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History Of Acupuncture

On The History of Acupuncture.

I have just been reading about the history of acupuncture in a very recent book by Henry McGrath, entitled ‘Traditional Chinese Medicine – Approaches to Cancer’. This is published by ‘Singing Dragon’, London, 2009.

Did you know that acupuncture needles have been found which date back to the Neolithic period?

References to the art of acupuncture are made in the Tsu Chuan commentary on the Chhun Chhiu period, which is dated around the 6th Century B.C. The needles were, at this time, made from stone, bamboo and bone.

It is thought, according to Hugh McGrath, that the early method was not the sophisticated science which we know as acupuncture today, as the needles used would not have been capable of the same degree of accuracy, though this is just an educated guess.

By the 3rd Century B.C., bronze acupuncture needles were being used for acupuncture treatments.

By the 2nd Century B.C., technology had developed in China: Steel needles began to replace the bronze needles. The science of acupuncture became more sophisticated, to parallel technological advances.

The meridian lines were recorded almost 2000 years ago. Detailed anatomical charts of the 12 main meridians and the 8 sub-meridians appear around the 2nd Century A.D.

Mr McGrath tells the famous fascinating story about how students were tested in their knowledge of acupuncture in the 11th C A.D: Life sized models of the human form were made in bronze. These had small holes punched at all the 350 acupuncture sites. The bronze figure was then covered totally in wax, and then filled with water.

The idea, then, was that the student had to locate specific ascupuncture points with accuracy. They had to use their acupuncture needles to locate the points specified by their examiners. If the points were located accurately, then a small spurt of water would spring forth after the wax had been pierced with the needle.

No spouting water meant that the student had failed the examination.

This book by Henry McGrath gives an insight into how acupuncture works, and how it can be used in the treatment of cancer.

more tomorrow

Dietary Iron

FACTS ABOUT IRON
Iron is important for the production of red blood cells which prevent anaemia.
Women need more Iron than men, mainly because of blood loss during menstruation.
The recommended daily allowance for women is 12 mg, whereas men’s is 10 mg daily.
Iron is best gained from the foods you eat. A good diet should supply all the necessary vitamins and minerals which
your body requires.
Unless you have a serious condition which would benefit from supplements, then supplements of Iron
should generally be avoided. Iron supplements can be problematic: With some people they can have a constipating effect.
There is a danger too, with iron supplements, that you might over-do your iron intake, which is all the more reason
to avoid them if you can.

Expectant mothers’ digestive systems adapt so that they absorb almost double the iron content in food compared to that absorbed from dietary intake before pregnancy, or after the birth. This is because mothers-to-be are storing up the iron to build a strong baby. Extra iron is also needed by the mother to counteract blood loss during the birth, and to sustain the mother while she recuperates from the birth.

The absorption of iron is aided by Vitamin C, and also Vitamin E.
Just 25 milligrams of Vitamin C, taken at meals, can increase absorption of Iron from 10% to 20% of the available Iron in your food. Hence eating fruit after a meal helps maximise the Iron content in your food.
High Vitamin C foods like broccoli also help you to assimilate the Iron in foods like meat, eggs, and broccoli itself.

Iron also helps our bodies to utilize protein, and it has a role to play in muscle building.
It provides energy to muscles which helps to build muscle tissue. When the blood is deficient in Iron, not enough
energy is carried to the muscles, and consequently, you become fatigued.
Lack of Vitamin B6 and Zinc, which also help regulate the amount of iron in the blood, can also cause a condition of
fatigue which is sometimes mistaken for anaemia.

Not enough Iron can cause anaemia, fatigue, itchy skin, poor brain function and slow growth rate in children.
Iron affects the brain profoundly – if your memory is bad and your ability to concentrate weakened, then look to iron
and Vitamin B6 for a remedy. Eat some fruit after every meal to improve iron assimilation.
A booster of these supplements, and good dietary practices, could quickly improve your mental function.

The Dangers of too much iron:
Iron is stored in the body, so beware of taking Iron supplements for too long.
Long-term iron supplementation, which leads to excess iron levels in the blood, can damage your liver, pancreas, kidneys and heart.
Elderly people often get a surplus of Iron in the blood because of tonics and tablet
supplements which have been taken over a period of time. This can cause distressing symptoms, like bone pain, and
mental anguish. It could be that arthritic-like conditions which many older people suffer might improve with less iron
supplementation and more zinc, B6 and Vitamin C given instead.
Arthritics often have an excess of iron in the blood. This could be because of medications they are taking, which,
like the contraceptive pill, could cause excess iron to be stored in the blood.
It really is best to rely on foods to supply you with adequate iron: this way, iron excess is unlikely to occur.

