HEALTHY TIPS FOR FUN IN THE SUN!

The Summer months have arrived and that means for many of us it’s holiday time, a chance to escape, wind down and set aside the stresses of day to day life. A time when we become more active, focusing on increasing fitness, toning up and setting the intention to shift those few extra pounds we gained over the winter. This is the season when we want to feel good in that new bikini. It’s a time when we become more health conscious. And whether or not you choose to holiday in the UK or Travel Abroad, keeping in good health is vital if we want to avoid those holiday ailments and the pre holiday stresses!

Hydrate! Hydrate! Hydrate!

As the days become warmer and our activity levels rise, keeping adequately hydrated is vital. It is recommended that we drink at least 1.5L of water daily. The more we perspire in hot weather, the more fluid we lose and so the more water we need to put back in. Alcohol intake is an important factor to take into consideration too. Although those cocktails at a friend’s garden party may be delicious, use good judgement – alcohol strips the body of important electrolytes and hydrating qualities – so a good tip is to have a few glasses of water in between drinks – keeping alcoholic beverages to a minimum. The added bonus of drinking more water – it moisturises the skin leaving it softer and your hair shinier, whilst your body is able to perform better during physical activity.

Foods to Cool

According to Chinese Medicine, just as our bodies are designed to respond to changes in light and dark, so do our tastes and appetites respond to seasonal shifts in climate & temperature. During hotter weather we naturally crave refreshing food such as healthy green salads, melon, strawberries & oranges. “Light & Cooling” are key words to remember when choosing health boosting summer foods. These foods will help cool you down and are easy to digest: Cucumber, water melon, mango, grapes and strawberries. Bitter greens and vegetables help strengthen the heart & intestine and also help clear heat from the body. Green Vegetables are also very cleansing. Try to include asparagus, chicory, watercress, Bitter endive, radicchio, dandelion, spinach, cabbage, artichoke, Pea sprouts and green beans. Seasonal fruits abundant in health boosting vitamins are also worth adding to your shopping basket – look out for cherries, apples, peaches, apricots and wild berries such as blueberries, blackberries & raspberries.

Protect Your Skin

 For many years now we have been advised to cover up and reduce our exposure to the Suns harmful rays. However, research now suggests that there are increased health benefits to limited sun exposure. We need a certain amount of sunlight on our skin for the body to synthesise Vitamin D, an important vitamin involved in immune support, bone health & healthy skin to name but a few. According to the Harvard School of public health, worldwide, an estimated 1 billion people have inadequate levels of vitamin D in their blood. Deficiencies are now on the increase, especially in Northern European climates such as our own here in the UK. And in our efforts to block out the sun’s rays we layer on the sun cream, Harvard goes on to report, that this act alone can reduce our ability to absorb vitamin D by more than 90%

So, yes we need to spend at least 15 minutes a day exposed to direct sunlight, but not long enough to risk damaging the skin. Our skin is our largest organ and so should be treated with care. There are a number of organic & natural sun creams now available (in good health shops) which offer good protection, yet are free of harmful chemical ingredients .Vitamin D supplements can also make up for any shortfall we can’t get from the sun.

Certain health supplements have also shown to have a protective role during sun exposure, ‘Astaxanthin’ is one of them, a carotenoid that may help to protect the skin from UV damage. In addition, ‘Pycnogenol’ (French Maritime Pine Bark) helps improve skin elasticity and smoothing during the ageing process as well as protecting the skin from the harmful effects of the sun. Pycnogenol has also been shown to aid the circulatory system and may be particularly beneficial in minimising the risk of developing blood clots on long haul flights.

And if you over do the sun bathing, then, the healing properties of the Aloe Vera plant must not be overlooked. Aloe Vera gel is fantastic for helping to soothe and cool sunburn, whilst helping to heal & moisturise damaged skin. An absolute holiday essential! The homeopathic remedy Cantharis can also help ease sunburn. It can be all too easy when we go away to get just a little more sun than we bargained for and if you are unlucky enough to get a dose of sunstroke then the homeopathic remedy Belladonna is good to have at hand.

