Any five super food supplements for wellness? – The Nation Newspaper

In the Kusa Green Pasture Herbs chat group two weeks ago, someone asked me to name five super food supplements for wellness. My understanding of the question was the search for five magic bullet food supplements into which the crowd of nutritional supplements on the health food store shelves can be distilled. My immediate response was that a categorical answer was impossible because all human beings are different from one another in terms of their individual nutritional requirement. The closets specific answer to this question may be found in tissue or cell salts. Even then, what is good for the goose is not always good for the gander as well. Researchers came upon the idea of 12 key tissue or cell salts from the belief that if we burn the human body to ash and analyse this ash, what we would discover are 12 salts which we can assume the body was created from. It does not mean, however, that these salts are present in every tissue, organ or system of the body in the same proportions or ratios. In fact, the cell salt ration formula in the eye is different from that found in the liver or in the kidney perhaps because these are organs with different consistencies of tissue or cell performing different functions for which reason their constitution and dietary needs are different, however closely related. The website http://www.doctoryourself.com shows just how difficult it may be to boil food supplements down to a few when it discusses the specific symptoms each of the homeopathic 12 cell salts addresses. It say:

3 KALI SULPH (Potassium Sulphate) (a) yellow mucus, later stages of illness, congestion and cough worse in evening (b) dandruff, yellow coated tongue, yellow crusts on eyelids (c) gas, poor digestion

4 CAL PHOS (calcium phosphate) (a) Teething remedy (b) upset stomach, post nasal drip, chronic cold feet, and poor dentition.

5 CAL SULPH (Calcium Sulphate) (a) Sores that heal poorly, Herpes blisters (b) Pain in forehead, vertigo, pimples on the face.

6 CAL FLUOR (Calcium Fluoride) (a) poor tooth enamel, cracks in palm of hands, lips (b) hemorrhoids.

7 NAT MUR (Sodium Chloride) (a) Dryness of body openings, clear thin mucus (b) effects excess overheating, itching of hair and nape of neck (c) early stage of common colds with clear, running discharge (d) insect bites (applied locally).

8 NAT SULPH (sodium Sulphate) (a) Rarely needed (b) green stools and other excess bile symptoms (c) sensitive scalp, greenish gray or greenish brown coating on tongue, influenza.

9 NAT PHOS (sodium phosphate)(a) simple morning sickness, acid rising in throat (b) headache on crown of head, eye lids glued together in morning (c) grinding of teeth in sleep, pain and sour rising from stomach after eating.

10 MAG PHOS (Magnesium phosphate)(a) muscles spasms, cramps and menstrual cramps, if always better with heat (b) hiccups; trembling, of hands (c) teeth sensitive to cold.

11 FERRUM PHOS (ferrum phosphate) (a) First stages of inflammation, redness, swelling, early fever (b) congestive headache, ear aches, sore throat (c) loss of voice from over use.

12 SILICA (a) White pus forming conditions, boils, or homeopathic Lancet, stony hard glands (b) sty in eye area, tonsillitis, brittle nails.

History

Knowledge of the 12 cell salts came to humanity in 1873 through German doctor William Schuessler who combined biochemistry and homeopathy experiences to propound a theory of brochemic medicine. The 12 cell salts are so safe that two-year-old, pregnant and lactating women and the elderly can take them. The salts do not interact with pharmaceutical drugs. Schuessler said that the body required essential minerals in proper balance in all of its cells imbalance(s) may cause disease in affected tissues. Such imbalances are corrected with the intake of the missing cell salts and the diseases their deficiencies cause are, thereby, eliminated or corrected. As http://www.doctoryourself.com adds:

This seemingly system of cure has great practical application in health. Using only a small number of harmless combination (or salts) of these minerals, it is possible for any individual to treat him or herself simply and effectively for a great variety of every day minor ailments. It is significant that such cell salt treatment is replenishing something the body lacks and wants as opposed to merely suppressing illness with drugs and other chemical. Drugs do not provide missing cell nutrients but drugs do add harmful chemicals to the body which ultimately compound the problem. The Schuessler cell salt may be seen as special raw materials for the body which you need more if you run out of what you normally have.

