http://www.articlearmies.com Articles posted by Rudy. en-us Copyright (c) 2005 ArticleTime.com http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/does-heartburn-or-gerd-cause-low-iron.html Physicians think it is ok to use drugs for stomach issues, acid reflux, or gastroesophageal disease. Medication for these conditions should be used sparingly and should be watched closely for side effect by the doctor. Drugs should be used only to give the patient time to heal any tissue damage caused by stomach acid refluxing into the esophagus. Natural remedies can be used at the same time drugs are used since natural remedies can also heal tissue damage in the esophagus and cure heartburn. Most drugstore remedies are designed to alter or reduce acid strength or to stop the stomach lining from producing more acid. The stomach automatically releases acid as it strength decrease while digesting food or when over the counter products and pharmaceuticals are used. The reduction of stomach acid can cause a major impact in your overall health. Stomach acid needs to be around 1.2 to 2.5 pH to do the hundreds of reactions that the stomach needs to do. When these reactions do not occur, a cascade of unhealthy conditions begins. You won't see the detrimental health effect by using drugs short term but you will in long term use. Here is one condition that happens when your stomach acid is reduced by over the counter drugstore products or by the numerous popular pharmaceutical drugs - anemia. Anemia is a deficiency of iron in your body. Iron is the center of the hemoglobin, red blood cell, molecule. This molecule delivers oxygen to all of your cells as it travels through your blood system. The lack of iron in your body results in the lack of oxygen for your body and this condition is called anemia. When you lack iron, your body becomes weak and tired. Muscles lose strength and you can become disoriented. In clinical tests, people that had low stomach acid were found to be anemic. In order for iron to be absorbed into your blood it needs to be in liquid form and not precipitated, a solid, and not attached to another nutrient or fiber. There are to types of iron - heme iron and non-heme iron. Heme iron comes from meat. When your stomach is deficient in acid, high pH, meat heme iron will remain in as a liquid and not precipate, so there is no problem with meat heme iron and low stomach acid. The only problem with eating excess meat is that it is not an ideal diet for good health. But, with non-heme iron, which comes from grains, vegetables, and fortified foods, stomach pH is important. When stomach acid is diminished, like when drugs and other drugstore products are used, iron obtained from produce and grains is also diminished. Stomach acid must separate the iron from produce and grain fibers and dissolve it so it becomes more absorbable. If you have low iron count, are anemic, or suffer from feeling tired and in addition suffer from acid reflux or heartburn, stay away from acid reflux drugs and drugstore products. Try natural remedies to solve your heartburn symptoms. Natural remedies maintain your natural stomach pH and allow you to digest and absorb the iron you need to produce oxygen. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/how-to-stop-hearing-loss.html My mother is almost 90 years and has a hearing loss problem. Her problem started when she was around 70 years. But, most health or physical issues start much earlier. They start from the early twenties or sooner. As you age, your various organs and physical structures start to weaken and deteriorate and become less active. The deterioration rate depends on your emotional and physical health. Your health depends on your eating habits and the nutrients that you supply to your body. Loud Noises How can you tell if you will have hearing loss when you get older? First you have to protect your ears from over stimulation. Listening to loud music with or without ear phone can damage your ear and make them less sensitive as you age. It is best to keep the volume natural. If you work in a high noise surrounding, then you need to use protective ear covers. Next, when you clean your ears of ear wax, is the wax hard or soft? If it is hard, then you need to eat more good oils - omega 3, omega 6, and omega 9. These oils - olive oil, fish oil, flax oil, hemp oil, caster oil, and primrose oil - help keep ear wax softer and easier to clean out of your ears. Hard wax is hard to clean out of your ears and tends to deposit on your ear drum, slowly over time, making it stiff and less able to vibrate. Anti-oxidants Make sure your diet is high in anti-oxidants. This can be in the form of food - fruits and vegetables - or supplements. But keep in mind that only a certain amount of the supplements you take are absorbed. So you normally need to take more than is recommended. A good anti-oxidant will help fight off and eliminate free radicals that damage the tissue in your ear drum and surrounding areas. Free radicals can damage your ear by causing ear inflammation. This inflammation can cause loss of hearing and permanent damage to your ear. MSM Remedy One other remedy that you can use to keep your ears healthy is to use MSM eye drops. A few drops in both ears, just before bedtime, will keep your ear drum from hardening and permeably. MSM accumulate in cell walls to make them soft and flexible which allows nutrients to enter the cell and toxins to move out of the cell. MSM is also an anti-oxidant since it will tie up protein that can accumulate in your ear tissue and damage it. MSM eye drops are available on the internet and are inexpensive. Just a side note, use them for your eyes and give yourself more health benefits. Using MSM in your eyes will insure that you will never have Glaucoma. Again MSM will make tissue permeable and the will release pressure form the eyeball - Glaucoma- or release pressure from behind the eardrum bring the eardrum back to normal. So, protect your ears from loud noises, especially if these noises are heard for long periods at time. Then eat a lot of fruits and vegetables or chose a good anti-oxidant supplement to get the anti-oxidants that will protect your ears from free radical damage. Finally, use MSM eye drops in your ears to keep your ear drum flexible so it can vibrate and give you hearing. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/hair-loss-cause-blood-circulation.html One hair loss cause that is not discussed much is poor blood circulation in your scalp. This must be included in any discussion or listing of what causes hair loss or what can improve hair growth. What is important in blood circulation is the quantity and quality of the blood reaching the hair root. If your hair root does not get a good supply of blood, lymph, oxygen and nutrients, it will shrink and die. Reduction in blood to the scalp is one hair loss cause that is caused by yet another body condition - tension or stress. Excess stress causes muscles to tighten and reduces blood flow to the furthest parts of our body - feet, hands, and head. Capillaries become constricted and feed your hair follicles and hair roots less blood. Stress also works with androgenic hormones to tighten the scalp, making it thinner, and making it more susceptible to hair loss. Women, however, seem to maintain a thicker scalp which is a better condition for continuous hair growth. Your blood circulation can also be caused by harden crystals that form from sebum and hair perspiration. These crystals plug up the follicles causing surround tissue to harden and then restrict the flow of blood to the follicle. Use of apple cider vinegar as a final rinse during shampooing and using jojoba oil as a hair gel will help limit these crystals. Any arthritis or tightening of neck muscles can restrict blood flow to the head. Here you need neck massages. Regular exercises or movement activity will help you increase your blood circulation to your head. In the hair loss cause due to blood circulation, moving your head below your heart regularly can bring more blood into your scalp. For those of you that have high blood pressure or circulation problems, you need to avoid these techniques. You can lie in bed with your head hanging over. Bring you head near the floor and count to 10 then bring it back level with your body. You can repeat this 6 - 7 times once or twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. Also you can increase the count from10 to longer times as you continue to do this exercise. The are also slant board that are sold, which allow you to lie on the board so that your head is near the floor and your feet are up in the air and the height will be determined by the angle of the slant. You can also do a yoga head stance, if you are doing yoga. If you want scalp massage to be effective you need to do it at least twice a day. Place your fingertips on your scalp and move the scalp in two directions - forward and back and in a circulating motion. Do not rub or scratch your scalp to avoid breaking off hair or damaging your scalp. Blood circulation is one hair loss cause that you can work on. By doing some of the recommend techniques listed here you can help yourself to have better hair for a longer time. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/hair-loss-vitamins-you-need.html There is a lot of controversy about how diet affects hair loss and other skin conditions. But since hair takes nutrients from blood flow, which it needs for growth, you should just use common sense to believe that you will need hair loss vitamins, if you want to have healthy hair. One of the problems in providing hair loss vitamins is if those vitamins are needed else where in your body, your hair will see very little of these vitamins. The hair is one of the last places that vitamins go to. The other problem is if you are not providing enough vitamins and even minerals for your body, from the food you eat, your body will start to pull the vitamins it needs from your hair. But the hair is not the only place vitamins are pulled from, since the body will automatically pull vitamins and minerals from other parts of the body to move them to areas that need them for survival. So one of the first plans of action to get the hair loss vitamins you need is to eat well balanced meals and eliminate as much junk food as you can. The two big killers of hair loss are sugar and salt, so start looking for ways to eliminate these two additives. Here is a list of vitamins to supplement with to prevent hair loss: Vitamin A (Retinol) - you can take between 10,000 - 25,000 IU's The larger you are take the higher dose. The B vitamins are essential hair loss vitamins. It is best to use a complete B vitamin supplement such as the B100's. If you make morning smoothies you can buy the liquid B vitamins. You absorb more of these B's in this form. Remember, you need B vitamins everyday. Your body will only use the B's it needs and excrete the excess. This is why your urine will be a deep yellow since the excess B's are being eliminated. Vitamin B1 (Thiamin) Vitamin B12 (Cobalt) Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid) Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) Vitamin B9 (Folic Acid) Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid) - a good amount of this vitamin is around 3000- to 4000 mg. You can always tell when you are taking to much vitamin C your stools get softer or watery. If you have a hard time with natural vitamin C and it gives you an upset stomach, use the buffered type or Ester C. This will cost you quite a bit more. Vitamin E - Use 400 - 800 IU but do not exceed the 800mg. For a larger body use the higher dose. Use the Alpha tocopherol since it is the most active form of this vitamin. You will see this form listed as alpha-tocopheryl acetate. For those of you that have problems digesting fats use the water soluble vitamin E. Vitamin H (Biotin) - This vitamin is a B vitamin but is a very important hair loss vitamin. Lack of this vitamin shows up as thinning hair and loss of hair. So it should be on the top of your list to supplement with it. However it should be used and taken with the other B vitamins so to get the best absorption. Use around 300 mcg and if the B100 do not have enough biotin, you may have to supplement with biotin separately. There you have it. This is the basic hair loss vitamins that you need to take. There are other nutrients that you need, but they will be covered in my other articles. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/how-you-can-get-rid-of-hemorrhoids.html Constipation is generally the cause of hemorrhoids. If you have infrequently bowel movements or have to strain to have them, then this sets up the conditions to create hemorrhoids. When you strain to have a bowel movement, you cause blood to congest in the rectum. This blood congestion causes an increase in pressure in the abdomen and rectum veins and over time these veins balloon out, turning into hemorrhoids. Pressure in the abdomen obstructs the return of blood from the rectum. There are many changes that you have to make to get rid of constipation. The first, the one most people think about, is to increase dietary fiber. But if you do this, it is best to understand what fiber to use and how much to eat. And, you have to make some changes in your diet, if you are eating mostly processed foods. The other cause of hemorrhoids is emotions or anxiety. When it comes to illness or body imbalances, they usually have some emotional component to it. So it is always best to make changes in diet and to see what emotional issues are related to your hemorrhoids. There are, of course, other causes of hemorrhoids. Any activity that puts excess pressure on the abdomen and rectum veins can cause hemorrhoids. If you are pregnant, or if you sneeze or cough frequently, exercise too much, lift weights, or stand or sit too long, these conditions can lead to hemorrhoids. If you couple these conditions with a poor diet, then you increase the probability of hemorrhoids. Look at these various activities you do and make adjustments to their frequency. Do not mistake itching for hemorrhoids. Itching can be a sign of allergies, yeast infection, parasites, or the use of coarse toilet paper. Hemorrhoids are usually distinguished by bleeding, inflammation, swelling, pain, or irritation. The first step in dealing with your hemorrhoids is to stop straining to have a bowel movement. You can do this by increasing your fiber intake. It is always best to use natural fiber. When you used un-natural fiber, which is found in drugstore laxatives, you can become addicted to them. Use cereal in the morning that has wheat ban or oat bran. You can add wheat germ to get more fiber and to get the B-vitamin. Next, you need to eat more fruits and vegetables. Eat the fruits as snacks before lunch, dinner or after dinner. Eat at least 3 fruit a day and more if you can. Also eat vegetable with lunch and dinner. Raw vegetables are best and if you cook them, cook them lightly. Cooking vegetables diminishes the value of their fiber. Look at your stools. Short ones or hard ones show the lack of fiber. If they sink quickly to the bottom of toilet water, they lack fiber. Your stools should be one long piece and brownish. They should be soft but should stay together in the water and float. Eat a variety of natural fiber that comes from grains, fruits and vegetables. Back off on processed foods since they lack fiber and nutrition. Fiber will help you release stools easily from your colon and this helps to reduce the pressure in your rectum veins when you have a bowel movement. Now you are on way to getting rid of hemorrhoids. For complete information on how to get rid of and prevent hemorrhoids go to: Get Rid Of Hemorrhoids. