How, When, and What to eat for Munching?

Many of us have the habit of munching. And if you are stressed because of the fact that your dietician has advised you to reduce or stop munching, you can relax. Because, munching is not as harmful as you feel, when you know how, when, and what to eat. Rather, as we saw in the last week’s article, being empty stomach for too long is more harmful than munching.

Just remember these points—

(1)   Follow the timing for munching as far as possible. Let it fall between meals with a distance of around 1 and ½ to 2 hours. Don’t start it immediately upon lunch. Try to have smaller quantity of what you have from beginning. Eg- If you like to have two toasts, have only one instead!

(2)   Reducing the portions of your munching goes a long way in maintaining the weight. This way, you also don’t deprive yourself of the thing you like and also can teach the brain to feel satiated with smaller portion over the period of time. This is especially true if you tend to indulge in stuff like bhaji and wada. With practice, it is possible.

(3)   Include your beverages too in munching. It means, if you want to have a cup of coffee, it shouldn’t be coupled with your bhaji or wada. It should be taken separately just like an item in itself. This is true even for cold drinks and sharbats.

(4)   As far as possible, don’t munch sitting in front of television, else you are going to eat more. This should be maintained especially in case of growing children, as the problem of childhood obesity is increasing day by day.

(5)   Change your munching items. This is not difficult once you decide to do. Housewives! Don’t keep the items that you crave for like fried food in the home, else you tend to eat them in your afternoon TV time.

(6)   Go for nuts, dry fruits, fresh fruits, salads (without salt and sugar), sugar-free beverages (home-made), roasted items (If you buy from outside, make sure they are roasted and not fried), pohe without oil, lahya, ravyache padartha, lahyanchi pithi, etc

Importance of Having Breakfast in the Morning!

In this fast paced life, many people seek shelter of the reason “lack of time” to skip their morning breakfast. Do you think it is better to rush to work without your breakfast? If yes, then it is time to think again. The leading scientists now give crucial importance to breakfast as the main meal of the day. Here is why—

(1)   After you sleep nearly for 6 to 8 hours, body’s energy stores are depleted. It needs “real food” in the morning that provides the necessary fuel to keep you active throughout the day.

(2)   Skipping breakfast is thought to be the major cause of weight gain. Avoiding breakfast makes you excessively hungry during mid day that makes you eat more at a time. Instead, morning breakfast helps you keep fuller for longer.

(3)   Also breakfast helps to boost up body metabolism due to which more calories are burnt, thus again helpful to check your extra pounds.

(4)   Good breakfast is said to increase your concentration power and that of your children at school.

(5)   In children, the survey says that morning breakfast helps them enhance their problem solving capacity and memory.

(6)   Morning breakfast is said to be a mood elevator. People affected with depressive spells are especially benefited by adding breakfast as their main meal of the day. You will find that people who have royal breakfast tend to be more jovial and full of positive attitude towards life.

But choose your breakfast wisely. It is always a better idea to go for home-made food than the packed breakfast foods available today. You need not go by fancy names but our own upama, pohe, chapatti, milk, and other dairy products work marvelously well when added to morning breakfast. So when are you starting to add energy to your life! It’s worth it! 

 

Alzheimer's Disease And Homeopathy!

An article by- Dr. Santosh Joshi

Introduction-

Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia in the elderly. More than 60% of the cases of dementia are due to this. Its prevalence is age related is as high as 47% in persons of 85 years above.

Definition: It is a degenerative disorder of the cerebral cortex resulting in progressive senile dementia.

Causes

The persons in whom the onset of the disease is before 65 years of age, the genetic factors are considered to be one of the important causes.

The main cause of this functional debility is the irreversible death of the brain cells due to deposition of protein plaques.

Environmental agents like viruses are also considered to be one of the causes, but, enough evidence has not been found in this respect.

Risk factors

o Advancing age is a risk factor, though; all elderly persons do not invariably show these features.

o Having as family history of the disease.

o Alcohol toxicity, previous head trauma and some immunological factors may also add to the risk of developing the disease.

Screening diagnosis

The disease has a very insidious onset and it progresses very gradually. It basically affects the emotion, intellect and memory of the person. It develops through 3 stages:

Stage 1

o The memory of the person is affected in the initial stages. First, impairment of memory for recent happenings can be noticed which is later followed by impairment of long term memory also.

o Patients themselves complain of the difficulty in the initial stages.

o The person also has disorientation of time and place; he misidentifies things and people.

o He repeats his words again and again.

Stage 2

o Here, the patient denies that anything is wrong with him says that he is alright.

o Gradually, the person shows deterioration of his intellectual functions and certain personality changes occur. He may also develop problems pertaining to speech language.

o He may later develop aphasic syndrome (Lack of right word at the right time compels the patient to compensate by speaking around the subject- àparaphasia-àimpoverished vocabulary- also that the patient can't convey his feelings due to fragmented words sentences -a mutism results.)

o Constructional apraxia (Inability to draw two or three dimensional figures.) follows.

o The person finds it difficult to wave his h to someone, greet someone or even to use a pen for writing.

o Visual agnosia develops (inability to comprehend what he sees).Due to these functional deficits, the person develops some psychiatric disturbances like: depression, aggression, anxiety, delusions, sleeplessness etc.

