The Health Diva

The Diva understands many of her customers are very concerned about Swine Flu, this little piggy just won’t go away! So we hope this month’s issue can help put you at ease.

Supporting your Immune System the Natural Way.

What is Swine Flu?

Flu is an illness caused by an infection of the influenza virus. The flu virus constantly changes and there are many different strains of flu. A new strain of Influenza A (H1N1) virus, also known as swine flu, was confirmed in the UK in April and has spread to more than 100 countries around the world.

Although symptoms have generally proved mild, a small number of patients will develop more serious illness.  Many of these people have other underlying health conditions, such as heart or lung disease, that put them at increased risk. Where complications do occur, they tend to be caused by the virus affecting the lungs. Infections such as pneumonia can develop.

Flu Symptoms

Flu symptoms can include: fever, cough, headache, weakness and fatigue, aching muscles and joints, sore throat, and a runny nose. Most people who have contracted swine flu recover within a week and do not suffer complications, even without being given antiviral medication.

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Just a few months ago, nine-year-old Jenny Grant was using steroid inhalers to control her asthma. Diagnosed asthmatic when she was a toddler, Jenny had used inhalers regularly day and night.

“I just don’t like giving her these chemicals,” explains mum, Sarah. “But she was really very poorly.”

Sarah is delighted with Jenny’s new asthma remedy, a simple extract of pine bark from France called Pycnogenol, as recommended by her local health food shop, after Sarah had read a review of scientific research in the newspaper.

Published in the Journal of Asthma in early 2005, the researchers found that two thirds of asthmatic children managed to come off inhalers after three-month’s supplementation with Pycnogenol. The dosage used in the study was 1mg for every 1lb of body weight.

Jenny has been taking one capsule of Viridian’s Pycnogenol with Grape Seed Extract daily and has noticed immediate results.

The Diva now has a selection of Pycnogenol remedies in her store.

The BBC News (7/7) reports that, according to a study published in the July issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, “a simple supplement” containing the amino acid N-acetylcysteine “could help treat people with” trichotillomania, “an impulse disorder that manifests in hair-tearing.” People who suffer from trichotillomania have “uncontrollable urges to pluck the hair of the scalp and even eyebrows and lashes, often to the point of baldness.”

For the study, researchers from the University of Minnesota School of Medicine asked a “group of 50 people with trichotillomania…to take part in a 12-week trial of the pill containing the amino acid N-acetylcysteine. Half of the participants “were given the treatment, and the other half a dummy pill.” At study end, the team found that “patients taking the active medication had significantly greater reductions in hair-pulling symptoms than those taking placebo”. Reuters (7/7, Stern) explains that study participants received a starting dose of 1,200 milligrams of N-acetylcysteine daily, which was doubled after a period of six weeks if no improvement took place. At the end of the study, 56 percent of the participants were considered to have had improvement in their condition, compared to the 16 percent of participants taking placebo. Forty-four percent of the participants did not respond to N-acetylcysteine. (more…)

Wendy’s Story

Currently, there are about 1.5 million women in the UK taking some form of HRT to ease symptoms. Not all women can take HRT though. Just such a woman is Wendy, a 44 year old office worker from Cardiff.

Two years ago Wendy began experiencing menopausal symptoms including exhaustion, hot flushes, burning skin and joint aches and pains. She was denied HRT because her mother suffered breast cancer after being on HRT for some years,

In desperation Wendy began trying herbal alternatives to HRT. Wendy discovered a liquid herbal formula developed by Cardiff herbalist Stuart FitzSimmons MNIMHM. The formula is called HerbRT and contains a blend of herbs that provide a full spectrum of phyto-oestrogens.

After just two months taking HerbRT Wendy said:

“After this short time on HerbRT the flushes are reduced, my skin has stopped burning and I’m no longer red in the face! In fact, everything has returned to normal”.

Rather than the ‘hormonal blast’ provided by HRT, the phyto-oestrogens in HerbRT give gentle, natural support, helping the body overcome and adapt to the hormonal changes that occur at the menopause.

HerbRT is avaliable in 100ml (month supply) bottles and costs £24.99.

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