natural supplements

Natural Supplements for Bruises

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Homeopathic Arnica is one of the few first aid items I always carry around with me. Especially when my kids were younger and constantly falling and bumping into things, Arnica pellets offered instant pain relief and help with the healing process. I heard a mom tell her son the other day, “That’s a bruise. There’s nothing I can do for a bruise,” and I was torn on whether I should show her all the Arnica gels and creams that can be used on the skin, and the pellets and tablets that could be taken internally, or not. I decided it was not the right scenario to go on an Arnica educational tour, so I’m putting the information out into the world here instead, in case someone else has ever thought there is nothing to do for a bruise.

Arnica works great on minor bumps and bruises both in the immediate aftermath of the trauma and also as part of the longer term healing. It is also used to relieve pain due to muscle aches, overexertion, arthritis, and any kind of trauma. People often take 30c daily for a week before undergoing surgery, then resume taking it afterward, but the data on the efficacy of this is mixed. Taking any supplements leading up to surgery should always be discussed with your doctor.

Arnica is best known for helping with swelling and the discoloration associated with bruising. Taking the pellet or tablet form as well as using a cream or gel externally means double the healing action on the injury.

Dosages for homeopathy is a little strange and counter intuitive, but usually the higher the number on the container, the more diluted it is, and the more effective it is. The most common dosage recommendation for general use applications is 30C, but for immediate trauma, a 6C or 12C can be used. Boiron has this quick finder visual to see common dosing for using the pellets, Arnica Pellets, and a lot of other useful information as well.

If deciding on the right dose of pellets sounds daunting, stick to the tablets which tell you on the packaging how to take them, when, and why. There are tablets specific to arthritis, and ones for muscle strain, pain, and bruising.

Hylands has a whole website dedicated to Arnica information and considering Arnica is the most popular homeopathic medicine out there, it makes sense.

Bromelain is often recommended as well for bruising (and joint support), and believe it or not, probiotics play a role in controlling bruising as well as everything else they do. This is because you have to have a healthy microbiome in order to properly process vitamin K which is essential in proper blood clotting mechanisms. Another reason, as if we needed one, to take a good probiotic.

As we get older our skin thins, which is why older people are more prone to bruising. Building the skin up with vitamin C and Collagen are two ways to increase the health and appearance of the skin, while also combatting the tendency to bruise at the slightest provocation. Vitamin C should be increased in small doses over time because too big of an increase at once can cause diarrhea. Collagen can be taken as a powder, in a capsule, liquid, or even in tasty chews. There are several products now that target skin health in an anti-aging way that have both vitamin C and Collagen in them, so that makes it even more convenient to supplement your skin.

Bruising for no reason can be a sign of something more serious going on in your body, so if you have any concerns or things change drastically in a short amount of time, it’s always best to talk to your naturopath or doctor.

Arnica represents what I like most about natural supplements in the way that they offer help where modern medicine does not have anything to give. Plus, that help comes almost completely without negative side effects such as tiredness, hyper-ness, blood pressure manipulation, and on and on that normally go hand in hand with over-the-counter medications and prescriptions. Whatever ails you, if you think you have no options, or even if you just don’t like your current options, look again at what the natural world has to offer. You just might find the secret ingredient to your optimal health and wellness.

Be well and please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share with anyone who might benefit from this article.

 

Sleep Help

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It feels funny to write about natural sleep aids because that’s the last thing on my mind right now. I just got back from South Carolina and thought the jet lag was causing me to be so fatigued but then my nose started running, my throat started hurting, and a headache joined in the party. I wasn’t too surprised because my husband is so sick he had to get antibiotics on our trip so the germs were in the air, and I didn’t have my arsenal of essential oils, herbs, and homeopathy along with me. For the record, I took Boiron’s oscillococcinum for two days (three doses per day) and have also been taking Herb Pharm’s Rapid Immune Boost plus some extra vitamin C. I’m also making up a batch of kitchari as I type this. Is it just me or do these colds and flues get worse every single year?

But, like so many people, I do have sleep issues from time to time, and have many friends who suffer from insomnia on a regular basis. We’ve all heard the advice of going to bed at the same time every night, only using the bedroom for sleeping, not watching TV right before sleep, avoiding caffeine in the evening, etc, but those efforts can be enhanced with herbs, essential oils, and other natural supplements. It’s important to look at what exactly the sleep issue is, whether it’s falling asleep, waking in the night and having trouble going back to sleep, or simply not feeling rested in the morning with no clear understanding of why. If there is an underlying medical reason, such as sleep apnea or prescription medication, then a doctor needs to help, so be sure to discuss sleep at a doctor visit even if it seems unrelated. Here are some things to try for general sleep problems.

