I saw this today in Times of India:
Scientists have discovered that the AIDS virus can avoid treatment by infecting bone marrow, becoming dormant, and later converting into blood cells. Researchers at the University of Michigan, led by Dr. Kathleen Collins, discovered a cluster of dormant HIV virus cells within bone marrow, where they can avoid drugs and then re-emerge and cause renewed infection at a later date. The discovery helps explain why those infected with AIDS need to maintain therapy for life, lest the disease return if and when treatment is ceased, Collins recently told Ashley Hall of The World Today. “There was good reason to believe that this was due to the virus being able to hide out in so-called reservoirs in a very stable form and it is sitting there poised to reactivate so that when drugs are stopped and the virus can spread again, the virus can rebound.” My friends with AIDS have done well by combining the usual medical cocktail with immune-enhancing foods and herbs such as astragalus, reishi mushroom extract, Tibetan goji berries, along with a sane diet and stress-reducing techniques like yoga or Qi gung.
Last week, I lost my darling Silky to lung cancer. At age fifteen, she enjoyed running up and down the stairs, sunning herself, and stalking birds on the porch this past summer and early fall in Vermont. In New York she naturally became subdued in our small apartment. She had lost little more than one pound over a period of a year, had fairly normal blood tests, then suddenly stopped eating. Cats are able to hide their lung vulnerability, can seem fine until they suddenly start panting and stop eating. Seeming well is their defense against potential threats. People, being complex, may feel emotional pain in the body. We often transform feelings into illness; it may be part of the healing process. Once I met a woman who had broken off with her lover and developed a two week cold. Her pain had shifted from a deep place in order to leave.
Continue reading ‘Grief Lowers Immunity’
As one of the three deities of long life, White Tara (in Hindu religion: Sarasvati) is associated with longevity. White Tara counteracts illness and thereby helps to bring about a long life. She embodies the motivation that is compassion and is said to be radiant as the moon. Come to our “Healthy Beauty” evening lecture at Gilda’s Club, Thursday May 7th from 6:30PM to 8PM. It’s free. Continue reading ‘Healthy Beauty’
I realize that many people cannot recognize Asian herbs either in stores or when I discuss them in radio broadcasts. So I have made two short videos: Parts 1 and 2 (below) showing commonly used herbs to help prevent and treat cold and flu symptoms. They include ginger for chills, weakness and sore throat and bitter green herbs such as sage and oregano, which can boost energy and immunity daily. Reishi mushroom (Ganoderma lucid.) and astragalus are available online and in some Chinese herb shops. Capsules are in health food stores. You can cook reishi and/or astragalus (twice to save money) in your slow cooker and store the liquid in your refrigerator. The second video features pills and Yin/Yang Sister instant beverages Breathe Free and Flu Away. Continue reading ‘Colds/Flu Prevention and Treatment’
This year’s cold and flu season threatens to outdo last year’s sore throat, cough, fever, and chronic asthma, which became so widespread we nicknamed it The Mother of All Colds. Now is the time to protect yourself and family from catching and spreading it. Psychic Edgar Cayce (1877-1945) and traditional Asian herbal doctors agree: Clean up your act by eliminating congestion and germs, and you are safer from colds and flu. Cayce recommended fasting, purging, and sweating treatments to reduce excess mucus and improve breathing and digestion. These may be weakening for people who are run-down, tired, and stressed. However a few adjustments in your diet and herbs can accomplish similar protection. Continue reading ‘The Mother of All Colds is Back’
Times and diets have changed over time. The generation that matured during the great Depression believed that health and wellbeing would naturally result from a diet consisting of foods they had lacked while growing up–primarily meat and milk. Getting the world back on its feet after World War II consisted of stuffing the mouths of war-torn people abroad with the typical American diet. The original Care Package contained American surplus foods. According to a Care Inc. spokesperson, “The contents of these packages varied by country: Tea went to England; coffee went to France and Germany; packages going to Italy included pasta. Other typical contents included canned meat stews, cereal and biscuits, jam, canned vegetables, sugar and candy, evaporated milk, butter, cigarettes. One American item that Europeans didn’t know what to make of was chewing gum.” Continue reading ‘Food, Fitness and the Environment’
