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Tag: bad breath

  • Five causes of bad breath

    Five causes of bad breath

    Bad breath or halitosis is a condition that can affect people of all ages, often leading to social discomfort and self-consciousness.

    Although it may seem like a minor problem, persistent bad breath is a sign of deep health issues that needs attention.

    Here are five causes of mouth odor:

    Poor oral hygiene: The lack of oral hygiene can lead to halitosis which is known as bad breath. Incorrect and infrequent brushing of the teeth can lead to leftover food particles in the mouth which can cause bacteria resulting to bad breath. Brushing the teeth freshens the breath, boost self- confidence and reduces halitosis.

    Bacteria buildup: When bacteria accumulate on teeth, tongue, and gums, they multiply rapidly leading to an overgrowth. It leads to inflammation and infection of gums which causes bad breath. Bacteria’s release sulfur compounds, which are responsible for the characteristic “rotten egg” smell of bad breath. Brushing the teeth regularly removes harmful bacteria from the mouth.

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    Dry mouth (xerostomia): Saliva helps lubricate the mouth and without it, the mouth can become dry and irritated leading to bad breath. It helps cleanse and wash away bacteria, food particles and debris from the mouth. Dry mouth can be addressed through hydration, saliva stimulants or medication which helps to reduce the risk of bad breath.

    Food particles: Food particles contributes to the formation of dental plaque, which harbors bacteria and causes bad breath. Trapped food particles causes gum inflammation, leading to increased risk. Some foods like onions, garlic and spicy foods are slow to digest thereby, allowing their odorous compounds to be released in the mouth for longer periods. Regular and adequate brushing, flossing and dental checkups removes food particles and prevents mouth odor.

    Tobacco products: Tobacco itself leaves a distinct and unpleasant odor in the mouth. The use of tobacco increases the risk of gum disease, tooth decay and cavities which causes bad breath due to bacterial accumulation and inflammation. Quitting tobacco products helps to eliminate mouth odor and reduces the risk of oral health issues.

  • Understanding and treating bad breath (Halitosis)…5

    For now, the curtain falls today on this series begun five weeks ago. Today’s column arose from the request of a reader of this column to have his doubt about Eclipta alba clarified. This herb is one of many subjected in this series to heal digestive system insufficiency, one of many possible causes of bad breath or month odour as already explained. This gentle man is a regular business visitor to India. When he arrived there two weeks ago, he went to a health food store to buy eclipta alba. But he became confused when many of the brands he sighted were promoted on their labels as hair growers. Who wouldn’t be? He called me immediately, and I explained to him why the producer of those brands may be marketing them as hair tonics.

    The explanation is as followed…

    Eclipta alba is used in the traditional medicine of many countries for the different needs of particular societies, and each society brands it accordingly. That is why in India, where women cultivate long hair which falls up to their hips, Eclipta alba is well known for hair beauty and growth. In China, this plant enjoys wide spread user as a liver and kidney supplement.

    It is used, also, for strengthening the gum and teeth in old people and for improving vision. In China and Brazil, it is used as anti-venom for scorpion and snake bite. Skin challenges, including athlete’s foot, are said to yield to Elipta alba. In some blinded experiments which did not set out to evaluate the impact of this herb on vision, conclusions have been reached about improvements in eye health and function. Some of the researchers allude that this may be due to the high content of beta carotene in Eclpta alba. I hold nothing against this view as a consumer of beta carotene- rich foods and food supplements to improve night vision the trouble is that some people, including hypothyrodics (people suffering from low thyroid function) do not easily or efficiently convert Beta carotene to Vitamin A, which improves vision, among other health benefits. If, indeed, Eclipta alba improves vision this come as a by product of its improvement of liver and kidney functions. In Eastern medicine philosophy which western hemisphere countries have begun to appreciate, beginning with the reality of acupuncture and acupressure as effective forms of medicine, the eyes are believed to be governed by meridians (channels of energy flow) which also govern the liver and the kidneys. Thus, if the liver or the kidney are sick, their illnesses would impact negatively on the eyes as well. One of the pointer s to this in western medicine is pregnancy–related to eye problems. Where pregnancy piles pressure on the kidney(s) or bladder, blurry vision may occur which may clear when the baby is born.

    Nevertheless, the importance of beta carotene to good vision. And general health cannot be underestimated. Beta carotene is the most studied and perhaps the most important to human health of the 600-member or so carotenoid family.

    Beta carotene is a fat-soluble precursor of vitamin A which plays crucial function in eye health.To understand the support of beta carotene for radiant health, one must appreciate the roles vitamin A plays in it as well. There are two types of vitamin A… Retinol , from animal sources (preform vitamin A) and pro- vitamin A, beta carotene, which convert into vitamin A in the intestine and is store in the liver as retinol, which is converted to active vitamin A when this vitamin runs short in the body. About 250,000 to 500,000 children are reported to go blind in developing countries every year because of vitamin A deficiency.

    In the eye, as vitamin A, beta carotene protect the cornea against dryness, thereby preventing “dry eye” syndrome, which may caused cloudiness and may be corrected with vitamin A eye drops. It participates in the body’s conversion of light energy into nerve impulses in the retina, the light sensitive area of the eye. The retina’s cells comprise rhodopsin pigment molecules which absorb light to cause retina changes and nerve impulses which take the light impressions to the brain.

    Thus, it is obvious that beta carotene, as vitamin A, is crucial for eye health and function. But vitamin A cannot be well absorbed in the absence of zinc, another antioxidant and antiaging substance, and zinc needs copper to function well. Beyond these, vitamin A has been found to work better still in the eye in the presence of such wonderful allies as vitamin C, lutein and zezanthin, selenium and Alpha Lipoice Acid (ALA) thus, about 33 nutrients are reported to be important for eye health. It is possible many of these are present in Eclipta alba to make researchers believe it has hands in vision improvement. They stumbled upon this finding in their investigation of other factors.

