Low or Reduced Fat Diet (Past or Present)

Low fat diets are a very good way to become deficient in essential fatty acids. This person needs to be assessed for essential fatty acid deficiency, and supplement them with the correct essential fatty acids and co-factors for optimal absorption and utilization. 

Lifestyle Changes
Avoid all sources of hydrogenated oils and deep fried foods, which rob the body of essential fatty acids.

Reference: Weatherby, D. (2004). Signs and Symptoms Analysis from a Functional Perspective. Jacksonville, OR: Bear Mountain Publishing

Bach Flower: Rescue Remedy

Rescue Remedy And Emergencies

Rescue Remedy is perhaps the most well known of all the Bach remedies available today and yet it isn’t strictly one of the 38 remedies. Rescue Remedy is made up of five of the flower  remedies and so many people today keep a bottle at home because it is a great first aid remedy. For the ones who believe, they feel that Rescue  Remedy has been responsible for saving many, many lives because it is essentially a remedy that helps to decrease shock or stress. Very often, trauma and accidents can result in death simply because the person goes into a state of extreme
shock. This remedy prevents that from  happening and helps the body to get out of and overcome the feeling of shock.

What are the five flower remedies that make up this wonderful remedy? They are Rock Rose, Star of Bethlehem, Cherry Plum, Impatiens and Clematis. Each of these flower remedies has a specific healing energy. Rock Rose is the remedy the mitigates terror and panic, Star of Bethlehem eases the numbness of any trauma, Cherry Plum makes sure the person is in control of his feelings, Impatiens helps to get rid of tension and Clematis makes the person to resist the urge to pass out or swoon from shock. All five together work to take the shock out and put the sense in. Rescue Remedy given  immediately makes a person calmer and more collected and brings a degree of practicality in.

Rescue Remedy is of great help not just to the person who has undergone the accident or trauma but also those around him. It prevents people from losing control so that decisions can be made in a cool, collected manner. Women who get hysterical when they hear bad news benefit a lot from this remedy. Children who are frightened or scared stop shivering and became calm with a few doses. Pets can be calmed down especially when there is noise around and they get scared. It helps when there is thunder and lightning or when there are fireworks or firing. Children’s tantrums and pets getting overexcited also respond well to Rescue Remedy. They have even been found effective when plants are diseased and start dying.

Rescue Remedy is available in the form of tablets, liquid in glass dropper bottles and as creams. The creams can be used externally when there is a swelling or a suspected sprain or fracture. When it is taken internally, it could be four tablets that make up a dose or if it is the liquid form, a few drops are put into a cup of water and this should be sipped slowly. This is a great emergency medicine before one goes to the hospital to get treated. Not only does it calm the patient mentally and emotionally, physically too, there is less strain and stress and therefore less pain that is experienced.

Rescue Remedy can be given to a group that has seen something terrible happen, to a group that is fighting and squabbling, during family arguments that get very heated, after a scary movie or TV serial, especially to kids, before going to the doctor or the dentist, after hearing bad news, to prepare children or for that matter anyone, for a divorce or death, before an exam or an interview or in high stress jobs or environments. Rescue Remedy should find a place in every home’s medicine cabinet because it is the first remedy in any emergency. It is of great help when there are children and pets at home.


Reference: Bach Flower Remedies by Shalini Kagal (2012)
Website: http://ohmtalk.com
e-mail: shalini.kagal@gmail.com

Nose Bleeds and / or Tend to Bruise Easily

Nose bleeds, bleeding gums and bruising easily are all signs of bioflavonoid deficiency. Bioflavonoids are a class of compounds found in brightly colored fruits and vegetables. They serve to stabilize membranes in the body, especially the blood vessel membranes. Bioflavonoids have antioxidant properties, are essential for collagen cross linking (which provides the strength to collagen fibers), they act as an adjuvant to vitamin C and will help re-charge vitamin C in the body. They have anti-inflammatory activity by stabilizing the cell membranes and making them less likely to release their fatty acids and thus preventing the eicosanoid cascade.

