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June 1999 Newsletter
Healing With Flower Essences
The healing use of flowers dates back at least 10,000 years. Modern
flower essences were developed in Wales in the 1930s by bacteriologist
Edward Bach, M.D. Today, practitioners worldwide continue to study flowers'
subtle vibrational healing properties.
Researchers at the California-based Institute of HeartMath have found
that the heart generates the most powerful electromagnetic field in
the body, and all other organs and systems resonate to it. If the heart
feels love, every cell also feels love as the brain releases chemicals
that signal health and life. Conversely, fear and anger trigger the
release of immune-suppressing chemicals.
Flower essences are made to create love, joy and peace on a vibrational
level through the resonant healing pattern of the flower. Bach considered
disharmony between the soul and personality as the cause of all disease.
Modern science has evidence that concurs.
The theory behind flower essences is that they replace negative states
with positive ones, which can result in quick physical improvement,
and increase the harmony, confidence, balance, awareness, and spiritual
connection needed to grow or heal. People experience a renewed sense
of themselves, their freedom, purpose, and potential.
In today's fast-paced world, motivation can literally mean the difference
between success and failure, life, and death. Flower essen-ces can assist
to align inner purpose and will to effective action, change, and healing.
Flower essences can be combined for use in any circumstance. Here are
some examples of their use.
Children with attention deficit and hyperactive disorder have dramatically
improved after taking Bach's emergency relief formula;
· Holly (Ilex aquifolium) has been used to heal birth trauma; release
feelings of hurt, abandonment and rage;
· Snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus) for anger and verbal abuse;
· Obedient plant (Physostigea virginiana) for self-empowerment;
· Moonshine yarrow (Achillea filipendulina) protects against one's
own overwhelming emotions, and the tendency to overreact;
· Blackberry (Rubus allegheniensis) aligns the parts of the self: mind,
body, will, purpose, and emotions. Useful for any situation where unity
of self is required for effective action-completing projects or starting
a regimen that requires willpower or discipline.
· Roses powerfully connect the spiritual sense of self, the self's
connection to the universe, and the vital forces of life to the soul.
Rose essences are called for during times of important changes, when
the sense of self expands, and when trust or an open heart is required
to make the next step in life;
· Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is an important essence for strengthening
the vital boundaries between self and others and for a sense of protection
and strength around the physical self and body. It strengthens and repairs
what some practitioners call "the etheric shield."
On whatever level healing is needed, flower essences' subtle action can
assist
Reference: Kaminski, P., & Katz, R. Flower Essence Repertory, 4th
edition: 399.
Expectant Mothers Can Protect Babies
Spina bifida is one of a group of conditions known as neural tube defects
(NTDs). Women who seek medical advice before they conceive or while still
in the early stages of pregnancy are told to take 400 mcg of folic acid
per day. This is more than double the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA)
for non-pregnant women, which is 180 mcg per day. At the higher level
of supplementation, several intervention studies show a significant reduction
in the occurrence of NTDs-as much as 60 to 70%.
NTDs develop only 18 to 30 days after conception-before a woman may even
know she's pregnant. Thus, a woman's folate status needs to be good before
conception. Since many women don't seek medical advice before conception,
they don't know if their folate levels are optimal. In many cases, they
are not. It is for these reasons that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
mandated that, beginning in January 1998, grain products sold in the U.S.
had to be fortified with folic acid: 140 mcg of folic acid per 100 grams
of grain product.
The problem is that 140 mcg of folic acid per 100 g of cereal product
is not enough to prevent NTDs. To consume 400 mcg of folic acid in grain
products fortified at the current level would require a person eat close
to 300 g of grain each day. That translates to nearly a pound of bread
(taking its moisture content into account), or two-thirds of a pound of
pasta (dry weight). This is decidedly more than most women eat-though
some breakfast cereals are currently fortified with 400 mcg of folic acid
per serving.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates that most women get
200 mcg of folate from their daily diet. However, folate from food may
not be as effective as supplemental folic acid .
One study shows that consuming 400 mcg of folate each day from foods
failed to raise red blood cell folate concentrations to protective levels,
while 400 mcg of supplemental folic acid did.
Bottom line: women intending to get pregnant or who discover they are
pregnant should consider taking vitamin supple-ments with 400 mcg of folic
acid per day.
Reference: Rieder, M. "Prevention of neural tube defects with periconceptional
folic acid." Clin Perinatol, 21:483-502, 1994.
Ginkgo Boosts Memory And Mental Function
More than 250 clinical and experimental trials have been conducted to
date involving ginkgo extracts. The majority demonstrate that ginkgo provides
a wide range of health benefits, including acting as an antioxidant, enhancing
mental acuity and memory, preventing blood clumping, improving blood circulation
(especially to the brain and extremities), and treating some types of
hearing loss. A recent study, continuing in this spirit of research, demonstrates
that ginkgo goes beyond preserving mental function and may actually suppress
or reverse some of the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.
Pierre LeBars, M.D., Ph.D., is director of the New York Institute for
Medical Research and the lead author of the new study detailing the potential
role of ginkgo for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
What LeBars' study found was certainly impressive: nearly one-third of
Alzheimer's patients taking ginkgo supplements showed improvements in
cognitive function. The study tracked the mental function of 327 patients
with dementia (caused by either Alzheimer's disease or stroke) and randomly
assigned them to take either ginkgo supplements or look-alike placebo
pills every day for one year. The ginkgo supplements provided 120 mg of
a standardized concentrated extract.
