these pharmaceutical drugs.

Here’s the good news! There are many safe and effective products and practices you can do right now to successfully deal with pain, and many of them help the body over time to actually prevent inflammation and pain from recurring. Some of the best herbal choices, according to a wealth of research, do not mask the pain as the medications usually do but instead seem to work right along with the body in a number of non-select ways, to support its ability to respond most favorably to the pain and inflammation, as well as their underlying causes. Some of these well researched herbs include ginger, oregano, turmeric, rosemary, holy basil, green tea, Baikal skullcap (the Chinese scutellaria) and boswellia.

The three most important things to remember when choosing an herb, food or nutritional supplement if you want positive results are:
Quality, Quality, Quality.

Look for organically grown, purely extracted herbal preparations from reliable companies. Did you know that many herbal products in the US are actually extracted with hexane, acetone and dry cleaning fluid? Frightening as this is, the FDA does not even require this information to be printed on the label. So as you can imagine, it gets pretty confusing trying to determine what a superior product might be from the array of choices. Poor quality herbs, foods and supplements are at best unsupportive of vibrant health and well-being, and at worst may contribute to our further toxicity and discomfort. Please read: Quality Is Everything!, posted to this site August 28, 2006.

There are really very few companies on the market whose products I highly recommend. A few of the bigger companies offering superior products that you may want to check out include:

New Chapter,
Flora- Floradix, Bija, Udo’s Choice and Dr. Dunner,
Organix South- Thera Neem and Thera Veda
Gaia Herbs,
Pure Planet
Renew Life,
Eclectic Institute, (most of their product line)
Avena Botanicals,
Nordic Naturals,
Herb Pharm,
Megafood

These companies have an unequivocal commitment to quality and purity that is unsurpassed in our industry. You may find many of the herbs mentioned previously that are used to support and comfort a body in pain within these product lines. My most beloved herbal product for relieving the chronic pain I’ve had for most of my life is called Zyflamend (by New Chapter), and this phenomenal product combines most of those herbs in a safe, easy-to-use softgel (or liquid for vegetarians). The research supporting this product has been done at highly regarded centers such as Columbia University, The Cleveland Clinic and MD Anderson Cancer Center. There will be much more detailed information on these and other helpful herbs and supplements in the coming posts. Stay tuned…

Note: Please discuss the addition of any therapeutic herbal product or program with your healthcare provider, so that s/he is aware of what you using, and may assist you most effectively if you need her/his further guidance.

There are many health promoting solutions to the pain and discomfort associated with the health concerns that are plaguing many of us and in this stressed out, fast-paced, over-achieving world community. For additional information about what you can do right now to help reduce inflammation and regain your vibrant health, please read: Safe Alternatives for Inflammation Relief, posted to this site on September 1, 2006, and begin to feel better today!

This is my submission for the How-To Writing Project at Problogger.

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