Stage 3

o Finally, the person reaches a stage when he has to depend on others for his daily living activities.

o The person may develop self care apraxias like: dressing, shaving, bathing, combing hair.

o Visual agnosia is followed by auditory, tactile agnosias.

o In these advanced stages, even the musculature is affected. The patient walks in a shuffling manner with short steps. Stiffness of all the muscles leads to slowness and awkwardness of all the movements. The entire course of the illness is 5-8 years approximately. During the course of the illness, any coexistent illness worsens the condition of the patient acutely.

Diagnosis:

It is basically done by ruling out any other causes of cognitive disorders.

Progressive worsening of memory and at least two areas of cognitive impairment.

Onset between 40 years 90 years of age (mostly, after 65 years) the person should be in a state of normal arousal i.e. he should not be drowsy, or comatose or delirious.

Diagnosis is based on the order of the appearance of the symptoms can be supported by imaging techniques like: MRI, CT scan ; which show enlargement of the ventricular space along with brain atrophy. But, this is not confirmatory of Alzheimer's as such changes are also seen in most of the other people of this age group.

Homoeopathic treatment:

The homoeopathic medicines cannot provide cure to the patients, but will help in recovery of the memory loss of the patient.

Our medicines will also help by altering the rate of progress of the disease. Also, the other psychiatric disturbances which the patient develops in the course of the disease like anxiety, depression, delusions, disturbed sleep etc can also be safely relieved by homoeopathic medicines.

If the patient is brought to us in the early stages, we have a lot to help for relieving the patient's complaints without any other side effects.

Environmental structuring: This means providing a safe, non stimulating, environment to the patient which provides him with consistency comfort.

Patient care

o For stage 1 patients, reality orientation is very helpful.

o For stage 2 patients, reality orientation is not possible; hence validation therapy is the best choice. Here, we should value support the patient's feelings thoughts.

o The patient should be encouraged to do self care, exercise his other activities. His mental and emotional states, his other vital signs body functions should be assessed for any deterioration.

o We should keep in mind the patient's capabilities our expectations should not exceed his abilities to perform any tasks.

o We should speak to the patient calmly allow him sufficient time to reply as we understands that the thinking process of the patient has slowed down. He should also be referred to appropriate support groups, counseling groups etc.

Dr.Santosh Joshi

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/976387

Cancer Causes and Impact of Emotions

(A Good read by-- Daniella L Slabbert)

I listened in on a very interesting call this weekend. Dr Patrick Kingsley (now retired) who was one of the most effective cancer doctors around gave an interview about his approaches to cancer and how he treated more than 3,000 end-stage cancer patients in his 30 years of practice.

Dr Kingsley didn't use the traditional treatments on his patients. He didn't use chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or surgery to treat them. Instead he used nutrition, lifestyle changes, and making the patient believe he or she could beat the cancer, to treat them. The amazing thing is that he kept every single patient alive. 

He gave me a wonderful insight into what exactly cancer is and how, through lifestyle choices, nutrition and of course belief, you can achieve health.

So what exactly is cancer?

It is widely believed that when cancer develops, there are three things which have gone wrong. First, something has caused stem cells in a particular tissue to stop developing into normal cells. Second, the p53 gene has stopped sending out messages to certain cells to die by apoptosis. And thirdly, something has damaged normal cells so badly that they have stopped working properly.

Cancer develops when the level of toxins in our bodies become excessive, to the point where they damage our cells and the information our cells carry regarding their function in our bodies.

We produce cancer cells quite regularly. Our immune systems are designed to identify rogue cells and eliminate them and this happens all the time, except when our immune systems are over stressed.

The medicinal industry and science accept that a number of environmental factors can cause cancer. These accepted causes are radiation, asbestos, tobacco, viruses such as the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), and chemicals.

However Dr Kingsley has observed other causes of cancer which are in line with my insights into cancer. Dr Kingsley has observed that stress of any sort is a major cause of cancer. During his consultations with cancer patients, it was discovered that, '... shortly before the cancer was discovered, some form of stress occurred.'

So what does stress do to cause cancer? Firstly, it impacts your immune system. Secondly, it creates a demand for better nutrition. What often happens is that when we are stressed, we tend to ignore our diets and snack on convenient foods and drink more tea and coffee and alcohol and often smoke even more. This creates an environment more appropriate for cancer to develop.

Normal cells thrive in a slightly alkaline environment, while cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. Stress causes our bodies to become more acidic which creates an ideal environment for cancer to thrive. Besides creating this ideal environment for cancer to grow, if this stressful environment continues for too long, your body will suffer because in order to neutralize the excess acid in your body, calcium is withdrawn from your bone which creates weak bones and potentially osteoporosis.

Dr Kingsley went on to suggest that cancer could be a protective mechanism. For example: lung cancer is trying to protect you from cigarette smoke or asbestos, and cervical cancer is trying to protect you from the Human Papilloma Virus etc.

This hypothesis offers you the opportunity to try to overcome the cancer that is affecting you at present. This state of affairs is all the more likely to occur if you have been under a lot of stress, especially shortly before your cancer showed up as a specific symptom or lump.

