The meaning of the symbols of toadflax seen in a dream.

Mineral. Combines with protein to give structural solidarity to bones and flesh. Given with benefit for all bone problems, delayed union after injury, brittleness in the elderly, delayed dentition and weakness in rapidly growing children. Cataracts. Rickets in children; osteomalacia in adults.

Other deficiencies. Muscle cramps, spasms, tremors, nervousness, insomnia, joint pains.

Body effects. Healthy teeth and bones, blood clotting, nerve and muscle resilience.

Calcium helps reduce risk of fracture particularly in menopausal women who may increase intake to 1500mg daily. Calcium citrate malate is regarded as more effective than calcium carbonate. Calcium and Magnesium are essentials.

Sources. Dairy products, fish, sardines, salmon, watercress, hard drinking water, spinach. Dried skimmed milk may supply up to 60 per cent of the recommended daily amount.

Herbs. Chamomile, Clivers, Dandelion, Horsetail, Coltsfoot, Meadowsweet, Mistletoe, Plantain, Scarlet Pimpernel, Silverweed, Shepherd’s Purse, Toadflax. Taken as teas, powders, tablets or capsules.

Herbal combination to increase intake. Comfrey 3, Horsetail 6, Kelp 1, Lobelia 1, Marshmallow root 2, Oats 4, Parsley root 1. Tea: 1 heaped teaspoon to each cup boiling water; infuse 15 minutes; 1 cup morning and evening.

Calcium tablet supplements should first be pulverised before ingestion and taken in honey, bread bolus, or other suitable vehicle. Vitamin D assists absorption – 400-800 international units daily. ... calcium

 An unnatural drainage tract from an abscess on the anus or in the rectum leading to the skin surface. May have one or more openings.

Causes: persistent anal or rectal abscesses from ulcerative colitis, TB, granuloma, carcinoma or a breakdown of internal piles.

Symptoms. Itching anus, discharge of pus from a point near the anus.

Echinacea may arrest pus formation but not heal; which would require assistance of Comfrey root and

Marigold (Calendula) where healing is possible.

Alternatives. Poke root, Ground Ivy, Horsetail, Marigold, St John’s Wort, Yarrow, Yellow Toadflax. Comfrey leaves or tincture. Echinacea.

Tea. Mix: Equal parts: Comfrey leaves, Horsetail, Yarrow. One heaped teaspoon to each cup boiling water, infuse 15 minutes. 1 cup thrice daily before meals.

Decoction. Equal parts: Fenugreek seeds; Stone root. One teaspoon to each cup water simmered gently 20 minutes. Dose: half cup thrice daily.

Fenugreek seeds. One heaped teaspoon seeds to each cup water simmered gently 15 minutes. Half cup morning and evening: consume seeds.

Formula. Butternut 1; Poke root 1; Stone root half. Dose: powders – 500mg (two 00 capsules or one-third teaspoon). Liquid Extract: 30-60 drops in water. Tinctures: 1-2 teaspoons in water, thrice daily.

Topical. After emptying bowel insert one 400iu Vitamin E capsule. Inject mucilage of fresh Comfrey root. Distilled extract of Witch Hazel lotion to anus. Horsetail poultice.

Poke root. Used with success. (Edgar G. Jones MNIMH)

Important to treat associated disease.

Diet. Bland. Slippery Elm powder in soups etc. Little fibre. Avoid peppers and spicy foods. ... fistula, anal

Mineral. Essential for production of haemoglobin (see entry). Haemoglobin absorbs oxygen from the lungs from which it is borne throughout the body by the red blood cells. Iron is a component of enzymes that play a vital role in oxidation of food and release of energy. As the metal is not produced in the body it has to be obtained from external sources. Iron is also conserved by the body following breakdown of old red blood corpuscles. RDA 10mg (men), 12mg (women), 13mg (pregnant women), 15mg (nursing mothers).

