Holistic Nutrition Bytes--San Francisco Nutrition Consultation » parasites

Herb of the Week: Oregano Leaf

admin — Tue, 26 May 2009 16:21:20 +0000

Plants are medicine! From herbs and spices and roots come powerful plant compounds and constituents that have the power to heal and balance when used correctly. In my practice, I use herbs to relieve stress, balance hormones, improve digestion, and fight parasites and bacterial overgrowth.

Oregano is one of my very favorite therapeutic herbs. It is anti-inflammatory and has high antioxidant power. The ancient Greeks used it as a compress for sore muscles and the Chinese used it for its ability to calm digestive maladies. I use it primarily as an oil of oregano tincture (the oil has been extracted from the plant and is stronger) which contains the extracted oregano in a carrier oil such as olive or almond oil. You can use a dropper to place about 4-5 drops in water (it can be irritating to use directly on the tongue), or you can take the oil in capsule form. Its key healing compound is carvacrol, so always choose oil of oregano extracts that have at least 70 percent standardized carvacrol.

Now to the good stuff: look at all its benefits! Oil of Oregano has anti-fungal, anti-parasitic, and anti-bacteria properties. It can be used for the following:
* Kills bacteria, parasites, and organisms that contribute to digestive problems
* Strengthens the immune system
* Can be used topically for skin infections (athletes foot or nail fungus, for example)
* Improves respiratory health
* Relieves gas and bloating
* Relieves diarrhea
* Can be used when traveling to prevent food poisoning

Many practitioners use oil of oregano to strengthen immune health during cold/flu season and to help with respiratory problems such as cough or bronchitis or even allergies. I use is as part of my anti-candida and anti-parasite protocols. With its anti-microbial powers, oregano oil is a natural for knocking out yeast or parasite infections. For a candida protocol, use it with caprylic acid or as part of an herbal compound with berberine and pau d’arco. For parasites, use it with artemesia, black walnut hulls, and/or cloves. You can find tinctures or herbals supplements for both on the market. I recommend taking an herbal compound product and using it alongside the oregano oil for about 8 weeks. Take both 3 times daily, and use about 4-6 drops of the oregano oil per use. Follow up with probiotics to restore gut health and correct dysbiosis.

My favorite use is for acute gas and bloating. It works almost immediately. If you’ve eaten something that’s causing gas or uncomfortable bloating, use 4 or 5 drops in liquid for near-instant relief. Repeat as necessary. It’s quite remarkable. If you are experiencing digestive symptoms regularly, you may have bacterial overgrowth, dysbiosis, or parasites, so it’s a good idea to undergo digestive testing to assess. I offer a simple take-home digestive assessment in my practice.

Oregano oil can also be used topically for skin infections. Place a few drops directly on affected area 3 times daily. It may also help toothaches or insect bites, and while I don’t have experience using it for that, it wouldn’t hurt to try! Oregano oil is side-effect free (aside from a slight burning that may occur if taken undiluted – it’s very strong), so don’t be shy to give it a go before reaching for over the counter drugs or meds.

Inflammation

admin — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 03:40:48 +0000

We hear a lot about inflammation. Internally, it can be linked to accelerated aging, heart disease, cancer, irritable bowel and chron’s disease, and arthritis. So what is inflammation?

Think about what happens when you cut your finger. It swells and turns red as your body sends white blood cells to the injury site to prevent foreign invaders from causing infection. The swelling caused by this reaction is inflammation, and it is good, in this instance. But this same low-grade inflammation can occur inside your body, making you susceptible to pain and disease.

A main cause of inflammation is low-grade intestinal infection caused by parasites, yeast overgrowth (candida), fungus, or pathogenic bacteria. Your immune system is constantly fighting these infections, and similar to the reaction you get when you cut your finger, the attack it mounts on these foreign invaders causes inflammation in the gastro-intestinal tract. The bacteria H pylori is a perfect example: this insidious bacteria always causes inflammation in the gut and can lead to heart burn (inflammation in the esophagus) and ulcers. Systemic inflammation is always implicated in cardiovascular disease, and h pylori has been linked to heart disease.

Eating foods to which you are allergic (most often gluten or dairy) can exacerbate this intestinal inflammation and worsen infections or even cause them, because inflammation damages the gut lining, making it more permeable so that viruses and bacteria and parasites have an easier way in.

Another cause of inflammation is stress, of course. Stress causes high cortisol, and high cortisol leads to inflammation. Correcting cortisol lessens the body’s inflammatory response, so its ability to handle inflammation improves. Cortisol is your body’s natural anti-inflammatory hormone, but when stress raises cortisol, it actually causes inflammation. Chronic stress and digestive problems lead to inflammation, causing high cortisol, which causes an inability to burn body fat, and weight gain leads to more inflammation. A vicious cycle!

Other sources of inflammation include toxicity from your food, water, or environment. Pollution, chemicals from cosmetics, use of alcohol or drugs (legal and otherwise), and the Standard American Diet of caffeine, sugar (a HUGE contributor to inflammation), and refined foods all contribute to inflammation.