Dr Kingsley suggests that, '...if you can identify and eliminate the cause of your cancer, you don't need the cancer...'

Having had cancer myself, I am very aware of the impact of my emotions on my body. A few years before I was diagnosed, my life changed dramatically and I didn't cope with the changes very well and on an emotional level I closed in on myself. We then suffered a very late stage miscarriage at 23 weeks in January 2006. If I had been able to hold on to the pregnancy for 1 more week we would have been able to save the baby. This devastated us as a family and I really struggled to deal with the emotional turmoil that was left in the wake of this loss.

Almost exactly a year later I was diagnosed with cancer after finding a lump in my breast. I cannot justify pinning my diagnosis purely on the loss of a baby as cancer is a complex combination of a number of things. But dealing with the emotional issues I had previously not acknowledged or accepted has created a much better environment internally and externally to create the space for me to step into my destiny and walk my path with my head held high and be able to face the challenges that life brings us.

For those who don't know me, I really just wanted to introduce myself to you. In brief; I am a mother of two absolutely amazing little girls and a former cancer patient.

I have a loving and supportive family and an amazing network of friends. I have found my calling in life and am following it with great passion and love. I am certainly not scared of the future or angry about my illness and I definitely don't feel guilty about being ill anymore. I have re-engaged with life and am more in touch with who I am and what my purpose is in life than ever before. But that hasn't always been the case.

In 2007 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. At the time I was pregnant with my second daughter; Ruby. You can imagine, this compounded the experience significantly. I spent a year undergoing operations, chemotherapy, childbirth and radiotherapy. At the end of the process my body and spirit were battered and bruised. I had hit rock bottom. I had to find a way out of the darkness or get away from everything I know and love to spare them the fallout.

Fortunately my background and interest lies in human development, and with a lot of self will and amazing support from friends and family, I slowly but surely clawed my way back. My purpose in life is to help people in a similar situation to find themselves again. To re-engage with life and to live life with energy and passion. Do you know somebody who has been diagnosed with cancer who is still hiding from life? For more information go to:

http://www.cancercoach-nlp.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5561128

Homeopathy and Rheumatoid Arthritis

Homeopathic Help for People Experiencing Rheumatoid Arthritis

Homeopathy has a great capacity to impact people in profound ways who experience rheumatoid arthritis. This is the first article in a series that will address disorders of musculoskeletal system. In future articles, I will publish information related to tendinitis and bursitis, degenerative arthritis, back pain/sciatica, and fibromyalgia; as they all have unique symptoms and require their own treatment plans.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, inflammatory disorder primarily of the synovial joints, but can also affect other systemic organs. RA affects over 2 million Americans, with women being 3 times more susceptible than men.

The Arthritis Foundation states this disease progresses through three stages:

1) First is swelling of the synovial lining, causing pain, warmth, stiffness, redness and swelling around the joint.
2) Second is the rapid division and growth of cells, which causes the synovium to thicken.
3) In the third stage, the inflamed cells release enzymes that may digest bone and cartilage, often causing the involved joint to lose its shape and alignment, more pain, and loss of movement.

Eventually, if left untreated, RA has the capacity to destroy cartilage, deform joints, and destroy adjacent bones. And because it is a systemic disease it can affect the entire body. RA can cause generalized inflammation in the cardiac muscle, in blood vessels, and within layers of the skin. The exact cause of RA is unknown, but it is considered an autoimmune disorder (the body attacks itself). Genetic predispositions, or viral infections are thought to increase risks of RA.

People experiencing rheumatoid arthritis can be best helped the earlier it is caught, especially before excessive suppression has taken place from conventional methods of treatment. In homeopathy, health is viewed as a condition of the entire individual, rather than in terms of isolated symptoms from specific locations of the body. In this way, a homeopath will consider not only a detailed description of the physical RA symptoms, but the overall mental and emotional disposition and character, as well.

The following homeopathic remedies, and their specific indicators, can be considered for people experiencing RA:

Causticum: Stiffness of the joint that is so severe, it feels as if the joint is paralyzed. Generally worse from cold, dry weather. Better in rainy weather. Affects the fingers predominantly.

Rhus Toxicodendron: The main homeopathic remedy considered from rheumatism with pain and stiffness. The pain and stiffness causes the person to shift and stretch. Worse in the morning upon rising; in the cold, damp, rainy weather; storms; and sitting for long periods of time (such as in a movie or a car ride). They feel better from heat, hot bathing, or showers; and continued, gentle motion.

Arnica: Great soreness all over. Even the bed feels too hard. They feel bruised or beaten. Worse from being jarred or touched; they fear being touched. Pains are usually symmetrical.

Aurum Metallicum: Rheumatism with stiffness or spasms of the chest wall. This is an important remedy to consider for people who also have ankylosing spondylitis. Generally worse at night.

Ledum: Swelling, coldness and pallor (sometimes blueness) in the affected joint. Worse from heat. In general, the pains ascend during the course of the illness to more proximal joints.

Pulsatilla: Wandering arthritis; changeable symptoms and pains. Worse in the evening and with heat. Better from the cold; uncovering the joint; cold applications; and in the open air.

