Layman's Guide to Natural Therapies Course

WILDCRAFTED HERBAL PRODUCTS IN ASSOCIATION WITH KURRAJONG NATURAL MEDICINE CENTRE

PRESENT

THE LAYMAN’S GUIDE TO NATURAL MEDICINE

Commences Wednesday 17th February 6:30 to 7:45pm

Venue: Kurrajong Natural Medicine Centre

Shop 7/1147 Grose Vale Road, Kurrajong Village, NSW, Australia

This 6-week course is designed to answer questions you may have about Natural Therapies. It unravels the often confusing and misleading alternative health care information commonly available and aims to increase understanding and insight into the health benefits Natural Medicine has to offer.

The topics to be covered week by week will be focused on the core forms of natural medicine practiced in Australia today and an overview of the secondary modalities will be given.

Course participants will have an opportunity to ask questions during a ten-minute Question and Answer time at the end of each weekly session.

There is No Charge for attendance BUT BOOKINGS ARE ESSENTIAL PLEASE!

Week 1:

Introduction to Natural Therapies – Just Placebo or Real Medicine?

The differences and similarities between Natural Medicine, Natural Therapies, Complementary Medicine and Alternative Therapies are examined; Training, Qualifications and Regulation of practitioners.

Weeks 2 & 3:

Traditional Chinese Medicine:

The philosophy behind this ancient system of medicine is outlined, including Acupuncture, Chinese Herbal Medicine and Moxibustion. The theoretical aspect of how these fit into contemporary health care is explored.

Weeks 4 & 5:

Western Herbal Medicine & Naturopathy:

The Western Herbal Medicine tradition is highly eclectic and has quite a different application to that of Chinese Herbal Medicine. The ways that herbs have been traditionally used are examined and their contemporary use discussed. Herbal Medicine is often used by some Naturopaths but can be considered to be too interventionist by others. The basic principles underlying the philosophy of ‘nature cure’ are explored are discussed in the context of modern lifestyles.

Week 6:

Body Work & ‘Natural Exercise’:

It is well-known that structure and function in the body are inter-linked and it is on this basis that ‘natural’ or ‘alternative’ forms of body work and exercise are based. This week we look at the roles of Remedial Therapies, Massage, Chiropractics and Osteopathy in health care and explore why exercise forms such as Tai Chi and Yoga are better for you.

To Book or Enquire Phone: (02) 4573 0784

Skin care: It's a cover up

For many years now we have seen a move away from skin care products that contain chemicals which are potentially harmful to the skin. Consumers have begun to demand natural skin care products. That is, they demand products, that instead of containing potentially harmful, synthetic and/or artificial ingredients contain natural ones. This is a step in the right direction, but it is not the whole story.

Natural skin care is by definition the use of natural ingredients such as herbs, essential oils and various extracts and nutrients from fruits and/or vegetables that treat the skin. Skin care after all is not about plumping up of the skin or temporarily removing fine lines and wrinkles, skin care is far more than that.

Real skin care is about maintaining or regaining healthy skin by use of natural ingredients that facilitate and promote the normal functions of the skin. If the skin needs particular attention, because one of its functions is compromised, herbal extracts and other natural substances can be used to specifically target that issue. Herbs are healing substances that have been used for thousands of years to re-establish health and many of these herbs have specific therapeutic functions on the skin.

The Skin is an organ and just like any other organ in our body, and it too requires regular attention and maintenance. After all, we drink water to help our Kidneys function properly, we eat bran and other fibre containing foods to help maintain healthy bowl function and so on. However, when it comes to our skin we often use products that simply mask dis-function rather than addressing the underlying problem.

Natural skin care products, or if you prefer, herbal skin care products, that contain therapeutic doses of herbs, essential oils and other nutrients, are like eating bran and grains to maintain our digestive system, but they are formulated to work on maintaining the normal functions of the skin.

Unfortunately, this is not the attitude of the cosmetics industry. The fact that products are being made with one or two natural ingredients (together with all the other synthetic and artificial ones) and then are advertised to contain natural ingredients is merely a marketing ploy by these companies. They are not interested in healing the skin, far from it; they want you to continue using their products to cover up the symptoms of a stressed skin that is in need of actual treatment.

Think about it. What is more profitable, treating the underlying cause of a problem and thus fixing it, or treating the symptoms by continually applying products to cover the problem... I'm sure shareholders of large cosmetic companies don't want to see problems solved... But then again, I could be wrong...

Therapeutic herbal skin care is about one: addressing weaknesses or problems of the skin and addressing these in specific ways through the use of specific herbs and/or essential oils; and two: once normal skin function has been established, herbal skin care products can then be used to maintain optimal functioning of the skin. The aim of therapeutically formulated herbal skin care products is not to mask symptoms of skin problems, but to fix them.

For example, Lavender is well known for its wound healing, antiseptic and toning properties. It has the ability to remove redness and heat from the skin, making it an ideal choice for soothing and repairing an irritated or hypersensitive skin. Although it is not really an anti-inflammatory as such, Lavender is often useful where there is inflammation, hence its use in burns, dermatitis, eczema, psoriasis, boils, rheumatism, wounds, ulcers, and so on.

From a natural medicine point of view, treatment of any health problem needs to be viewed from the first principle, that is the cause of the problem, not the effect. Thus, therapeutic herbal skin care products are formulated to target the cause of the skin problem not the result of it. This approach may take longer for the person to see the effects, but these will be more permanent and ultimately easier to maintain.