The contraceptive pill, which often mimicks the conditions of pregnancy, raises Iron levels. This can cause depression
and cause schizophrenic-like behaviour. It is possible that some women’s bodies do not adjust their iron intake so
well after giving birth, giving rise to what is known as ‘post-natal depression’. This could be because of drugs given
during the birth, or during pregnancy, or because the contraceptive pill has been introduced, or some other factor:
any of these things can interfere with the body’s normal regulatory processes for assimilating iron.

Extra zinc is the remedy. Taking adequate Zinc ensures that you do not build up an excess of Iron.
Ideally, you would avoid all potentially harmful drugs and medications, unless they are absolutely necessary, to ensure that your capacity to absorb vitamins and minerals is not undermined.

IRON SOURCES: Most of these figures are taken from David Coory’s book ‘New Zealand Nutrition and Your Health’, 1988, David Coory Publishing, 33 Balmoral Terrace, Tauranga, New Zealand.

RDA for women 12 mg, Men 10 mg.
500 mls of stout or Guinness beer – 10-20 mg
One cup prune juice – 10.5 mg
3/4 cup cooked prunes -3.0 mg
One tbsp of molasses or treacle – 3.0 mg
Two tbsp wheat germ – 2.0 mg
One tbsp Brewer’s Yeast – 1.5 mg
One egg – 1.25 mg
1 cup milk – 1.0 mg
1/4 raisins – 1.5 mg
One cup apple or orange juice – 1.5 mg
One nectarine or banana – 1.0 mg
One cup of either rockmelon or watermelon – 1.0 mg
One slice of wholemeal bread – 1.0 mg (White bread contains less than a quarter of this amount)
One tbsp of cocoa powder – 2.0 mg
1/2 cup wholemeal flour – 2.0 mg
One plate of oatmeal porridge – 1.5 mg
1/3 cup peanuts – cooked or raw – 1.0 mg
100 gms liver – 10.0 mg
100 gms oysters – 8.0 mg
100 gms beef – 3.0 mg
100 gms free range chicken – 2.0 mg
100 gms free range pork – 2.0 mg
100 gms lamb – 1.5 mg
100 gms fish – 1.0 mg
3/4 cup baked beans or haricot beans – 3.5 mg
1/2 cup spinach – 3.0 mg
3/4 cup peas 2.5 mg
1/2 cup silverbeet – 2.5 mg
One cup brussels sprouts – 2.0 mg
3/4 cup pumpkin 1.5 mg
Two tomatoes – 1.5 mg
Onae cup of cauliflower or broccoli – 1.0 mg
One kumara with skin on – 1.0 mg
One medium potato with skin on – 1.0 mg
3/4 cup sweet corn – 1.0 mg
One large mushroom – .25 mg

Organic Insect Repellants

Natural Insecticides:

There are many organic insect repellants which can be used instead of having to resort to harmful chemical mixtures. Commercial chemical repellants are best to avoid, as many of the chemicals used can contribute to cancerous states and other degenerative disease. This is because many of the poisons contained in repellants are retained in the body tissues and in the liver. The liver, kidneys, heart, reproductive system, brain and nerve function, and immune system are all affected by many of the chemicals which are contained in insect repellants. So it really is best to avoid poisons which might potentially damage the body organs and impair their healthy functioning.

Organic repellants often do not have the immediate effect of killing an insect, but rather work to deter the inclination of the insect to make a home in your environment. This is a more preferable approach than outright killing, if you consider that all insects and animals have a right to live on our planet. If we can train and reorient them to localities where they do not affect our own living areas, then so be it. However, there are some recipes below which do actually kill insect life. You will have to make a decision yourself about whether or not you will go for the total Buddhist “live and let live” approach, and choose your insect repellants accordingly.

For Ants
Lemon Juice
The humble lemon is natural antispectic and cleanser. The acidic nature of the lemon can cut through and neutralise the formic acid of an ant trail so that they lose the scent of their estblished path.

Lemon juice will discourage ants from making a fresh path in the vicinity if it is used regularly.

Wipe kitchen surfaces regularly with cut lemon. You can use most of the juice first in your cooking or tea. Just the inside pulp is enough to put a layer of lemon juice and oils onto a surface where there is an ant trail. Another idea is to put slices of lemon here and there on the regular ant trail.

Apple cider vinegar works the same way. Dab some cider vingar onto a small piece of cloth or cotton wool and douche the area. If ants are a nuisance in the kitchen it is a good idea to use vinegar or lemon juice on the bench after each wash up.