Homeopathic treatment will best assist people experiencing RA from constitutional, long-term care and, as mentioned, in the earlier stages of the illness. Even if medications have already begun, homeopathic treatment can help boost vitality and strengthen the healing intelligence of the body enough where the allopathic medications can eventually be discontinued altogether.

By- Noel Peterson

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4375254

Homeopathic Remedies for Anxiety!

Anxiety can be simply defined as both - physiological as well as a psychological disorder, mainly due to emotions, behavior and the cognitive aspects or components. It can occur in people without any stimulus experienced by the body, and is considered as a counter reaction to stress. The anxiety symptoms are fatigue, headaches, shortness of breath, nausea, palpitations of the heart, sweating, panic attacks (in some cases), restlessness etc. The aim of homeopathic remedies for anxiety is to allow the natural healing of the body by the intake of very dilute substances. A proper homeopathy remedy for anxiety is prescribed by the homeopathic doctors after studying the case in detail. Now, let us know about the homeopathic remedies for anxiety.

Useful Homeopathic Remedies for Anxiety

Calcarea Carbonica
The Calcarea Carbonica homeopathic remedies for anxiety is generally prescribed to those people who are on the verge of a nervous breakdown or are overwhelmed due to the various physical illnesses. Confusion in mind and thoughts, constant worrying, claustrophobia, being afraid of heights, fatigue and sluggish are the experiences of people with anxiety, which can be cured with homeopathic remedy like Calcarea Carbonica.

Aconitum Napellus
The homeopathic remedies for anxiety like Aconitum Napellus are prescribed to those who suffer from panic attacks, due to extreme fear. The fear may be due to different reasons - it can be due to fear of death and fear of falling seriously ill from fever or cold. This remedy, according to researchers, helps to deal with palpitations and shortness of breath which are the symptoms of anxiety.

Argentum Nitricum
The Argentum Nitricum homeopathic remedy for anxiety is given to those people who are tensed, feel uneasy and anxious before important and decisive events in their life such as public speaking, giving an interview or writing the examination paper. Apart from experiencing diarrhea and feeling dizzy, the people who are prescribed Argentum Nitricum have peculiar impulses as well as thoughts.

Arsenicum Album
Arsenicum Album is one of the best homeopathic remedies for anxiety for those people who keep worrying about their health and also about some other things such as their security, well being and also of the law and order. People who are very restless, anxious and constantly moving from one place to the other, face the problems like severe attacks of asthma and panic attacks at night or during the early hours of the morning, may be given the Arsenicum Album homeopathic remedy.

Natrum Muriaticum
The Natrum Muriaticum is another one amongst the good homeopathic remedies for anxiety for people who experience extreme emotions such as fear apart from other feelings such as loneliness, shyness, staying aloof and reserved, migraines, claustrophobia, sleep deprivation and night fears.

Silicea
Silicea is a homeopathic remedy for anxiety for those people whose personality traits include getting nervous and being low on confidence levels and facing concentration problems, when they have to do important tasks - which may be related to academics, jobs or a business. Overreacting to minor or small things, having low stamina, headaches, cold, fever, sore throat and shyness are other characteristics of such people. These people face the above mentioned problems even though, in most of the cases they are intelligent and very capable of doing their tasks successfully. For more on anxiety cures, refer to:

• Anti Anxiety Natural Remedies
• Controlling Anxiety and Depression
• How to Deal with Anxiety

Homeopathic Remedies for Anxiety in Children

The following are the homeopathic remedies for anxiety in children:

• Kali Bromatum
• Ignatia amara
• Agaricus muscarius
• Stramonium
• Tarentula
• K-OK Kiddie Calmer

Many homeopaths prescribe homeopathic remedies for anxiety such as Pulsatilla, Phosphorus, Lycopodium and Gelsemium as per the requirement. Thus, we can conclude stating that, the role played by homeopathy in curing anxiety related problems, is significant!

By Charlie S

Source- http://www.buzzle.com/articles/homeopathic-remedies-for-anxiety.html

FAQ- About Homeopathy

Is cure possible with Homoeopathic medicines?

Homeopathy is curative. It treats the cause (internal malady or the imbalanced energy) and not the expression (diagnostic symptoms specific to the disease) of the disease. The symptoms are only used as an indication to select the right remedy for the individual. It treats the person as a whole and not his individual body parts. Homeopathy takes into account the expressions of an illness characteristic to the individual and a curative remedy chosen on this basis gives a gentle and permanent cure.

In which disease condition homeopathic treatment is more effective?

There is no condition that Homeopathy cannot treat. Conditions from a simple cold to cancer can be treated with Homeopathy. It takes into account the individual symptoms of the patient suffering from any disease and not the diagnosis of the disease. By the virtue of this certain diseases that cannot be diagnosed clinically or even unknown diseases can also be treated. Also in incurable cases where even the modern line of treatment fails to help the patient, homeopathy will prove to be a very good palliative and will improve the last days of life and ease the death.

Why detailed history?

Detailed history is very essential as homeopathy believes in treating the individual and not the disease. So the physician needs to know the individual and not about his disease. Also the chronic diseases are due to suppression of skin affections or emotions; hence detailed history will reveal whether any past ailments suppressed has lead to the present complaints.

