1) Xiao Yin Pian: This herbal combination containing 12 different plants is the best Chinese cure for psoriasis. It has been shown to have effects in reducing allergies and asthma — both linked to an inflammatory response in the body, much like psoriasis. In a study of 200 patients with the skin disease, Xiao Yin Pian treated 48% of them fully, improved symptoms in 38%, and failed to work in only 17% of patients. Patients recovered from psoriasis in an average of two months.

2) Yin Xiao San: This contains da huang (rhubarb), bai xian pi (dittany bark), chen pi (citrus peel), tu fu ling, niu huang, qing dai (indigo), and sheng di huang. In 200 psoriasis patients, researchers tested 7.5 g, three times a day. After a month, 70 patients fully recovered, 62 improved significantly, 36 improved moderately and 20 had mild improvements.

3) Tu Huai Yin: This formula consists of 11 different herbs, many of them included in the two listed above. The herb was given in liquid form, a decoction of 600 ml once a day in 62 patients. After 15 days, treatment was completed. After this, researchers mixed it with other herbs, and they washed their red, scaly skin for one hour every night. After 15 to 60 days of treatment, 46 people watched their psoriasis disappear, 12 had symptoms improve, and only four didn’t respond to treatment.

4) Tui Yin Tang: The final herbal mix we’ll list here contained nine plants. But for patients with active psoriasis, they added tu fu ling, shi gao, and dan pi. For those with the stationary disease, they added san leng, e zhu, and yu jin (curcuma root). In the end, 49 patients fully recovered, 43 had significant improvements, 10 had mild improvements, and just four did not respond to treatment.

5) Acupoint Catgut Embedding: This popular Chinese therapy is used for many conditions, including epilepsy, asthma, colitis, and ulcers. What happens is that, during acupuncture, surgical catgut is threaded through the needle. (Catgut is a very strong string, often used for violins, harps, and other instruments.) The needle is then put into specific spots that have been anesthetized, and the catgut is left in deep tissues. In a study, this was performed three times, in a span of about two months. At the same time, patients took 12 g of qing dai (indigo) a day. In all, 24 recovered fully and 18 significantly improved.

6) Acupuncture: In one study, good old-fashioned acupuncture was effective for 115 people with psoriasis. Needles stayed in for 30 minutes, and the number of needles depended on each person. The treatment lasted between 30 and 50 days. Twenty-five fully recovered, 54 had major improvement, 19 had moderate improvement, and 17 didn’t respond to the treatment.

Depression is a common disease. In North America, between three and five percent of men and eight and 10% of women suffer from major depression at any given time. Major depression affects 8.2% of Canadian and 8.7% U.S. residents annually. The recurrent rate is 90% in five years in those who are severely depressed and 70% in the average patient with major depression.

The current cure rate with antidepressants is about 75%. Recognizing the symptoms of depression is very important, because it might reduce suffering with early medical intervention and even save lives. Experts have devised one way to recognize them:

D = depressed mood
E = energy loss/fatigue
P = pleasure lost
R = retardation or excitation
E = eating changed-appetite/weight
S = sleep
S = suicidal thoughts
I = I’m a failure (loss of confidence)
O = only me to blame (guilt)
N = no concentration

Now, two types of essential fatty acids in your body are key here — namely, omega-6 fatty acid derived from cis-linoleic acid and omega-3 fatty acid from alpha-linolenic acid (ALA).

Fish is the main source of omega 3s, namely eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). For example, three ounces of Pacific herring has the largest amount of omega 3: 1.06 g EPA and 0.75 g of DHA. Other fish and seafood that have high quantity of EPA and DHA include salmon, sardine, oysters, trout, tuna, and crab. Omega-3 fatty acid from plants such as flaxseed, canola oil and walnuts consists of ALA, which can convert into a small amount of EPA and DHA. That is why fish is the best.