First of all, take your calcium/magnesium supplement at night. Vitamins are best taken right after breakfast, but minerals, especially cal/mag, should be taken right before bedtime because they aid muscle relaxation and sleep, which is why they can be found in many sleep formulas that combine herbs and minerals. One of my herbal teachers said that in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), calcium and magnesium are the first things given to patients seeking help for their sleep.

Adaptogens help regulate sleep just as they help regulate energy throughout the day. Ashwagandha is the adaptogenic herb most commonly used in sleep preparations that help with sleeping through the night. It is not necessarily an herb to help you relax like nervines, Kava, Passionflower, or Valerian, (more about those below), but it will help with overall energy levels being regulated correctly with sustained energy throughout the day, and deep sleep throughout the night. Adaptogens in general help regulate the adrenal system and therefore hormones, and also aid in easing stress, depression, and anxiety, all of which can cause sleep problems. Tulsi is my personal favorite adaptogen right now and I’ve been taking it by putting a 1/2 teaspoon in my cup of coffee. I also put a combination of adaptogens in my breakfast smoothie, but I like the grassy taste of the Tulsi so much that I take it separately.

For help with relaxing before bedtime, nervines are the class of herbs that assist with body and mind relaxation. Skullcap can help turn off racing and repetitive thoughts, while Valerian is the most sedative of the group. Passionflower and Hops are good relaxers as well, and Kava is known to not only relax but to also impart feelings of euphoria. There are plenty of bedtime teas, tinctures, and pills with mixtures of these herbs, so finding the right herb or herbal combination for you can be looked at as an experimental challenge. If one herb or combination leaves you feeling cloudy or sleepy in the morning, try something a little less sedative and more regulating, such as an adaptogen based supplement.

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Fun herbal sleep fact~ Mugwort has traditionally been used to increase the vividness of dreams, and even can help with lucid dreaming. Taking it as a tea before bed, burning it as an incense, or making Mugwort pillows are all ways that the herb has been used for enhanced dreaming. (Please don’t fall asleep with anything actively burning.)

Melatonin should not leave anyone feeling ‘foggy’ in the morning because it really just helps one fall asleep, not stay asleep. It helps with jet lag as well and is most effective in a liquid or lozenge form. In fact, any time you can bypass your digestive system by taking any supplement in a liquid or sublingual form of any sort, the more likely you are to get all the benefits of the supplement, because most of us do not have digestive systems in optimal condition, plus those systems are often already busy with meals and such. This is one reason why herbal products are so commonly made in tea and extract forms. Melatonin is not an herb, but it is the same idea.

GABA can help relax the mind before bed if anxiety is causing sleeplessness. It is sometimes found in sleep supplements that have combinations of herbs and other helpful ingredients such as Utzzz’s Stay Asleep formula.

Working from the outside, essential oils can be a big help in relaxing the mind and preparing the body for a restful sleep. Lavender is the most used essential oil and it has relaxing qualities, but it is not the only relaxing essential oil by a long shot. Any herb that is traditionally used for its sedative qualities, such as Chamomile or Hops, will also have those qualities in the essential oil. Neroli has strong anti-anxiety qualities, so much so that the blossoms used to be in bridal bouquets for that very reason. The various wood essential oils, such as Cedar and Sandalwood are grounding, which is a good thing for sleep time. Aura Cacia has nice blends to help you relax, such as Pillow Potion and Tranquility. You can drop a couple of drops of essential oil on your pillow or if you bathe or shower at night, drop about 7 drops of essential oils into the bath or fling a few drops to the back of your shower wall. If you have a diffuser, adding a few drops of essential oil in your bedroom before bed works wonders.

You can also make an oil to rub on your body before bed, or it could be used in a bath 772A2685-3271-4BC2-8E93-7643A6C44649[1]instead of the straight essential oils. Rubbing perfumed oil on your body after a bath or shower is the best time to seal in moisture and get the most from the scents used. Relaxing essential oils can also be made into a body and/or room spray for a lighter touch to the scenting.

There is no reason to suffer through sleep problems without looking at all the natural options out there. Take care of your sleep, just as you take care of your diet and exercise, for optimal health and wellness. Sweet Dreams and please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share with anyone who might benefit from this article.