Every incidence affects our life, so it is very important to know all the incidences and its impact it had on the patients. Hence a detailed history right from the childhood till date is needed to find the right medicine which suits the patient. If you co-operate and give honest and detailed history we can help you to achieve better and healthy life.

Is it safe to take Homeopathic medicines during Pregnancy?

Yes. It is safe to take homeopathic medicines from a qualified homeopathic doctor .If the treatment is planned in a proper way it will have lot of benefit to the mother and the child. The child will be much healthier and the medicines will help to fight the hereditary diseases which are carried from generation to generation. In fact if homeopathy is given during pregnancy the delivery is normal and easier. The child is relatively healthier and balanced emotionally, intellectually and physically.

Does one have to take the Homeopathic medicines for a long time?

No. The duration of the treatment depends upon the nature of the disease and the fighting capacity of the body. The treatment is continued for certain time period so as to improve the resistance of the body to fight diseases. So taking into consideration all these factors the treatment is continued for a certain time frame for the benefit of the patient. Once he starts improving we stop the medicines and the natural immunity of the body will take care of the rest of the problem.

Does Homeopathy take long time to act?

It is a myth that homeopathic medicines act slowly. It acts is a rapid way and the effect lasts much longer, often forever as here the disease is cured from its roots. On the plus side is absence of any toxicity and after effects. For e.g. if "X" is suffering from bronchial asthma and he is suffering for the last 14 years and has been to various systems of medicine. Now if you give homeopathy and say in 2 years time he is completely alright -Please tell us which one is slow?

Do homeopathic medicines have steroids?

No. It is a misconception that has been developing in the recent times. Due to the misconception that homeopathy takes long time to act; after seeing the improvement at a fast rate people think that homeopaths give steroids.

All Homoeopathic medicines are prepared by using scientific predefined methods of extracting the medicinal properties from source substances. There is no scope or need to adulterate the derived medicines with any other substances, as this would completely obliterate the curative properties of the same.

The prescription of homoeopathic medicines is based on the similarity of the symptoms of the patient with those produced by the drug (in its purest form) when proved (clinical trials) in healthy individuals. So any addition to the original medicine would completely alter its medicinal properties and hence render it non-curative. If the patient has doubts he should be advised to check the medicines from a standard laboratory.

Why do homeopaths do not tell the name of the medicines that have been given?

The name of the medicines is not disclosed for the benefit of the patient. If the patient after knowing the name of the medicine starts taking it according to his or her whims and fancies; it will distort the original unmodified disease picture and in the future treating the patient will be much more difficult.

The other fact is that certain medicines have to be changed and given as per the state of the disease and recovery which is very essential. At the end of the treatment if the patient wants the line of treatment that had been given it can be provided to him but at the end of the treatment.

Does homeopathy believe in disease diagnosis and pathological investigations?

Yes it is very essential to diagnose a disease as for the selection of the remedy we require to know the characteristics symptoms and not the disease symptoms. For e.g. If a person is having an attack of asthma he will be having wheezing and congestion of the chest and he gets relief only if he throws his head backwards. The symptom "throwing head backward relieves" is very peculiar which will help us in getting the right remedy. A good knowledge of disease is important. The pathological investigations are also important to know the prognosis and disease diagnosis.

Does one have to stop other medicines which the patient has been taking?

No. The patient should not stop the medicines which he has been taking. It should be tapered after the patient is improving this should be done in consultation with the other treating physician.

In some cases the other medicine cannot be discontinued in such instances both the medicines have to be continued for the benefit of the patient. The treatment should be planned and properly implemented.

Do homeopathic medicines bring about aggravation initially?

In some cases there is an initial aggravation of the symptoms but it is a good sign
that the medicine is right and has started acting. But this happens in a few cases not all patients will have an aggravation.

Is Homeopathy a proved science?

It definitely is. Homeopathy is a science based on sound logic and vast experimental data. Homeopathy is the only medicinal science where data has been collected by proving on human beings. The principles of Homeopathy have been derived and authenticated by vast clinical experiments and data. The homoeopathic medicines are prepared in a standardized manner. The homoeopathic pharmacopoeia lists more than 3500 remedies, whose clinical efficiency has been proved in various clinical trials conducted all over the world. Various institutions and individuals are proving new medicines and increasing the scope of homoeopathic medicines.

Are Homoeopaths qualified doctors?

Yes. There are more than 180 homoeopathic medical colleges in India and about 2000 colleges all over the world recognized by the Government and the University. The degree course is an extensive study of the human body and homoeopathic pharmacy, lasting for four and half years followed by internship for 1year, which includes hospital training and patient management. After this the students are given the degree making them qualified doctors. There are now also postgraduate courses available in Homeopathy. One has to register with the Homoeopathic Medical Council to practice Homeopathy legally, and has to renew the registration every five years (India).

Is it true that Homoeopathic medicines are only placebos (sugar pills)?

No. The pills of homoeopathic medicines are made from sugar but they work only as vehicles. Actual liquid medicine prepared with alcohol base is then poured over them and allowed to dry. These pills are then dispensed as medications.

Homoeopathic medicines are also available in liquid form or tinctures, which can be ingested directly or by diluting them in water.

Does the Homoeopath give the same white pills for all illnesses/patients?