So, how do you know if you have it? Symptoms include the following:
-high blood pressure
-high cholesterol
-weight gain
-heartburn (acid reflux)
-inflamed skin conditions like eczema or acne
-chronic pain and arthritis
-diagnosis with Irritable Bowel Syndrome, colitis, Chron’s disease, or gastritis
-yeast infections or candidiasis
-diabetes

What should you do about it?

First off, clean up your diet. Cut out gluten, soy, and dairy, and consider food allergy testing to determine which foods are causing your gut to be inflamed. Eat dark leafy greens like kale, collards, spinach, and chard–high in anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids–and eat other omega-3 rich foods like salmon, walnuts, and grass fed beef. Cut out sugar, booze, and caffeine. Consider a fish oil supplement to boost your omega-3 levels.

Clean up your gut with a good digestive cleanse. Consider parasite testing, then choose the proper herbs or meds to kill whatever uninvited inhabitants are lurking. Correct dysbiosis (overgrowth of bad bacteria) with probiotics and probiotic-rich foods like cultured veggies and kefir. Choose a probiotic with S. boulardi.

Finally, reduce stress and test your adrenal hormones to correct high cortisol. You can bring high cortisol levels down with bio-identical hormones, but you need to test first. Get plenty of sleep and don’t over-exercise! Meditate or do some deep breathing.

Are You Parasite-free?

admin — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 19:03:44 +0000

Giardia. Yuck.

Parasites! Gasp! Thought these pesky little bugs only invaded unlucky international travelers in exotic lands? Think again. Parasites are shockingly common. In the course of my work with internationally renowned natural medicine doctor Dr Dan Kalish, I learned how to interpret parasite and pathogen tests for clients, and let me tell you: I don’t think I saw even one test come in clear. Everyone had some kind of parasite or bacterial overgrowth or candida. Even ME! I tested myself and turns out I had one of the nastiest ones: amoeba hystolitica. I had apparently contracted it from a severe bout of food poisoning. Now that I am parasite-free, I realize this bug was responsible for the digestive issues I had become accustomed to, the worsening PMS I was experiencing, and the sugar cravings and insatiable appetite I thought were just my unlucky lot in life.

If you’ve ever had pets (or kissed them on the mouth), traveled internationally, had food poisoning, or even had sex….. you are at risk for parasitic infection.

If you experience gas, bloating, constipation or diarrhea, joint pain, worsening allergies, anemia, chronic fatigue, immune dysfunction, or the infamous “unexplained digestive issues” that your doctor cannot diagnose, you could be harboring a parasite. Other symptoms are teeth grinding and skin rashes, or the dreaded no symptoms at all.

The most common are amoebas (like the one i had) like hystolitica, blastocystis, cryptosporidium, and giardia; roundworm and hookworm; and various bacteria like h. pylori (responsible for reflux and ulcers) and yeast overgrowth.

These insidious little bugs are spread through unsanitary conditions, contaminated water, dirt under your fingernails, contaminated food (especially produce), and most are highly contagious. If you get food poisoning from contaminated food, you eventually recover, but the bugs can continue to proliferate in your digestive tract. They reproduce and spread and cause all sorts of digestive problems, inflammation, and eventually hormonal problems and detoxification problems, since your liver has to deal with the extra toxic load. They also stress your immune system, which is constantly fighting the bugs, so you may find you get sick more often because you are more susceptible to other illness, as your immune system is not functioning at 100%.

The good news is that you can do a parasite cleanse to rid yourself of the bugs. It’s best to test yourself to see exactly what you’re treating, but a general parasite cleanse can help almost anyone with digestive troubles.

Prepare by cutting out all junk and refined food (gluten -wheat products & white flour along with white sugar), caffeine, and alcohol for 2-3 weeks before the cleanse. This will reduce intestinal inflammation and yield better results. Continue this diet for the duration of the cleanse.

The bugs can be treated with antibiotics or herbs or both. You can do a 3-4 week herbal cleanse with excellent results. I’ve done both. There are many herbal parasite killing products on the market. You’ll need oregano oil in capsule or tincture form (with at least 70% carvacrol, a powerful antimicrobial and the active ingredient of oregano oil.) Choose another formula with some combination of green walnut hulls, artemesia, quassia, and cloves. Or, try separate formulas of oregano oil and artemesia and another herbal forumla with the green walnut hulls and any combination of the other mentioned herbs. You’ll take each three times daily (follow directions on bottles) for 3-4 weeks. Follow a whole foods diet and try to stay off sugar, alcohol, refined foods, and caffeine. Parasites and candida feed on sugar, so you may not get rid of them if your diet isn’t clean. Coconut oil and garlic offer excellent anti-parasitic properties. Add fermented foods to provide beneficial bacteria.

You’ll want to follow up the cleanse with a good quality probiotic for at least a month to recolonize your gut with healthy bacteria. You can repeat this cleanse a couple times a year to insure that you remain parasite-free.

And remember: prevention is key! Wash hands! Drink clean, filtered water. Use precaution when traveling and when handling food. And, stay healthy. If your immune system is in good working order, the bugs won’t be able to get past your first line of defense. Check out Ann Louise Gittleman’s book Guess What Came to Dinner.