A tincture made from Stinging nettles (urtica) is also a remedy that has been traditionally used for easing itchy skin conditions and as a natural antihistamine. It has particular value in easing the symptoms of Prickly Heat.

Your Holiday Survival Kit

Holidays can be fun but also sometimes full of new and unusual activities that the day after can leave you waking stiff, aching and unable to walk.  Help is at hand with a few doses of the homeopathic remedy, Arnica 30c.  Arnica is good for soothing bruises and easing tired and painful muscles after strenuous activity allowing you to enjoy the rest of your holiday.  It is great for jetlag too.

When travelling abroad it is often a good idea to pack a few remedies that you can have at hand should you get a dose of Travellers Tummy or other digestive problems. A good quality probiotic containing a good mix of beneficial bacteria is highly recommended, as is a digestive enzyme supplement that will help your digestive system to efficiently break down foods that your body may struggle to cope with. And should you pick up any nasty bugs or intestinal parasites whilst on your travels, then the herbs Pau d’arco and ‘Neem’ are particularly useful.

And talking of bugs, to keep those midges & mosquitos at arms length a few drops of citronella oil onto a few cotton wool pads placed around the holiday apartment can be a great help or a mosquito spray containing the herb ‘neem’ may help protect you from those nasty bites!

Finally for those of you who have a fear of flying – a dose of the Bach Flower Remedy ‘Mimulus’ or ‘Rescue Remedy’ is a handy option to have in your hand luggage & may just help ease those unwanted fears, leaving you with nothing to worry about other than your awaiting holiday destination, long summer days and warm nights, spending time in the outdoors engaging in your favourite pursuits & time to chill out with family & friends. 

What could be better? It’s truly time to leave the cold weather behind.

The content within this article is for information purposes only. If you are taking prescribed medication or undergoing any form of treatment please consult your GP before making any changes to your healthcare regime.

For more information or to chat to one of our advisors, please call Bare Health on 01260 408413. 

We are always happy to help.

Nettles - More than a sting in this tale......!

Catherine Schofield - Medical Herbalist, discusses the healing powers of the humble Nettle 

Nettles are a wonderful medicinal weed  - there's more than a sting in this tale..!

One of the joys of spring for me undoubtedly is seeing the new bright green shoots of all our wild plants emerging in the hedgerows, woods and waysides. Some bring with them the instant joys of their flowers, whilst others just doggedly drill their way up through the winter-hardened ground to once more populate our world with green. Many of these plants are at most under-appreciated or perhaps even reviled by some – the nettle is one such. 

It is admittedly a plant with attitude – invasive and most of all that famous sting which, as children, we are all taught to rub immediately with a dock leaf to quell the pain. But I think it is time to celebrate its many medicinal virtues.  I wouldn't go as far as to say cuddle a nettle, but I am keen to spread word of the properties of this amazing plant.

Some say that nettles (Urtica dioica) are not indigenous to the UK, but are a long settled foreign plant - possibly introduced by the Romans who used it to treat the rheumatism they became prey to when they occupied this gray and damp island. They were said to beat themselves with the leaves to increase circulation and to provide a counter-irritant to the pain in their joints - both interesting if uncomfortable ideas - but the counter-irritant principle is still used in topical applications for aching joints. Whether this is true, I can't comment, but I do know that the Romans were skilled herbalists and it is likely that they knew the value of the nettle, much as it is still very much appreciated by herbalists today.

Nettles are helpful for many things, the root, leaves and seeds being used medicinally for a wide range of applications. Also a good source of nutrition, young nettles can be eaten as spring greens in soup (cooking deactivates the sting) as they are rich in iron and other vitamins and minerals, including vitamin C, calcium and silica, so make a healthful addition to your diet. You can also make herb vinegars using young nettles, which can preserve their qualities for the winter months.

Perhaps less well known is the fact that nettles can be made into textiles, the fibres are long enough to allow them to be woven into cloth. It is said that in World War I, some soldiers uniforms were made from nettle fibres, when other textiles became scarce.

