Holistica Natural Therapies

Which Tea Is Best For Memory? British researchers have found evidence that peppermint tea and rosemary essential oils boost cognition, while chamomile and lavender have the opposite effect.

15 Ways To Raise The Vibrations of Your Home We often talk about places and people exuding ‘good energy’ or ‘bad energy’ – when we really mean the energy is high or low. In scientific terms, describing energy as high or low is actually describing the rate of vibration or frequency. The higher a ‘vibration’ of a person or place, the better we f…

Fibromyalgia is a common health problem that causes widespread pain and tenderness (sensitive to touch). The pain and tenderness tend to come and go, and move about the body. Most often, people with this chronic (long-term) illness are fatigued (very tired) and have sleep problems. It can be hard to diagnose fibromyalgia.

FAST FACTS
Fibromyalgia affects two to four percent of people, mostly women.

Doctors diagnose fibromyalgia based on all the patient's relevant symptoms (what you feel), no longer just on the number of tender points.

There is no test to detect this disease, but you may need lab tests or X-rays to rule out other health problems.

Though there is no cure, medications can relieve symptoms.

Patients also may feel better with proper self-care, such as exercise and getting enough sleep.

WHAT IS FIBROMYALGIA?
Fibromyalgia is a chronic health problem that causes pain all over the body and other symptoms. Other symptoms that patients most often have are:

Tenderness to touch or pressure affecting joints and muscles

Fatigue

Sleep problems (waking up unrefreshed)

Problems with memory or thinking clearly

Some patients also may have:

Depression or anxiety

Migraine or tension headaches

Digestive problems: irritable bowel syndrome (commonly called IBS) or gastroesophageal reflux disease (often referred to as GERD)

Irritable or overactive bladder

Pelvic pain

Temporomandibular disorder—often called TMJ (a set of symptoms including face or jaw pain, jaw clicking and ringing in the ears)

Symptoms of fibromyalgia and its related problems can vary in intensity, and will wax and wane over time. Stress often worsens the symptoms.

WHAT CAUSES FIBROMYALGIA?
The causes of fibromyalgia are unclear. They may be different in different people. Fibromyalgia may run in families. There likely are certain genes that can make people more prone to getting fibromyalgia and the other health problems that can occur with it. Genes alone, though, do not cause fibromyalgia.

There is most often some triggering factor that sets off fibromyalgia. It may be spine problems, arthritis, injury, or other type of physical stress. Emotional stress also may trigger this illness. The result is a change in the way the body "talks" with the spinal cord and brain. Levels of brain chemicals and proteins may change. For the person with fibromyalgia, it is as though the "volume control" is turned up too high in the brain's pain processing centers.

WHO GETS FIBROMYALGIA?
Fibromyalgia is most common in women, though it can occur in men. It most often starts in middle adulthood, but can occur in the teen years and in old age. Younger children can also develop widespread body pain and fatigue.

You are at higher risk for fibromyalgia if you have a rheumatic disease (health problem that affects the joints, muscles and bones). These include osteoarthritis, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, or ankylosing spondylitis.

HOW IS FIBROMYALGIA DIAGNOSED?
A doctor will suspect fibromyalgia based on your symptoms. Doctors used to require that you have tenderness to pressure or tender points at a specific number of certain spots before saying you have fibromyalgia. This is no longer the case. Your doctor may still look for tender points, but they are not required to make the diagnosis (see the Box). A physical exam can be helpful to detect tenderness and to exclude other causes of muscle pain.

There are no diagnostic tests (such as X-rays or blood tests) for this problem. Yet, you may need tests to rule out another health problem that can be confused with fibromyalgia.

Because widespread pain is the main feature of fibromyalgia, health care providers will ask you to describe your pain. This may help tell the difference between fibromyalgia and other diseases with similar symptoms. For instance, hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid gland) and polymyalgia rheumatica sometimes mimic fibromyalgia. Yet, certain blood tests can tell if you have either of these problems. Sometimes, fibromyalgia is confused with rheumatoid arthritis or lupus. But, again, there is a difference in the symptoms, physical findings and blood tests that will help your health care provider detect these health problems. Unlike fibromyalgia, these rheumatic diseases cause inflammation in the joints and tissues.

Criteria Needed for a Fibromyalgia Diagnosis

1. Pain and symptoms over the past week, based on the total of:

Number of painful areas out of 18 parts of the body (see image)

Plus level of severity of these symptoms:

Fatigue

Waking unrefreshed

Cognitive (memory or thought) problems

Plus number of other general physical symptoms:

2. Symptoms lasting at least three months at a similar level

3. No other health problem that would explain the pain and other symptoms

Source: American College of Rheumatology, 2010

Gorgeous Honeysuckle ...