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/what-you-should-know-about-acid-reflux-esophagus-and-les.html At some time in your life, you will experience acid reflux or stomach problems. Acid reflux occurs when some of the highly acidic stomach content flows back into the esophagus. By understanding the workings of the esophagus and its control valve, the LES, you can make better decisions on how to deal with any stomach disturbances or with acid reflux. The esophagus is a muscular channel or tube that runs from the back of the throat to the upper part of your stomach. This channel surface is covered with smooth delicate cells called “epithelial cells” The muscles along the esophagus start contracting as food enters the esophagus and propels the food downward toward your stomach. These contractions are called peristalsis. It takes about 5 – 10 seconds for food that you swallow to travel through the esophagus and reach your stomach. At the end of the esophagus is a closed valve call “Lower Esophageal Sphincter” or LES. This valve or LES relaxes when food reaches it and opens to let food into your stomach. Once food passes through, it closes tightly so that food cannot travel back up or reflux. It is important for this valve to open and close only to let food flow in one direction, into the stomach. When you have acid reflux, food and acid from the stomach flows back up into the esophagus causing a burning sensation. When acid reflux or heartburn occurs a few times, this is not a serious issue. But, when it occurs over a long period, then it is possible that an esophageal ulcer or cancer can develop. The closing pressure of the LES value at its resting point is about 20 mm of mercury. When you eat food a signal is sent to the LES valve to open and allow food swallowed to pass into the stomach. As the stomach contracts to process new food, the LES closes to protect the esophagus from harsh stomach acids. Every once in a while the LES valve might have a decrease closing pressure. The LES valve relaxes beyond normal and the pressure from the stomach gases are enough to open it. When this happens, food and stomach acid can reflux back into the esophagus. This abnormal momentary decrease in LES pressure is called “Transicent LES Relaxations or TLESRs. The amount of times TLESRs happen varies from person to person and researchers are not sure why this happens. Those people who have more frequent TLESRs are more susceptible to acid reflux or heartburn. It seems to me that these TLESRs can be an interruption or weakening of your defense mechanism or immune system. It is these systems that are responsible for protecting you from disruptions in your body functions. But when physical or emotional forces place a load on your defense and immune systems, not enough energy is available to keep valves shut or valves open as required for normal body functioning. The simple opening and closing of the LES value is required for good health. Eating excess food or mixing many foods at one meal can increase the pressure in the stomach forcing the LES to open. Your TLESRs times are affected by your eating habits and by your immune system strength. Learn how to eat properly and learn what foods keep your LES valve strong and healthy. These two topics will be covered in additional articles. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/a-bad-combination-high-fiber-and-acid-reflux.html There is a little known bad effect of eating a high fiber diet. Most recommendation on the amount of fiber to eat is in the range of 30 to 40 gm per day. And as you age this becomes more important since high fiber diets help you remove excess cholesterol in the colon and help regulate your bowel movements. In addition, fiber helps to remove toxins from your colon and provide food for the good bacterial. What you are not told about fiber is that fiber can bind with certain nutrients and minerals and they get tied up in your stools before they get absorbed into your blood stream. This condition can occur when your stomach acid gets weak. And the weaker it gets, higher values of pH – 3.5, 4, 5, and 6 – the more nutrients you lose to stool formation. There are two situations where your stomach acid gets weak. First, as you age, your ability to create and release HCl acid from your stomach walls decreases. Second, at any age, if you take any type of drug to decreased your stomach acid strength in an effort to reduce acid reflux damage to your esophagus. Both these condition in combination with a high fiber diet lead to a more minerals tied up in chyme or stools. Here’s how you lose the minerals. Phytate, a chemical found in grains, cereal and seeds, and fiber easily combine with nutrients and minerals. This complex of phytate, fiber, and minerals – calcium, manganese, iron, copper, nickel, or zinc - are easily absorbed when your stomach acid is the natural value of ph 1 – 3. As your stomach acid weakens and the pH rises to 4, 5, 6, and even 7, the complex become more insoluble and not absorbable. To make matters worse is if you have plenty of calcium and magnesium in this complex, it will tie up other mineral and make them insoluble. There is one other condition that occurs with weaken stomach acid. Digestion of protein is decrease leaving more undigested protein to move into the colon. It is this undigested protein and constipation that can lead to colon cancer, especially if the protein has been cured with nitrites. Here’s how to avoid becoming mineral deficient. Keep your diet high in fiber by eating raw fruits and vegetable. If you are over 50 and perhaps 60, your stomach acid has been on the decline. Taking HCl and pepsin tablets can overcome this condition. But to use these acid tablets you need to use them in a special way and that will be covered in another article. If you have acid reflux avoid using acid neutralizers such as Tums or Rolaids. Avoid, also, taking acid blocking drugs such as Prilosec. These drugs play with your acid levels and make you more susceptible to mineral loss. There are natural remedies that can help you eliminate acid reflux and if you work with a nutritionist, he can help define a diet that will stop acid reflux safely. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/how-your-stomach-controls-hcl-acid-for-preventing-stomach-cancer.html Your stomach always knows what it has to do to keep you healthy and free of disease. It does this by changing conditions in your stomach to accommodate how you eat, what you eat and when you eat it. Diseases like heartburn or acid reflux and just stomach upsets occur when you eat a poor diet or eat improperly. This causes your stomach to distort its functions and in this process distorts the function of the surround valves which control the movement of food moving in and out of the your stomach. Here’s how your stomach works. The HCl acid in your stomach likes to be at strength of between a pH of 1 to 3. A hormone called “Gastrin” maintains this acid strength. When your stomach acid becomes weak, a pH above 3, “G cells” in the lining of your stomach release Gastrin. The gastrin hormone activates “parietal cells, also located in the stomach lining, to release HCl acid. As more acid is pumped into the stomach, the pH drops down below 3 which signals the G cells to decrease or stop the release of gastrin. When food comes into your stomach it is usually a pH of 6-7. This causes your G cells to pump out gastrin so that the stomach lining can inject HCl into your stomach to start breaking down your food and to lower the pH back to 2-3. Gastrin also controls the stomach muscles. It controls the stomach contractions, which move your stomach contents back and forth. When the food has been mixed and broken down, the contractions move the food into the duodenum and small intestine. When your stomach excretes high levels of gastrin, a condition called hypergastrinemia, you become more susceptible to stomach cancer. How can excess gastrin be excreted? Excess gastrin can be excreted when your stomach wall is thinned, nonfunctional, or atrophied. And, excess gastrin can also be excreted when you take an acid blocker drug like Prilosec when you have heartburn, acid reflux or GERD. If you block the creation of HCl with a drug during your meal, your stomach is signaled to release gastrin to produce more acid. Since a drug is blocking acid creation, the G cells believe that not enough acid is being released into the stomach so more gastrin is released. Taking a 20 mg of Prilosec can result in the production of 3 to 4 times more gastrin. When you take more Prilosec, 40 – 60 mg, this can result in 10 times more gastrin than needed. Long-term use of Prilosec put you at risk for stomach cancer. Now, you can see how just one drug when used to excess can create an even worst disease then the one it is trying to prevent or cure, when it is used for a long time. For this reason it is best to look for natural ways to deal with heartburn, acid reflux, or stomach distress. Correcting your diet and using natural remedies can help to cure your stomach problems and will keep you away from stomach cancer. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/heartburn-drugs-and-low-iron.html Most people and doctors think it is ok to use drugs for heartburn, acid reflux, or gastroesophageal disease. Drugs for these diseases should be used sparingly and should be watched closely by the doctor. Drugs should be used for a short time to give the patient time to heal any tissue damage caused by stomach acid going back into the esophagus. Even so, natural remedies can also heal tissue damage in the esophagus and cure heartburn. Drugs are designed to neutralized or reduce acid strength or to stop the stomach lining from creating more acid. The stomach automatically produces more acid as it strength is reduced digesting food or by the use of by over the counter products and drugs. The reduction of stomach acid can cause a major detrimental impact in your overall health. Stomach acid needs to be around 1.2 to 2.5 pH to do the hundreds of reactions that occur there. When these reactions do not occur, a cascade of unhealthy conditions begins. You won't see the detrimental health effect for short terms drug use but you will in long term use. Here is but one condition that happens when your stomach acid is played with by over the counter drugstore products or by the numerous popular pharmaceutical drugs - anemia. Iron is the center of the hemoglobin, red blood cell, and molecule. This molecule delivers oxygen to all of your cells as it travels through your blood system. The lack of iron in your body results in the lack of oxygen for your body and this condition is called anemia. When you lack iron, your body becomes weak and tired. Muscles become weak and you can become disoriented. In some clinical studies, people with low stomach acid were found to be anemic. Here's how this happens. In order for iron to be absorbed into your blood it needs to be in liquid form and not precipitated, a solid, and not attached to another nutrient or fiber. There are two types of iron - heme iron and non-heme iron. Heme iron comes from meat. When your stomach acid is low, meat heme iron will remain in as a liquid and not precipate, so there is no problem with meat heme iron and low stomach acid. The only problem is eating a lot of meat is that it is not an ideal diet for good health. However, with non-iron coming from grains, vegetables, and fortified foods, stomach pH is important. When stomach acid is diminished, like when drugs and other drugstore products are used iron from produce and grains is also diminished. Stomach acid must separate the iron from produce and grain fibers and dissolve it so it becomes more absorbable. So, if you tend to be anemic, or believe you have low iron, or suffer from feeling tired and in addition suffer from acid reflux or heartburn, stay away from acid reflux drugs and drugstore products. Move toward more natural remedies to solve your heartburn symptoms. Natural remedies maintain your natural stomach pH and allow you to gain the iron you need to produce and grains. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/arthritis-diet-information.html Osteoarthritis or arthritis is the most common type of arthritis in the over 200 types of arthritic conditions. This disease is afflicting over 40 million Americans and 80% of them are over 51 years. Here is some arthritis diet information that can help those that don't have arthritis yet and those that do. First, arthritis is a condition where the protective layer and lubricant between bones has been decreased, worn down, injured, or destroyed. The result is, in the worst case, bone to bone rubbing cause continual pain and inflammation in the affected joint or joints. What causes arthritis to appear will depend on your lifestyle and history. Here is a list of some of the causes: " Injury to the bone or joints at any time in your life " Allergies to certain foods that lead to joint inflammation " A diet that is high in acidic foods, such as animal protein, fat, and processed foods " Overweight, which over works joints, especially in the knees " Emotional stress, since stress creates acid, which attacks joints oil and cartilage " Poor digestion, which results in undigested food entering the body causing acid, allergies, and decreased immune system function " Imbalance in hormones " A distortion in skeleton structure causing excess pressure in specific joints Now here are some diet suggestions to help you reduce arthritis pain, rebuild the joint, and reduce your inflammation. " Eat flaxseeds or use flaxseed oil to reduce inflammation " Eat fish weekly or take at least 1500 mg to 2000 mg of fish oil to reduce inflammation " Eat plenty of raw vegetables, which provide phytonutrients that fight free radicals - broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and dark green lettuce " Eat whole grains to provide the B vitamins - brown rice, wheat germ, oat bran, oats " Eat foods high in sulfur to help repair cartilage - asparagus, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, watercress, cranberries, avocados, broccoli, carrots, celery, corn, cucumber peas, potatoes, spinach, tomatoes, kale, cabbage, garlic, or onions " Drink water every 2 hours to avoid dehydration and reduce arthritis pain " Eat pineapple to get the enzyme bromelain or chew on bromelain tablets. " Take MSM supplements, 2000 to 5000 mg or more per day There is one more list to consider in this arthritis diet - the foods to avoid: Acid in your body gives you more arthritic pain. You need to move your body to a more alkaline body. This is done by avoiding those foods which create acid in your body and eating those that produce alkaline residues. Here are the foods to reduce in your diet or to eliminate completely. Red meat, eggs, saturated fats - butter-, oils fried foods, sugar, dairy products, refined carbohydrates - white rice -, breads pasta, and caffeine. And, strictly avoid those foods that you know you have allergies to. The arthritis diet consist of moving towards more whole grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes, which make your body more alkaline and reducing animal products which create acid and inflammation in your body. If you have allergies to specific foods then avoid them completely. As you improve in your arthritis condition, then later you can eat some of the foods you need to avoid now. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/what-you-should-know-about-gastroesophageal-reflux.html Most people know what heartburn or acid reflux is and the English know this as dyspepsia. Acid reflux is also call gastroesophageal reflux or just esophageal reflux. With gastroesophageal reflux, the content of the stomach - stomach acid, bile, pepsin, ingested liquids and foods flow back up into the esophagus. This happens when the valve between the stomach and esophagus opens, when it shouldn't, and allows this content to go back into the esophagus. When stomach content refluxes often, damage to the esophagus tissue occurs causing inflammation, esophagitis, or gastroesophageal reflux disease better know as GERD. The progression of gastroesophageal reflux can occur into Barrett's esophagus, a precancerous condition. And, this can eventually change into esophageal cancer, but only if the reflux condition is not treated. Many clinical studies now show that excessive use of drugs that are aimed at acid reflux conditions increase your chances of creating gastroesophageal cancer. And this includes the use of over the counter drugstore remedies. While it is thought that excessive acid is the cause of esophageal reflux, the main cause is a weak Lower Esophageal Sphincter, LES. But it is the stomach acid that creates the symptoms of heartburn or acid reflux. So doctors and pharmaceutical companies have targeted their medicines toward the reduction of this acid. This does not cure the cause of gastroesophageal reflux, but will prevent strong acid from burning the esophagus tissue. The use of drugs to deal with esophageal reflux is not always the best way to deal with this condition. In some case, it is necessary to reduce the strength of the acid that flows into the esophagus to prevent continual attack on the esophagus tissue. Most drugs are designed to inhibit or block the production of stomach acid making it weaker and less evasive. But this blocking comes with a price. The price is a major imbalance your stomach function. Your stomach will not work like it should when its production of acid is blocked. For one thing, bad bacteria and other pathogens are not completely destroyed with weak acid. Also, the LES valve will get weaker. Certain vitamins and minerals will not be processed correctly. And, many other stomach functions will be affected and this will lead to diseases far worse than simple acid reflux. The cure for reflux lies in lifestyle. The food you eat, the amount you eat, what you drink, and other lifestyle factors contribute to the activity you will have in your stomach. This activity can result in excess acid being excreted by your stomach lining and affecting the strength of your LES. Or, excess gas can be created by the improper decomposition of food you eat, causing excess gas, which put excess pressure on the LES causing it to open. Then again acid may not be the issue. Some people can experience alkaline reflux damage in the esophagus. The alkaline liquid can be sucked up from the small intestine where alkaline liquid flourishes when excreted by the gallbladder and the pancreas. The only way to really handle gastroesophageal reflux is to use natural methods - natural diet, natural remedies, and lifestyle. Drugs are so harmful in treating acid reflux that they should only be used in serious conditions. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/one-cause-of-constipation--bad-bacteria.html Bad bacteria in the colon are one of the worst conditions that could exist in your body. Yet few people are aware that this is something to be concern about. Not only is bad bacteria one cause of constipation, it is also a source of toxic matter that filters into your body where it creates many familiar diseases. When bad bacteria takes over your colon and if remains in control of your colon over a long period of your life, expect to have serious diseases as you age. You may or may not wonder why practically every older person you know has many health issues to deal with. Most likely it is the neglect of the colon and the constipation that they have lived with during their lifetime. When bad bacteria control the colon, they live on undigested food and cause this food to rot and become putrid. This condition causes your colon to become slight alkaline making it difficult for the good bacteria to thrive. As more toxic matter accumulated in the colon, it attracts other pathogens and yeast. When the colon is weak, it is unable to quickly move fecal matter through its long intestine. It weakens when it continual tries to move fecal matter along the colon and is unable. After while it just quits trying and constipation sets in. Bad bacteria are but one cause of constipation. There are others but it is always best to work on one cause of constipation before going to another. So what can you do when you have an excess of bad bacteria in the colon? The first step is to increasing the amount of good bacteria in colon, since these bacteria can fight and destroy the bad ones. So, how do you help the good bacteria to multiple? You do it by, " Feeding the good bacteria " Eating the right foods so that the colon environment can changed from alkaline to slightly acid " Taking supplements that can kill bad bacteria and not good bacteria " Taking supplements that increase the good bacteria " Doing a colon cleanse to sweep out some of the bad bacteria and their source of food - decaying, rotting fecal matter. Good bacteria are available in various forms. The most familiar source is liquid milk like solution call acidophilus. You can also get multiple forms of good bacteria in capsules. It is best to choose a form call enteric capsules. These capsules move pass the stomach acids where they could be destroyed and open up in the more friendly area of the small intestines. The good bacteria can then move into the colon where they will do battle with bad bacteria, one cause of constipation. When the colon is overwhelmed with bad bacteria you need to supplement your diet with a good amount of good bacteria, so don't hold when taking this supplement. There you have it. It is not easy to get rid of bad bacteria quickly. You have to work at it and you have to know what you are doing. But when you realize that one way to do it is to build up the good bacteria and let them take care of your fight. So go out and buy some good bacteria. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/you-need-food-high-in-fiber-for-constipation-relief.html Food high in fiber is found in fruits, vegetables and grains. It is the complex fiber structure that gives produce and grains their shape and keeps them from falling apart. Fiber is a subclass of carbohydrates. It consists mostly of cellulose, lignin, hemicellulose and pectin. In the stomach fiber bonds are broken apart so nutrients and fiber particles and strands can do their magic in your stomach, small intestine, colon, and anus. Once food high in fiber is completely digested in the small intestine, fiber moves into the colon to complete its cycle in your body. If you have eaten enough fiber during a meal, your stools will have a certain shape, size, color and consistency and chances are you will not have constipation. If you have not been eating food high in fiber, especially for many years, then mostly likely you will be struggling with having regular bowel movements. Eating the right amount of fiber is not only necessary for keeping free of constipation but it is tied to your overall health. In the past, no one knew much about fiber. It was thought that it had no value as it entered and exited the body. But now, we know that if you don't eat food high in fiber you will live a short and painful death. Here are some of diseases that are related to not eating enough fiber. Heart disease Diabetes Appendicitis Breast cancer Colitis Prostate cancer Gastrointestinal disorders Hemorrhoids Hiatus hernia Ulcers High cholesterol High blood pressure All types of colon diseases These are only a few diseases that you could develop. Do you see any of the diseases in this list that people come down with as they age? Did they eat enough fiber today? Will you eat enough fiber in the future? I hope so. How should you eat fiber? A general rule is to eat fruits and vegetables every day. Eat fruits in the morning to assist in purging out fecal matter that has accumulated in your colon and removing urine that your kidney has created by cleansing your blood during the night. By eating fruits for breakfast you help remove toxins out of your colon by promoting a bowel movement. The fiber in fruits helps to clean your colon walls of tacky matter that accumulates there. This tacky matter is created when you don't eat enough fiber and your stools are mushy and sticky. When you eat lunch or dinner, always eat vegetables with these meals. Vegetables are needed when you eat meat which does not have fiber. Vegetables are needed when you eat processed food that has no fiber. Always eat vegetables when eating bread since processed bread has no fiber. When bread is eaten without vegetables, fecal matter, chime, in the colon is hard to move and is sticky. It is this sticky matter that clings to your colon walls, which prevents your colon from being strong, flexible, healthy, and non-toxic. Always chose to eat food high in fiber everyday. This is a necessity. You were built to thrive on fruits and vegetables. Without them you commit yourself to a life of pain and disease. And it all starts in the colon with constipation. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/what-causes-disease.html This is a question that many doctors and medical researcher are searching for in their science laboratories and research centers. Every field thinks that they have discovered the cause of disease. And, indeed cause of a disease has many steps and its important not to explain the cause of disease at an intermediate step. I want to tell you a secret that not many people in the medical industry and alternative medicine community know or don't talk about. And this is about the real cause of disease. And if you ever want to really do something about your health, this is where you have to go to stop disease. What I am about to tell you will only be believed by a few people. For those of you who believe and take action will, you will literally extend your life beyond belief. We are all taught to believe that by taking some drug, herb, vitamin, mineral, or special combination of natural products that this will cure our disease. Yes, I teach that many products can help to relieve specific symptoms and that they help to balance your body systems. And, of course, you need to take vitamins and minerals to supplement your diet to make sure your body has a surplus of the building blocks needed to keep you healthy. Doctors tell you that if you have a disease of any kind they have a drug that you should take if you want to eliminate that disease. Any time you use a drug or natural product to eliminate a symptom or a condition you are not curing your disease. You can see this in the many people who use these products and later die of that same disease or of some other disease caused by the drug. What you are doing is suppressing the cause of the symptom, which will later cause another symptom in another area of your body. The result is you are constantly fighting and trying to eliminate different unhealthy condition in and on your body. The cause of most diseases is changes in the cellular instructions that tell the cell what it needs to do to survive in the conditions that surround it. Cellular instructions are part of the genetic code that you get during your development in the womb and during your childhood. As you begin to develop and grow, you must adapt to the conditions and environment around you. To do this, your cells get new instructions on what you need to do to survive in this environment, whether it is in the womb or during your childhood. If you had a traumatic period in the womb, during birth, or during childhood, these experiences are imprinted into your cell structure distorting and changing your cellular instructions. These new instructions cause cellular malfunction, which lead to the start of a disease. The imprinted experience is a source of energy that constantly maintains the distorted cellular instructions, which causes disease and also distorts your behavior and personality. Because a disease is caused by the traumatic energy imprinted into your cells, you will always have this disease no matter how many drugs or natural remedies you use. Drugs and natural remedies create a force that opposes the un-natural energies created by your cells and has the effect of temporarily reducing the symptoms or disease you are dealing with. So, the only way that you can really cure yourself of disease is by eliminating the distorted, un-natural cellular instructions. This is no easy job and cells will resist because they know that the imprinted traumatic energy was put there as a matter of survival. The Psychotherapy Industry has had tremendous growth because of the promise it holds to you that it can change who you are and at the same time improve your health. It is only through some Psychotherapy that you can change the strength of the energy that is imprinted in your cells. Once the strength of the imprinted traumatic energy is reduce, you can expect to see changes in diseases that you have, provided that they have not damaged your body a point of disrepair. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/acne--a-clean-face--step-1-in-a-12-step-program.html For those that need more than a special cream like Scotty's Face Cream, then you need to work harder to get rid of acne. Since acne is a condition that occurs from within your body and exhibits on the outside of your body, you need to, " Attack acne from inside your body " Attack acne from outside your body If your acne is not to severe, all you might need is a good cream and need only to follow a few steps in my 12 step program to get you past the periods where acne is active. If your acne is more severe, than you may have to follow my 12-step program, since acne is an expression of your whole body system and is a reflection of what is going on inside your mind, cell structure and internal organs. Acne is an excessive toxic condition within your body, which the internal elimination organs are unable to eliminate. So your toxins are moved into your blood and excreted through your skin. It is an automatic survival mechanism your body initiates in an effort to protect the insides of your body - cells, liquid, blood, organs, and tissues. There are 12 areas that you need to look at, " Keep your face clean " Using Scotty's acne face cream or your favorite face cream " Relive your constipation and the tree day liquid fast " Making changes to your diet " Get plenty of sun, air, and water " Vitamins you need to be taking " Minerals you should be taking " Special supplements to take " Herbal mixture to use or drink " Special detoxifying drinks or supplements to take " Brushing your skin " Change your attitude Step 1: Keeping your face clean If you use face cosmetics, you need to stop. Some cosmetics irritate the skin and can cause acne by plugging up your pores on your face. The cosmetics chemicals that can cause you the most skin and pore irritation and inflammation are: mineral oil lanolin parabens propylene glycol Look at the label of the cosmetics you use. You will find that many cosmetics, soaps, and sunscreens contain these chemicals. Find a water base make up, not an oil base. Find one that does not irritate your face and use it sparingly When you wash your face don't use any commercial soaps since they are filled with chemicals that will irritate and worsen your acne condition. And don't excessive wash your face as this will dry your skin of the natural protective oil. Also, don't keep touching your face since you spread or add bacteria to it. To wash your face use only, " Castile hand or liquid soap " Pure glycerin hand soap You can pat your face with a clean hot face towel to bring circulation to your face and to help open and move the toxic material, in the pimple, to the surface. Do not scrub hard to burst a pimple but just scrub lightly to burst a pimple when it is ready to open. Use the hot towel application only 2-3 times per week. When a pimple is open do not continue to rub or scrub it. In fact do not pick or scratch an open pimple since this could create other sores or leave scars that are difficult to remove. Just washing your face with clean soap will keep your face free of toxic matter. Keep in mind, Whatever you put on your skin will move into your skin and into your bloodstream. Most commercial creams, lotions, and soaps are filled with all kinds of chemicals that are toxic to your body. By using them you are making your liver work harder. During the day or at night avoid resting your cheeks or chin on your hand(s) or arm(s). This can irritate your face and cause acne to breakout. When you sleep, try to sleep on your back and not with your face or side of the face into your pillow. There you have it. Step 1, shows you how to keep your face clean to avoid getting acne or to help relieve acne. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/how-to-have-beautiful-face-skin-free-of-acne.html To have beautiful, soft, radiant skin you need to eat plenty of the right fresh fruits, vegetables, fiber, and water. Water and fiber are critical because it helps to move out toxins using the regular channels of elimination rather than using the skin as an exit point. A word of Caution: Sudden face or body eruptions can indicate a potentially serious medical condition. If your blemishes look large and like welts, this could be caused by a serious medical condition and you would need to see your doctor immediately. You can deal with you acne or skin problems by, also applying known nutritional and herbal remedies that give you better health and give your skin the nutrients it needs. The beauty of your skin is a reflection of the health of your organs and upon your psychological condition. The way the inside of your body looks like is reflected on your face, physical appearance and your thoughts. The amount of work you put into clearing your acne will determine how quickly you clear your face. By being consistent in following good health practices, you will be able to get rid of your acne. If your acne is heredity, it is not true that you cannot do anything about it. If you know that other members of the family have had acne and previous generations also, then you are susceptible to acne. Knowing this, you can now arm yourself with some powerful nutritional and hygiene habits that will prevent acne from taking hold. Traditional Medical Acne Treatments I do not recommend using medications for acne, such as, " Benzoyl peroxide - opens pores to kill bacteria " Antibiotics - erythromycin, tetracycline - kill bacteria everywhere it goes in your body and skin. " Retin A - helps to break open plugged pores, prevents new plugged pores, and helps to prevent scarring. " Topical steroid, cortisone derivative, drug These drugs and many others have serious side effects that you will want to avoid. If you are dark skinned and are using Benzoyl Peroxide, you can end up spotting your face as a side effect. Most of these medications take three to ten weeks to provide results. All my recommendations are for natural methods to relieve acne. Different Remedies In future articles, I will be outlining some of the remedies and steps you need to take to clear your acne. These remedies and natural foods that you use will not only help beatify your skin but will also help you to get rid of acne. You may have to experiment to determine what works for you. By providing you with many choices, this gives you the best possible chance of you succeeding in gaining better health for your face. Also, not all remedies provide the same benefits to each person. So this is where your experimental skills come in. You may have to test a few things, but in the process you will be learning about how to take care of your body. This information will stay with you a lifetime. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/how-the-liver-prevents-acne.html The liver is responsible for detoxifying the blood as it comes from the colon, lungs, and lymphatic system. Once detoxified, this blood moves into your entire body to provide your cells with oxygen and digested nutrients. Because you eat, breathe, and create so many toxins, the liver has a hard time neutralizing these toxins. If you are constipated, this puts an extreme toxic load on your liver, which eventually leads to the excretion of these toxins through your skin and face. Excessive toxins coming out through your skin can lead to acne and other skin disorders. All cellular wastes, used up hormones, and excess hormones are routed to the liver through your lymphatic system. Once in the liver, the liver starts the detoxifying process. If the liver is overloaded with toxins, it will start to store these toxins in its own cells, in the cells of your organs, in your joints, in your skin, or any other place where the body is weak. Hormones, such as androgens that are not neutralized by the liver, can get back into the blood and move into the skin cells where they pile up and cause an over production of sebum that will flow into the hair follicle. This over production can cause acne. Eating good fiber daily can keep your colon clean and free of constipation. Fiber can also trap excess hormones and prevent them from being reabsorbed into your blood through your colon walls. If you are a typical eater, then most likely you have been surviving on junk food. The quantity of toxic chemical and non-food additives that are in the food that you eat accumulates in your colon, your liver, your blood, and in your face as a toxin that needs to be neutralized and eliminated. All junk food and processed food is detrimental to your health and to your face. Once you stop punishing yourself and forcing your body to process toxic food products, you will have a chance of clearing your colon, liver, blood and the blemished conditions of your face. One other thing, when the liver is congested and weak, it does not produce enough bile. Bile is needed in your small intestine to help digest fat and to promote good colon health. In your colon, bile helps to activate peristaltic action and thus prevents constipation. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/how-the-kidney-lungs-and-lymphatic-system-keep-you-acne-free.html The kidney The purpose of the two kidneys is to filter the water in your blood as the blood passes through the kidneys. About 4 gallons of water are filtered every day but only around 3 pints are pulled out as urine. Alcohol and sugar are the most damaging to the kidney since they kill kidney cells and weaken the kidney function. Water is the major way the body keeps toxins from accumulating in the body and skin. You need to drink plenty of clean water daily so the kidneys can remove toxins and excess nutrients, vitamins, and minerals from the blood. When you drink plenty of water, the skin does not have to act as a filter to filter out excess waste from the blood since it is been filter and excreted, as urine, by your kidney. Water also is needed to keep your skin moist. Water in the skin layers helps to protect the skin from bacteria and toxins that try to pass into your skin. The more fresh juices you drink and the more fruit or vegetables you eat, the less water you need to drink. All juices contain plenty of distilled water, which contributes to your daily water requirement. Drinking sodas and other drinks that have sugar cannot be counted as water. The Lungs You have two large sacs that are called your lungs. As you breathe in air, the lungs pull oxygen out of the air, which is captured by your blood, routed to your liver, moved into your heart and then moved into all parts of your body. As you breathe out, waste and carbon dioxide are pushed out through your mouth. Your cells use oxygen to create energy for you to live by. You need energy for every movement your body does. Oxygen is also used to neutralize toxins, waste and pathogen. The more toxins, acid waste and pathogens you have in your body, the more oxygen is used up to neutralize them. This means you will have less oxygen for cell, organ and other body functions. If the other elimination channels are weak and overloaded, the lungs will also become overloaded trying to get rid of toxic waste the other channels cannot get rid of. When your lungs become overloaded with toxins or become weak, more waste stays in the body, making your body more toxic, acidic and susceptible to disease and infections. If you have kidney weakness, liver weakness, lung weakness mostly likely you will have skin disorders like eczema, psoriasis, acne, and many other types of skin disorders. Lymphatic System The lymphatic system is part of your immune system. It consists of a series of tubes, large and small, that cover your entire body. Through these tubes flows whitish liquid called lymph. Since this system does not have a pump, the lymph is pushed through the tubes by your body's movement or exercise. Lymph liquid surrounds all of your body cells and is responsible for bringing nutrients to your cells from the blood and to move away toxins that come out of the cells. Toxins and pathogens that are in your lymph liquid are moved into lymph nodes. In the lymph nodes, this toxic matter is neutralized into harmless chemicals and then moved into the blood and are eliminated through the other channels of elimination. The lymph liquid is composed of electrolyte minerals such as sodium, potassium, calcium phosphorus, and chloride. So strong lymph liquid is built when you eat fruits and vegetables. When the lymph nodes become overwhelmed with toxic waste from the cells and the blood, they become inflamed and cannot keep the body free of toxic matter. Excess toxic waste accumulates in the lymph liquid when your body does not have enough electrolyte minerals to neutralize this toxic acid waste. Now, your body is a considered acid and will have a difficult time fighting infections wherever they occur, including your face. When you lymph system becomes weaken, it is unable to detoxify toxins and routes them into the blood where the liver is expected to clean the blood. Keeping you lymph system strong is important for keeping your skin free of blemishes, skin disorders, eczema and acne. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/how-mental-attitude-and-digestion-affect-acne.html Mental attitude Acne is an expression of toxins in the body that are not being released through normal channels of elimination, so they come out through the skin. Since mental attitude and thoughts cannot be separate from the body, thoughts and feelings are also being expressed as acne. Negative thoughts and feelings produce chemicals that are toxic acids. Just like toxic acids created in the colon, the toxic thoughts need to be eliminated through the 5 elimination channels Acne can be an expression suppressed past traumatic experiences. As a child, when you were exposed to experiences that overwhelm you - constant mental, physical, or sexually abuse, you suppress them. As now as an adult, as your defense system weakens, you're not able to completely suppress this information, so it becomes expressed as acne or other skin disorders. Of course, these suppressed experiences can be expressed as other diseases. Acne can also be related to the emotion of fear or anxiety. It can also be an expression of holding onto old junkie or unpleasant memories. It's a way of holding on to and burying the junkie or toxic memory into your face. It is these memories that are trying to surface and, in a usual way, asking you to face them. Many times, you and other people may not want to remember them or deal with them. To deal with them requires a lot of strength and help from a psychotherapist. Stomach Acid Your stomach uses Hydrochloric acid (HCl) to break down protein. It also has many other functions, " Kills pathogens and microbes and prevents them from getting into the colon and blood " Controls the adsorption of B12 " Controls the adsorption of iron calcium zinc, copper, magnesium and most B-complex vitamins " Controls the adsorption of vitamin C " Created indigestion " Prevents constipation When you have low levels of HCl chances are that you will be susceptible to getting acne. HCl can be increased by using a digestive enzyme that contains HCl. Pancreatic Digestive Enzymes When the food you eat passes the stomach and enters the small intestine, the pancreas releases digestive enzymes and bicarbonate to help complete the digestive process. The bicarbonate helps to reduce the acid strength in the food coming from the stomach. The digestive enzymes digest carbohydrates, fats, and protein. When the pancreas loses its efficiency and starts to release less digestive enzymes, less food is properly digested. This results in more undigested food reaching the colon. When this happens, the undigested food, if it stays to long in the colon, becomes a source for rotting matter and toxic material. This toxic material can get into your blood and cause skin disruption such as acne. A healthy pancreas, which provides the necessary digestive juices to digest the food you eat, is needed for healthy skin and for eliminating acne and other skin sores and eruptions. When you have acne or other skin diseases, they are created when there is an in-balance in your body and that includes many different organs and body processes and systems - your thoughts, digestion, liver, kidney, lymphatic system, lungs, and pancreas. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/how-your-constipation-causes-toxicity.html Having regular constipation can lead to some serious illnesses. Fecal matter should move through your colon easily and in a short time. When fecal matter remains in your colon for days, your colon becomes toxic and spreads this toxicity into every part of the body. In the bloodstream, these toxins interfere with the deliver of oxygen to the cells and tissues of your body. If you have to strain and squeeze to have a bowel movement, you can damage the tissues in the lower part of your colon and the blood vessels in your legs. In the Past Over 90 years ago and more, doctors knew about the importance of a clean colon. In 1908 Eli Metchnifoff, director of the Pasteur Institute, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine. His research showed that pathogenic colon bacteria, bad bacteria (I will cover this in a later chapter) produced toxic secretions and by products, which acted as slow poisoning of the entire body. Metchnifoff believed that toxic matter coming from your colon was responsible for every degenerating disease. His belief was so strong that he suggested that man's life span was certainly cut in half when his colon was neglected and allowed to have excessive toxic producing bacteria. In 1931 Dr. Joseph H. Greer, was telling his patients what to do to end constipation and how to prevent it. Today, nutritionists and other health practitioners are telling their clients the same thing. In his small book, The Drugless Road to Perfect Health, 1931, Joseph H. Greer, M.D. reminds his patients, "You must have 'roughage' to make the bowels move freely. Concentrated food (processed foods) and constipation go hand in hand, (and) then pills (laxatives) are used. More constipation and more pills, it is a vicious circle with bad results. Don't be afraid of cracked wheat, cornmeal, cut oats, raw cabbage, onions and celery. They are far better than refined flour and the package foods that flood the market. They may save some labor in the kitchen, but they produce constipation." Today, it is well accepted by nutritionists, Naturopathic doctors, and other alternative medicine practitioners, that constipation is a signal that cannot be ignored and your colon function must be kept efficient and well functioning. To ignore constipation for long periods of time can lead to some serious illnesses. Mostly likely you will not live to be a ripe old age and if you do it will be with some disability. Constipation is a symptom you cannot ignore - even if it occurs only occasionally -because it leads to slow poisoning of your entire body. Many doctors, for a longtime, have refused to believe that constipation can cause other parts of the body to become weaken and become unable to perform their function. You will still find Internet articles, anatomy books, and health books suggesting that for some people bowel movements in 3 days or more can be normal. You do not have to wait for a disease to take hold of your body so doctors can see you are ill. Take responsibility for your health and don't let constipation become a reoccurring condition. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/how-to-use-senna-for-constipation-relief.html It is known that Egyptians used senna tea to relieve constipation. This tea is used for medium conditions of constipation. It is the chemicals anthraquinones that provide its strong action on your colon walls. It is readily available in health food stores or on the Internet. Only use senna for a short time, 1- 1½ week. It is not healthy to use it for a long time, since its action moves fecal matter through your colon quickly. This quick action prevents absorption of nutrients by your colon depriving you of necessary minerals and vitamins. Use senna only in amounts that produce the required bowel movement and stool softness to relieve your constipation. Start with small amounts and increase your amount slowly. Senna is sold Over-the-Counter under the name Correctol®, ExLax®, Senokot®, and Smooth Move. Senokot also contain docusate sodium - a stool softener - an added benefit when hard, dry stools may cause discomfort. Senna Tea with Potato peels You can also prepare senna tea as follows: Buy some senna tea at a health food. Place a tea bag into 1 ½ cups of distilled water and steep. Then, add the peel of a whole red potato. Also, add a couple slices of potato meat. Add to this, a teaspoon of wheat or oat bran and flax seed. Simmer this combination, strain it and drink the liquid. This will give constipation relief for some of the more difficult cases of constipation. Remember the longer you simmer this combination the stronger the tea will be. Start with a 5-10 minutes and then work up to 15-20 minutes but you need to experiment with the time. When you drink senna tea, drink only 2-3 oz. at a time and drink it only after it has cooled down. It has less of a cramping action when you drink it cool. Senna Tea with Peppermint Here is another senna tea you can prepare. 1 teaspoon of senna tea leaves ½ teaspoon of peppermint leaves. Boil 8 oz of distilled water, turn the heat off, stir in the herbs. Turn the heat off and cover the glass container. Let tea simmer for 3-10 minutes. Add honey to improve taste and some powered vitamin C if you have it. Look for formulas that have a small amount, 1/10 of a part, of fennel, anise, or ginger to reduce any cramping that might occur with senna. Do not drink seena tea or capsule if you have any type of colon disease, stomach pain, diarrhea, or are pregnant. Senna Pod Tea with Prunes. Senna Pods are milder than the leaves since the do not contain the resin. It is the resin in the senna leaves that causes griping in your colon. If available, use around 8 pods. Heat some distilled water. Place the pods into the water for 5-10 minutes. Strain the tea and add 3-4 dried prunes or chopped prunes. Let cool and eat the prunes during the day or drink and eat a few prunes just before you go to bed. Drink only a couple ounces of the senna liquid at one time. If cramping or griping occurs, reduce the amount of tea you drink. There you have it. You can get constipation relief with senna herb by using it in different ways. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/how-to-use-cascara-sagrada-as-a-constipation-remedy.html Cascara Sagrada comes from the bark of the buckthorn tree. It stimulates your colon to produce stronger contraction than normal. When it does this, it can work on the most difficult and chronic cases of constipation. It is one of the herbal constipation remedies with a strong laxative effect. It will be found in many herbal combinations that are mixed for constipation. Cascara has Chrysophanic acid, which stimulates your colon wall to produce peristaltic action. Cascara also contains a chemical called emodin, which controls the strong action of Chrysophonic acid thus producing a balanced laxative effect. If you use cascara in a constipation remedy mixture, do not use this mixture for more than thirty days. After 30 days take a rest from it. Do not use Cascara in large amounts and for long periods since it can cause intestinal distress and become habit-forming. When you use it, you will see results in 1-2 days. Cascara Sagrada also stimulates secretions from the liver, gallbladder, pancreas, and stomach. These secretions give Cascara additional laxative effects. Do not use Cascara Sagrada if you have irritable bowel syndrome, hemorrhoids, or ulcers. Use Cascara for a limited time. It can become habit-forming and, if used for an extended time, it can increase the risk of colon cancer. Its use also causes you to lose potassium with each bowel movement. If you have liver problems do not use cascara sagrada full strength. Use it in combination with other herbs. Cascara is known to put a strain on the liver. You can take Cascara Sagrada as a single herb for constipation. As a single herb, it can cause cramping and nausea. However, I recommend you used it with other herbs. In an herbal combination, the combination can detoxify your colon, tonify your colon walls, cleanse the blood and produce other synergistic actions. In Michael Murray, N.D., book called The Pill Book Guide to Natural Medicines, he talks about the drug interaction of cascara sagrada, "Cascara and other stimulant laxatives may decrease absorption of other drugs that pass through the gastrointestinal tract. If you are currently taking an oral medication, talk to your pharmacist or doctor before self-medicating with cascara. Cascara may potentiate the action of digoxin and other heart medications due to potassium depletion. The use of cascara with thiazide diuretics and corticosteroids may further decrease potassium levels." Recommend dose for the cascara sagrada, as a single herb, is 350 - 1000mg just before bedtime. Use 1-4 cascara sagrada powder capsules a night, but do not use these capsules for more than 10 days. Start with 1 capsule a night and increase the amount each day until you get results you want. For a laxative tea, use one teaspoon of cascara bark in 3 cups of boiling water for 20 minutes. Drink 1-2 cups of tea just before bedtime after it has cooled to room temperature. Cascara Sagrada is a strong constipation remedy and will help you clean out your colon even if you have chronic constipation. Use it sparely and for a short time. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/how-constipation-affects-your-colon-and-health.html Seventy percent or more of the population struggles with constipation. Some believe the number is even higher, 80- 90%. The market for laxatives is now approaching 1 billion each year. It appears that constipation is an issue that most of us have to deal with at one time or the other. Using natural means to clear constipation is what this e-book is all about. I believe that to have good health we need to use mostly foods and supplements that are free of additives and food enhancers that are harmful to the body. We need to eat the right foods and watch how we prepare them so we can digest and absorb them without creating or leaving residues that get turned into toxic matter in our colon. The first question that a nutritionist or any other health practitioner should ask you on your first visit is, "how many bowel movements do you have each day or each week?" If you visit a doctor, your colon is the last area they discuss with you. And perhaps, this is an area they may never discuss with you at all. In his article, The Bowel is an Ecosystem, in Healthy & Natural Journal, April 1997, Majid Ali, M.D. recounts, "When I returned to the clinical practice of environmental and nutritional medicine after years of pathology work, I began carefully testing the assertions of nutritionists, naturopaths and clinical ecologist who claimed that various types of colitis [a deterioration of your colon wall] could be reversed with optimal nutritional and ecologic approaches. To my great surprise, I found that such professionals, who are usually spurned by drug doctors, were right after all. My patients responded well to the unscientific therapies vehemently rejected by my colleagues in drug medicine." Without good regular bowel movements and colon function, you will create various illnesses, colon discomforts, and diseases - including constipation. By concentrating on eliminating constipation and preserving colon health, you can take a major step in preventing many body conditions and illnesses that can shorten your life or make your senior years a miserable time. As with so many past health practitioners, I believe your colon is so important that any improvement you can make in your colon's health will help you avert many unnecessary illnesses and suffering. If you make only one effort in improving your health, it should be towards creating a clean and healthy colon. Heart attacks, cancers, senility, pathogenic organisms and so on cause most deaths that occur in the US and throughout the world. There are few deaths related to natural causes or old age. Your colon provides nutrients and water to all parts of the body. So, when a specific organ has degenerated it is important to see what part colon toxins have played in this degeneration. If your colon is toxic, the blood will also be toxic. If your colon is toxic, these toxins will gradually reach all parts of your body through the blood and lymph liquid. The result is the body and various organs affected will become less efficient. Overtime this decreased efficiency will cause the body will become diseased and you will lose your good health. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/how-brewers-yeast-and-msm-clear-constipation.html Brewer's yeast can help to ease, reduce, or clear your constipation. If you can handle the taste, add it to your juices morning and night. Brewer's Yeast contains all B vitamins, except B12. It also contains many vitamins, minerals and is high in amino acids. When you first use brewer's yeast, it will create gas in your colon. Brewer's yeast supplements your good bacteria in your colon, increasing its count. This increase in good bacteria activates a battle between the good and bad bacteria creating gas as a by-product. Keep using brewer's yeast until the gas stops. This many take a few weeks but you are doing one of the best things you can do for your health - increasing good bacteria and reducing bad bacteria. You can improve the benefit of using brewer's yeast by eating cultured yogurt or supplement good bacteria capsules between meals. You want to do this between meals so when you take your supplement your stomach does not put out to much HCl acid, which would kill the good bacteria. If you have gout or are taking monoamine oxidase inhibitors do not take brewers yeast. MSM MSM stands for methyl sulfonyl methane. MSM is organic sulfur. It provides many benefits in the body and is widely used as an anti-inflammatory and is especially useful for arthritis pain. MSM is used in all body cells and tissue including joint tissue. MSM is especially good for relieving constipation. MSM in your colon stops or blocks the activity of cholinesterase (ko-li-nes-ter-ace.) What is cholinesterase? Our nervous system is composed of a network of nerve cells, which start at the brain and end on all parts of our body. It is nerves that direct muscle contraction or expansion for your bowel movements. After the muscle completes its movement, an enzyme cholinesterase is released, which stops the muscle from moving again. Without the nerve signal blocking cholinesterase, the muscle would continue to move nonstop. MSM is useful in clearing up constipation. It allows more colon contractions to occur thus helping you clear your constipation. When I have used MSM, up to 6000-8000mg each day, I have experienced up to 3-4 bowel movements each day. As MSM blocks the activity of cholinesterase, it allows more peristaltic action to occur in your colon. Using 2000-4000 mg of MSM, can keep your bowel movements to 2-3 times each day. Of course, for each person the amount will be different. The action that MSM has in your colon is useful for older people who have less nerve signals for peristalsis. Cholinesterase stops the few peristalsis signals older people have, thus creating constipation. In S.W. Jacob, M.D., R.M. Lawrence M.D.,Ph.D, and M. Zucker book, The Miracle of MSM, 1999, they say, "As a dietary supplement, MSM offers great potential for anyone with constipation. MSM produces a general "tonic" effect in the bowels and normalizes bowel function, particularly for older individuals. We have given MSM to nursing homes, where constipation is a common problem. The nurses have said that MSM works well for patients, even for individuals not responding to Metamucil or stool softeners." Here's where you can buy MSM torpedo's. http://www.richdistributing.com/ Rich distributing has good quality products. I have always received good service and quick shipping. I recommend you buy the MSM torpedo tablet. It is a 1000 mg flat oval tablet. This allows you to take 4000-5000 mg of MSM by only taking 4-5 tablets. They are easy to swallow. MSM has not been evaluated for effects during pregnancy so it is best not to use it during this time. Get constipation relief by using both brewers yeast and MSM. MSM is easy to use. Brewers yeast takes a while to get use to. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/using-herbs-to-relieve-hemorrhoids--aloe-vera-bilberry-butchers-broom.html To relieve hemorrhoids first look for ways to get your bowels moving easier and more frequently so they produce softer stools. I have suggestion ways, in other articles, to do this by changing your diet. Any straining and puffing you do to push hard or even soft stools out during a bowel movement will aggravate your hemorrhoids and can lead to bleeding and pain. When completing a bowel movement, make sure you are using the softest tissue available so that when you clean yourself you don't scrape or aggravate your hemorrhoids. You can also use pre-moisten tissue. Just make sure that the tissue you use is not colored or scented because these chemical additives can aggravate your hemorrhoids. You may have to take a shower a couple times a day to keep your rectum area clean. Here are three natural remedies that you can use to aid in eliminating your hemorrhoids. Aloe Vera Aloe Vera gel is an astringent that helps to heal open wounds. It is useful in hemorrhoids by applying the gel directly onto your anus. The best type of gel for this is directly from the aloe plant. If you don't have one, then 100% organic whole leaf aloe gel is second best. You can get this organic aloe at a health food or nutrition store. If you have a fresh plant, wash a leaf thoroughly with distilled water. Peel it on one side, bend it with the peeled side outward, and slip it into your anus. This will provide you with pain relief and reduce your hemorrhoid bleeding. Just trim down the leaf so it slides into your anus easily. Aloe Vera juice, that you drink, is also good for hemorrhoids. It helps to soften your stools and to activate peristaltic action. If you like aloe juice, then drink around 1/2 a cup of Aloe Vera juice three times a day. You can add 1/4 or 1/3 part aloe juice to a cup of apple juice to make the taste easier to handle. To make this aloe-apple juice more effective, add 10 drops of barberry extract. Barberry is an astringent for blood vessel congestion along the colon and rectum. It will improve blood circulation; it stimulates the immune system to resist disease, and will tone body tissues. It also is capable of stopping bleeding hemorrhoids. Bilberry Bilberry's active ingredients are flavanoids. Bilberry contains chemical called "anthocyanosides." This fruit like herb has been used in Europe for a long time. In clinical studies, it has shown to be effective in treating weak capillaries by strengthening their walls. Buy the 25% standardized formula and take 100 mg three times a day of bilberry. Bilberry will give you hemorrhoid relief. Butcher's Broom Butcher's broom, an evergreen bush, has a history of being used for varicose veins and hemorrhoids. As an extract, it contains "ruscogenins", which can narrow blood vessels and decrease their inflammation and swelling. It strengthens and tones veins and capillary walls. Take 100 mg of butcher's broom three times a day. Use the type that has 9-11% ruscogenins. Now you can use either of the three herbal remedies for hemorrhoid relief. If one is not working to good, try the other. Once you have gotten the hemorrhoid relief that you want stop using the herbal remedy. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/using-asian-herbal-combinations-for-hemorrhoid-symptoms.html Asian Herbs I have found Chinese herb formulations quite effective in treating hemorrhoid symptoms. It is now easy to find these herbs, since there are Chinese herb store in most cities. If not, it is easy to go to the Internet and find what you need. These herbs usually come in pill form; but you can also get storeowners to mix you a formulation of dried herbs by simply telling them what ailment you are trying to treat. Most herbal stores usually have an acupuncturist that can diagnose your problem and prescribe a precise herbal combination. These Chinese hemorrhoid herbs contain chemicals that are anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, increase blood circulation, and lift Chi. Chi is the life force that powers all body and mind functions. When checking these Chinese formulations just make sure the manufacturers note that they are low in heavy metals. FARGELIN FARGELIN - HUA ZHI LING WAN (hemorrhoid pills) contains the following herbs: San-Qi Ginseng Root, Baikal Skullcap Root, Sophora Flower, Callicarpa Leaf, Amber, Burnet-Bloodwort Root, Pig Gallbladder, Corydalis Root and Stem. Fargelin promotes anal health and should not be used if you are pregnant. HUAI JIAO WAN Another herbal combination is HUAI JIAO WAN. It helps shrinks, reduces pain, and stops hemorrhoid bleeding. It contains the following herbs: Sophora japonica fruit, Sanguisorba officinalis root, Scutellaria baicalensis root, Citrus aurantium fruit-ripe, Ledebouriella divaricata root, Angelica sinensis root. JING WAN HUNG A third Chinese herbal hemorrhoid remedy is JING WAN HUNG or Ching Wan Huang (ointment.) It relieves hemorrhoid pain, burning, and itching. It contains the following herbs: Lobelia 27.5%, Myrrh 17.5%, Tang-kuei 12%, Borneol 12%, Sanguisorba 8.5%, Chaenomeles 8.5%, Frankincense 8.5%, Carthamus 8.5%, Pistacia. You can buy any one of these combination at: www.seaofchi.com Use these herbal combinations for only a week. If you don't see any improvement, stop using them and see your medical practitioner. Because there are many manufacturers of this herbal combination there will be variations in the ingredients and quality. Buy only from those companies that guarantee the quality of their product. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/use-essential-oils-and-herbs-in-a-sitz-bath-for-hemorrhoid-relief.html Sitz bath using juniper and lavender oils If you have swollen hemorrhoids, a sitz bath can help you reduce them and speed your recover. Fill a tub with warm or hot water. Use the temperature that will not irritate your hemorrhoids. Fill it so water reaches your hips or stomach, 6-8 inches. Then add 22 drops of juniper and 22 of lavender essential oils into the bath. Stir in the oils with your hand and then sit in the bath with your knee raised for 10-15 minutes three times a day. This position helps to bring more blood into your hemorrhoid area, which brings in more nutrients and to pulls out toxic waste. After 15 minutes, take a shower with water as cold as you can take. After this sitz bath and shower, you can use one of the herbal paste or ointments directly on your hemorrhoids and leave it on over night. Sitz Bath Using Shepherd's Purse The herb Shepherd's Purse can be used in sitz bath. This herb is useful in treating hemorrhoids by reducing, " Internal and external bleeding " Reducing blood pressure " Relieving hemorrhoids " Repairing wounds " Reducing prolapsed rectum Here's how to use it, Place 1 oz of shepherd's purse in two quarts of distilled water and let it sit for 12 hours. In the morning or evening, boil this mixture for 2-3 minutes and then strain it. Pour the liquid into a sitz tub or into a full bathtub. Stay in the tub for around 20 minutes and do this 2-3 times a day. After the sitz bath take a cold shower to stimulate blood circulation in the hemorrhoid area. Witch Hazel and a Basin Prepare a small tub, container or basin that you can sit in and add some warm distilled water. Add 1/4 cup of witch hazel liquid to the water. Sit in the small tub as long as you can and do it as often as you can. This will relieve your hemorrhoids in 3 to 4 days. 0r, you can freeze witch hazel into small ice cube, then wrap them with cheesecloth and press them against your hemorrhoids for 10-15 minutes every hour. This will reduce the pain and swelling of your hemorrhoids. Use the sitz bath only for the time you need to eliminate or get relief from your hemorrhoids. Remember that using herbs longer than necessary can cause the condition you're trying to eliminate. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/use-digestive-enzymes-to-reduce-hemorrhoid-inflammation.html Using digestive enzymes when you have hemorrhoids is a good idea. Digestive enzymes help reduce inflammation, reduce fibrin, and clean the blood of foreign particles. These enzymes activities strengthen your immune system and give it more power to work on your hemorrhoids. Bromelain Bromelain is a digestive enzyme that is found in pineapple. It's capable of reducing inflammation and swelling and for this reason has been used to treat hemorrhoids. Bromelain also activates a chemical that promotes the breakdown of fibrin. Fibrin is a chemical that repairs open wounds, internal wounds and weak tissue by creating fibrin deposits. If you are over 35, fibrin is not balanced with your body's enzymes. This results in excess fibrin deposits at inflamed locations, eventually causing more sickness and disease. Disease. To balance and control excess fibrin activity, you need to take digestive or systemic enzymes. Systemic enzymes are enzymes that work throughout the body to attack blood impurities and dissolve fibrin. As a supplement take 500-750 mg a day. You can also add fresh pineapple to your diet since it is high in fiber and other nutrients. Digestive and Systemic Enzymes Digestive enzymes are used to help you digest your food and improve your assimilation. Systemic enzymes are found deep into our body. They are in your tissues, organs, and cells where they help in all types of chemical reactions that your body is involved in. Both types of these enzymes are available in capsules so you can easily supplement your diet. Digestive enzymes help to reduce the stress you get in the rectum when your food is not properly digested. Undigested food reaching the colon eventually leads to constipation. Take a good digestive enzyme that you can get at health food store. Take 2 capsules with each meal. Systemic enzymes help reduce swelling, inflammation, improve circulation, and speed the healing of tissue. One important fact about systemic enzymes is they eliminate fibrin, which is at center of most inflammatory conditions and illness. Take systemic enzymes between meals. This allows them reach the small intestine and get absorbed into the blood stream where they can do their work. Some systemic enzymes are enteric enzymes, which means they are coated so they will not dissolve in the stomach. This allows them to move into the small intestine where they will be absorbed into your blood stream. The brand Vitalzyme contains serrapeptase, a systemic enzyme that is mix with other nutrients and enzymes. Just put Vitalzyme or serrapeptase into the goggle engine. This will bring in a flood of sites for you to choose a good systemic enzyme. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/three-steps-to-get-rid-of-hemorrhoids.html Constipation, Hemorrhoids or Piles, and inactivity go hand in hand. If you have been constipated for quite a while, chances are you have hemorrhoids. If you are inactive because you just like sitting around or are confined to a bed or chair, then you will have constipation and hemorrhoids. So if you want to get rid of hemorrhoids, you need to take 3 steps. These three steps can be done at the same time, especially if you have hemorrhoids that are itchy, painful, and are in need of attention. First you need to do something about your hemorrhoids. There are many different natural remedies for reducing, relieving, and eliminating hemorrhoids. Since everyone is different in his or her chemical make-up and nutritional requirements, one remedy will not work for everyone. Each of you has to find out what remedy works best for you. Use the remedy that feels right for you, the remedy where you have the ingredients, or that one based on the severity of your hemorrhoids. Here's one remedy you can try - Collinsonia Root Powder Collinsonia is a vegetable, known as "Stone Root" because of it hardness. It comes in powder and liquid. Stone Root is found in Canada and in Florida. It has been found quite helpful in aiding hemorrhoids. Linda Clark in her book called, Linda Clark's Handbook of natural remedies for common ailments, 1976, says this about collinsonia root. "I have heard people rave enthusiastically about the results of this remedy, which works quickly." Its benefits come from: " Supporting blood vessel contractions and flow " Reducing irritation " Reducing inflammation of veins " Providing a tonic effect on weaken veins, capillaries, and tissue " Improving digestion " Helping to keep mucus membranes healthy Secondly, you need to do something about becoming regular and to eliminate mild or chronic constipation. To start with do these simple changes in your diet. Eat fruits as a snack between meals - oranges, apples, bananas, prunes, grapefruits, mangos, watermelon, grapes, cherries. Stop eating bread, flour products, milk, sodas, back off on eating a lot of protein. Eat a few serving of vegetables during the day - green lettuce, celery, carrots, and so on Drink at least 2-3 glasses of water every day or drink more water than you normally do. The third thing you need to do is add some exercise to your daily routine. It can be any thing as long it is something you like and you do it regularly - walking, swimming, or rebounding. Don't over exercise; all you need is 10 - 20 minutes per day. There you have it, the threes step to getting rid of hemorrhoids - a hemorrhoid natural remedy, a slight change in your diet, and 10 minutes of daily exercise that you like. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/how-to-use-herbal-salves-and-ointments-to-shrink-your-hemorrhoids.html Comfrey Herbal Salve Here is an herbal combination that contains herbs that promote the healing of skin wounds and blood vessel, is antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, soothing, and anti itching. Here is what is in it: " Comfrey root " St. John's Worth flower and bud " Calendula flower " Plantain leaf " Chickweed herb " Mullein leaf Here's how to use it: Clean the area where you want to apply the salve. Apply the salve to the anus or slightly into the rectum by rubbing to soften the salve. This application can be done at night so you get a good dose of this salve as it passes through the skin. Use for 6 days, and then rest one day. Use for 6 week, then rest one-week. When using any kind of salve and herbal extracts, keep them in the refrigerator. This keeps them fresh and gives your hemorrhoids a "cool relief" feeling. Veri-Gone salve Veri-Gone is a salve that was made for varicose veins and has been used for general cases of hemorrhoids. " Witch Hazel " Echinacea Extract " Calendula Extract " Chamomile essential oil " Alcohol " Distilled water Here's a link where you can find this salve. This site has variety of salve formulations. http://oldetimersherbals.com/salves.htm Ghee - Turmeric Salve Here's a Ghee mixture that is listed in, New Choices in Natural Healing, 1995, by prevention magazine health books. Combine 1 teaspoon of ghee with 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder. Apply some of this mixture onto your hemorrhoids just before you go to bed. Here's how to use it: " Apply it for 3 nights in a row " Stop for two nights " Resume for three nights " Continue this cycle until your hemorrhoids are gone Wear old clothes when you use this combination since the turmeric will stain your clothes. The discoloration on your skin will clear after two-three weeks or sooner. Zinc Oxide Ointment Zinc Oxide is readily available in a drugstore or throughout the Internet. It is useful in reducing hemorrhoids symptoms, since it is astringent, antiseptic, and antibacterial. Zinc oxide will keep the area dry from moisture and will help to reduce itching and chafing. Use it as often as you like and, of course, when you go to bed. Pilewort Ointment Pilewort is an herb that has a history of being used for hemorrhoids. It is a fast acting hemorrhoid remedy. It is an astringent, tones the blood vessels, and stops bleeding. You can use it as frequent as you like. Just apply to the anal area. Do not take pilewort internally. Calendula Ointment Calendula flower has been extensive used in China to heal hemorrhoids. It has a soothing effect and reduces inflammation. Its other characteristics are, Antibacterial Analgesic Antiseptic Astringent hemostatic (stops bleeding) Styptic (contracts blood vessels) Calendula ointment helps to form new tissue and for that reason is used for cuts, burns and other skin disorders. Apply the ointment directly on your hemorrhoids. Use it daily and as often as you like. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/hemorrhoids-and-enlarged-rectal-veins.html Hemorrhoids, in the rectum, occur when the veins are not returning enough blood back to the heart. When this happens, the vein walls do not receive enough oxygen and release a substance into the blood that causes them swell and become inflamed. This swelling weakens them and their more likely to break when they are rubbed, like during a bowel movement. If your stools are hard, you have a higher chance of breaking a swelling vein. For this reason getting your stools softer is one step in clearing your hemorrhoids. You can do this by eating a diet and using remedies that help relieve constipation. Hemorrhoids, which are enlarged or swelling, can exist, On the inside just above the muscle that closes the anus and into to the rectum. They are near the surface of the rectum mucus membrane. On the outside, they occur on the skin that surround the anus and protrude or hang outward. In a way, hemorrhoids can be considered varicose veins of the rectum. Just like varicose veins in the legs, the rectum veins become enlarged and come to the skin surface and bulge out. Hemorrhoids occur when you are constipated for long periods, sit for long hours, lift heavy items, or are pregnant. If you're constipated, you're probably having a difficult time having a bowel movement. And when you do, your stools are usually small, hard, and dry. If you have to push and strain or sit on the toilet for 10-15 minutes, then expect to have hemorrhoids at some point. Two to three minutes is all you normally need to have a natural bowel movement. Over 85% of the population has hemorrhoids. Hemorrhoids are a sign that fecal matter is not passing through your colon like it should. Simple hemorrhoids are not dangerous to your health, but hemorrhoids that have been building for a while will cause you some discomfort, such as, Mucus discharge Bleeding showing up in your stools or dripping into the toilet water Itching on the outside of the rectum Pain in the rectum area and during a bowel movement Pain in the rectum area, when you sit Soft bulging area in the rectum or anus that give you a sensation that something is there See your doctor if your hemorrhoids are painful, have excess bleeding, or stools have change in color from medium brown to dark brown or black. Just be aware of any growth in the rectum, bleeding during a bowel movement, and a change in your stools color. Then take action to take care of these changes. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/hemorrhoids--what-do-i-need-to-do.html There are many unpleasant symptoms and diseases associated with constipation. Hemorrhoids is one such symptom and many doctor or practitioners say,"It's not a serious condition." As a natural nutritional consultant, I say, "Hemorrhoids is a condition you need to treat or better yet eliminate." You need to listen to all symptoms you have to decide if you need to take some action to correct the cause. Some times just acknowledging a simple symptom is enough for symptom and the cause to disappear. Hemorrhoids, whether simple or severe, are telling you there is something wrong somewhere and "I hope you take care of it before it get worse" Taking care of hemorrhoids or the hemorrhoid symptoms is the first thing you should take care of. Then, you want to concentrate your effort on the cause of these hemorrhoids. In this way you can help to eliminate your hemorrhoids and prevent them from coming back. The first signs of hemorrhoids are when you need to take action. Don't wait until your hemorrhoids get large, give you pain, start bleeding, or protrude The first question you should ask about hemorrhoids is what caused them. What causes hemorrhoids? It is always the cause of an illness that you try to eliminate. Doctors don't always have the time to determine what the cause is so they will treat the symptom to get rid of it. The result is that your illness will come back or the symptom will come back or appear as a different symptom. Hemorrhoids are cause by excess pressure in the rectal veins and the veins in the surrounding area. There are many causes of hemorrhoids of which constipation is a major cause. By first using some natural hemorrhoid remedies that I will discuss in future articles, you can eliminate or diminish your hemorrhoids. Then by using some natural remedies for constipation, you can prevent hemorrhoids from coming back. Using natural remedies for treating your hemorrhoids is the best way to deal with this condition. In their book, Natural Prescriptions, 1994, Robert M. Giller, M.D. and Kathy Matthews, gives you their opinion of drugstore medications, "If you are suffering from hemorrhoids right now, you want immediate relief. What about all those over-the-counter remedies? Just last year the FDA clamped down on the manufacturers of these products, and some of them are being removed from the market because they've never been proven to be effective. Other must limit their claims. Those that claim to shrink tissues must carry a warning because people with diabetes or heart disease, for example, shouldn't use them. In the final analysis, while you may get some temporary relief from these products, you could do as well by applying zinc oxide, petroleum jelly, or witch hazel, which are just as effective and far cheaper." http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/get-hemorrhoid-relief-from-herbal-remedies.html Here are four different herbs that can give you hemorrhoid relief and help to get rid of your hemorrhoids. Using these herbs is a convenient and cost effective way to treat your hemorrhoid symptoms. Use these herbs just long enough to give you hemorrhoid relief. Once you see that your symptoms have disappeared, stop using these herbs. Using herbs longer than necessary will make you less sensitive to the power of these herbs, if you have to use them again. Comfrey root powder Comfrey powder comes from an herbal root that has plenty of allantoin. This herb is a powerful acting herb that is anti-inflammatory and stimulates the formation of new skin. It can also cause hemorrhoids that are outside on the anus to shrink and pull back. This makes comfrey powder an effective hemorrhoid remedy. Here's how to use it. Buy the powder and not the liquid. Make a paste by mixing it with olive, fish, or flaxseed oil. Apply the paste directly onto your anus and surrounding area. You can apply it at night and your morning shower will remove it. Fresh comfrey leaves or roots are the best to use. However, you can get precut and dried comfrey root and leaves from a health food or herb store. If you use the dried leaves, you can put them into a coffee grinder to create a powder. Use this powder to create a paste with oils. Gotu Kola Gotu Kola is an Indian herb that is a hemorrhoid remedy. Use an extract that has 70% triterpenic acid since this is the active ingredient. Take 30 mg of Gotu Kola 3 time a day. Gotu kola extract reduces pain, swelling, fatigue, and sensation of heaviness from hemorrhoids. Horse Chestnut Horse chestnut comes from the bark of a tree and has been found to be useful in treating hemorrhoids. It contains the chemicals "aesculin" and "aescin", which strengthen your blood vessels and which help to reduce hemorrhoids. It also helps to reduce inflamed areas. Here's how to use it. You can make a tea and apply it directly to your hemorrhoids. However, do not drink the tea since it contains tannin, which tightens mucus and tissue and would cause constipation. Use it in powder form and mix it with oil to produce a paste and apply it to your anus area. Plantain Herb Plantain also has plenty of allantoin just like comfrey root powder. Here's how to use it. Use it just like comfrey powder by mixing it with oil and applying it directly to your anus. You can also combine equal parts of the plantain and comfrey powder. If you only have plantain leaves, put them in a coffee grinder to create a powder. Now you can make a mixture with oil and both of these herbs. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/drugstore-hemorrhoid-medications.html There are many drugstore and alternative Internet products for treating hemorrhoids. Most of the products are not made to cure or eliminate hemorrhoids but to give you temporary relief of itching, pain, swelling or bleeding. I don't recommend using any type of product that is not natural or that comes from a drugstore. If the product contains petrochemicals, additives, coloring, dyes, or other chemicals, which enhance its appearance and feel, I would not use them. Most, if not all, of these chemicals will be absorbed into your body where your organs of elimination will have to deal with eliminating them. All products whether drugs, drugstore medications, or natural formulations use chemicals, substances, oils, and herbs that have the following properties: " Anesthetics - suppresses pain and gives relief…any name with the suffix "caine" like tetracaine " Analgesics - suppresses and give pain relief - some of them are Anacin, Tylenol with Codeine, OxyContin, Darvocet, Ultracet " Vasoconstrictors - helps to narrow or constrict hemorrhoidal veins…any name with the suffix "rine" like phenylephrine " Lubricants - provide lubrication in the colon to relieve constipation - mineral oil, flax seed oil, castor, oil olive oil " Astringents - help to tighten tissue, which have been pushed out by hemorrhoid action - zinc oxide, witch hazel, calamine " Keratolytics - help to remove excess hemorrhoidal tissue. They are compounds of sulfur and salicylic acid Many of the drugstore medications have anesthetics. They can aggravate and irritate the hemorrhoids you're trying to eliminate. If you are using one of these drugstore medications, consider using a more natural remedy. In 1975 Carl I. Flath, wrote a book called The Miracle Nutrient - How Dietary Fiber Can Save Your Life. In his book he talks about the effectiveness of drugstore suppositories, "Suppositories quickly work their way up in the rectum beyond the location of most internal hemorrhoids, and so are of limited value in reducing local pain. As antiseptics they are essentially worthless, since the surface areas they are supposed to protect are under constant exposure to new bacteria…. Anesthetic agents do offer temporary relief from local irritations and pain… Neither the suppositories nor the ointments, however, do anything whatever to correct the basic cause of hemorrhoids-constipation." http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/green-drink-for-constipation.html A green drink is a powerful drink that can help detoxify your colon and your blood. This drink keeps your colon and your whole body working better and longer. There are many types of green drinks that are prepared with powders. But the green drink that I like is made using only liquid chlorophyll. Chlorophyll has many benefits. It is capable of neutralizing substances that cause cell mutations and strengthens the cell walls of the small intestine and colon. It has an exceptional deodorizing effect on your body and on the stools you have during a bowel movement. I drink my green drink the first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. This helps to activate your colon and stimulate it to have a bowel movement. Here's how I prepare my green drink. * Add 1-2 oz of pure liquid chlorophyll into an empty glass (you may want to start with a tablespoon or two) * Squeeze the juice of one lemon into the glass * Fill the glass with 8 oz of distilled water * Drink the combination completely I add lemon juice to the chlorophyll because chlorophyll has a dull and blank taste that is uncomfortable for me. With lemon, it's a drink that I enjoy taking every morning If you have other health issues you want to work on, you can add other nutrients or liquids to this green drink. You can add a few drops of a product called Oxygen Elements Plus, which also is good for constipation and helps to detoxify your colon even more. You can add Alkalife, an alkaline water booster, which adds minerals to your drink. From the clients that I have worked with, I have found that this chlorophyll drink helps them get better blood test results. Their blood is a little thinner. They carry more oxygen into the cells. Their blood cell count goes up. Use this drink and you will keep drinking every morning just like I do, especially if you like lemon juice. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/flax-seeds-seeds-and-nuts-for-constipation-relief.html Here are a variety of home remedies for constipation using flax seeds with other seeds and nuts. They provide the fiber and oils that you need to relieve constipation. Drinking plenty of water with these home remedies will make them more effective. Mix equal parts of flax seeds, almonds, sunflower seeds and sesame seeds. It is o.k. to mix only three of these seeds, if that is all you have. Grind them in a coffee grinder to a power. You can eat the power or add it to a nondairy smoothie, a juice, or morning cereal. You can also sprinkle it on your evening salad. Use up to 3 tablespoons twice a day. This mixture will provide you with extra fiber and a batch of minerals. Drink plenty of water when using ground up seeds. Flax seeds are astringent and have laxative action. They are good for mild or moderate symptoms of constipation. Using an excess of flax seed can contribute to the back up in your colon. Flax seeds also have small traces of prussic acid, which is toxic in large amounts. But it would take a lot of flax seeds to reach the toxic level. Place between 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of flax seed in 8 oz of warm water and let it sit for one hour. Then just before going to bed, drink the 8 oz. After drinking this glass of flax seed drink another 4-8oz of water. Flax Seed and Apple Cider Vinegar Boil 1 ½ cup of distilled water. Add 1 tablespoon of flax seed and continue boiling the water for 10 minutes - tea will become jelly like. After this cools down add 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar. Drink cup of this combination in the morning and until you get good daily bowel movement. Flax seed contains the essential oil omega 3. If you lack this oil in your diet you will be prone to disease. Apple cider vinegar (ACV) is another extremely important food you should include in your daily eating. ACV is high in various minerals and in particular potassium Flax seeds and oat bran To get your bowels moving again, prepare the following mixture. Mix 1 tablespoon of flax seed and 1 tablespoon of oat bran into a glass of distilled water. Let it sit overnight. First thing in the morning, take 2 tablespoons. Wait half an hour before eating anything. Do this every morning until your bowels start moving Flax Seed Oil Our body does not make omega 3 oil and we need to get it in our diet. For constipation, mix one tablespoon of flax seed oil with goat or cow yogurt. Add a little honey if you like. Take this mixture right about ½ hours before bedtime. Do not heat flax seed oil and keep it refrigerated. Heating it may cause some cancer causing compounds. There you have it, a variety of home remedies for constipation. Use these home remedies every day and you will see the difference in your regularity. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/eat-fiber-and-avoid-constipation.html To have regular bowel movements and escape constipation you need to eat more fiber. Fiber from raw vegetable and fruits is better for you than fiber from grains. Why? Raw vegetables and fruits are live foods with enzymes, minerals, vitamins, and many antioxidants that are charged electrically. They have a magnetic energy that is absorbed by your DNA. So get more fiber from this source and less from grains. Don't forget about water. If you don't get enough water during the day, your body will take the water out of your fecal matter in the colon and make your stools hard. Drink a minimum of 3 glasses a day of pure water and work up to drinking 5-6. Here's where you need to do some "fiber work." You need to increase your fiber intake to around 40 - 60 mg or more. Yes this is a lot. In the past, I recommended 35mg of fiber, but this is an average. You want to have more than the average amount. Here are some foods with high fiber. Add them to your eating habits so that you will not be constipated. Fiber does much more in your colon than make you regular it, · combines with toxins and moves them out in your stools · combines with heavy metal and moves them out in your stools · combines with cholesterol and bile and prevents them from being reabsorbed into your blood stream. · helps to prevent colon cancer and other colon diseases. · keeps your colon walls strong and healthy by not allowing toxins to accumulate there. · cleans the colon walls and pulls toxins out of colon pockets and holes. The following foods provide 3 gm of fiber. Add a variety of these foods to your daily diet to get more fiber into your eating habits. Start eating these foods little by little to get use to eating high fiber levels. · 1/3 cup prunes · 2 slices of whole wheat bread · 1/2 cup cooked winter squash · 1/2 cup fresh cooked green peas · 1/2 cup cooked kidney beans, or pinto beans, or cowpeas · 1 cup of cooked barley, 1 1/2 cup of brown rice, 1 cup of millet · 3 corn tortillas · 1 1/2 cup spaghetti, 1/3 cup of spinach spaghetti · 1/6 cup 100% bran, 1/2 cup cream of wheat · 1 cup applesauce, 1 cup of apple slices, 1/2 cup of bananas, 1/2 cup figs · 1 cup fruit salad, 1 cup of prune juice, 1 ounce of raisins · 1/2 avocado · 1 cup blueberries, 3/4 cup of cranberries · 1/3 cup guava, 1 kiwifruit, 1/2 of a mango, 2 nectarines, 1/3 papaya · 1 orange, 1 cup peach slices, 1 cup pears slices, 1/2 persimmon · 1 1/2 cup pineapple, 1 cup strawberries · 1/2 cup raisins, 3/4 cup coconut · 1/2 cup rhubarb, 1/3 cup of artichoke hearts · 1.2 ounces of almonds, 1/2 ounce sesame seeds, 1/3 cup of sunflower seeds · 1/4 cup of baby lima beans, 1/7 cup of black beans, 1 cup green beans · 1/4 cup of kidney, pinto, white or navy beans, 1/3 cup of lentils · 1/2 cup broccoli, 1/2 cup Brussels sprouts, 1 cup cabbage · 2 carrots, 1/2 cup of carrot juice · 1 cup cauliflower, 5 stalks of celery · 1 cup of chard, 1 cup of mustard greens · 1 ear of corn · 1/2 cup of mixed vegetables · 1/2 cup of olives · 1/2 baked potato, 1 baked sweet potato, 1 cup yams · 1 cup tomato juice, 1 cup vegetable juice How do you know when you are starting to get plenty of fiber in your diet? When you are getting plenty of fiber in your diet, your stools weigh less and float in your toilet water. So if your stools sink in water then you need more fiber. This is just a general rule. If you eat excess fiber your stools may sink, but I doubt any of you fall in this category. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/diseases-of-the-colon-caused-by-constipation.html It was estimated that of all the people who died of cancer - colon, lung, prostate, and breast - in 1999 sixteen percent were attributed to colon cancer. But, how many of these other cancers originated in your colon? We do know that colon cancer is the second leading cause of deaths in the United States. We don't know what cancers originated in your colon because the medical profession treats symptoms not the causes. Many doctors do not go looking for the cause of your problem. They don't have the time. In fact, they normally will not tell you what you need to do to prevent your illness. Sometimes the reason they will not tell you is they just do not know. It is the nutritionist's job to tell you what foods and supplements you need to prevent and to overcome specific illnesses and what to eat to eliminate or stop constipation. Why is it that some many people are dying of various diseases at such an early age - at forty, at fifty, at sixty, even 30, or younger? They die of heart diseases, blood diseases, cancers, autoimmune diseases and the list goes on. It has been know for a longtime why diseases occur and what you can do to prevent it. These death producing illnesses are a result of our life style - the foods we eat, the water we drink, the air pollution we breathe, the thoughts we think, the toxins we are exposed to at work, and the cleaning products we use at home. What is it that causes us to behave in a way that is harmful to others or ourselves in ways that affect our health, our relationships, and our life? Why do people smoke when they know it causes Cancer? Why do people drink coffee when they know caffeine affects their adrenal gland, which eventually leads to exhaustion? Why is it that people eat sugar when they know it has untold health effects beyond diabetes? The answer is simple but difficult to accept. All illness originates from repressed traumatic memories resulting from early life trauma. Dr Arthur Janov explains this clearly in his book, 1996, Why You Get Sick How You Get Well. "Over the last thirty years I have learned a great deal about humans and what drives them. As trite as it may seem, what I have found is a single yet complex emotion called love. Not the romantic love of novels, but a fundamental love - the love of a parent for a child. When a child lacks love and nurturing, no matter how that lack is manifest, it creates pain, and if this pain is not "felt" or integrated into the system, it will in turn cause physical and emotional illness in later life." It takes disciple to change behavior, thought, and life style, which are good for health. This is what is necessary to reduce or eliminate illness. This is what is necessary to bring on a feeling of well-being way into your old age - at 80, at 90, at 100, and well beyond that. With the new anti-aging nutrients and supplements on the market, I can see people living well into 120 years provided they follow a good lifestyle. How many people are willing to devote the time and money to start eating the right foods and change their lifestyle? This is the first step in reducing or eliminating constipation. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/constipation-remedy-using-citrus-juice.html Citrus Juices Citrus juices are a constipation remedy that is an excellent way to stimulate your colon and other parts of the body. Since your colon is less active at night, drinking juices as soon as you awaken and get up can stimulate strong peristaltic action and promote a bowel movement. Lemons Lemons are filled with minerals, especially potassium, Vitamin C, and bioflavonoid. They have a cleansing action for the entire body. Fresh lemon juice is the king of fruit juices. It contains citric acid, which acts in the body in a way no other juice does. First it acts on the liver to build up its enzymes so it can detoxify toxins in the blood. Then it combines with calcium to form soluble chemical substances. This makes it effective in removing kidney and pancreatic stones, pluck build up along artery walls, and other calcium deposits that occur in the body. When the liver, gallbladder, and pancreas are not working right, food digestion is affected. This in turn will create constipation. Use lemons moderately since they break up oils during digestion and in our body they make oils less available to our cells and joints. If you have lemon allergies or ulcers then you should avoid lemon juice. If you have arthritis lemons are not a good choice. Here's what to do: Squeeze one lemon into a glass of warm distilled water. Drink it first thing when you wake up. Don't drink anything else for at least 1/2 hour You can use a citrus press to juice the lemon or just squeeze it to get the juice out. Grapefruit Juice Another constipation remedy you can use is drinking a glass of fresh squeezed grapefruit first thing in the morning. Again wait at least 1/2 hour before you eat anything. If you are taking any anticonvulsant drugs, birth control pills, estrogen, protease inhibitors and even other types of drugs avoid drinking grapefruit juice. It slows the breakdown of certain drugs allowing them to increase in the blood to dangerous levels. Grapefruit and Orange Juice One drink I like in the morning is a combination of grapefruit and orange juice. Just prepare a half and half drink of these citrus fruits and drink it first thing in the morning. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Health/constipation-remedy-using-apples-and-other-juices.html Here are two constipation remedies that you can use for a mild case of constipation and for a chronic case of constipation. Apple and Pear Juice If you have a mild case of constipation, you can use this remedy to get results. Prepare equal amounts of fresh apple and pear juice. Drink this combination when you first wake up and one hour before bedtime. Juice the pears that are slightly hard. If the pear is ripe, it is best to blend it whole with apple juice to create a thick drink. Using the whole pear will give you additional fiber. Just remove the seeds but do not peel the organic type. Pears have minerals, vitamins, and chemicals that help to clean out your colon, kidney and to regenerate your blood cells. Apple Juice and Prune Juice Here's a constipation remedy that you can use if you have chronic constipation. In addition to just drinking apple juice, you can accelerate your peristaltic action with prune juice. Here's how to do it. If you have a juicer you can make fresh apple juice and drink 3-4 glasses a day. You can also drink store-bought apple juice but try to get fresh squeezed and not the type that has been flash pasteurized or pasteurized. If you can find fresh apple juice then use flash pasteurized. Buy your juice in glass containers if possible. Plastic containers are processed using solvents that stay in the container walls and gradually outgas into the apple juice. This out gassing is more severe when plastic containers are stored in hot places. To speed up the laxative effects of apple juice, take the following combination first thing in the morning before you have breakfast, Drink 2-3 cups of prune juice. After ½ hour, drink one cup of apple juice Then, 1-hour later drinks another cup of apple juice. I usually buy my prune juice in a bottle and fresh squeeze my apple juice. Be prepared to head for the bathroom after you drink your prune juice and your first glass of apple juice. You may need to head to the bathroom soon after you drink prune juice, everyone is different. I have used this combination