Fast Horses, Bruising and Arnica

Thirty some years ago I went for a horseback ride with my sister.  It had been years since I had ridden a “trotting” horse.  This was not the average Quarter Horse.  Jay was a tall former racetrack horse that she bought as a barrel horse.  I remember asking if he was fast.  She gave me a look, kicked her horse and was off.  I gave Jay his head, came from behind, passed her like she was standing still and wondered if I could get him stopped before going into a sharp blind turn 200 yards away.  At this eye watering speed, I doubted he could make the bank without his feet coming out from under him on the hard packed dirt road.  This was going to be ugly.  Five hundred yards or so later one fool was able to stop another. 

After about two hours of riding I became uncomfortable.  My posterior bruising blossomed into a fully orchestrated crescendo of “personal” discomfort.  I decided to walk and lead the horse only to find that walking was just as bad.  It hurt to sit or walk and we were miles from the barn.  And now you know why I value the smooth gait of the Tennessee Walking Horse.  Looking back, I also wish I had known about Arnica (and perhaps not to call on a former race horse).

Arnica montana is a common remedy for bruising, stiffness and muscle soreness.  It is a yellow-orange flowering herb that grows at high altitude and is said to “possess an affinity to the effects of falls.”  It is primarily used in creams, ointments, and tinctures and in homeopathy. 

Homeopathically, it can be used for trauma and its effects, recent or remote, which include emotional shock, for those that have the feeling of being “beat up”(as I felt) or bruised.  It is also known as a remedy for stroke.  

It is one of the premier herb and homeopathics that is embraced by skeptics of such remedies.  Plastic surgeons are even known to recommend it to reduce the trauma of surgery.  Arnica is found in Natural Creations Surg HP which is for pre and post-surgical support.  It is also found in Peaceful Mountain topical Rescue products.

 

Natural Confusion

So, just what is natural medicine?  We hear these words along with herbs, vitamins, minerals, essential oils, and homeopathy.  The word natural implies a medicine found in nature.  This would include medicines made from plant, mineral, animal, and could possibly include microorganisms such as a bacteria.  It would also imply that the basic chemistry of the medicine is not altered to something chemically different such as a patented pharmaceutical drug.  Pharmaceuticals and other chemicals that are created by man are known as xenobiotics.  These are substances that are foreign to nature and the human body.  

An herbalist primarily uses herbs in the form of teas, capsules, and tinctures.  Homeopaths primarily use homeopathics that are made from plant, mineral, and animal in diluted form.  A Naturopath may use approaches that include diet, exercise, herbs, minerals, vitamins, essential oils, and homeopathics.  Other recommendations may include water therapies, sauna, massage, and colonics. 

Some drug therapies were touted as being natural.  Premarinâ for hormone replacement was made from PREgnant MARes urINe.  I guess horse urine hormones are natural but not for us humans.  Wild yam as an herb is suppose to be effective for birth control but who ever said this was lucky or did not try it.  Poison ivy is natural but I don’t want any, however, homeopathic poison ivy Rhus toxicodendron is an excellent treatment for poison ivy.

Traditional herbal medicine is the use of plants made into teas or poultices for application to the skin.  Herbal teas also provide a nutrient effect supplying vitamins and minerals.  Plants with deep roots may provide more minerals than a shallow rooted plant.  Spices are herbs used in cooking for a more nutritious and tasteful meal.

Vitamins provided by our foods are natural.  Vitamin products may be considered natural if they contain only substances found in nature; however, they are obviously not the same as fresh produce from the garden.  This does not mean these products are not helpful, as many of us need supplements.  Getting your protein from powdered supplements is not the same as wild meat or fish, but may be helpful for those requiring increased protein.  It is a good idea to add a good source of fats such as flax oil to those protein shakes.

Common minerals such as our highly process table salt is detrimental.  Natural salt includes sea salt or Himalayan salt, which is a true salt, found in nature.  Himalayan salt is reported to provide 84 elemental minerals and is a better choice.

Natural medicine can use other wellness tools such as water therapy, sauna, massage, chiropractic manipulations, and exercise.  It may surprise you that I am not an advocate for intense workouts that leave the body sore.  This type of exercise creates toxins the body must process.  Consider moderate exercise that includes good basic outdoor physical labor.  That said, if exercise or particular supplements works for you then keep it up!  We are individuals.

So in a world that advertises “natural” consider the source.


Stay well!

Natural Born Instinct

Warning:  This blog contains graphic descriptions of the birth process in dogs.  If you are faint of heart, perhaps you should wait for the next post.