    According to Dr. Shashidhara, of the Department of Pharmacognosy, Government College of Pharmacy, Bengalore, in a review of the phytochemical constituents and, pharmacological activities of Eclipa alba: “…Eclipta alba has been used in the regions like south American, Asia, Africa… it is an active ingredient of many herbal formulations prescribed for liver ailments and shows effects on liver cell regeneration. It is used as a tonic and diuretic in hepatic (liver) and spleen enlargement. It is also used in catarrhal and jaundice and for skin diseases.

    The alcohol extract of the plant has shown anti-viral activity against ranuchet disease virus. The plant is commonly used in hair oil all over India for healthy long and black hair. The fresh juice of leaves is used for increasing appetite, improving digestion and as a mild bowel regulator. It is commonly used in viral hepatitis to promote bile flow and protect the parenchyma and properly used to enhance memory and learning. The plant has a reputation as an anti-aging agent in ayurveda. It is used as a general tonic for debility. Externally, it is used for inflammation, minor cuts and burns and the fresh leaf juice is considered very effective in stopping bleeding. Leaf juice mixed with honey is also used for children with upper respiratory infections and also used in eye and ear infections. It is a source of coumestans type compounds used in phytopharmaceutical formulations of medicines prescribed for treatment of cirrhosis of the liver and infectious hepatitis.

    It is widely used in India as a chologuage and deobstruent in hepatic enlargement, for jaundice and other ailments of the liver and gall bladder. The water extract of Eclipta prostratra (whole plant) exhibited the most potent inhibitory activity against HIV-1 integrase (HIV-1 IN). Vedic guard, a poly herbal formation, is a synagetic combination of 16 medicinal plant extracts which contains Eclipta alba as a major ingredient. Charaka advises taking the juice of Eclipta alba with honey to prevent the onset of senility, and its oil as the best medicated massage oil for rejuvenation therapies.

    I have detoured, somewhat, to attempt to answer the enquiry of the gentleman who traveled to indai and encourage the use of Eclipta alba for eye health by another reader of this column in benin. This reader was like many people who discover only during a visit to their ophthalmologist that they had lost some peripheral (side) vision, gone almost blind in one eye, or had begun to suffer from macular degeneration which may consider to be age related. There are many other authorities who do not agree that these conditions are age related. And their arguments are persuasive. For why would some old people suffer from these ailments and some other old people would not? if these degenerative diseases are age related. The knowledge of free radicals and antioxidants advises us now that they occur when our bodies are ravaged by free radicals and we do not produce or consume enough antioxidants to “kill” these free radicals before they harm us.

    According to Gary Heiting, OD in www.allabout- vision.com/nutrition/vi…:

    “Because vitamin A helps protect the surface of the eye of the eye cornea, it is essential for good vision. Studies show vitamin A eye drops are effective for the treatment of dry eyes. In fact, one study found that over- the- counter lubricating eye drops containing vitamin A were as effective for the treatment of dry eye syndrome as more expensive eye drops formulated for dry eye relief. Vitamin A eye drops also have been shown effective for the treatment of a specific type of eye inflammation called superior Limbic Keratojunctivitis. Vitamin A, at least when in combination with other antioxidant vitamins, also appears to play a role in decreasing the risks of macular degeneration (MD). In the landmark age related eye disease study(AREDS) sponsored by the national eye institute, people at high risk for the disease who took a daily multiple vitamin that included vitamin A (beta carotene), vitamin C vitamin E, Zinc and copper had a 25 per cent reduced risk of advanced AMD during a six-year period.

    It also appears that a combination of vitamin A and
    Lutein may prolong resistance in people suffering from
    retinitis pigmentosa     (RP). A recent four-year-study conducted by researchers from Harvard medical school and other prominent universities found that individuals with retinitis pigmentosa who took daily supplements of vitamin A (15,000 i.u) and Lutein (12mg) had a slower loss of peripheral vision  than those who did not take the combined supplements. Because beta carotene is converted into vitamin A in the body, it is likely beta carotene (pro vitamin A) offers similar eye benefits as the preformed retinol type of vitamin A, though more researchers are needed to confirm this “In early 2011, researchers at Columbia university medical centre (New York) found that the synthetic form of vitamin A might be able to slow the progression of stargardt’s disease, an inherited eye disease that causes severe vision loss in young people.

    When given to mice with the same genetic defect as humans with stargardt’s disease, (also called juvenile macular degeneration), the modified vitamin A inhibited the growth of clump-like deposits in the retina called “ vitamin A dimmers” that are associated with degenerative changes and vision loss. The national eye institute has awarded the researchers a $1.25 million grant to further investigate the link between vitamin A dimmers and various retinal generations, which could lead to new approaches to treat these to treat these diseases?.

    Whenever he may be, thanks to Heinrich Wilhelm Ferdinand Wackenroder who, in 1831, discovered a chemical substance in the root of carrot and named it beta carotene. Thanks, also, to Paul Karrer, an analytical chemist who in 1930s discovered the structure of beta carotene and won a Nobel prize for that. Today, we know that the juice of two medium carrots provides 28 mg of beta carotene, almost enough for a whole day, whereas eating both carrots provides only one gram. The difference is because must of the beta carotene is in the fiber of the carrot and is released into the juice but trapped in the fiber. This column often suggests spirulina, one of the richest plant sources of beta carotene. It seems to me that, because of the power behind the eye- friendly action of Eclipta alba, it may be combined with spirulina in eye care efforts.

    As a final statement on Eclipta alba today, I wish to introduce the views of HAN LIAN CAO. On the many health benefits of Eclpta alba…

    Modern pharmacological actions pf Eclipta herb      

    1. “it improves the human body’s non-specific immune function”
    2. “it eliminate oxygen free radicals to inhibit 5-lipoxy genase”
    3. “it protects the chromosomes”
    4. “it shows remarkable hepatoprotective activity”
    5. “it promotes the regeneration of liver cells”
    6. “it increases coronary flow”
    7. “it prolong the survival time of mice under the normal pressure and hypoxia”
    8. “it improves the survival rate of mice under the reduced pressure and hypoxia”
    9. “it is good antioxidant”
    10. “sit promotes hair growth and make hair darker”
    11. “it has antimicrobial, sedative, analgesic, styptic, anti-amoeba, and anti-cancer effects.”