Reference: Weatherby, D. (2004). Signs and Symptoms Analysis from a Functional Perspective. Jacksonville, OR: Bear Mountain Publishing

Bach Flower: Sweet Chestnut

Sweet Chestnut and the Last Straw

The Bach flower remedy Sweet Chestnut in its negative state describes a person when he has reached the end of his tether. He feels like he has his
back against the wall, in spite of everything that he has done and there is no way out. He feels completely exhausted and it is as though every avenue he has explored is a dead end with nowhere left to go.

Physical

He feels drained and this is not something that is psychosomatic – it happens after he has worked hard towards his goals. Physically, he is at a point when he feels that his legs will carry him no further, when he has exhausted the last ounce of his energy. It isn’t just the incredible fatigue that he has to bear, it is the feeling that his body cannot go on. Sweet Chestnut gives his tired bones a fillip to go that  extra mile. More than that, it puts hope into him that all is not lost and that there could be a rainbow ahead after that next turning.

Mental

Mentally, he has given up and that is why perhaps he has this ‘I’ve reached the end of the road’ feeling. He feels tortured mentally because nothing seems to be going his way till at last, he gives way to despair and feels there is nothing ahead to give him any kind of hope. However, even though it is extreme despair that he experiences, he never thinks of ending it all with suicide. All he does is feel terribly tired and gives up. Sweet Chestnut makes him hope and opens his mind to other avenues to explore where he could begin to see success.

Emotional

After suffering inside, he comes to a point when all he feels is a desolate nothingness. However lost he feels, he tries and hides his feelings from the world. Much of his heartache stems from the fact that he tries to do everything himself and doesn’t let others know what he is feeling. He quite forgets that burdens shared are burdens borne better. With Sweet Chestnut, he  feels again and he learns to love and share both the good and the bad.

Spiritual

There’s a hollowness inside – a darkness of the soul. All belief seems to die and therein lies the utter hopelessness. His soul writhes in pain till it reaches a point when there is only desolation. Sweet Chestnut helps him tap the hidden springs within and lets hope flow over his parched soul. With belief comes the feeling that his soul can rise up and feel joy again.


Reference: Bach Flower Remedies by Shalini Kagal (2012)
Website: http://ohmtalk.com
e-mail: shalini.kagal@gmail.com

Bach Flower: Star of Bethlehem

Star of Bethlehem and Shock Treatment

The Bach flower remedy Star of Bethlehem is wonderful to treat shock of any kind. This is not the terror that is palpable which needs other flower
remedies. This is the numb state that shock makes him retreat into. A state when he doesn’t feel and very often cannot even think. It could happen with bad news, with traumatic experiences during childhood that one cannot even remember or even with any kind of an emotional letdown.

Physical

There are many physical changes that can come about with shocks. Bad news about a loved one’s death, a lover breaking off a relationship, being told to vacate your home suddenly because you haven’t kept up with the payments can all bring with them changes like greying of hair, loss of hearing, heart attacks, aches and pains, etc. Star of Bethlehem,  when it is administered soon after a shock can work wonders and prevent the shock from leaving its mark on the person physically. Many psychosomatic ailments like allergies and asthma are thought to be results of shocks that have been suppressed.

Mental

Very often, when a person experiences shock, the after effects are not immediately felt because the mind goes numb and the feeling is pushed into the subconscious. This is dangerous because it can give rise to a whole lot of mental issues which could manifest themselves much later. Star of Bethlehem prevents this from happening and drains the shock from the mind, allowing the effects to flow out and not be frozen inside. This remedy usually brings on mental clarity after it is taken.

Emotional

An emotional shock sometimes results in the person blocking out all feeling and going about as though nothing happened. Or, in some cases, it could even lead to a hysterical outburst. Star of Bethlehem helps the person to cope emotionally by helping him ride the pain and slowly get
rid of it rather than trapping it inside where it could cause irreparable emotional harm.

