Lower Back Pain Question

A lot of people send emails asking for help for a number of conditions. One question I get a lot is concerning lower back pain. The root cause of most lower back pain is the same, so I thought I’d post this recent response to a lower back pain sufferer. Lower Back Pain

The main thing in almost all cases of lower back pain is to bring the adrenals up. Diet is essential, stop all processed foods including any “good” sugar.

There are herbs that can help the adrenals fast. I only use MediHerb for the quality, but have heard good things about Kroeger brand. I’ve seen others that have no effect at all because their quality is so low.

The herbs listed are from MediHerb. This is my favorite adrenal fatigue protocol though not necessarily the best for everyone. I like these herbs because they usually work fast.

Licorice high grade liquid 4 ml
Siberien Ginsing (Eleuthero) liquid 11 ml
Nevaton three tabs a day three doses

Mix the herbs, add a little water (they’re pretty strong without)  and take half in the morning and half around noon. Empty stomach is best, but not essential.

Other important supplements for longer term healing. From Standard Process. Best to split the per day to two dosses (5 per day would be three in the morning and two with dinner). Take with food.
Drenamin 5 per day
Cataplex B 3 per day

You can get more information on how to help your adrenal glands from my adrenal fatigue book.

I can have the supplements and herbs sent to you for 20 percent off if you like.

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Sugar Causes Heart Disease

Coronary Artery Lesion

There is a lot of misinformation out about what causes heart disease. Fat and cholesterol are still supposed to be the big bad guys while studies prove that is not the case. While certain other dietary factors do contribute, sugar and processed foods are the initiators of coronary heart disease. Here’s what junk food does to your arteries.

Blood Sugar Balance
The body keeps a very close tabs on millions of different processes that take place all the time. It maintains balance so everything can happen the way it is supposed to. One of the top priorities is to keep blood sugar levels within certain limits. Very powerful hormones are used to keep that balance. Consuming sugar and processed foods is simply something the body did not evolve to handle, and it has a hard time keeping a good blood sugar balance when they are eaten. The modern addition of processed foods has resulted in a population with blood sugar levels that are chronically too high and too low.

High Blood Sugar Causes Disease
High blood sugar is the beginning of all major illness. The destructive path is different in each case, but the common cause is undeniable. Long known biochemistry as well as recent studies prove this.

What Is Junk Food?
Any sugar or ground up grain in any form.

These processed foods will cause the blood sugar to spike with a corresponding spike in insulin to bring the levels down. And, that excess insulin causes a lot of the same kinds of damage that high sugar does.

Sugar Nicks Artery Walls
High levels of blood sugar causes the nicks in the artery walls that cholesterol patches. Cholesterol is only doing its job, the clog in the artery is caused by the constantly needed repair.

The Obvious Solution
Of course we all know that we should avoid junk food. But, we don’t always think of a sandwich as something that might actually be bad for us, but two slices of bread is like eating 4 teaspoons of table sugar! This is based on the glycemic load, how food affects blood sugar.

Avoiding processed food all the time is not always necessary. After all, what is life without a little enjoyment? But, limits are necessary to insure a long and healthy life. Eating a balanced diet with plenty of vegetables and having a little treat after is the best way to mitigate the problems that processed foods cause.

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Back Pain Surgery A Poor Choice

For a long time now I have been saying that back pain can be more readily treated with natural techniques than by surgery, drugs etc. New evidence is showing that most people are much more likely to recover without surgery. In many cases back pain surgery can go completely wrong leaving the patient in more pain than ever.

Records from 1,450 patients of the Ohio bureau of Workers’ Compensation with a herniated disc diagnosis, disc degeneration or radiculopathy, a nerve condition causing weakness and tingling in the arms and legs. About half had surgery to fuse two or more vertebrae, the other half had no surgery.

Two years later only 26 percent of those who had back surgery were able to return to work while 67 percent of those with no surgery were able to be productive again. Not only that, but there was a 41 percent increase in the use of opiates in those who had fusion surgery.

Here is that article on back pain surgery.

Those are pretty poor odds especially considering that natural treatments have been shown to be much more successful.

In 2007 the agency for health care research reported that 27 million Americans reported back pain. And, they spent over 30 billion dollars on various back pain treatments. While some of this money goes for alternative treatments, a big part of it is spent on surgeries.