Eucalyptus or Garlic
A few drops of eucalyptus oil or crushed garlic works well as a repellant. Again, just a few drops here and there will cause the ants to go else where.

A 50/50 mixture of baking soda and black pepper is another effective organic method to deter insects. Sprinkle a little at intervals along the ant trail.

Ant-Borax Bait
This recipe, whilst being organic, is a little more toxic than the above solutions: use it with care. Use 2 cups of sugar and 2 tbsp of Borax. Mix with 1 cup of hot water and stir over a low heat until all is dissolved. When cool, put 2 teaspoonsful into small lids and place in the vicinity of the ant trail. Make sure these baits cannot be found by your children or your pets.

Derris Dust Jam For Ants
Derris dust used for keeping insects off tomatoes and cabbages. Derris can be added to golden syrup, or jam, or honey. Again, make sue your children and your pets won’t find the bait.

Black Pepper Jam For Ants
Simply stir 2 tablespoonsful of black pepper into a cup full of jam. Use small amounts in lids and dot them around the ant trail. Keep safe from children and pets.

For Cockroches-Borax Bait
A dry mix of equal parts borax and white sugar can be used to sprinkle into the corners and cracks where cockroaches hide.
Equal parts of honey or golden syrup can be mixed with borax powder and smeared onto brown paper. Leave in dark warm places where there might be cockroaches. Keep replacing these baits until the cockroches eradicated. You need to make sure that all other food is away from the area so that the cockroches will eat your bait.

For Silverfish-more Borax
Use 2tbsp each of borax, white flour, and white sugar. Put into a screw top jar. Place in small amounts in lids and leave in drawers, wardrobes, and behind all your books on your bookshelf. Replace every two weeks or so.
Deter Instects by wiping out these areas occasionlly with lemon or cider vingar or lavender water.
Dried worm wood can be left in the back of drawers, bookshelves etc. to deter insects.

Fly Bait-Black Pepper Recipe
Mix half a teaspoon of black pepper with one teaspoon of brown sugar or honey. Add one teaspoon of cream or butter. Put into up turned lids and leave on window sills, or on the fridgge, in places well away from the reach of children and pets.

Herbal Insect Repellant – for use on the skin or in an aerosol bottle
Mix half a teaspoon of oil of cloves with one teaspoon of lavender oil and one teaspoon of eucalyptus oil. Add half a cup of vodka or gin and half a cup of cooled boiled water. Put into a spray bottle. Use as needed.

Organic mosquito spray
This is an aerosol spray for the air. It is not to be used on the skin, as it contains methylated spirits. Chop 3 cups of garlic, skin and all, and put into a jar. Cover with vegetable oil. Put on the lid and leave for a week in the sun. Shake every day. Strain off the oil. Add half a cup of methylated spirits and quarter of a cup of cooled boiled water. Bottle in a spray bottle. Shake before using.
Note: Do not use this spray around cream coloured, or expensive furnishings, or around valuable paintings, as this could discolor these items over time. DONT smoke or use around candles, as it is flammable.
This spray will kill mosquitoes already in the room and will discourage others from coming inside. Avoid breathing the spray. It is not toxic, but it could cause smarting of the eyes, sinus irration, or irritation of the lungs, including asthsma in some people.

Unwanted Cats
Cats hate cayenne pepper and garlic. You can chase cats away with this mixture. An effective spray can made by chopping half a cup of garlic, skin and all, into half a cup of water. Add one tsp of cayenne pepper. Bring to the boil and simmer gently, until the liquid isreduced by half. Take off heat and leave for 3 hour. Strain. Add an equal amount of methylated spirits and put into a spray bottle. Shake before use.

Giving Up Alcohol Vitamins

GIVING UP ALCOHOL – VITAMINS CAN HELP: If you have come to this site because you seriously wish to stop drinking, then I would say that you are halfway there to achieving your goal. Recognizing that one has a problem begins the process whereby we get on to fixing it. We visualize ourselves as we wish to be – a non-drinker. The next step is to begin examining and trying methods which might help us achieve our goal.

For me, finally, there was only one route which I knew I had to take if I was to survive, and that was through the well known body of people who devote themselves to their own sobriety and to helping others give up the booze. (I don’t think I am permitted to quote the organization) However, whether or not you choose to follow a similar path to my own, there is no doubt that in giving up alcohol, vitamins can be of enormous value.

In aiding recovery from any addiction, I would put Vitamin C in the form of a non-acidic type such as calcium ascorbate powder, or Ester C, at the top of my list. Vitamin B would come very close to this. But I think Vitamin C in the above mentioned forms is highly recommended because of its multiple benefits to the person giving up alcohol. The non-acidic types of Vitamin C enable you to take large quantities without your stomach acids being upset at all.