Honeysuckle flowers are powerfully anti-microbial and are one of the most widely used medicinals in the world. Honeysuckle is native to Asia, where it is often used for colds, flu and infections in general. It is strongly anti-bacterial and anti-viral. I use the flowers to treat hot inflamed conditions – urinary tract infections, laryngitis, sinus and ear infections, head colds, and even staph infections.

The flowers can be picked in bud form, and also after they are opened, and tinctured fresh in alcohol. Honeysuckle flowers are also effective as a tea; we combine them with mint and lemon balm to mask their slight bitterness. Make sure you only pick this species; other honeysuckles are not necessarily safe or used medicinally in the same fashion. (Lonicera japonica, Caprifoliaceae).

Today's blog post about Stress and the Relaxation Response ..

Holistica ... Naturally !: Stress and the Relaxation Response

HAPPY EASTER. Did you know that before the Christian festival existed, Easter was a pagan festival that celebrated the rebirth of the countryside as it wakes up after winter? It is named after Eostre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess linked with Spring and Rebirth. April was Eostre's month in Early English. Her sacred animal the hare is now the Easter Bunny and her sacred symbol was the egg (hence Easter Eggs). Hot cross buns were pagan offerings. The cross on them, now taken to represent the Christian cross, originally divided the bun into the four quarters of the moon. Both the festivals are about renewal. Eostre, the rebirth of the countryside and Easter, the resurrection (rebirth) of Jesus. So whichever you are celebrating, we wish you a happy weekend full of joy. If you can, do get out for a walk in the countryside and notice all the new growth - wild garlic, hedge garlic, plantain, wood avens, sweet cicely, cow parsley; they're all coming up now. Spring is well on the way, cheering our spirits. Easter represents a new start, a fresh beginning!

Excellent reminder to breeeeeaaaathe !!

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Hug, Hug, Hug !!!!!

So would we!

Sooo important to follow antibiotics with probiotics ...

Taking Antibiotics Can Change the Gut Microbiome for Up to a Year A new study illuminates the problems antibiotic overuse could cause for individual patients.

Correction: Charles F. Glassman, Coach MD

Never lose hope.

The Danger of Supplementing Vitamin D without Vitamin K2 Most people are familiar with the importance of Vitamin D. Unfortunately, it is not common knowledge (yet) that supplementing with just Vitamin D, can have serious consequences. The fat soluble...

Star of Bethlehem, the flower that lights up the darkness of the soul - LifeGate It is used in very special occasions, after a traumatic event, such as bereavement, the loss of a love, the breaking of a friendship or of a family bond. The negative event could be even more contingent, such as job loss, the diagnosis of a disease,

Excellent exercise !

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We can only achieve what we believe in our hearts. Belief is so important in health, achievement and success ...

We can only achieve what we believe in our hearts. Belief is such an important in achieving and success.

Spinach decreases bloating & brain fog :) http://bit.ly/mmbook01

Bright-light therapy outperforms Prozac for treating major depression Bright-light therapy is almost twice as effective as Prozac (fluoxetine) in treating major depression.

Use the Small Intestine Meridian to Relieve Shoulder Pain - Big Tree School of Natural Healing The Small Intestine meridian is often used to relieve shoulder pain. Click to learn more...

Oh so true ...

Then there are angels ...

The work of Jasmine Kay Uy for her University of Texas at Austin Department of Art and Art History Digital Foundations class with Bethany Johnson titled "Art is Pointless...". The prompt was to create a work that investigated site-specificity, public setting, and text-based art using Illustrator and the vinyl cutter. According to Uy, the format was inspired by Publicis London's Corners campaign for Depaul UK. Any reproduction of this work is done so without my permission. This project is meant to be a short-term investigative project that is to stay within the confines of the University of Texas at Austin.

For more work by Uy, visit her portfolio: https://www.behance.net/gallery/29917475/Other-Artworks

Photo by atrachelabbott

More than cute and cuddly, pets are good for your health. Babies living in homes with pets are 44% less likely to develop an ear infection and 29% less likely to receive antibiotics than babies without pets. Learn why >> http://bit.ly/1IPEHH8

Really interesting article about endometriosis ...

'I'm not a hypochondriac. I have a disease. All these things that are wrong with me are real' I feel sad that this is the hardest story I’ve ever written and that I’m embarrassed that people will read it and know the intimate details of my life. But I’m also hopeful that a conversation has begun

Fascinating !

What a Shaman Sees in A Mental Hospital - Expanded Consciousness by Stephanie Marohn The Shamanic View of Mental Illness In the shamanic view, mental illness signals “the birth of a healer,” explains Malidoma Patrice Somé. Thus, mental disorders are spiritual emergencies, spiritual crises, and need to be regarded as such to aid the healer in being born. What thos…

WELLness is affordable.

25+ Coconut Oil Recipes - The Coconut Mama Coconut oil is finally getting recognition for its many health benefits and uses. But how do you use it? Here are some amazing coconut oil recipes to try!