Have you ever watched a bitch have her first litter of puppies?  She will stop eating a few days before the event.  If not confined, she may go off to create a nest for the newborns.  It seems almost effortless, one slides out, she takes the pup in her mouth, tears off the sack and licks the puppy to life.  This happens again and again.  She eats the placenta and may eat any puppies born dead.  We assume this cannibalistic instinct is to keep the nest clean so as to not attract any unwanted predators.  She nestles them in a semicircle for warmth and protection.  The puppies’ eyes are closed but they are able to find a nipple for nourishment.  The mother keeps her babies’ bowels moving and clean by licking them.  She is protective and is distressed if one is removed.  The nature of instinct, an innate ability, and knowing things that were previously unknown!  Amazing!

So is instinct purely DNA?  How about the concept of cellular or body memory?  This is where life experiences have some impact on the individual and a “memory” is stored somewhere other than the brain.  Many breeders of sporting dogs believe that a dog that has been hunted will produce offspring with better hunting instincts.  Breeding emphasis is usually placed on the sire.  And yet it is the mother that contributes more to the offspring.  One reason is that while DNA is known to be in the nucleus of the cell, there is actually DNA in the cytoplasm of the egg.  But it is obvious that the overall health of the mother will reflect in the offspring.  Most human health care focuses on prenatal and postnatal care.  Preconception care is the overlooked part of a healthy pregnancy, birth, and offspring.

There were 9 pups found after work, one dead being held in the mouth of the mother. Another one died later in the evening.  The next day, I received a call from home that she had another pup that was dead.  She ate the dead pup.  The veterinarian came for an exam and administered a shot of oxytocin to stimulate uterine contractions.  This was almost 18 hours after what was thought to be the last-born.  Two more puppies were immediately born. One pronounced dead by the vet and was placed in a bag.  The other was a runt about one-fourth the size of the others.  A few minutes later, the bag is moving; that puppy is not dead. So now there are nine- four males, 5 females.  The 13^th was found in the yard the next day and was about 2 inches long.

The runt was not doing well.  There was too much competition from the littermates.  Mom was holding the pup in her mouth in the same way she held the other dead.  This one may have to be bottle-fed, so off to the store for some goats milk which was a wasted trip as the pup was too weak.  Her little head dropped off the side of my wife’s hand.  The pup needed energy.  Homeopathy?

Which remedy…perhaps phosphorous…fire!  There was no homeopathic phosphorous but there was a tube of Magnesia phosphorica 30C.  One little pellet in the side of her mouth was almost too large for this pup.  Within a few minutes there was a little more movement.  This runt was offered one of mom’s nipples that she latched onto with new vigor.  Mom kept trying to remove the pup but was denied her instinct.  Runt was allowed to nurse every couple of hours and was soon able to refuse her brothers and sisters from taking her teat.

Meanwhile, the puppy that came back from the dead is alive and well.  The biblical female raised from the dead was Tabitha interpreted as Dorcas.  Perhaps we should call her Dorcas as Tabitha for a dog just does not work.  Either one of these pups might just be a keeper.  Amazing life!

Bio-identical Hormones

There is a lot of interest in hormones.  It started in 1942 when Premarin was marketed by Wyeth Labs.  “Forever Feminine” a 1966 best selling book by Dr. Robert Wilson supported a fear that menopause begins a rapid decline in beauty, sexuality, and health.  And, all women have to do to maintain their youth is take estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) found in Premarin®.  Unfortunately, this horse estrogen product increased endometrial cell growth and caused endometrial cancer and hysterectomies. 

A woman’s normal cycle of 28 days can be divided as before and after ovulation which usually occurs at day 14.  The first day is when the period starts and is mostly estrogen dominant.  After ovulation, progesterone rises.  If the egg is fertilized, progesterone stays elevated; and if not, progesterone levels start to drop about day 26 triggering the period.

So the solution to the cancer problem was to add Provera® (a progestin) that is non-human progesterone.  This prevented future endometrial cancers. 

Hormone replacement has been the most studied drug therapy and yet still has a lot of controversy and confusion surrounding it.  Most of the confusion has to do with viewing the patented non-human progestin drug products and progesterone (the hormone the body makes) as being the same.  The best example of the difference…progesterone maintains normal pregnancy, and non-human progestins are known to cause abortion of the fetus.

Hormones are chemical messengers and each different hormone has a different message.  Chemically, testosterone and estrogen are very close and yet they could be described as being the difference in male and female.  So, if we actually have these hormones, why would we use anything else?  For years, we used insulin from beef and pork sources.  Science was able to make human insulin, which is what we have now.

Suzanne Somers has popularized the concept of “bio-identical” hormone replacement.  These are the same hormones that the body makes.  They are “human” hormones!  So if we are to replace hormones, it just makes sense to use human hormones.

Are they natural?  The only place you can find human hormones in nature is in humans!  These hormones are produced from soy or yam and “synthesized” or chemically manipulated to the exact chemical structure of the hormones your body synthesizes.  So synthesize is not a bad word.  Your body synthesized your hormones from the “bad” LDL cholesterol.  So it does not matter what the hormone is made from…it matters what it is!

Stay Well!