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Ask the experts: answers to your questions from the leaders in natural medicine - Relieve Poison Ivy Itching - Habits for a Healthy Heart - Hiding Anorexia - Dry Your Own Herbs - Is Calcium Bad for My Prostate Health? - Yoga for Weight Loss? - Ayurvedic Herbs for Lupus - Conception Help - Quick Tips Natural Health, Sept, 2001 Continued from page 1. JUDITH HANSON LASATER REPLIES: Since there are so many popular exercise regimens for weight loss, I'm not surprised that you'd consider yoga one of them. Unfortunately, no reliable studies exist that prove yoga can help people lose weight. This is not to say that people who practice yoga do not lose weight. Yoga poses do burn calories, but they aren't usually performed vigorously enough to significantly increase caloric output. Even when practicing types of yoga that are more strenuous (like Ashtanga), weight loss is predominantly based on other factors. One of these factors is stress reduction. Researchers at Yale University in New Haven, Conn., reported last year that elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol may lead to fat buildup around the abdomen. Furthermore, when you're stressed, you tend to overeat. Yoga classes typically end with the Savasana, or Deep Relaxation or Corpse, pose. This pose lowers cortisol levels and may keep you from overeating. Yoga may also contribute to weight loss by increasing your overall awareness. When you become aware of your feelings, you may realize that what you thought was hunger was sadness or boredom. With increased awareness, you'll eat more wisely. You should focus your efforts less on how yoga can help you lose weight and more on finding the right practice for you. For information about how to locate the right yoga class for you, see "How to Find a ...," page 39. Ayurvedic Herbs for Lupus My 20-year-old daughter has systemic lupus. She suffers from joint pain and her hands swell so much she can't use them. How can she reduce her symptoms? VIRENDER SODHI, M.D., N.D., REPLIES: I have treated several patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In autoimmune disorders like SLE, the body produces antibodies that attack its own tissues, which can impair circulation and joint and kidney function. There is no cure, but SLE is fairly manageable. Many conventional doctors rely on steroid treatments to do this, but these steroids can sometimes worsen symptoms. According to the Indian system of medicine called Ayurveda, the key to fighting SLE symptoms is to improve digestion. One way to do this is through a detoxification diet, and I've seen remarkable results in patients using an Ayurvedic detoxification program known as pancha karma. Have your daughter work with a practitioner who knows this program (to locate an Ayurvedic physician, see "How to Find a ...," page 39). In the meantime, the following herbs (available in natural food stores) may help ease your daughter's symptoms: ASHWAGANDHA EXTRACT (Withania somnifera), an herb that acts like a steroid but without the side effects of pharmaceutical steroids. Take 500 to 1,000 mg three times daily; it's safe to use this herb long-term and to increase the dose up to 2,000 mg three times daily. BACOPA (Bacopa monnieri) and gotu kola (Centella asiadica), which both boost kidney function and soothe the nervous system. Mix 1,000 mg of each powdered herb into 1 ounce of ghee, a clarified butter, and use all of it as a cooking oil. GUGGUL EXTRACT (Commiphora mukul), an herb that also acts like a steroid but without the side effects of pharmaceutical steroids. Take 300 mg three times daily. TRIPHALA EXTRACT, a combination of three digestive herbs. Take 500 mg three times daily. Conception Help I have been diagnosed with anti-sperm antibodies. Basically, I kill my husband's sperm before they reach the egg. Are there any alternative treatments I can try? ADRIANNE FUGH-BERMAN, M.D., REPLIES I don't know of any alternative treatments for this problem, but there is a relatively low-tech way of treating it. Intrauterine insemination, in which sperm is inserted directly into the uterus, is a simple, painless procedure that can be done in a doctor's office. You've had a test done in which your cervical mucus appeared to immobilize your husband's sperm. But by hitchhiking in a syringe past the barrier of the cervix, the sperm have a fighting chance to make it to your fallopian tubes. By the way, the whole concept that anti-sperm antibodies are responsible for sperm immobilization is controversial, because many women have anti-sperm antibodies but have no problem getting pregnant. Quick Tip FLIES DON'T LIKE THE SCENT of eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus), lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), and cedar (Cedrus spp). To keep them away, use one or a combination of these essential oils in an aromatherapy diffuser. --Laurel Vukovic Quick Tip ADD 1/2 CUP OF BAKING SODA TO YOUR laundry during the rinse cycle to soften your clothing naturally. --L.V. Meet the Experts Robert Anderson, M.D., is a semiretired family doctor and president of the American Board of Holistic Medicine. He is an advisor for the medical journal Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine and author of A Clinician's Guide to Holistic Medicine (McGraw-Hill, 2000). [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Carolyn Dean, M.D., N.D., is a New York City-based naturopath. She is the author of Natural Prescriptions for Common Ailments (Keats, 2001) and other books and a guest on the TV talk show "The View." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Adriane Fugh-Berman, M.D., teaches at the George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C. She is on the executive board of the National Women's Health Network, and is author of Alternative Medicine: What Works (Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins, 1997). [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Judith Hanson Lasater, Ph.D., is a physical therapist who has been teaching yoga in the United States and internationally since 1971; her most recent book is Living Your Yoga: Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life (Rodmell Press, 2000). [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Virender Sodhi, M.D., N.D., is an Ayurvedic physician and a naturopath. He runs the Ayurvedic and Naturopathic Medical Clinic in Bellevue, Wash., and lectures in the United States and abroad. He is currently working on a book about Ayurvedic medicine. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Laurel Vukovic is an herbalist in Ashland, Ore. She is the author of Herbal Healing Secrets for Women (Prentice Hall, 2000). Her most recent book is The Journal of Desire (Prentice Hall, 2001). [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] FOR MORE INFO How to Find a ... AYURVEDIC PHYSICIAN: Contact the American Ayurvedic Association (877-598-8830). NATUROPATH: Contact the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (703-610-9037; www.naturopathic.org). YOGA INSTRUCTOR: Contact the Yoga Site (www.yogasite.com). Have a Question If you have a health question you'd like our experts to answer, send it our way: Ask the Experts, Natural Health, 70 Lincoln Street, 5th Floor, Boston, MA 02111. You can also reach us via email at naturalhealth@weiderpub.com.
COPYRIGHT 2001 Weider Publications
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