A herb of wide medicinal use

The seed is a great 'local' adaptogen - adaptogens are a class of herbs which help the body adapt to and deal with stress which are incredibly useful to herbalists. The use of nettle seed as an adaptogen also keys into the idea that herbs which are 'local' to patients - i.e. are derived from a shared close environment, rather than from far flung corners of the earth, give a them a greater sympathetic action within the medicine. The plant itself contains serotonin, which may help with depression, although this is not one of its key actions.

The seed is also helpful for kidney problems and the whole plant is used to stimulate the kidneys, although it is thought that long term consumption may put a strain on the kidneys, because of its high silica content.

Nettles can be helpful for allergic skin complaints and for prostatitis

Useful particularly for the male genito-urinary tract - nettle root is often included in herbal remedies for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostatitis. The leaves are used to rid body of uric acid and so are used for gout and other rheumatic complaints and usually figure in most herbal prescriptions for osteo and rheumatoid arthritis. Similarly nettle leaf can help with some chronic skin disorders, particularly where there may be an allergic cause to the problem, such as in some eczemas and urticaria (ironically derived from the Latin for nettle and commonly called 'nettle rash').

High blood sugar in diabetes and high blood pressure will respond well to nettle and it can be used to stimulate sluggish digestive systems, where there is low stomach acid.  If these myriad uses were not enough, it is also used to nourish hair and nails because of its high silica content and is often used alongside rosemary in order to stimulate hair growth and strengthen the hair fibre.

Summer is a'comin in... sing aloud 'aitichoo'! Nettles for hay fever misery

The misery of summer hay fever is well known and many of us snuffle our way through the summer months. If you suffer from mild hay fever (or more properly, seasonal allergic rhinitis) and want a more natural alternative to over the counter remedies, you could try nettle and elderflower tea. Use a teaspoon of a mixture of dried elderflowers and nettles in a cup of boiling water, cover whilst it is brewing and then drink when cooled. Take this up to three times a day.

Nettles have a traditional reputation for quelling allergies (ironic when you think of the effects of nettles) and research seems to be confirming this traditional use. For example remedies using freeze dried nettle leaves have been shown in one clinical trial to have some positive effect against hay fever. Although not conclusive this study thought that nettles might have an anti-inflammatory on the mucous membranes (Mittman1990) However, a more recent study found that extract of nettle has been found both to be anti-inflammatory and to have anti-histamine effects (Roscheck et al. 2009). A useful addition to your nettle tea might be Elderflowers (Sambuccus nigra) which also soothe the mucous membranes and when dried or fresh they make a refreshing tea with an interesting and refreshing musky taste.

You can pick and dry your own nettles (be careful!!) but it is just as easy to get some nettle tea, ready prepared, from your health food shop. Dried elderflowers can also be bought, but can be less easy to find. However, these can be gathered from the hedgerows and should be in flower in the next couple of months (pick from bushes away from roads and from the nearer the top of the tree than the bottom – dogs can pollute the lower branches). Try to pick the fresh flowers that are full of pollen, as unlikely as this seems. it is the pollen which is thought to help with hay fever. If you gather too many you could always make elderflower cordial or wine!!

There are of course other herbal remedies that can be effective for more severe hay fever and allergies that are available through your herbal medicine practitioner.

This article is meant for educational purposes only and is not intended as a guide for self-treatment. As with all herbal remedies, if you are taking other medication, such as insulin or warfarin, are pregnant, lactating or suffering from any medical condition check with a professional before using. Make sure you buy herbs from a reliable source or if you are harvesting from the wild that you have permission, identify the right plant and pick from an uncontaminated source.

Don't take too much of anything for too long and discontinue immediately if you have any ill effects.

To make an appointment to see Catherine at Bare Health - please call 01260 408413. Her next clinic day is Tuesday 20th May 10am - 4pm or alternatively, you can email catherine@naturesbestmedicine.

References

Mittman P.(1990) andomized, double-blind study of freeze-dried Urtica dioica in the treatment of allergic rhinitis.Planta Med. Feb;56(1):44-7

Roschek B Jr, Fink RC, McMichael M, Alberte RS. (2009) Nettle extract (Urtica dioica) affects key receptors and enzymes associated with allergic rhinitis.Phytotherapy Res.Jul;23(7):920-6.