Does a super cell salt exist which takes away the drudgery of carrying about 12 packs of cell salts? Oh yes, it does. In this cell salt called the PLASMA cell salt, all 12 cell salts are combined in every single tablet. My assumption is that it may be reliable as a dietary nutrient or maintaining the status quo but may not be effective for therapeutic needs. That, in my view, is usually the challenge with supplements which pack bits and pieces of many items when mega doses are needed for serious fire power.

Super supplements

To return to the enquiry on Kusa Green Pasture Herbs, the questions were: I have a task for you, would it be possible to mention your top five supplements/plant for general well-being? You seem to go through about 20 in a day. Secondly, in our organic processes for feeding of plants and livestock, we also use lactobacillus. Truly amazing. Lastly, what is the best solution for heartburn? I do not eat fries I get temporary relief from some things, but I am looking for permanent solution.

Individual differences

My reply to the post, which in some cases will be expanded here, is: It is difficult to categorise five most important supplements because of individual differences. What may be good for the goose may be of less value for the gander. As my work involves mental activity almost all day round, I think always of my brain. At close to 70, the brain of many people may have a tendency to shrink and become less productive, causing memory loss and slow responses to stimuli. The brain may also become easily oxidized by oxygen free radicals and other free radical apart from being damaged by cortisol and other stressor chemicals, if we have a tendency to worry too much about the mundane things of this earth-life. Someone sent us a video post of how the posture of the head vis-a-vis the rest of the body can cause cervical spondylosis and muscles and joint problems throughout the body. I first read about this when I was in high school from an article in the READERS DIGEST titled JOHNS SPINE. The article enabled me to understand the problems of Nigerias one-time military President Gen. Ibrahim Babangida when he suffered from RADICULOPATHY and had to have surgery in France. I experienced cervical spondylosis in my thirties after warnings for about 10 years during my early days in journalism. My training then involved reading and writing for more than 15 hours a day. In my 20s, I developed a sharp pain in my left index finger and the corresponding toe. Professor Awodu, a Nigerian accupuncturist, homeopath and chiropactor, put it down to a cervical misalignment. I developed glaucoma at the age of 45 in 1995. It was then that I related these pains to nerve pinches in the neck which may have limited nerve energy flow to the eyes. So, today, when I compensate for the bad head posture in an even busier work life at almost 70 with tortoise neck exercises, I also think of food supplements for my brain, eyes and nerves (nerves originate in the brain) and the glaucoma. For the brain, therefore, I think of Lecithin, to provide Choline and Inositol for the brain nerves, as part of their energy profile, Ginkgo Biloba, to drive blood and oxygen to the nooks and crannies of the brain, thereby enhancing stability and memory, Vervain tea, to calm the nerves and promote restful sleep. Vitamin E, Vitamin A, Selenium etc provide an antioxidant shield against free radicals. Fish Oil provides DHA, an important component of the brains fat content. The brain is a fatty organ. When we exercise it, it generates free radicals. We need to give it fat-protecting anti-oxidants to quench free radicals fire all the time. Grape Seed Extract had fine molecules which easily cross the brain-blood barrier to provide not only anti-oxidant defence but anti-microbial activity as well. Lions Mane Mushroom improves nerves energy flow and helps in the repair of damaged nerves. CoQ10 (Ubiquinol) provides energy. The eyes are closely related to the brain and profit as well from these supplements. They have their own specific needs which include Bilberry (it protects the retina), Zinc (it helps absorption of Vitamin A, a deficiency of which may cause night blindness). Beta carotene (an antioxidant), Lutein, Zeazanthin and Astazanthin (they protect the lens and the retina against blue spectrum of sunlight which causes cataracts and damage the retina). The Lutein, Zeazanthin and Astazanthin are plentiful in Marigold Flower, their commercial source. The eyes are said to require about 20 nutrients, including Alpha Lipoic Acid, and antioxidant which is active in both fluid and fat media, an exceptional feat. I hover around these provisions of Mother Nature from time to time either in food or in food supplements. When I can afford EYEMAXPLUS, I go for it. It was developed by a glaucoma-suffering ophthalmologist and contains all these nutrients. But I do not limit myself to these nutrients, mindful of the belief in eastern part of the world and some parts of the Western world that the eyes are affected by the health of the liver and the kidneys.