    Also WELLNESS AND HOME REMEDIES BLOG reviews on Eclipta alba as the following :

    “Health benefit for cough and lung infection

    It is good for throat and lung infection. This formular works well for coughs. Take equal quantities of the juice of the yellow eclpta alba and sesame oil. Boil over a low flame till the water evaporates strain and drink about half to one spoonful of the liquid morning and night. Gargling using the juice of the leaves strengthens teeth and gums and clears coating of the tongue.”

    ‘’Effective natural remedies for the eyes

    The herb is said to protect against blindness and other eye disease probably because of its high carotene content. This may be one of the reasons why traditionally kohl (kajal) was made by using the juice of these leaves. When the leaves are fried in ghee (clarified butter) and consumed regularly, the vision improves.”

    “Home remedies with Eclipta alba prostrate

    “Gargling, using the juice of the leaves strengthens teeth and gums and clears coating opf the tongue.”

    “Eating five fresh leaves in the morning cures constipation”

    “Our ancestors believed that this plant prevent aging.”

    • “It reduces appetite and aids digestion. It helps expel fecal matter from the large intestines.”

    “It heals ulcers, cleanse the liver and encourages excretion of bile.”

    “One ounce of the juice (15 ml) of Eclipta alba and cows milk 20 ml boiled and then cooled, when mixed and taken first thing in the” morning is said to regulate the blood pressure.”

  • Understanding and treating bad breath (Halitosis)…4

    Understanding and treating bad breath (Halitosis)…4

    When I reviewed Dr. Robert o. young’s book, pH Miracle, in this column about 10 years ago, one of the articles was published under the title THE PIT TOILET INSIDE ALL OF US.

    Many of the Features of a Pit toilet are present in an unkempt digestive system tract or alimentary canal… that is, the mouth, stomach and intestine (big and small), and they are partly responsible for bad breath or mouth adour. As it has been shown in the first three parts of this series, bad breath may not respond favourably to a good toothpaste or mouth wash if its roots lie deep in the digestive tracts. As I hinted last week, another Chart has been included in this part of the series to provide a better comparison of a normal colon (big intestine) and several abnormal variants. Many people, men and women alike, walk about like “walking corpses” with severely paralised colons without recognising the danger this poses to their lives. For it is not for nothing that surgeons in England, for example,   coined the warning: Death begin slowly but surely in the intestine.

     

    Friendly bacteria

     For some people, a dying intestine may be helped if the situation is not beyond  remedy. And one of the major life – lines may be friendly bacteria or probiotic.

     Naturally, a reasonable person who has heard about the germ theory and of the  havocs which bacteria can unleash on health will not wish to add bacteria to their  diet, friendly or not. The truth, however, is that friendly bacteria are one of the  designs of Mother Nature to keep unfriendly bacteria out of our bodies, especially the intestine. One evidence of this is a Nobel Prize Award for a study by Russian Professor Ileja Iljitsh mechnikov which explained why Bulgarians were the longest living people on earth by 1908 despite the under development of their country.

    Bulgarians drank a lot of yoghurt with every meal. And Prof. Mechnikov found that a specie of friendly bacteria named Lactobacillus Acidophilus present in the yoghurt was the miracle worker. Lactobacillus converts milk sugar to lactic acid and lactic acid, in the intestine, makes the intestinal environment inhospitable for unfriendly bacteria. Lactic acid does not kill the bacteria but simply makes them unable to live and to prosper or flourish. On the basis of this information, I do not consume Nigerian- made yoghurt. Largely, many of the brands are purely milk powder mixed with lime, which provides some lactic acid. Many of them have little or no culture of friendly bacteria in them. That is why they taste too sweet. Yet, other than fermenting milk sugar to lactic acid, friendly bacteria carry out other functions in the intestine which improve overall health status. Some of these other functions which many Nigerian yoghurt brands may, therefore, not oblige, include

    (1) Manufacture of vitamin A

    (2) Manufacture of vitamin B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, K and Biotin.

    (3) Manufacture of essential fatty acids (EFAs), such as Omega-3 fatty acids,

    (4) Purification of the colon

    (5) Improvement of digestion (milk sugar and protein)

    (6) Production of anti bacteria and antifungal chemicals against unfriendly bacteria and fungi in the intestine

    (7) Supporting regular bowel motion

    (8) Reduction of cholesterol and triglyceride blood levels to normal status

    (9) Helping to normalise blood sugar levels.  In some experiments, friendly bacteria have been reported in some peer- reviewed scientific journals to inhibit tumor growth in animals by promoting apoptosis. Apoptosis is the process by which an abnormal  cell commits “suicide” by activating its P. 53 gene which nature provides every cell for this purpose. Many researchers believe cancerous cells continue to grow only because they are too weak to pull the trigger of the P.53 gene and, in the search of a cancer cure, have been investigating foods and herbs which may help them do so. In their belief that friendly bacteria can do this, they suggest the feeding of this bacteria to enhance their cancer- fighting potential. A dietary supports for them, as suggested by researchers, are fructooligosacharides. Also called FOS, there are sugar molecules so tightly linked together that the body cannot digest them.

