CAUTIONARY NOTE ON HERBS
Most herbs can be used safely over long periods in small amounts. However, care should be taken when using herbs that have a. cumulative effect.
Golden seal should not be taken over long periods of time because of its effect on the intestinal bacteria which can affect the absorption of Vitamin B. Lily of the valley and ephedra should not be used with persons who are suffering from a history of very high blood pressue. Comfrey and foxglove are cumulative and poisonous in large amounts.
When collecting wild herbs, know the herb that you are gathering. It is not difficult to incorrectly identify wild herbs. A good rule is that if you are not sure, do not use it.
Do not use essential oils in large doses as they are concentrated and may cause irritation in contact with the eyes or mucous membranes.
FORMS OF HERBAL PREPARATIONS
Infusions: Decoctions:
Percolation:
Made with the use of spirits where the herb cannot be heated or when the drug only gives up its principles to spirit. Are the most concentrated form of the drug. They are made by concentrating the chemicals in liquid by evaporation, high pressure. 28gm of drug = 28gm of liquid Are made by pouring boiling water over the herb and letting it stand for half an hour and then straining the liquid off. A decoction of the drug requires heat. Cold water is poured over the herb and then the mixture is boiled for twenty minutes, cooled and strained.
A very effective way of obtaining the fluid, soluble part of a drug. This is obtained by allowing the fluid to drip through the drug time and time again in a percolator, until nearly all the soluble matter is extracted from the drug.
*125\26\8*
LIVER HEALTH
Certain herbs, such as dandelion and milk thistle, act as cholagogues, helping maintain a healthy liver. It also must be remembered that if the liver is not functioning properly then toxins will manifest themselves elsewhere in the body. Quite often skin disorders such as dermatitis and acne, can be directly related to a poorly functioning liver.
Most blood-cleaning herbs per se, act on the organs that eliminate toxins from the body and help them in their job. Dandelion has been said to have the ability to dissolve gallstones and combines well with blueberry for use in the treatment of cholecystitis (inflammation of the gallbladder), jaundice and gallstones. Three cups of dandelion coffee daily will help maintain a healthy liver. Another herb used for liver disease is boldo.
Zinc helps the liver release the storage of vitamin A. The B group of vitamins is also important for a healthy liver. Again, correct nutrition so that you eat a balanced diet, control weight and abstain from alcohol and toxic drugs such as paracetamol, which can affect the liver.
SUPPLEMENTS
Milk thistle 1 ml of 1:1 fluid extract 3 times daily
dandelion tea Bio Zinc 3 cups daily 1 tablet daily
Sustained Release
Multi B Vitamin
Formula 1 tablet daily
sodium sulphate 200 mg 1 tablet three times daily
A herbal complex containing blueberry, boldo and dandelion will help maintain proper liver function.
*100\26\8*
FLUID RETENTION
Many people, especially women, suffer with the problem of fluid retention. For women, just before menstruation, fluid is retained, breasts can be painful, and ankles and fingers can become swollen.
If you suffer with this problem of fluid retention then look at diet. Consuming too much sodium chloride, or salt, can lead to fluid retention.
Drink more water. Many people think that if you drink water you will retain more and more fluid. This is not the case. Drink 6 to 8 glasses a day. Many foods included in our diets are natural diuretics. Celery is one, cucumber is another, even apples are slightly diuretic, so include plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet.
Take herbs which have diuretic properties. They include celery seed, juniper berries, dandelion leaf and parsley piert. Juniper can irritate the kidneys and should not be taken if suffering from any kidney infection. Juniper is also contra-indicated in pregnancy. Dandelion is not irritating to the kidneys.
The vitamin B6 and the mineral sodium phosphate are nutrients that have diuretic properties and can help remove excess fluid. Vitamin B6 is of particular value in the treatment of pre-menstrual fluid retention.
SUPPLEMENTS
celery and juniper formula 2 tablets 3 times daily or as
herbal diuretic formula 1 tablet 3 times daily
(based on 1500 mg
dandelion)
vitamin B6 25 mg daily
water 6 glasses daily
Low sodium diet
*74\26\8*
CANCER: MEDICAL RESEARCH
Medical research has also found that the natural antioxidant nutrient beta-carotene, found in yellow and green vegetables may also help prevent cancer and reverse changes in cells that precede the development of cancer.
Dr Peter Greenwald, Director of the National Cancer Institute. Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, stated that people should be urged to eat foods rich in nutrients believed to have cancer preventing properties. These are vitamins A,C,E, B12, folic acid, beta-carotene, selenium and fibre. Evidence has shown that taking antioxidant supplements may help prevent such cancers as lung, breast, cervical, bladder, colon, oesophageal, stomach and skin.