The heart is no less important than the brain and the eyes. We must prevent it from enlarging, from over working itself to death, and prevent its blood supply lines by being blocked by damaging cholesterol plaques, homocystene grease or blood platelet congestion by adding blood thinners to the diet without over-thinning the blood. Good blood thinners include onion, garlic, Papain, Bromelian, Nattokinese, EDTA etc. All of these precautious call for supplements such as Ubiquinol, Hawthorn, Vitamin B complex, Vitamin E, Selenium, Lecithin etc. The stomach and the throat are no less important, ditto the mouth and the teeth. Heartburn is dangerous. It can damage the lower esophageal sphincter muscle. The muscles close the gate at the connection point of the throat and the stomach, to prevent regurgitation through the mouth of food in the stomach. That is why, if we stand on our heads after a meal, we are unlikely to vomit the food we had just eaten. Heartburn can throw stomach acid on this spinter muscle and damage it, cause inflammation of the throat (esophagitis) or even throat cancer for when the muscle is damaged, stomach acid which the muscle keeps away easily flows into the esophagus. Doctors of old thought that the Vagus nerve overstimulated acid pumps in the stomach to over pump acid. So, they cut the nerve. But that did not stop the acid flow the succeeding generation of doctors asked their patients to drink milk or to take anti-acid medicines. Milk contains calcium and alkaline mineral which neutralises acid.

The protein in milk provides food for the stomach acid to digest through it instigation of pepsin, a protein-digestive enzyme in the stomach. But the protein in milk is so dense that it requires more acid to stimulate production of Pepsin. Besides, milk is an acid-forming food, measuring about 5.5 or worse on the pH scale. Another succeeding generation of doctors found that some people do not produce the minimum amount of acid required for protein digestion. So, food stays longer than it should in their stomachs, decomposing into acid as it begins to rot. It is this acid which causes heartburn. Some doctors have said it is criminal to give antacids to such patient if their problems have come because they are not producing enough acid, and you are suppressing the little they are producing, you are worsening their problems in ignorance.

The pancreas is often a cause of heartburn if it doesnt function optimally. To function optimally, it must produce alkaline digestive enzymes (Lipase Amylase and Protease). But to do this, it required a generous supply of water about 30 minutes before a meal as Dr. F. Batmanghelidj has explained in his books such as YOUR BODYS MANY CRIES FOR WATER and YOU RE NOT SICK, YOURE ONLY THIRSTY. Between the lower end of stomach and the duodenum the start of the small intestine, there is another sphincter muscle. This one prevents food in the stomach leaving prematurely for the small intestine for another round of digestion into smaller particles. These muscles will not open the gate for as long as the contents in the stomach are acidic, for the intestine is not made to handle acid. When a little acidic food escapes, thats often the cause of duodenal ulcer, or later, cancers. If the duodenum will not admit acidic food partly because the pancreas had not alkalinised the food, a time will come when the stomach itself will be unable to bear the acid punishment or irritation. Its lining becomes inflamed (gastritis). A gastritic stomach is like boiled or cooked meat, in comparison with a normal stomach which presents like a fresh piece of meat. At this point, the stomach may wish to throw up this tormentor in what we may call a return to sender, to the throat and to the mouth which let it in. This irritates the lower end of the throat and may cause it to inflame. I have found that, in many cases, heartburn is relieved and digestion is improved simply by adding digestive enzymes to the diet. My latest protocol is pawpaw leaf juice. It has all the digestive enzymes and more. It relieves heartburn; kills helicobacter pylori bacteria found at ulcer cites and heals ulcers. It softens the stool and increase bulk. But it increases blood platelet count, which some people believe may thicken the blood and cause clotting. But there has been no evidence of this cited in many of the research papers published on this project so far. If anything, pawpaw leaf juice is landed for controlling blood cholesterol levels and improving heart health, apart from helping avert strokes. Another product in my protocol is a product called ACIDIC STOMACK AND ALKALINE BALANCE. It works wonders. I suggest, as well, Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar with Mother. I cannot go on, for want of space, to talk about male sexual vitality, the prostate gland and colon health, which present challenges to many people. But I guess the fore going is sufficient evidence that we do not have magic bullets in natural medicine where just about five food supplements will handle all our health needs. Every-one lives his or her life in a way different from how other people conduct theirs. This leads to individual differences, and accounts for specific health needs which Mother Nature, caring and wise, has provided for.

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Any five super food supplements for wellness? - The Nation Newspaper