    That is why they are often preferred as sweetners where simple sugars cannot be consumed without detrimental effects as diabetes. In the intestine, friendly bacteria consume the FOS to grow their population. Besides their role in the nutrition of friendly bacteria, FOS help to reduce excess blood cholesterol and sugar levels, improve regular bowel motion. When friendly bacteria are well fed, they may constitute viable support for the elevation of mood and smashing of depression. For in their activities, friendly bacteria are known to produce tryptophan, an amino acid which improves mood and helps to subdue depression. It is possible some people with an overgrowth of unfriendly bacteria, mold, fungi and viruses suffer from mood swings and depression because they do not have enough friendly bacteria in their intestine to help them overcome their enemies and produce enough tryptophan, an anti- depressant. There is a lot more to say about friendly bacteria and why many brands of sugar- laden Nigerian yoghurt are not recommendable on account of their poor rating in friendly bacteria. One of the points I would like to add is the research finding published in the British medical journal which suggests that lactobacillus relieved atopic allergic eczema and acute respiratory infections in children.

    Dr Mayur Joshi, medical adviser of probiotic international Ltd.

    Explains:  “In a recent trial, infants were given traditional tropical skin care for their eczema and then given either the probiotic mixture or placebo, which they add to milk, water, or yoghurt. The probiotic group showed a greater improvement in the severity of their symptoms than the placebo group, indicating that probiotics could be an effective therapy alongside standard treatment for asthma”.

    Clinical pharmacist Mike Wakeman Says:  “A paper published in the international journal of sports science and sports medicine in 2012 concluded that athletes who took probiotic suffered fewer symptoms of illness and recovered sooner than does who did not”.

    Gastroenterologist professor Ingvar Bjarnason who led a placebo- controlled experiment at kings college Hospital to see if probiotics had any positive effect on Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is reported by Sadie Nicholas as saying: “we designed the trial using a probiotic drink called SYMPROVE which contains four strains of bacteria, where many probiotics contain just one. During the trial, 186 patients with moderate to severe IBS took a daily dose of SYMPROVE or a matching placebo liquid for 12 weeks. By week 12 there was a significant improvement in the stomach pain in the symprove group.”

    In the battle between friendly bacteria and unfriendly bacteria in our bodies, we stand, again, before the
    Law of Balance.     This is a law of nature which demands that everything which interacts does so in ratios with each other. Thus, Zinc and Copper relate in 4: 1 ratio, calcium and magnesium in 2:1 ratio. Potassium and sodium, like estrogen and progesterone and prolactin, have their own relationships. So do work and rest. Antibiotics, a modern feature of medicine, destroys the good and bad bacteria alike while simple sugars increase bacteria growth. That is why a course of antiprobiotic medication is better followed by a course of probiotic to repopulate the friendly bacteria flora and restore the balance. The need to remember probiotic always is driven home to me by the information that there are more bacteria in every- one of us than there are human beings on this earth. In fact, one study suggests one billion bacteria cells in every milliliter (of fifth of a teaspoon) of colon fluid. People whose bad breadth stems from oral questions may empty one or two capsules of probiotic into the mouth before retiring to bed and paste the contents on the gums, teeth and tongue. The contents of one of these capsules may be diluted with small water and allowed to trickle down the throat. Women who suffer from vagina issues profit a lot from inserting a capsule deep into the vagina overnight and holding it up with a menstrual pad. The heat of the secret place melts the capsule and billions of friendly bacteria are released to scavenge and destroy unfriendly bacteria. Sometimes the treatment may involve a three- course or four- course therapy. In the first, Golden Seal Root is used, as just explained, followed by two shots (one on each day) of Alove female hygiene from nature’s gift for life. The probiotic course (oral and insertion) concludes the therapy. Some women may wish, before the probiotic segment, to try Gufeibao (sold as Happy Woman in England). It is inserted and left on for four or five days from the second day after the end of menstruation. It drags out lots of debris. Probiotics may then cap the therapy.

    So much today on bad breadth.

  • Understanding and treating bad breath (Halitosis)…2

    Begun last week, this series has examined possible causes of this condition in the gum, teeth, mouth, throat , lungs and the involvement of diabetes (fruity breath) and kidney insufficiency or disease which leads to acetone build-up in the blood, urine and breath, (nail polish breath). Coincidentally about then, I developed a minor, unproductive cough originated in the upper throat. My nostrils were partially blocked. I realized these when I began to hear wheezing sounds whenever I lay in bed and paid attention to my breathing. I reached out for a jar of Echinace with Gold seal with root. It should help a bruise gum at the site of two teeth which often catches strands of beef and which sometimes get mauled by tooth pick. I emptied two capsules with my mouth, and with the tongue, later, a finger, spread it evenly on the gum, particularly the affected area. Then, I opened a third capsule which I employed as a snuff in one nostril after the other. Literally speaking, it went straight into the head, lighting a fire as it were.You know, a cold occurs when the system is cold. Heat overcomes cold and keeps the engine running smoothly. My nostrils ran, and I felt much relieved. The wheezing sound disappeared, and gum and teeth sourness and pain abated. I have seen then thought of another way of doing it with similar, if not better, effects and feel comfortable to recommend this other method to the mother of a four year-old child who said last week that the child was suffering from Sinus and Tonsil challenges. The other method involves dissolving the contents of one capsule in lukewarm water and, with a dropper, delivering it installmentally into one nostril at a time. Each time, the opposite nostril will be blocked so that the solution in the other nostril can be inhaled.

    Mouth odour, body odour,

    These conditions appear inter-related. When I was a boy, I was miseducated by tradition that people beset by body odour were people who were not well batted immediately after birth. Now, it seems more reasonable to link this condition to a smelly internal environment where odour cannot be completely expelled through the mouth, nose, urine and stool but through the skin and sweat as well. In many cases, these other excretory organs have deteriorated in their make – up and function and the skin, as the largest excretory organ, is called into service to handle more than its fair share of work. This thinking fascinated me years ago when I read a British Broadcasting Corporation (B.B.C.) report of an experiment on why mosquitoes appeared to attack some people more than others. Socks from many men were hung in pairs outside from a window overnight in a mosquito- prone area. In the morning, the socks were checked. The ones which had the most mosquitoes belonged to men who not only sweated most in the feet, but whose sweat contain the most nauseating smell. In other words, suggests the study, mosquitoes would appear to go more for poisonous oxidations. So, to address these questions, we should try to understand some of the things in such organs as the stomach, liver and intestine which may cause odor to develop in them and how to help these organs to overcome these conditions, so that, in overcoming them, we can surmount body odour as well as mouth odour and bad breadth.