Antioxidants are needed in our diets to help control free radicals, and these free radicals if uncontrolled, may be the cause of many cancers. To provide maximum protection against the free-radical disease in cancer a continuous supply of the antioxidant nutrients must come from our diet. Some antioxidant nutrients such as selenium are lacking in Australian soils and a lack of this and other antioxidants may decrease our bodies’ natural protection process against cancer.
*47\26\8*
ANTIOXIDANTS
Antioxidants can prevent free radicals damaging your cells. These free radicals are a by-product of the metabolism of oxygen. The same radicals cause an apple to go brown when cut and exposed to the air, or butter to become rancid. Commonsense tells us that if our cells are damaged it will show in the form of premature ageing and reduced resistance to infection. Antioxidants, such as vitamins A, C and E, in correct dosages provide the tools to remove the impurities. This allows the cell membrane to be properly protected, hence ensuring that the cell lives its full, normal life.
The main antioxidants are beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, certain amino acids such as DL-methionine, zinc and B6. Certain trace elements such as selenium, which is found in garlic, is also a very important antioxidant. Much scientific research has now been carried out into the use of antioxidants such as A, C and E to show whether or not they can prevent premature ageing or slow down the ageing process in animals. The results of these tests have been promising and in animal experiments, the length of life has been increased.
These studies also showed that ageing spots or amyloidoisis can be decreased with the use of antioxidants. Professor Linus Pauling, the twice Nobel Prize recipient and Professor of Chemistry at Stanford University in the USA, has suggested that we all should be taking antioxidants to help combat the pollutants, poisons and toxins that exist in our atmosphere, our water and our foods. He believes that if we do take antioxidants, it is possible to add twenty-five years to our life.
Further evidence is given when Dr Mark Florence, Senior Research Scientist for the CSIRO, states, ‘I have studied the effect of anti-oxidants for 10 years and there are good biochemical reasons why they should work.’ He also stated, ‘I would confidently advise people to take them.’
I am sure that, with the agreement of eminent people such as Dr Florence, Dr Linus Pauling and many other researchers, antioxidants do work. It is possible to increase our quality of life and build the immune system to a level where we can help combat many of the normal viral cold, flu and other ailments that plague our everyday lives.
I confidently recommend a formula containing beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamins Bl, B5, B6, methionine and zinc. There is ample evidence to show that these, in combination, are the best form for an antioxidant preparation. The addition of garlic would be an extremely good idea because of its trace elements, anti blood-clotting and cholesterol-lowering properties. The ancient Chinese herb, ginseng has the ability to improve or increase physical and mental capacity and improve resistance to viral infection.
What we are looking for is a formula which lengthens lives and improves the quality of life.
*23\26\8*
MAKING LOVE: WOMAN-ON-TOP POSITIONS 2
Woman-on-top positions where the woman is sitting up, have several advantages. The woman has full view of her man, and by taking all her weight on herself, she can more actively caress him while adjusting his penile movements to her liking. The man is free to fondle his partner’s freely moving breasts, which are held tantalizingly close to him, and he can see his penis entering her vagina; both sights are very exciting to him.
He uses his hand to caress her bottom and to control the tempo and force of her movements
With all her weight on her knees she can move freely and control the depth and position of her partner’s penis
She can lean back on to his thighs to take some of her weight from his pelvis
1 The woman starts from lying straight on top of her man. She then lifts herself up, and gradually brings her legs forward and bends her knees. Initially, to avoid applying painful pressure on her partner, she will put most of her weight on her arms and knees.
3 Or, she can lean backwards, taking her legs behind and pressing them close to or pushing them away from her partner’s body as she chooses. She even can bring her legs forward, stretching them towards her partner’s shoulders. In this way, she is free to make swaying or rotating movements.
Man
These positions can be very exciting. The man has a full view of both his and his partner’s genitals, and good access to her breasts, and he is free to stimulate her and vice versa.
Woman
In these positions a woman’s breasts and genitals are free to be caressed, and she can most easily control the position and depth of penetration of her partner’s penis.
*120\79\2*
SEXUAL AIDS: CREAMS AND LUBRICANTS
The vagina produces a natural lubricating fluid within a few seconds of effective sexual stimulation. This normally makes penetration by the penis easier and pleasurable. However, if a man does not persist with foreplay long enough, the vagina won’t be given the chance to produce lubrication. Some women, too, do not produce enough lubricant and most, at different times in their lives, for instance after childbirth and the menopause, will produce less secretions than usual. At these times, an artificial lubricant may be used, and creams and jellies that are
water-soluble are widely sold. (Take care when using petroleum jelly such as Vaseline, which may irritate the vagina.)