Many people think that aches and pains are part of growing older. I disagree. Older people may need to be a little more careful with their health if they abused their body while younger, but pain, even lower back pain, is not normal. It means that something is wrong. The body wants to heal, all it needs is the opportunity.

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Adrenal Fatigue Question, Limited Funds

This email  came in today form a woman who knows from a test two years ago that she has adrenal fatigue. Her husband had triple bypass surgery at age 50. The stress left her in worse shape, with debilitating insomnia, a common result of adrenal fatigue. To compound the problem she doesn’t really have the money for the supplements and herbs that will help her out of her adrenal mess.

Here’s what I wrote to her:

The cause of your husband’s clogged arteries is the same casue (at least one of them) of your adrenal fatigue: processed foods and sugar.

OK, I’m not psychic, and I could be wrong, but that is usually the case. The fact is that processed food is the primary cause of most of our modern ailments.

You can help yourself a lot by not eating any grains or sugar at all. But, that’s very hard to do cold turkey.

Start with sugar, it takes about five days for the cravings to lessen, a month to go away completely. More animal protein helps. This is all sugars too, even the “healthy” ones. Honey, for example, is actually worse than table sugar in certain ways.

Stop refined grains asap — don’t go crazy! Start by eliminating refined grains, work slowly. A refined grain is anything that has been chopped or ground, “whole grain” doesn’t mean a thing to the adrenals if it’s chopped up because they release sugar almost as fast as table sugar.

Then start limiting whole grains as well.

Finally, the adrenals are driven by the hypothalamus gland which reacts to intense emotions (stress) by tells the pituitary gland to tell the adrenals to produce stress hormones. You can effectively turn the hypothalamus off with certain herbs. A good investment would be in some relaxing herbs. Get the relaxing herb combination that are ground up in capsules. Drinking a couple of cups of Kava a day works well for some people.

Get some other herbs and supplements as you can afford them.

Kalidasa

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Relaxing Herbs To Calm The HPA Axis

Corpse Pose-Relaxation

Recently I wrote on stress and depression. Since then I’ve gotten a few emails asking what kind of herbs are good for calming the hypothalamus.

HPA Axis
The hypothalamus is what tells the pituitary that there is a stressful situation. The pituitary tells the adrenal glands that help for dealing with stress is needed. The adrenal glands produce stress hormones that, among other things, tells the hypothalamus there is a stressful situation. The loop can continue even if the stressor is removed.

Herbs Are Individual
The best herbs for one person may not be the best for another. Fortunately, there are formulas that take a broad approach. This offers a synergistic affect that is often needed with herbs, and there is more variety so broad spectrum formulas are more likely to have something for most people.

Herb Quality
One of the biggest problems with herbs is quality. That is why I use MediHerb when I can because their standards are the highest. That’s not practical for most people though for several reasons. You can buy national brands as a good second choice, but be sure to get a formula that is made from powdered herbs, lose or in capsules. Look for formulas that are designed for helping cope with stress.

Nevaton is probably the best relaxing herb that MediHerb has. I have seen it work well for almost everyone who uses it. One tablet two or three times a day works for most people. Increase to four a day if needed.

Calming Herbs
Here is a list of some common nervine herbs, a western classification for herbs that help to calm.
immature oat seeds
passion flower
lemon balm
hops
kava kava
lavender
lenden
motherwort
skullcap
verbena

A lot of people include St, Johns wort. That is fine if it has a good effect on you, but it is more for depression than anxiety or stress and may not help ease the issue the way other herbs do. Also, it’s best avoided if you are on most medications.

Valerian is also recommended by some herbalists. It is more of a tranquilizer, more for acute stress. Also, its effects tend to diminish if used too frequently.

Calming Herbal Formula Examples
Here are the ingredients of a formula that has helped a few people I know: chamomile, passion flower, fennel seeds, hops, freverfew and marshmallow

Another formula that has been helpful for a couple of people I know: passion flower, kava kava, Siberian ginseng, gotu kola, kola nut, schizandra, wood betony and lavender flower

Herbs are best taken on an empty stomach. However, many people find it more convenient to take supplements at meals.

If your dealing with adrenal fatigue, These herbs will help most people that are dealing with adrenal fatigue. Take them two or three times a day, more if you feel. Most are pretty benign, but be sure to head any warning labels, or find what the best dose for you. You are sure to notice the effect fairly soon.

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