    The stomach

    Many people eat to fill the stomach, rather than filling it half way. When the stomach is too full, food cannot be well digested. Therefore, it stays longer than it should. This makes the food begin to rot before it is pushed to the intestine for further digestion. The smell of rotten food can escape upwards to the mouth and the breadth. To worsen matters, the stomach may lack enough stomach acid to digest food. This, too, would keep the food hanging out longer, and the acid which rotten food will later produce can predispose the stomach to gastritis and peptic ulcer. One way to determine if stomach acid is low is to take one tablespoonful of apple cider vinegar (ACV) in a glass of water thirty minutes before a meal. If it doesn’t hurt despite seeming high acid level, low acid is the cause of the problems. Food will digest in the stomach far more quickly and the problems in the stomach may disappear. Gas is another problem of the stomach. It may cause bloating, cramping and pain. It may come from the ingestion of air with food, through talking while eating or in some other ways, or from the gas of putrefying food, the digestion of which is compromised by Helicobacter pylori, (H. Pylori) bacteria. The bacteria can be eliminated using Golden Seal root,Ditto probiotic (friendly bacteria) and colloidal silver among other herbs. Gas can be mopped up using activated charcoal zeolyte  Pure or diatom pure. Digestive enzymes should also help. A standard product should provide amylase (for digestive carbohydrate), Lipase (fats) and protease (proteins). They help well in the intestine.

    ther useful suggestions for gas and for bloating are fennel, charmomile, Anise, ment, peppermint, ginger. Some people who have low stomach acid may think they actually have excess stomach acid and, therefore, make the mistake of consuming antacids. This has the effect of actually increasing stomach acid and worsening the problem they had set out to correct. One product I cherish in balancing stomach acid, whether high or low, is bell’s excessive acid/alkaline balance. Another is Sodium phosphate, no 10 in the 12 number series of biochemic cell salts. It addresses acidoses throughout the body. Of excessive acid and Alkaline Balance, on of the readers of this column who was advice to try it for his ulcer-related conditions, was kind enough to accept that I share his experience with other readers. David (08032013005) said to me: The acidic Stomach Alkaline balance is a piece miracle worker. I took two tablets as prescribed on the evening of June 26th, 2015 and went to bed at 9:30pm. I woke up at 3:30am, lying on my left side this. This I haven’t been able to do since September 2014 despite having been examined by specialists in Germany, Sweden and Nigeria with course of this health challenge.’’

    Thanks, David. Many people put their light under the bushel. You have kept yours on the table to light the void for other people. And what does this product contain? The ingredients are Alfalfa extract, Barley grass extract, MSM, blue green algae, chamomile extract, cinnamon extract, gilantro extract, sodium carbonate, Rosemary extract, bearbeing, Aloe vera, Turkey, rhubarb extract, sodium phosphate, potassium carbonate and potassium and potassium sul-fate.

    Blue green alga, of course, refers to SPIRULINA, often mentioned in this column.

    The liver

    When I was a boy, and wished to grow tall and muscular, I loved to eat liver. We were taught in health science literature that it was a powerhouse of all –rounded nutrients. We were not informed that it was, at the same time, a warehouse of poisons waiting to be detoxified or inactivated or in various stages of inactivation. Ever since I knew about this, I stopped eating liver. What’s the point, I reasoned, of loading up on toxins while trying to load up on nutrients.

    he liver is an important organ of detoxification as it is of digestion. Subnormal livers have been linked to cancers. They have been linked also to digestive problems which can lead to bad breath. Alcoholism can lead to fatty liver, a condition in which excessive levels of fats accumulate in liver cells, causing inflammation and making this organ unable to perform its functions. One of the well known problems of the liver, which causes belching, abdominal pain and bad breath is gall bladder disease. The gall bladder is located under the liver to store and concentrate the bile, which is produced in the liver. Bile salts help to digest fat after it is released into the upper part of the small intestine known as the duodenum. I have an acquaintance who has been beset with gall bladder problems for many years. In the beginning, stones formed in his gall bladder. Later, the stones dissolved under medication with herbs, but the gall bladder remained inflamed. He suffers excruciating pains in the upper right abdomen, belches frequently and is literally knocked out whenever he eats any fatty food. Many people have gall bladder stones without knowing they have them. Recent studies suggest such stones may be the underlying cause of low blood pressure, especially where the nails have begun to present vertical ridges. If the stones are too large to pass through the bile ducts to the duodenum, they block the flow of bile. This condition can cause inflammation of the gall bladder called cholecystitis sometimes, this condition can become life-threatening and demand surgical removal of the gall bladder. Some of the symtoms include “pain after meals, intolerance of fatty foods, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite” e.t.c

    In many studies, deficiencies of certain nutrients have been linked to the formation of gall stones. These nutrients include the fat emulsifier, lecithin, magnesium, antioxidant, vitamin A, C, and E, B complex vitamins, zinc and selenium. Phosphotidyl choline, found in lecithin, has been found to dissolve gall stones which are often calcium stones. The preponderance of calcium in gall stones suggest that there is too much free calcium in the system and a lack of magnesium. Other risk factors include elevation of cholesterol in the blood stream and decrease in the secretion of lecithin, as already stated, which may cause cholesterol stones. Rapid weight loss, which releases large quantum of fat into the system is another.

    Yet another is fiber- free diet. Food intolerance or food sensitivity may also have a role to play, according to many studies.

    Bile is a greenish- yellow substance made of bile salts, water, electrolytes, bilirubin, cholesterol, and phospholipids.