Certainly not. Although it appears that same white pills are given for all illnesses or patients it is not so, as there are more than 3500 remedies to prescribe from and new medicines are added to the list regularly, after their proving and clinical trials. All homoeopathic medicines are available as liquids with an alcohol base. In order to dispense a medicine to a patient, the indicated remedy in the liquid form is poured on the white sugar pills, which merely act as vehicles to transfer the medicinal property. Hence it appears that the same white pills are administered to all.

Is homeopathic treatment effective for children, adults, woman and elderly?

Homeopathy has no bar for age and sex; it is equally effective for every human being in every stage of their life from birth till death.

Does Homeopathy work in acute cases?

Yes. Homeopathy has wonderful remedies that give prompt relief in acute cases like fever, cough, cold, diarrhea, headaches etc. when the person opts for Homeopathy at the onset of the ailment.

Does Homeopathy believe in Surgery?

Yes, it does. Surgery is a separate branch of science. It has to be resorted to in conditions that are beyond the domain of medicine. But one can avoid surgery as Homeopathy can effectively treat many so called surgical conditions like, tonsillitis, piles, warts, kidney stones etc.

Should one take homoeopathic medicines only from a qualified doctor?

Yes he should. There have been instances of miracle cures by lay people practicing Homeopathy, but it is always advisable to go to a homoeopathic physician, as he is qualified to judge the severity and depth of your illness and thereby prevent undue complications later on, which could be overlooked by a hobby practitioner due to his ignorance of medical knowledge. Only a qualified physician can guide you towards a complete (mental, emotional, spiritual, physical and pathological) recovery.

By- Dr Santosh Joshi

Source-- http://ezinearticles.com/?FAQs---About-Homeopathy&id=597327

Stop that Distracted Eating!

In a recent study, a close connection has been found between the distracted eating and enhancing waistline. Volunteers that ate while working on their laptops or while watching television ate twice the food than those who gave eating their 100% attention.

Well, quite an important study for countries where childhood obesity is a cause of concern. Not only children but more and more adults are used to eating in this fashion and tend to accumulate more calories. The result- hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, diabetes, and worsening health on all planes!

In many cultures across the world, eating is given the importance of spiritual pursuit. The reason behind is that unless we give our full attention to what we eat, how we eat, how the food tastes, and how well are we chewing it, we tend to ignore the richness (in terms of positive energy) these food stuffs give us. Naturally the digestive juices secreted by the body during that process of eating are not up to the mark in terms of quantity as well as quality. Obviously the digestion suffers, the next day morning you don’t feel fresh and have struggled bowel movement.

So, stop that multitasking during meals. Remember we are what we eat. Food is the stuff that keeps us going through odd hours of life. Give food its due importance and respect when you eat. Turn off the television and shut down the computers while you eat. Just relish every morsel you eat and your internal organs, particularly your digestive system will thank you for sure! J

How To Prevent Prostate Cancer?

Prostate cancer researchers still are under lot of investigative studies to find out more precise information regarding the causative factors. Also the researchers are interested in figuring out what can be the strategic options that will work wonders for prevention of prostate cancer. Well, it’s always true that prevention is better than cure and we are always curious about the preventive aspects in the increasingly unstable world. Let’s have some more insight into the preventive aspects of prostate cancer:

1) Maintain an ideal BMI: the prostate cancer has high incidence in obese men. This adds prostate cancer to the list of diseases that occur due to excess weight. Therefore, maintaining ideal Body Mass Index and Waist Hip Ratio certainly reduce the risk of prostate cancer. Thus, good low-fat diet and exercise reduce the risk of prostate cancer.

2) Say no to red meat: High incidence of prostate cancer is associated with high intake of red meat. It is postulated that red meat eaters are ingesting higher levels of fats, which are harmful for prostatic health. Also grilled meat is said to add to the risk of prostate cancer. So, obviously avoiding such indulgence can reduce the risk of cancer.

3) Fruits and vegetables prevent prostate cancer: 5-7 servings of fruits and vegetables reduce your risk of prostatic cancer. Especially people who indulge in tomatoes, pink grapefruits, and pasta sauce can significantly reduce the risk of cancer due to high amount of lycopene in it that destroys free radicals in the body due to its anti-oxidant properties.

4) Have foods rich in omega-3-fatty acids: fish like salmon, mackerel, and herring are said to reduce the prostate cancer risk by manifolds due to their high levels of omega-3-fatty acids.

5) Green tea, soy, legumes: the phytoestrogens contained in soy beans and some legumes fight against the cancers. Also antioxidants like polyphenols may help in preventing prostate and other cancers.

6) Chemoprevention: It is one of the modes of prevention in which certain natural supplements including vitamins D and E, difluromethylornithine (DFMO), isoflavonoids, selenium, and lycopene are administered in the hope to prevent prostate cancer.

However, a careful assessment by doctor is must before you proceed with the preventive measures.

Stand with Anna Hazare!

No responsible citizen can endorse a corrupt society! If you want a corruption-free society, sign the petition and stand with this man who is struggling to fight against corruption in Indian Politics!

Sign the petition here--
http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_anna_hazare/?rc=fb

May India Blossom as a Corruption-Free Society for Our Children in Future!

Seek FREE Homeopathic Consultation for 9 Days at drshreya.com!