When products merely aim to mask symptoms, they actually never address the underlying cause and therefore the problem gradually gets worse. At some point, the problem will be irreversible and the masking of the symptoms no longer possible. This is when the whole deck of cards falls in a heap and serious skin problems become apparent and almost impossible to treat.

Danny Siegenthaler is a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine and together with his wife Susan, a medical herbalist and Aromatherapist, they have created Natural Skin Care Products by Wildcrafted Herbal Products to share their 40 years of combined expertise with you.
They practice Herbal and Chinese medicine at their Wildcrafted Cottage Clinic. (c) Wildcrafted Herbal Products 2010

All You Ever Wanted To Know About Acne

If you are looking for information on Natural Acne Remedies or any other information on Acne the following is a great place to start:

Natural & Herbal Acne Remedies

Natural Acne Skin Care

Home Made Acne Remedies

Acne News & Articles

Acne Library

Herbal Acne Products

Good quality, reliable information on acne can be difficult to find, however the above link provide a great place to start.

Incey Wincey Spiders

No, it's not the nursery rhyme. It is about three annoying skin blemishes that may reveal more than you think.

• Spider nevi
• Spider angioma, and
• Thread veins

These little, annoying skin blemishes can tell you a lot more about what's going on with the health of your body than you might expect.


Spider nevi

Spider nevi are little skin flaws where small broken capillaries that look like a little red spider are visible on the skin's surface, usually on the face or abdomen. Often they occur on the cheeks, but can develop anywhere.

The way to tell if the blemish you may have on your skin is a Spider nevi, is to press lightly in the centre of it and if the 'legs' disappear, you have spider nevi (or spider angioma). These usually occur in people over 40 or folk with liver disease, but in themselves they are harmless. However, they can point to a health imbalance of some kind.

Spider nevi may also be due to a vitamin C deficiency, high blood pressure, and may also occur during pregnancy. The best way to treat them is to a) make sure you have no underlying problems that may be the cause of them, such as the problems listed above. If you do, then these health issues must be addressed first.

Natural Skin Care Systems for Your Skin Type

Wildcrafted's Rose Day Cream is ideal for dry, mature and blemished skin.

...more information

b) Use natural skin care products that contain Rose oil, which has incredible healing properties.

For example combine the Hydrating Cleanser, Milk of Roses Toner, Rose Day Cream and Age-Defying Essence to provide your skin with the perfect combination of ingredients to help heal the tiny blood vessels and restore proper circulation to the affected area.

Remember to implement a daily skin care regime of cleansing, toning and moisturising to obtain best results and finally, use a good exfoliant twice a week to keep stimmulating the skin's blood circulation and remove the dead skin cells.


Spider angioma

Spider nevi differ slightly to Spider angiomas (all though often considered the same in many medical reference books). Spider angiomas are an abnormal collection of blood vessels near the skin's surface and look very similar to spider nevi, except that spider angiomas have a raised red central dot with reddish 'legs' radiating out. Pressure on the central spot will cause the 'spider legs' to disappear. They are a type of benign tumour associated with pregnancy and in patients with liver disease.

Rapid development of numerous prominent spider angiomas may point to cirrhosis of the liver, malignant liver disease, and other liver dysfunctions. A common characteristic is an elevated blood estrogen level.


Thread veins

Spider nevi are not to be confused with Thread veins, which are a venous problem rather than a problem of broken capillaries. Okay, it's getting a bit medical... Veins transport deoxygenated blood via the liver to the heart and then to the lungs where the blood is oxygenated again.

Capillaries are where the arterial blood, through loss of oxygen, becomes venous blood and enters the veins. The veins that become visible at the surface of the skin are the thread veins and these thread veins point to underlying diseases such as cardiovascular disease or liver disease. They are often precursors to varicose veins.

Now just because you have a single spider nevus or a spider angioma, doesn't mean you have a liver disease or that there is something wrong with your cardiovascular system, but if you have several of them or they are increasing in numbers, it might not be a bad idea to go and consult you health care professional - just in case.

The skin really is an incredible organ and is able to reflect many health problems to the trained eye. Taking good care of it is not a luxury - it's a necessity.

Herbal Medicine

Herbal Medicine - What is it, how does it actually work and what can it treat?

These are some of the most often asked questions we get from people who have never been exposed to this system of medicine and form of treatment. They hear good things, but don't know if they can believe their information sources and are interested, but not sure about it...

Well, that is understandable, after all we are told that the only 'doctor' you can trust is your family doctor and he/she alone is able to diagnose and treat your ailments. Everything else is non-sense and does not work. It has no basis in science and therefore can't be any good.

Strange then, that pharmaceutical-based medicine still uses morphine (comes from the poppy plant); Digoxin, which increases the strength and vigor of the heart muscle contractions, and is useful in the treatment of heart failure (from digitalis plant); Aspirin, which comes from the bark of the White Willow tree... Need I go on?

The point is herbal medicine employs herbs and other medicinal plants to treat illness holistically. It is effective, in fact very effective as the pharmaceutical industry still employs hundreds of herbal preparations in their medications. In fact about 70% of pharmaceutical products contain substantial amounts of herb-based ingredients.

You can access my recently written article "Herbal Medicine Explained" to read more detailed explanations on just how effective herbal medicine is, how it is applied and what it can be used for.