Large doses of Vitamin C are beneficial for the person giving up alcohol, as this helps you cope with anxiety and stress while you are making the adjustment to living without alcohol: Vitamin C in 1000mg doses also works as a sedative and a pain-killer. It is therefore of great value in giving up addictions. A dose of 1000mg morning and night will help in the general scheme of things in giving up alcohol- you should sleep better, also, if you take the second (or third) dose for the day in the evening. Don’t worry if your bowel motions are on the loose side to begin with: this is beneficial for the body initially, as many toxins will be expelled via the Vitamin C. After a few days, you can reduce the amount slightly so that the bowel motions become more normal. You might decide that only the one dose at night-time, to help sleep as well as detoxify, is necessary.

Remember to drink plenty of WATER . Alcohol lovers often drink nothing else except the booze, or coffee, and become used to being dehydrated. Being dehydrated causes another stress in the body and brain which could lead to your succumbing again to a drink of booze, apart from the possibility of damaging your kidneys, liver, and limiting your brain power. You need more water whilst you are giving up alcohol; Vitamins C and B supplements, and indeed all supplements, need extra water for their efficient assimilation.

Vitamin C also helps the body achieve an alkaline state: an acidic body which results from eating too much processed food, dairy products, wheat flour products like bread and pastries and animal protein, bring about an acidic condition in the body. An acidic body creates a stress on the vital organs and the brain, and so you are more likely to want to drink alcohol or take some pacifier which will alleviate this if your body is in an acidic condition. Vitamin C such as calcium ascorbate in 1000mg doses will help you very quickly to restore an alkaline state to the body.

In giving up alcohol, vitamins such as Vitamin C must be supplemented with a good alkaline diet to obtain the best results, the main goal being to create a favourable state of mind and body so that you can make the transition easily. Limit your intake of all acid forming foods such as meats, dairy products, and wheat and sugar. Maximize your intake of foods such as all raw and cooked greens, sprouted grains and seeds like mung beans and alfalfa, which are very alkaline forming, use brown rice when you can to replace wheat products, olive oil to replace butter if you can afford it, raw egg yolk from free range chickens (2 a day – but not the white, as this is acid forming and mucous forming). Eat fruit, but do not overdo, otherwise you may still be overdoing the sugar content in your diet. This brings us to the problem of hypoglycaemia:

Hypoglycaemia,which is, in layman’s terms, the rocketing of blood sugar levels which drop drastically leaving you feeling tired and listless, can be the reason people are drawn to drinking excessively. Alcohol contains a lot of sugar. The hypoglycaemic problem can easily be disguised by taking another drink, as this makes sugar readily available to the body: It is absorbed very quickly into the blood stream. This is a contributing factor in the classic hang-over: your blood sugar is extremely low. You feel dreadful. You don’t feel right again until you take another drink: bingo. You feel OK again, because you have just had an enormous hit of sugar, but meanwhile the problem is worsening. Hypoglycaemia leads, in many cases, to diabetes, because in the end, the adrenal glands cannot cope with the state of affairs, that is, surviving on a diet of excessive sugar. If you let yourself get to this chronic state of ill-health, then it is very likely you will be forced to give up alcohol anyway. Far better that you are giving up alcohol willingly before this dire situation arises.

If you think you might be hypoglycaemic, with rocketing blood sugar levels contributing to your being addicted to the bottle, then you need to follow the above dietary advice, the ‘Giving up alcohol Vitamins’ included. You also need to be especially careful not to fall into the trap of drinking sweetened bottled drinks to substitute alcohol. You can become addicted to these also. Apart from the fact that they might cause you to gain weight, the high sugar content and low nutritional value in such drinks will not help you to stabilize your blood sugar levels and will not help you regain your health.

The hypoglycaemic needs to eat small amounts of healthy food throughout the day in order to establish an unfluctuating blood sugar level. As long as you avoid dairy products, wheat and sugar, you won’t get fat. You will also need to limit your intake of fruit until your blood sugar levels remain more constant. Definately avoid bread and other wheat products, and use brown rice instead, with olive oil added to the meal. Eat lots of greens, raw and cooked, and a reasonable amount of protein. A vegetarian approach which draws its protein source from raw egg yolk, 2 a day, avocado and almonds and nuts is excellent. Great quantities of meat are best avoided, but a nice, balanced meal which includes some protein, meat if you wish, some raw food and some rice, should be the aim at every meal. When you begin to improve, you can introduce more fruit into your diet. I find, having been in this very situation myself, that fruit mixed with a protein food like soya milk, almonds and a couple of raw egg yolks, all blended up together, produces an easily palatable drink which does not affect the blood sugar level adversely. This is because protein and fats help the sugar in the fruit to be assimilated more slowly and gently into the bloodstream so that you don’t experience the ‘fight or flight’ syndrome.