Overall, it was found that patients in the placebo group showed cognitive
deterioration. However, in the group treated with the ginkgo extract,
this deterioration was arrested after six months of supplementation. Furthermore,
and this is the impressive part, in approximately one-third of those in
the ginkgo-treated group, there appeared to have been some improvement
of the cognitive process.
"I am completely amazed with the results of this study," confided LeBars,
"because the patients treated with ginkgo not only had the progression
of their disease arrested, but they actually showed improvements in 29%
of the people. This is absolutely incredible to see an improvement in
Alzheimer's patients."
Reference: LeBars, P.L., Katz, M.M., Berman, N., et al. "A placebo-controlled,
double-blind, randomized trial of an extract of ginkgo biloba for dementia,"
Journal of the American Medical Assocociation 278(16):1327-32, 1997.
Can Vitamin C Prevent Lung Disease?
Findings from a large study of more than 3,000 people in China indicate
that vitamin C may help prevent chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
(COPD) including emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
This latest study measured the lung function, diet, and levels of vitamin
C in the blood of people living in 69 rural counties in China. Researchers
asked whether the subjects had breathing problems or had ever smoked.
Individuals who consumed a diet rich in vitamin C and had high levels
of vitamin C in their blood had better lung function, and consequently,
a lower risk of COPD than those with lower intakes and vitamin C blood
levels. Study participants averaged about 151 mg of vitamin C per day,
about 50% more than the US average.
According to lead researcher Dr. Patricia Cassano of Cornell University
in Ithaca, NY, these findings provide "support that the observed effect
is more likely to be due to vitamin C." Researchers have yet to define
how vitamin C acts to prevent COPD and hypothesize that the vitamin's
antioxidant properties protect the lungs from free radical damage and
may protect the airways through improved immune function.
Reference: American Journal of Epidemiology, October 1998.
Vitamin A Saves Children's Lives
According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) report The State
of the World's Children 1998, vitamin A supplements saved the lives of
at least 300,000 children in developing countries in 1997.
Vitamin A deficiency, which affects about 100 million children wordwide,
has long been known to cause blindness. It is now known to also impair
the immune system and cause maternal mortality.
"There's mounting evidence that improved nutrition, such as an adequate
intake of vitamin A and iodine, can bring profound benefits to entire
populations," says Kofi A. Annan, secretary-general of the United Nations.
Studies conducted in Brazil, Ghana, India, Nepal, and elsewhere indicate
that supplementing the diets of children at risk of vitamin A deficiency
saves lives that would otherwise be taken by diarrhea, measles, and malaria.
Supplementing also reduces the incidence of pregnancy-related deaths among
women-and even the incidence of children born with HIV/AIDS.
Supplementing with zinc-an immunity-aiding micronutrient that boosts
vitamin A effectiveness-helped blunt the severity of the worst malaria
cases. In the same study, more than a third fewer malaria cases were seen
at health centers among those given zinc than among those given a placebo.
Pregnancy-related deaths were reduced by an average of 44% among pregnant
mothers who received low-dose vitamin A supplements. Nearly 600,000 women
die worldwide each year from pregnancy-related causes.
A 1994 study of HIV-infected women in Malawi concluded that vitamin A-deficient
women were 4.5 times more likely to pass on the virus to their children.
Reference: The full report is available at http://www.unicef.org/sowc98
Vitamin E For Prostate Cancer Prevention
A newly published study shows that supplementing with 50 IU of vitamin
E daily for five to eight years cuts the risk of prostate cancer by one-third.
Researchers led by Dr. Olli P. Heinonen of the University of Helsinki
observed a striking one-third reduction in prostate cancer incidence in
the men receiving alpha-tocopherol. There was an even greater reduction
in prostate cancer mortality-a 41% reduction, in the men taking alpha-tocopherol.
Both of these findings are statistically significant.
Vitamin E's preventive effect was obtained primarily in clinically overt
cancers, but lacked a beneficial effect in latent cancers. In other words,
vitamin E was more protective for life-threatening prostate cancers, and
not of benefit in preventing early stage prostate cancer. This leads researchers
to believe that vitamin E probably had some inhibitory effect on tumor
growth-preventing the progression of smaller latent cancers to more clinically
relevant prostate cancers.
The leading hypothesized mechanisms had to do with the antioxidant potential
of vitamin E in terms of it protecting cell membranes and DNA from free
radical damage.
Dr. Demetrius Albanes, lead researcher with the National Cancer Institute,
said, "Immune effects of vitamin E are also well known and could potentially
relate to the prostate cancer benefits seen here."
Despite the exciting results, they need to be replicated and corroborated
through another large study. Future research should aim at getting a broader
answer with regard to vitamin E's efficacy in prostate cancer, not only
among smokers, but especially among non-smokers-a population that this
study did not include.
Reference: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, March 18, 1998.
According to Harvard researchers, women who took multivitamins for at
least 15 years had a 75% reduced risk of colon cancer compared to women
who did not use supplements. The study involved more than 88,000 nurses,
442 of whom developed colon cancer.
Reference: Annals of Internal Medicine, October 1998.
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