Deficiency. Iron-deficiency anaemia is the most common deficiency disease in the world. Children require adequate level for cell growth and healthy development. Senior citizens may have inability to absorb. Sportspeople carefully watch their iron levels.

Studies reveal that iron absorption is reduced by coffee consumption. A single cup of coffee can effect a reduction of 30 per cent when consumed at the same time iron or iron containing foods are taken. (American Journal of Clinical Medicine, 1983)

Sources. Red meat, liver, kidney, almonds, dried fruits (especially figs), All Bran, spinach, watercress. Herbs. All seaweeds. Burdock, Devil’s Claw, Couch Grass root, Meadowsweet, Mullein, Rest Harrow, Nettles, Toadflax, Wild Strawberry leaves, Yellow Dock, Gotu Kola, Parsley, Silverweed.

Floradix Herbal Iron Extract: absorbable iron in a yeast extract dietary supplement. Contents include Nettles, Fennel, Angelica root, Horsetail, Spinach, Yarrow, etc. ... iron

Important mineral. Magnesium limestone (dolomite rock). Essential for use of Vitamins B1 and B6, a deficiency of which affects the nervous system. Vasodilator. Platelet inhibitor.

Deficiency. May lead to disorders of arteries or kidneys; brittle bones, pre-menstrual tension, heart disease, muscle cramps, hypoglycaemia, insomnia, palpitation, tremor of hands or lower limbs; anorexia, anxiety, depression, tiredness, dizziness, confusion. Studies reveal that two-thirds of patients with peripheral vascular disease are magnesium-deficient. Absorption is blocked by the contraceptive pill, a high milk or high fat intake. Chronic fatigue syndrome.

Heart attack. “An imbalance in the Magnesium/Calcium ratio may contribute to myocardial infarction.” (Dr H.J. Holtmeier, University of Freiburg, Germany)

Body effects. Co-ordination of nerves and muscles. Healthy teeth and bones. This metal activates more enzymes in the body than any other mineral. Heart patients on Digoxin have less palpitation when magnesium level is normal.

Sources. Most foods. Meat, milk, eggs, seafood, nuts (peanuts etc), brown rice, wheatbran, cocoa, Soya beans and flour, almonds, walnuts, maize, oats.

Fruits: apples, avocado, bananas, black grapes, seeds.

Herbs: Bladderwrack, Black Willow bark, Broom, Carrot leaves, Devil’s Bit, Dulse, Dandelion, Gotu Kola, Kale, Kelp, Meadowsweet, Mistletoe, Mullein, Okra, Parsley, Peppermint, Primrose flowers, Rest Harrow, Silverweed, Skunk Cabbage, Toadflax, Walnut leaves, Watercress, Wintergreen. Teas made from any of this list can be effective for low-grade magnesium deficiency.

RDA 300mg: 450mg (pregnant women and nursing mothers). ... magnesium

“Brittle bones”. The Silent Epidemic. Weakness and softness of the bones due to wastage of minerals, chiefly calcium. Crippling, painful, deforming. ‘Bone-thinning’ leads to hundreds of thousands of crush and spontaneous fractures every year. Vertebra of the spine may collapse with loss of height and stooping. Sufferers show body levels of zinc about 25 per cent lower than normal. May run in families.

Affects women more than men by 10:1 especially after menopause, whether this is natural or due to destruction or removal of ovaries in early adult life.

By means of a calcium-rich diet after 35 years it is a preventable disease. Like so many degenerative diseases a common cause is widespread consumptions of refined, processed, chemicalised foods. It is possible that dental caries is in reality osteoporosis.

In men, alcohol is the chief cause. It wreaks its greatest havoc in women 10-15 years after the menopause. Increased calcium will not restore tissue already lost by wasting. Emphasis is therefore on prevention. It is estimated that a quarter of women over 50 in the West suffer bone loss after the menopause when reduced oestrogen speeds loss of calcium with possible bone damage to wrist, spine and especially hip. The chances of such fractures in women reaching seventy are one in two.