Hello All!

Here we at drshreya.com are celebrating Dr Hahnemann's Birth Day! We have been always indebted for the immense support of our colleagues, friends, and patients across the globe because of whom Dr Shreya's Homeopathy is a recognized brand today. If we want to recognize a person who made it possible, undoubtedly the first credit should go to the Founder of Homeopathy, Dr Samuel Hahnemann! He was the man of vision whose relentless efforts made homeopathy one of the widely used therapeutic systems today. He always regarded homeopathy as one of the safest, cheapest, and most scientific approach for any diseased person. His birthday is on 10th of April and to commemorate this great man, we at drshreya.com hereby announce 9 days of free consultation service for one and all!

From 07/04/2011 to 15/04/2011, each new patient at drshreya.com will enjoy absolutely free consultation and homeopathic prescription for any health problem. Patients can mail their health query at contact@drshreya.com and expect quickest possible response from us. The patients who will seek "Only Prescription" and Consultation will not be charged at all during this period. The patients who will like to have medicines through courier will have to pay just the transaction charges and they also will not be charged any consultation and prescription fees for this period.

There will not be any hidden charges whatsoever!

Let's celebrate our Master's Birthday Exquisitely with Miraculous Homeopathy!!

Don’t Just Smile… LAUGH!! It Reduces the Stress on Your Heart!

When I saw the neighboring uncle sitting gloomily in his porch early in the morning, I obviously asked him what was wrong. This question changed his expression and he smiled back to me saying, “Nothing beta, just back from the laughter club and thinking what to do ahead!” At the same time, saw aunt (his wife) entering house with a huge laughter that she seemed to share with her neighbor over some gossip issue! Well, even though uncle couldn’t, I could readily sense the controversy in his own statement. Why on the earth a person visiting a laughter club would sit sullenly as if he is the reason behind the world economic crisis?  

No wonder this uncle has recently undergone a bypass surgery for the closed tubes of his heart and is therefore doing everything possible to avoid the future attacks. But unfortunately he is unable to change his temperament!

I am sure he needs a good homeopathic prescription! :)

With the growing number of people visiting laughter clubs every morning, it is evident that people know the importance of laughter. Gone are the days when people used to share their happiness with those living around and the entire muhalla (lane) used to enjoy the festive atmosphere for days to come. “Things were so good then”, we hear so many times or say ourselves. But do we realize what we are jeopardizing in an attempt to seclude ourselves from societal openness? The most important thing that we have forgotten is to laugh! Sadly…

If you google, you would find hoards of quotes and SMSes related to “Smile” but there are very few comparatively for “Laugh”! It is true that smile is the concept that emerges from the heart, from the deepest of our emotions! But many times (especially in today’s corporate world), smile can be fabricated. It may be used as a weapon to avoid conversation and stay away from questions. But the person who smiles knows whether it’s genuine or not. On the contrary, laughs are usually non-fabricated. One cannot laugh heartily without really feeling like laughing.

Actually this is the reason I don’t like Laughter Clubs (no offense meant). In these clubs, what people do is ‘try to laugh’ for the sake of it. This is just decisive movement of your laughing muscles and larynx in an attempt to make a sound like laughing! Laughter clubs boast about utility of these clubs to help one with heart problems. Does it really? If this needs to be done, laughter clubs should have some genuine joke-tellers or some fun-games that would evoke natural laughter from the participants.

But still there is a problem!

Have you seen people criticizing the best of the jokes? May be either they don’t understand it or they feel too proud to laugh at a joke! Their grim faces ooze proud (or foolishness!?) that they took even the joke lightly and didn’t allow their face to budge! Now that makes me laugh… I am sure this pride is going to sit around their heart and make their arteries go fatter!

Why can’t we allow ourselves to enjoy the most natural expression ‘laughter’? Is it bad to express? If tears are the expression of joy, sorrow, sympathy, empathy, and love, laughter is an expression of sheer joy!! If tears are important in our life to shed the heavy weight on heart, laughter does the same task more easily and subtly. Laugh at every instance you can. Your family is your best friend. Share your ideas with them. Pick out on your own inhibitions, inferiorities, and feel proud to make fun of it. It is said that there is no as good catharsis as talking about one’s own inadequacies. Why hold back ourselves? Read fun books, read fun jokes, create your owns and send your friends, and enjoy the feeling of laughter you spread around! Make it contagious!

No need of scientific evidences to tell us the importance of laughter and that it helps our heart to function smoothly! Laugh and you will find that your chest is expanding like never before and you can feel the rush of fresh air that enters your body with each laugh!

Laughter that comes from heart and helps the heart is truly worth! Try it!

The Homeopathic Cough Remedies! Let’s Differentiate a Few!

As we know, more than the diagnosis of any given case, symptoms of the case are important while treating any case homeopathically. You do not attribute the successful case taking to considering the signs and symptoms of the disease per say but the characteristic symptoms on physical, mental, and emotional planes of the sufferer. This makes homeopathy more of an art, as the homeopathic physician has to possess tact to seek these details from the patient with the help of careful history taking.

Here we are going to see one of the common symptoms “COUGH” in its various aspects and homeopathic approach to a patient of cough.