Creams and lubricants come in handy, too, when anal stimulation or intercourse is contemplated, and when manually stimulating your partner. Many men use them during masturbation to ease friction and enhance their pleasure. During massage, too, scented oils or creams can add to the pleasure.
Many women feel pressured not just by society or their partners but also by their own feelings about the presence or absence of lubrication as a sign of arousal. It is comforting to remember that erection of the clitoris and lubrication of the vagina, even erection of the penis, are merely reflexes that do not always accurately reflect our emotional or aroused state. Women can be intensely aroused without being well lubricated, and similarly men can be intensely aroused without an erection. It is an untenable sexist view of things to think that a well-lubricated vagina is solely an opening for an erect penis.
*94\79\2*
DISCOVERING A WOMAN’S EROGENOUS ZONES: THE MOST RESPONSIVE SITES
For most women the breasts are highly erotic and play a vital part in sexual excitement. Sucking, nibbling, licking, stroking and gentle squeezing will cause the nipples to become erect, a certain sign of arousal. However, women do differ greatly here in their reactions to stimulation so it’s important to find out what exactly she likes and doesn’t like.
The most highly erogenous area of a woman’s body includes the perineum, an area of skin between the vagina and the anus. If you put your whole hand on this area, with the outer lips of the vagina closed, and press hard or massage, a woman can be aroused extremely quickly because of the dense network of nerve endings.
Both the inner and outer lips of the perineal area are extremely rich in nerve endings also, and are a highly erogenous zone. The inner lips, however, are much more sensitive than the outer ones, especially if stroked along their inner surfaces along the cleft of the vulva. If you press both lips together and firmly massage with your fingers all the sensitive parts of the vulva, high levels of excitement should result. The clitoris is the most sexually sensitive part of a woman’s body, and the easiest part to stimulate if a man can only learn to do it gently and skilfully, without haste. Stimulation of the clitoris with the tip of the erect penis is particularly pleasurable to many women.
As with the mouth, the entrance to the vagina is rich in nerve endings and reacts intensely to all sorts of caresses (the ultimate being from the glans penis), but it can be ecstatic for some women to be caressed there by a man’s lips and his tongue.
The buttocks are another erogenous zone and they are easily stimulated by patting, rubbing or gentle slaps.
*70\79\2*
AROUSAL: WHAT MEN LIKE
Bare flesh This is rated very highly by men. Exposed bodies and expressions of a “come hither” variety are extremely arousing to most males.
Make-up Bright red lips are a sexual turn-on, as are other things connected with physical appearance, such as hair style and colour.
Sexually explicit material Men find “girlie” magazines, soft-porn videos and pin-up photos very arousing: they use them to feed their fantasies and to enhance masturbation. The majority of men, however, would not be particularly aroused by their own partner appearing in a girlie magazine; it is the fact that such a woman belongs to somebody else that is part of her attraction.
Sexy clothing Black, lacy underwear and scanty nightclothes are particularly pleasing to most men, hence models posing in suspender belts and stockings.
In terms of the stimuli that excite them, men and women differ markedly. Men, generally, are stimulated by what they see. Women, on the other hand, are very different; as a general rule, they respond very little and very slowly to visual stimuli. Women are more interested in men in the context of their personalities.
*44\79\2*
A MAN’S RESPONSE TO SEX: BODILY CHANGES OCCUR
As well as causing the penis to become erect, the increased blood supply leads also to reddening and mottling of the skin in about a quarter of all men. This “sex flush” starts in the lower abdomen and spreads over the skin of the chest, neck and face. It may appear on the shoulders, forearms and thighs and, when fully developed, may even look like measles. Its appearance is always evidence of high levels of sexual excitement. After ejaculation, the sex flush disappears very rapidly.
A man’s breast, like a woman’s breast, is very responsive to sexual stimulation. Though the pattern is inconsistent, nipple swelling and erection, which may develop without direct contact and can last for an hour after ejaculation, occurs frequently. Many women are not aware that a man’s nipples, and even his chest, can become erogenous zones if they are given enough stimulation.
A man’s heart rate increases with sexual excitement, and his respiratory rate and blood pressure also rise. His scrotum thickens and his testes will be drawn closer to his body. Many men sweat involuntarily immediately after ejaculation, but this is not proportional to the amount of physical exertion during intercourse. Sweating is usually confined to the soles of the feet and the palms of the hands but may appear on the trunk, head, face and neck.
*19\79\2*