    Bilirubin is the yellowish portion of degraded red blood cells which accumulates under skin, in the nail bed or the eyes if the liver does not promptly and efficiently clears it up. Phospholips are fat molecules. Bile helps in the digestion and absorbtion of fats, absorbtion of fat soluble nutrients, such as vitamin A and E, evacuation of bilirubin, elimination of drugs and other dangerous compounds and the retention of water by the colon as a support for bowel movement. It helps, also, in the excretion of excess estrogen, which prevents elevation of estrogen in the blood of men and women. When there is not enough bile or bile flow is sluggish, these activities suffer, and the result can be not only pain an bloating from digestive system troubles but fermentation and food decay as well. Gas, such as methane, infiltrating the bloodstream can then cause headaches, bad breath and even body odour. In hospital settings, ultrasound, surgery and other methods are employed to break up gall stones so they can move freely through the bile duct and support, thereby, unhindered bile flow. In alternative medicine, the resort is to food medicine, including herbs. Historically, olive oil has been used to improve bile flow. Flax seed oil is said to improve inflammation and pain. Maria Trebent, says in her HELP THROUGH GOD’S PHARMACY:

    “interestingly, more women than men have gallstones. Nausea, vomiting and agonizing pain which shoots up and across the right rib cage towards the heart are the symptoms.  Since there are many remedies available in God’s pharmacy, it does not always have to end in an operation. A six- week course on radish juice has helped every time, unless the stones are of the rare kind that do not dissolve. In this case, an operation is necessary”.

    he story of a general’s wife taught her this remedy. She had had gallstones surgically removed and, to remind her, had mounted one of  them on the handle of a knife. As she was cutting radishes in the kitchen one day, the door bell rang. She kept the knife in the tray and went to answer the knock. By the time she returned, the radishes in the tray had dissolved the stones!

    Besides radises, herbs which protect the liver and  support its functions are known to help out in gallstone condition. Among these are milk thistle, carqueja, dandelion, lipase enzymes, turmeric, artichokes, wild yam root, vitamin C (which helps to convert cholesterol into bile), digestive enzymes, probiotic, chanka predra (the Asian name for a tropical plant known in Asian as stone crusher) and Eclipta Alba (another remedy widely used in Asia for liver, gall bladder, kidney and spleen conditions.

    Eclipta alba

    last week, I promised more information on this plant remedy after describing how it helps the elimination of  excess bile, to prevent it from being reabsorbed and converted to cholesterol, a process which leads to the use of new cholesterol sources and, thereby, ultimately reducing cholesterol level.

    Indigenously belonging to India, china, Thailand and Brazil, eclipta alba has been reported used for liver, eye, skin, hair, health, among other uses.

    There are few controlled studies on the medicinal use of this herb. But the few reported in scientific journals suggest it may be a remedy for many seasons. It has been found, for example, to inhibit growth of cancer cells, kill staphylococcus bacteria, promote hair growth, darken hair when used with honey as cream, stop nausea and vomiting in the ulcer patients. The Tawanese use it to stop bleeding. The Chinese use it as a “cooling and restorative herb” to support “the mind, liver and eyes.”

    According to an Eclipta alba literature review by BAN LABS LTD:

    “A clinical trial was conducted on 50 children suffering from hepatitis. All patients were administered eclipta alba powder with honey in doses of 50mg/kg body weight in three divided doses for a period of one to five weeks. The results revealed that 80 percent of patients recovered fully. In another clinical trial, 100 percent cure in the patients of infective hepatitis was observed with Eclipta herbal powder. A clinical trial was conducted on 30 patients of viral hepatitis with a compound herbal preparation containing Eclipta alba as one of the ingredients. The response was excellent in terms of clinical as well as biochemical parameters as compared to the placebo group. Eclipta alba is source of coumestan type compound used in phyto pharmaceutical formation of medicine prescribe for treatment of cirrhosis of the liver and infectious hepatitis.

    … Eclipta alba is widely used in India is cholagogne and de obstruent in hepatic enlargement, for jaundice and other ailments of the liver and gall bladder. The literature review speaks of stress relieving and muscle relaxant properties of Eclipta alba as well as a capacity to boost Macrophage (white blood cell) production, thereby signally an immune-boosting function. Its alkaloids help with pain reduction, it is said.

    The literature review examined damaging effects of paracetamol (Acetamophen) when it is used to induce damage in the livers of mice.

    “Treatment with 50 percent ethanol extract of  E. alba (100 and 250 mg/100g body weight) was found to protect the mice from hepatotoxic (liver damage) action of Paracetamol as evidenced by significant reduction in the elevated serum transaminase levels.

    Histological studies showed marked reduction in fatty degeneration and centrizonal necrosis in animals receiving different doses of E. alba along with Paracetamol as compared with the control group.’’

    On a final note today, there is good news in Eclipta alba for people who have hair, problems, such as falling hair syndrome. When juice of the fresh leaf was mixed with petroleum jelly, it cut hair growth time by half. When the leaf extract was boiled with coconut oil, it not only promoted hair growth similarly but blackened it. This should be good news for Mrs Toyin Obasanjo who has just begun to produce Virgin and extract Virgin coconut oil, despite all the challenges it presents. What about presenting it to friends as a beauty agent in association with Eclipta alba?

  • Understanding and controlling bad breath (Halitosis)…1

    Today, I remember the general morning assembly of my generation’s primary school days. It took place on the play field, if the school had one, or elsewhere out door on the grounds. Each class field in a long queue, attended to by the class teacher. After the Christian “worship” and prayers, it would be time for “health” inspection. Every-one showed his nails. If they were long or the underneath was dirty, they were cut and cleaned and, as punishment, the pupil was caned. The uniform, too, was inspected. Pupils who were dirty and/or wore torn uniforms were caned and sent home. Bushy hair was cut with attendant punishment. Anyone who did not bath that morning was ordered bathed by a pupil of the opposite gender. For this reason, everyone took personal hygiene seriously. And for pupils whose mouth smelled, either from bacterial or viral degradation of their mouth tissue, or from the breakfast of that day, a public mouth cleaning took place. Then those days, I learned to clean my mouth after every meal and to try and smell my breath before leaving home for school in those days and, today, before hopping off to work or elsewhere.