Cough as a Protective Reflex-

The “COUGH” is one such symptom that can be associated with variety of disorders ranging from common cold to asthma. Primarily ‘cough’ is a protective reflex instituted by higher centers in brain. So, actually coughing means that you are driving out the unnecessary toxins present in the body or the body is trying to get rid of those toxins by forceful and natural expectoration. Therefore, this discretion, whether the cough is due to some kind of reflex activity by the body or an exaggerated form of this reflex, needs to be verified before treating any patient with cough.

Do not treat each and all cases presenting with mild to moderate cough with medicines. Understand the necessity behind this cough reflex. Many times, physicians do a big mistake of treating a protective cough that is insinuated by the lungs to throw off the sputum produced as a result of some infection or allergy. This cough if helps the person to reduce his chest congestion when in moderate degrees. The fine line of demarcation to recognize between a patient protected by cough reflex and a patient needing cough treatment comes with the academic qualification and practice; one who possesses that excels no doubt!

Classification of ‘Cough’-

Most rough classification of cough can be- (1) Dry cough and (2) Wet cough. Most obviously dry cough is the one in which there is little or no expectoration while coughing; however the cough reflex can be severe enough to bother the patient through his day to day activities. If sputum comes, the patient has to try hard to evacuate his lungs in this dry variety. In wet variety, usually easy sputum production occurs and the patient spits many times to feel at ease. In either case, there can be wheezes depending upon the patient’s constitutional tendencies. Crepitations are usually heard with wet variety.

Though varied causes of cough can be given ranging from seasonal bronchitis to low immunity due to AIDS, when we treat homeopathically, rarely we need to consider the diagnostic aspect in any patient, because we have our exceedingly powerful weapons ready in the form of similarly acting homeopathic medicines. These medicines however have to be chosen very carefully to end the spells of cough in the patient and impart a lasting relief.

Let’s consider some of the most important “Cough-Remedies” homeopathy offers—

(1) Spongia-

-         This is one of the crucial remedies for dry coughs

-         Gasping cough with feeling as if he is breathing through sponge

-         Great anxiety accompanying cough with heavy breathing, palpitations

-         Hollow sounding cough without sputum associated with fullness in chest

-         Tight croupy varieties with sawing, barking cough

-         Worse- talking, touching larynx region, signing, swallowing, cold drinks, thinking of cough, night after head touches the pillow (or worse after sleep/ sleeps into aggravation), sweets, mental excitement

-         Better by eating, drinking warm drinkss

(2) Antimonium tart-

-         Cough resulting after eating sour fruit, especially in a child

-         Huge secretion of mucus; mother tells his chest makes wheezy sounds at night

-         Despite lot of secretion, has to exert a lot to expectorate

-         Whining and moaning before coughing

-         Clinging tendency in the children suffering from recurrent colds coughs

-         Craving for apples

-         Icy cold finger tips

-         Excessive sleepiness and drowsiness

-         Incessant sweating with suffocative feeling in chest

-         Coughing and yawning alternately

-         Worse- anger, warm room, lying down, mornings, overeating

-         Better- expectoration, vomiting, sitting erect

(3) Ipecac-

-         Loose cough with rattling in chest

-         Bronchopneumonia with bloody sputum

-         Entire system pervaded by a nauseating feeling that gets aggravated as he coughs

-         Tightness pf chest and larynx with spasm of vocal cords

-         Gasping for breath with asthmatic breathing

-         Incessant suffocative cough with paroxysms of retching, vomiting

-         He kind of stiffens with each paroxysm of cough, with each breath, turns red or bluish and finally gags and vomits but nausea still prevails

-         Marked periodicity

-         Worse- warmth, dampness, pork, rich food

-         Better open air

(4) Arsenicum album-

-         Alternate dry and wet cough

-         Must sit up and bend forward as he is short of breath

-         Whistling inspiration with wheezy chest

-         Excessive restlessness with cough or asthmatic breathing

-         After an attack, extreme prostration out of proportion to the illness

-         After 12 o’clock at night, springs out of the bed due to shortness of breath and then inability to lie down for fear of suffocation

-         Associated with cold sweat and debility

-         Worse- cold drinks, cold food, cold air, after vegetables, bad meat, suppressed eruptions, tobacco, exertion

-         Better- elevating head, sweating, movement, hot food and hot drinks

(5) Argentum met-

-         Hoarseness of voice with cough of professional singers and speakers

-         Total loss of voice

-         Throat of larynx feel raw or sore on swallowing or coughing

-         Laughing excites cough and produces profuse mucus

-         Has to hem and hawk while talking

-         Cough with easy expectoration of gelatinous mucus with too much  viscidity that looks like boiled starch

-         Great weakness of chest worse on left side

-         At the bifurcation of trachea, feels a raw spot

-         Worse- using voice, mental strain, noon, 3 to 5 am

-         Better- coffee, wrapping up, movement

(6) Squilla-

-         Stubborn coughs with rattling

-         Associated frequently with sneezing, coryza, watery discharge

-         Urine spurts while coughing

-         Cough ends in a gag

-         Easy heavy expectoration with stitches in chest

-         Pleurisy

-         Heat in chest

-         Absence of sweat

-         Worse- early morning, evening, movement, uncovering

-         Better by wrapping up