Vitamin D deficiency predisposes, as also does over-prescription of thyroxine for hypothyroid cases. Fat-free diets can break bones.

In menopausal women, increased bone loss is associated with disorders of the ovaries, which organs should receive treatment. Specially at risk are anorexic women with absence of periods. Secondary causes: hyperthyroidism, long-term use of steroids, liver disease, drugs (Tamoxifen, Antacids).

Common fractures are those of hips, spine and wrist. Wrist bone mineral content and grip strength are related. Squeezing a tennis ball hard three times each morning and evening reduces risk of fractures of the wrist.

Drinking of Lemon juice contributes to brittle bones. The habit of daily drinking of the juice causes enamel of teeth to crumble and the removal of calcium from the bones.

Cod Liver oil (chief of the iodised oils) reaches and nourishes cartilage, imparting increased elasticity which prevents degeneration.

Coffee. Two or more cups of coffee a day significantly reduces bone mineral density in women, but drinking milk each day can counter it.

Alternatives. Alfalfa, Black Cohosh, Chamomile, Clivers, Fennel, Dong quai, Fenugreek, Liquorice, Meadowsweet, Mullein, Pimpernel, Helonias, Plantain, Rest Harrow, Shepherd’s Purse, Silverweed, Toadflax, Unicorn root. Nettle tea.

Tea. Equal parts. Alfalfa, Comfrey leaves, Nettles. Mix. 2 teaspoons to each cup boiling water; infuse 5- 15 minutes; 1 cup thrice daily.

Decoction. Equal parts: Comfrey root, Irish Moss (for minerals), Horsetail. Mix. 3 heaped teaspoons to 1 pint (500ml) water gently simmered 20 minutes. Dose: 1 cup thrice daily.

Tablets/capsules. Bamboo gum, Helonias, Iceland Moss, Irish Moss for minerals, Kelp, Prickly Ash. Formula. Horsetail 2; Alfalfa 2; Helonias 1. Mix. Powders: 500mg (two 00 capsules or one-third teaspoon). Liquid extracts: 1 teaspoon. Tinctures: 2 teaspoons. Action is enhanced by taking in a cup of Fenugreek tea.

Comfrey decoction. 1 heaped teaspoon to cup water gently simmered 5 minutes. Strain when cold. Dose: 1 cup, to which is added 10 drops Tincture Helonias, morning and evening. Fenugreek seeds may be used as an alternative to Comfrey root. Comfrey and Fenugreek are osteo-protectives. For this condition the potential benefit of Comfrey outweighs possible risk.

Propolis. Regeneration of bone tissue.

Dr John Christopher. Mix powders: Horsetail 6, de-husked Oats 3; Comfrey root 4; Lobelia 4. Dose: quarter to half a teaspoon 2-3 times daily.

Diet. Fresh raw fruit and green vegetables. Consumption of raw bran (which contains calcium-binding phytic acid) and wholemeal bread should be suspended until recovery is advanced. Natural spring water. Fish and fish oils. Reject high salt intake which aggravates bone loss and places the skeleton at risk by creating increasing loss of calcium and phosphorus through the kidneys. Avoid soft drinks, alcohol. Heavy meat meals inhibit calcium metabolism. Incidence of the disease is lower in vegetarians. High protein. Supplements. Daily. Vitamin A, Vitamin B12 (50mcg); Vitamin C (500mg); Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Folic acid 200mcg; Vitamin B6 (50mg); Calcium citrate 1g; Magnesium citrate 500mg. Boron and Vitamin D. Zinc 15mg.

Calcium helps reduce risk of fracture particularly in menopausal women who may increase their daily intake to 800mg – Calcium citrate malate being more effective than the carbonate. Dried skimmed milk can supply up to 60 per cent of the recommended daily amount of Calcium.

Stop smoking.

Information. National Osteoporosis Society, PO Box 10, Radstock, Bath BA3 3YB, UK. Send SAE. ... osteoporosis