    Today, almost every adult of my generation is conscious of personal hygiene. We bath in the morning and before we retire to bed. Some men cut their hair about two times a month. In the female personal hygiene market, the salons are making good fortune from hair treatment, retouches and styling. Our dressing has now left the realm of wearing something to cover nudity to ego or power packaging and, for many women, coquetry in addition. But many people, men and women, young and old, fail in one department … their breath. For the breath of many people stinks.

    About four years ago, a woman aged 24 asked me for natural cure of her bad breath. When I asked if there was anything unusual about her mouth, tongue and gum, it turned out there were many. Her tongue was heavily coated with grayish and slimy matter, and the inside of the cheekbone, on one side was, a ring of infected tissue reddish on the inside and ringed by whitish  dots of inflamed matter on the edges. The Yoruba of south- western Nigeria call it owo eyo (r: m: r 🙂 because it resemble a coin, which is owo or money or cowrie (owo eyo), used in pristine times as a medium of exchange. This is caused sometimes by the human papilovirus and requires antiviral treatment. There is no doubt that exudations from this infection can tamper with clean, fresh breath.

    When we think, or talk of, bad breath, we think, quite naturally, of the mouth. But bad breath sometimes, if not often, has origins in the sinuses of the nose, the throat, upper respiratory tract, the stomach, the intestine, diseased liver and kidney(s), cancer, the blood and the lymph. In the mouth, bad breath may be temporary or chronic, that is, longstanding. Temporary bad breath may arise from the eating of spicy foods which release sulfur and certain essential oils in the mouth, intestine and blood. Bacterial in the mouth may degrade these oils and worsen the breath. While such bad breath may be easily overcome by brushing teeth and gums and resorting to mouth washes, a more difficult type may defy these approaches to eliminate it. This more difficult type often results from a film of bacteria which clings to the teeth and gums and enables these bacteria to eat up food remnants in the mouth that is not cleaned up after a meal. The poisons from this action cause teeth decay and gum disease, among several mouth aliments that are their handiwork. According to the Microbiome Database (HOMD), there are about 700 prokaryote species of bacteria in the human oral cavity. There are about 200 projects ongoing worldwide to determine just how many bacteria, friendly and otherwise, that are present in each person’s mouth. Dr. Eric Shapira, at the time he was assistant clinical professor and lecturer at the University of the Pacific School of dentistry, said “there are 50 trillion of these microscopic organisms loitering in your mouth.”

    hese bacteria may be living or dead. One of the ways it would appear nature gets rid of them is through antibody called immunoglobulin A (IgA) present in the saliva. Many studies suggest that the production of IgA in the parotid siliving gland decreases with age, which may suggest why, all things equally, the mouths of young people are more resistant to bad breath or mouth odour than those of much older people.

    Dr Shapira suggests that, to get rid of this film of bacteria, the teeth should be brushed, clean of them, after every meal. Where a brush and toothpaste are not readily available, he says:

    “When you can’t brush, you can rinse. Go to the restroom after meals and get a mouthful of water, swish it around and wash the smell of food from your mouth.”

    He says that if you are at a restaurant and you cannot excuse yourself from the table that is not a food excuse not to clean up. “Take a sip from your water glass”, he says, “and discreetly circulate the water across and around your teeth, then swallow those offending bits of food.”

    Failure to do this is one way of causing trouble in the mouth. Another way may be through tooth-picking food debris caught between two teeth. A pick may miss the target and injure the gum by puncturing it. I learned my own lesson about this the hard way. Today, I use dental floss. It comes in different forms. I have graduated from the thread type to the type with a structure like a harp. I have seen even two types of this. The American-made type lasts longer. After use, I keep it in saline water and may re-use over, say, one week. The string of the Chinese brand is thinner, and may break before a second flossing.

    Dr Shapira must laugh when he learns about how I break his rules on rights that I am too tired to clean up and would like to just fling myself into bed after work. On such a night, I may open one or two capsules of Golden seal root and empty them in my mouth. Then I brush it on the gums teeth and tongue. The anti-microbial prevents adherence of the microbes to human tissue and then kills them. In the alternative, I may do the same with Diatom, also called Diatomaceous health or Edible Earth. It does the same and more. In addition to this, one may try mouth washes. Dr Shapira says the choice may be determined by colour and flavour. I take notice of two from his suggestion. The colour of one is green, the other red. The green contains essential oil such as thyme, eucalyptus, peppermint, and winter green as well as sodium benzoate or benzoic acid for preservation. The red may contain zinc compounds. A deficiency of these compounds has been linked to bad breath.

    If these do not appear to help, a dentist may be consulted. For the problem may be hibernating in the root canals or may arise from decaying mercury fillings or decomposing gums.

     

    Dr James Lind

    We cannot talk about oral or mouth hygiene without a mention of Dr. James Lind (4 October 1716 to 13 July 1794). A Scottish physician, he save British sailors from a seemingly intractable problem of gum disease and falling teeth. He discovered that citrus fruits prevented scurvy, a condition of bleeding gums, gum and teeth disease. In those days, the importance of Vitamins C for the prevention of scurvy was not known. Scurvy or bleeding comes when connecting tissue of cells is weak. Vitamin C and the bioflavoniods strengthen connective tissue. Dr Linus Paule, father of Vitamin C research of our generation who died at the age of 103 and received two Nobel Awards on Vitamin research not shared with any one, found that, by the time the gums start to bleed, bleeding would have been going on in the organs for long time. In Dr Lind’s days, 1,400 of 1,900 sailors died of survy in one single incident. Although Dr Lend was not the first to suggest citrus fruits as anti–scorbutic agents, he was the first to study their impact in 1747, which has been suggested as one of the first clinical experiments in medicines history. He divided scurvy-suffers sailors into six groups and found that the group which took cider with their meals and that which had two oranges and one lime recovered significantly enough to be fit for work.