 

Iron

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There used to be a point in many afternoons when I’d feel so fatigued that it was sickening. A full-body tiredness that if I did not lie down and close my eyes it’d take all my faculties to keep functioning. This would often happen shortly before I’d have to meet my kids at the bus stop and I’d worry that I wouldn’t have the energy to get out there, or even fall asleep and miss it. When I talked to my doctor about this, she attributed it to my being a busy mom and said I was probably just tired for understandable reasons like pretty much all moms out there. I tried to explain it was beyond a regular tired feeling, but in any case it was dropped. I brought it up with my naturopath who checked my thyroid levels (my thyroid levels are checked yearly because of a family history of low thyroid anyway) and a whole slew of other levels that had the person taking my blood rather shocked at the number of vials she had to fill. The naturopath attributed the fatigue to sub-optimal hormone production across the board, a lack of protein, and my multiple food intolerances. And actually, all those things could have been the reason for the fatigue, except that they weren’t.

When my youngest son went to that same naturopath, she immediately knew he needed an iron supplement because he was not a big meat eater, nor a big greens eater. And here’s the catch with the greens, it is hard for the body to absorb iron from greens, and greens as well as iron supplements should always be accompanied by vitamin C, either a supplement or in food form. Plus my son had food intolerances which meant that his digestive system was impaired, another indication one might need iron supplementation. When I did further research on iron for him, it occurred to me that I had all the symptoms of low iron too, so I started taking the same liquid iron that he did and guess what- that sickening afternoon fatigue went away.

You see, in all those blood tests, iron was ignored even though my naturopath and I talked ad nauseum about my being vegetarian or pescatarian for most of my life and she was the one who got me to eventually add chicken and turkey to my diet, after about five years of insistence, to help build up lifelong deficiencies. (I’m still squeemmish about the poultry, but my naturopath would actually like me to eat liver and beef, so it’s a compromise.) My physician also was aware of my dietary habits but has never to this day ordered an iron test. But when I told both of them that my fatigue was better with iron supplementation, they both had the same reaction of, “oh, that makes total sense.” It’s not just my experience either. I’ve talked to several women of child bearing years who don’t eat any or much meat who have never had their iron tested. It just doesn’t seem to be a common test doctors think to run.

So I’m harping on about this because it is just my way of saying, you might need to ask for your iron to be checked if you have a mostly vegetarian or vegan diet, are a woman in child bearing years or are currently pregnant, have Celiac disease, IBS, or any other digestive system disorder, have heavy periods or internal bleeding, or have unexplained fatigue or other symptoms. It just seems to be one of those things that you have to be your own advocate on because it doesn’t seem to be en vogue for medical practitioners to think about iron straight away. If you need another reason to look into your iron levels, running low contributes to anxiety and cloudy brain.

It seems like iron maybe got a bad rap, or at least regulated to the ‘no need for supplementation’ space because too much iron causes constipation and ‘too much’ is likely more common in America than too little, considering the amount of red meat most Americans traditionally consume. I don’t know how it is in other countries, but most multivitamins/minerals here are iron free with the assumption being you’ll eat plenty of it in your daily diet. Those food habits are changing though, and thoughts on iron haven’t quite caught up with the decrease in red meat consumption and the increase of digestive disorders. It’s important to keep in mind though that even just taking an iron supplement can cause constipation if you aren’t taking the right kind. An interesting thing about combining iron with vitamin C is that while iron can be constipating, vitamin C can have the opposite effect, so not only does the C help the body absorb the iron, it actually helps counter the potential negative digestive effects.

The best way to take iron though, for both absorption and for avoiding constipation, is to take a liquid form.  Flora, Garden of Life, and Gaia all make liquid iron supplements that are much easier for the body to assimilate than pills, and the vitamin C is included in the formulations. I prefer the taste of Gaia’s but iron is just never going to be a great tasting liquid so consider yourself warned. If my picky son was able to drink it when he was around age 6 though, anyone can do it  And it is worth it to feel like you are fully functioning all day long, instead of battling fatigue and other confusing symptoms.

There are several herbs high in iron as well, such as Nettle and Dandelion. Both of those herbs are known as blood builders and purifiers with the added bonus of being excellent for your skin. Both are often taken to combat skin issues such as eczema. The leaves of each can be eaten fresh in salads (be careful of nettle’s little stingers), made into an herbal pesto, or the dry leaves make a delicious tea, either separate or combined. Tinctures and pill forms are also available and considering we are quickly approaching the season where we find nettles and dandelions growing wild, that also means it’s traditionally the best season to take these two herbs. Eating seasonally and locally applies to herbs too after all.

Best health to you and yours and please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share with anyone who might benefit from this article.