Spiritual

Star of Bethlehem has been called the ‘comforter’ and even on a spiritual level, it soothes and helps a person enjoy the communion with a greater power rather that do things with a numb, half-asleep attitude. This remedy awakens the senses and makes the energy links with the higher self revitalized and alive. With Star of Bethlehem, there’s an inner strength that seeks the divine with joy and fervor.


Reference: Bach Flower Remedies by Shalini Kagal (2012)
Website: http://ohmtalk.com
e-mail: shalini.kagal@gmail.com

Greasy or Shiny Stools

Greasy or shiny stools are an indication of hepato-biliary dysfunction. Fats in the diet require adequate bile production from the liver and adequate bile release from the the gallbladder to be properly emulsified and digested. Decreased output of bile from the gallbladder will cause fat to remain undigested in the small intestine, leading to steatthorea or greasy / shiny stools, There is a strong need for bile salts to help with the emulsification of fats.

Another possible cause is pancreatic insufficiency. The pancreas produces lipase, which aids in the digestion of emulsified fats.

Reference: Weatherby, D. (2004). Signs and Symptoms Analysis from a Functional Perspective. Jacksonville, OR: Bear Mountain Publishing

Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash performing for prisoners at Folsom Prison Jan. 13th 1968

Abraham Lincoln

Joints Pop or Click

Joints that pop or click are associated with a general need for connective tissue support. Balancing the overall structure of the body is essential and a general protocol for supporting the connective tissue is important.

The following is a list of nutrients that are useful for healing connective tissue:

1. Vitamin B12
2. Glucosamine hydrochloride
3. MSM
4. Vitamin B6
5. Vitamin C complex
6. Calcium and magnesium
7. Essential fatty acids
8. Chondroitin sulfate

Reference: Weatherby, D. (2004). Signs and Symptoms Analysis from a Functional Perspective. Jacksonville, OR: Bear Mountain Publishing

Bach Flower: Impatiens

Impatiens And Slowing Down

The Bach flower remedy Impatiens, is, as its name indicates, a great remedy for impatience. This could be the remedy for someone for whom the words ‘Slow down, you move too fast’ were written. This is the person who loves to speed things up at home, at work, at play because he feels everyone and everything around him is too slow. He must be up
and doing – at a faster pace than everyone else and he just has no time to stop and smell the roses.

Physical

You can see the impatience on his face as he strides ahead of everyone, then stops and turns with a frown on his face, willing the others to hurry and catch up. You’ll find him trying to push ahead in a queue, impatient because the bus or train or plane is a couple of minutes late and once inside and seated, impatient because he wants the ride to end so he can
reach his destination as quickly as possible. As  though being in a tizzy will make Time go a second faster! Very often, he hurries things along only to find he has made a mistake or has forgotten something. This is a fidgety person, drumming his fingers against anything if he has to wait
or pacing up and down like a caged tiger. He suffers very often from headaches and indigestion. Impatiens calms him down and eases the stress out. He learns to walk in step with others and enjoy life as he does so.

Mental

They are usually a step or more ahead in their mind of everyone else. They just cannot fathom how other people can be so slow. They are speed-readers and great multi-taskers and are best working on their own. They tend to have a superiority complex because they equate speed in their mind with being better. Impatiens stops the mad whirl that goes on in his mind and makes him more patient with everyone around.

Emotional

They get upset and angry very fast but this passes quickly. They rarely stay angry for too long – they probably feel it’s a waste of time when they should be busy doing something else. They are usually extroverts but can be a bit annoying because they tend to put everyone down and interfere a lot in others’ affairs.

Spiritual

They are just too impatient to sit back and bask in the wonder of nature and the universe. Organised religion could irritate them because they will be looking at their watch all the time, willing any get-together or religious function to get over fast. They also cannot take to instruction, feeling they
know best and that means better than everyone else. With Impatiens, they learn to sit back and feel at one with the universe, not wanting to make the world turn faster.


Reference: Bach Flower Remedies by Shalini Kagal (2012)
Website: http://ohmtalk.com
e-mail: shalini.kagal@gmail.com