    Borrowing a leaf from Dr Linds work, I began my breakfast this Ramadan 2015 with the juice of four oranges and that of four limes in which I dissolve one teaspoonful of wheatgrass powder for minerals and vitamins, and a quarter or half teaspoon of spirulina for proteins. Then, I do not forget to take 1,000mg of the alkaline or buffered form of vitamin C. Wheatgrass and spirulina contain chlorophyll, which deodourses the mouth and blood, and kill germs, besides.

     

    Sinuses, tonsils

    Bad breath can come also from inflamed, blocked or dripping sinuses. These are hallow passages in the nasal cavity which facilitates air movement in and out of the body and helps in the balancy of pressure. We can tell of their importance when they are blocked through the heaviness we feel in the head and in the ears. Congestion in the sinuses encourages the proliferation of germs which, in turn, breeds odour. The odour, being gaseous, may appear in the mouth as bad breath. It has been suggested by some authorities that these congestions occur to trap germs and should not be supressed but rather encouraged to do their job which involves trapping and sweeping out the microbes and disturbing foreign agents. In biochemic  medicine the colour of the mucus indicates a certain cell salt deficiency which gave rise to the condition. For example, a bloody mucoid discharge indicates a need for ferrum phosphate. Oregano oil spray are useful in keeping the sinuses free as are other circulation promoting herbs such as cayenne. If the tongue is gray, indicating candida presence, it is the time to take anti-fungals such as Amazon AF or Amazon CF or pau d A’rco. Use may be found for colloidal silver. It may be let in through a dropper and sniffed in, used for a mouth wash, or taken internally, as oral trush may indicate overload of candida in the gut and/or blood stream. This treatment may also be adopted for throat and upper respiratory tract conditions which may breed germs and throw up such odour that may seek outlet through the mouth.

    Diabetic breath

    A fruity smell in the breath suggests serious diabetes. The breath is often a telling tale for diagnosis. At the western new england university, researchers were testing a breath analyzer which can detecth if the patient is diabetes free or prediabetic. Diabetes  releated bad breath (halitosis) has two major origins. The first is Periodontal  disease (gum disease). The other is the presence of large amounts of ketones in the blood. Periodontal disease is like a two-way traffic or double-edged sword. Diabetes can cause periodontal disease, periodontal disease can complicate the problems of diabetics. A report on the IOSR Journal of Dental and Medical Science says about one in three diabetics may experince periodontal  disease, heart disease and stroke. Diabetes reduces blood flow by thickening the blood and causing blockages to circulation. When the gums are not well supplied with blood and oxygen, they may become weak and succumb to infections. Infections eat up the gums, causing bad breath. If diabetes elevates glucose levels in the mouth, this will promote bacteral growth, infection and halitosis (bad breath). Gum infections are more difficult for the body to fight when glucose levels in the blood  rise. In gum disease, germs attack the structure which builds the teeth down in the gum. Gum disease may lead to gum inflamation (gingivitis). Inflamation has been found to affect metabolism and raise blood sugar, which is bad news for the diabetics  some of the symptoms of periodontal disease, which produces bad breath, are redness of the gum, bleeding gums, teeth sensitive to cold and heat and receding gums. As for high levels of Kentos in the blood which manifests in the breath, they arise as a factor when the body isn’t burning glucose and there is a resort to fats for energy. Kentons build up in the blood and urine. They are produced, also during a fast or restriction to a high protein diet, and low carborhydrate diet. Bad breath comes with high Kentons level. One Ketone fraction called Acetone is a chemical found in nail polish. So, it can cause an odour in the breath which resembles nail polish. A high Ketone level may cause a condition called Ketoacidosis (DKA), the symptoms of which may include a sweet and fruity odour in the breath, more frequent urination, nausea, abdominal pain and vomiting elevated blood glucose levels, shortness of  breath, and mental confusion.

    aturally, the question will arise: how can one normalise blood sugar level? This is an important question often addressed in this column, because elevated blood sugar is too dangerous to health and life to be treated with kid gloves. Many people do not know their blood sugar levels had been rising for years. They get to know when their Kidneys have problems filtering the urine out of the blood. In extreme cases, a paralysed kidney function may lead to amonia odour in the breath. If you were ever in an office of the 1980s where building plans were printed, the stench which greeted you in those days was ammonia. It is the stench you encounter in the pit toilet filled with nitrogenous waste. This waste is plentiful, too, in the constipated intestine, which is a mini pit toilet. If the ammonia in the intestine escapes into the bloodstream, it may cause aches and pain in the brain. In this case, it is stupid to try to suppress the pain with pain killers instead of tackling it at the root. The kidney is meant to screen it out of the blood. When it fails on a large scale to do this, the ammonia may appear in the breath as a symptom of kidney disease. Like blood pressure (low or high) from which I have seen many people die, I do not take elevated blood sugar for granted. To aid balancing of blood sugar, I have learned over many years the importance of blood sugar cleansing, recomposition of the blood, or blood building, and the care of the endocrine glands which function like an orchestra, with the pituitary gland as the choir master. These endocrine glands include the pineal gland pancreas, the thyroid,  parathyroid, the adrenal glands and the pituitary, the testes and the ovaries. There are herbs which work for them all in various degrees as there are herbs which are specific for each. As an example, the red kidney bean pod, taken as tea, clears up all swellings caused by kidney insufficiency. So does Serrapeptase which dissolves blockages. I have experimented with diatom, and have witnessed my random blood sugar come down to 90 from about 140. I am yet to check its effect on cholesterol which it is said to also control. My favorite blood sugar burners include Chromium, Cinnamon, Fenugreek, Bitter melon, Kyolic, Magnesium, Zinc, Horsetail and proprietary blends which include Nature’s way blood sugar, Bell’s Blood sugar balance, which is currently on my medicine cabinet, Amazon pancreas support and the likes of them. They incorporate these and many other sugar burners in varying and different proportions.

     

    •To be continued.