If you are giving up alcohol, vitamins such as Vitamin B Complex, and the minerals zinc and magnesium are also very important. Vitamin B is another vitamin which helps you to manage stress effectively. The stress from giving up alcohol can be overwhelming in the beginning of your self-treatment. Vitamins C and B can be so effective that they can substitute, in many cases, the need to take a palliative drug in order to cope with the stress.

The minerals zinc and magnesium, which you can usually buy as a combination, do wonders for restoring the body’s ability to process carbohydrates. They help prevent the blood sugar levels from rocketing too much, and this, in turn, makes you feel less like taking an alcoholic drink which is charged with sugar.

Evening Primrose oil has been found to be helpful for many people, or St John’s Wort. Take care NOT to overdose on these herbal supplements. If you are taking zinc, magnesium and B complex as well, I would recommend taking a lesser amount then the stated dose of these herbs. You can create a stress in the body by suddenly putting into it a variety of foreign substances such as vitamins and minerals. Be moderate. Vitamins C and B, Zinc and magnesium are ESSENTIALS. You can use larger quantities of Vitamin C than is stated, but do not exceed the stated dose on anything else.

Breathing Exercises for Deep Relaxation are very important in giving up alcohol. See my post to ‘Maximize Your Prana Intake’ and ‘Yoga Nidra’. Good breathing practice is as important as diet and vitamins in the wholistic approach towards regaining health. Good breathing practice helps you cope with anxiety, lowers stress and oxygenates the body and brain. Do look at these posts – and one which includes breathing for better sleep.

If you faithfully try to do your best using all the above measures, you will surely succeed in giving up alcohol. Best wishes.

Colon And Liver Cleanse Helps Candida

Detox With Castor Oil, or Olive Oil, or Grated Apple: There really is no need to buy expensive products to cleanse the liver and intestines. There are many home remedies which you can use to do this, but the cheapest and most effective method for a Candida/Colon Cleanse that I know of is the castor oil cleanse which is followed up by a bowel cleanse with water and a little sea salt. All you need is a bottle of castor oil which, in New Zealand, costs between about three dollars to about six dollars, depending on whether you buy it at a supermarket or a chemist shop. Of course, this will last for about seven doses or so, as you only need to take between one to two tablespoonsful in one dose.

The CASTOR OIL treatment, which is usually two tablespoons of castor oil taken in the morning followed by a cup of brewed black coffee without sugar or milk, is effective for ridding candida from the digestive system. Eat only fruit or a bowl of porridge with a grated apple added to it on the day when you decide to do the castor oil treatment. Avoid dairy products, wheat and meat on the day you do your cleanse.

If you are not suffering from some life threatening disease and feel that you are quite healthy, then you can get away with using castor oil and not using an enema. However, even if you are healthy and you do not have too many accumulated poisons in the body, the castor oil cleanse is far more effective if you use a water enema, as this helps to wash away the poisons, which the castor oil expels from the liver, more quickly.

If you do not have some life threatening disease or recurring candida, then you could use the castor oil treatment only occasionally, say once a week, or once a month, whatever you think is necessary. However, if you have recurring candida, allergies or some illness which is debilitating, then you might need to use this treatment more often, and follow a strict dietary programme in order to get well.

Another inexpensive Candida/Colon Cleanse is OLIVE OIL WITH LEMON JUICE. Take this on an empty stomach before you eat a light breakfast of fruit, or juice, or porridge with a grated apple added to it. Use half a cupful of OLIVE OIL. Fill up the cup with LEMON JUICE. Stir the two together briskly in a larger cup and swallow the lot as quickly as you can. This treatment is made more effective, as is the castor oil treatment, if an enema is used within five hours of taking the oil. This cleanse is also made more efficacious if dairy foods, wheat and meat are avoided on the day you do your cleanse. Try to eat only raw foods and their juices for the whole day, with a bowlful of porridge being the only cooked food, eaten with a grated apple. This diet enhances the cleansing effect of the OLIVE OIL AND LEMON treatment, giving an inexpensive candida/colon cleanse.

Drink peppermint tea or chamomile tea directly after using either CASTOR OIL or OLIVE OIL AND LEMON JUICE to alleviate any feelings of nausea.

Both the castor oil treatment and the olive oil and lemon juice treatment, besides both being an inexpensive candida/Colon Cleanse, are supposed to be helpful, in expelling gall stones and kidney stones from these organs.