More than 150 years ago, the omega-3 fatty acids in the human diet were from fish, plants and wild game with a ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid of 1:1. A large increase in the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids (10:1) in the typical Western diet has been linked to many of the chronic diseases in modern societies. In recent years, omega 3 fatty acids have been highly recommended by health professionals for the prevention of heart disease and increasing attention has been paid to their role in the prevention of other diseases, such as depression, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and even cancer.

Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids play an important role in your nervous system:

• They are major structural components of the cell membranes, including brain cells
• DHA is required for the retina of the eyes to develop normally
• DHA is important in cognitive functions
• Omega-3 content in the brain affects brain cell survival by acting on a group of chemical known as neurotrophins
• Omega-3 brain levels may affect gene expression responsible for inflammation and fatty acid metabolism
• Omega-3 and omega-6 influence the production of chemicals known to provoke inflammatory response, which can cause depression

Over the next week or so, I will review the link between omega-3 and depression with recent evidence from both large population studies and high-quality double-blind, placebo-controlled studies with omega-3 supplements.

Approximately 2.4 million people in the U.S. have panic disorder. As the name implies, the person with this disorder experiences a sudden episode of very intense fear, oftentimes mistaken for a heart attack. During the panic attack, a person may have these symptoms: headache; dizziness; fainting spell; nausea; sweating; rapid heartbeat; and sense of impending doom or even death; tightness in the throat or chest. These attacks usually last about 30 minutes followed by fatigue.

The exact cause is unknown, but genetics, mental or environmental stress and/or biochemical changes in brain function may be contributory factors. Medications and psychotherapy are the main forms of treatment for panic attacks.

There are two high-quality clinical studies on inositol in the treatment of panic attacks.

In one, 21 patients with panic attacks were randomized to a crossover treatment trial of 12 grams a day of inositol or placebo for a total of four weeks. Results showed that inositol reduced the frequency and severity of panic attacks with minimal side effects.

In another study, conducted in Israel, 20 patients with panic attacks received 18 grams a day of inositol or 150 milligrams of fluvoxamine a day in a randomized, crossover trial lasting four weeks. Results showed that inositol was more effective than fluvoxamine in reducing the number of panic attacks per week. Inositol dropped the number by four and the drug by 2.4. Moreover, inositol-treated patients had minimal adverse effects, whereas fluvoxamine-treated patients experienced nausea and tiredness. Now for depression, which afflicts 17 million U.S. adults. What causes depression is unknown at this time. Several contributory factors include: physical changes in the brain in depressed individuals; abnormal levels of certain neurotransmitters in the brain; early trauma during childhood; loss of loved one; hereditary influence; and hormonal changes, such as those experienced during menopause.

Other than drugs, natural remedies include:
electroconvulsive therapy; psychotherapy; acupuncture; the herb St. John’s wort; omega 3 fatty acids; yoga; meditation; and guided imagery massage therapy.

There is early evidence from one study that shows inositol as being effective in depression. This study was conducted in Israel, with 28 depressed subjects randomized to receive either 12 grams a day of inositol or placebo for four weeks. Inositol treatment led to significant improvement in symptoms and had no negative effects on the kidney, liver or blood.

For most, the decision to retire usually depends on financial reasons. If you know that your company pension benefits kick in at a certain age, then that’s when you’ll most likely choose to retire.

The whole idea of retirement is a modern invention. It wasn’t until the 19th and 20th centuries that people began to stop working before their health took a chronic turn for the worse. Life expectancy in the 1800s was roughly 37 years of age (!). Of course, there were no pensions either, and so everyone simply worked until their death. Germany was the first country to introduce retirement in the 1880s.

There have been conflicting reports about the benefits of retirement. Although a lot of research documents definite physical benefits in relation to retirement, there also seem to be studies that suggest continued work is actually good for the brain and soul.

So what do we make of this debate: is it better to keep working and try to maintain your work skill set, or is it best to step back and let other, younger employees do the daily grind? Well — recent results from a Swedish study come down in favor of the pro-retirement camp. Researchers at the Stress Research Institute at Stockholm University have discovered that retirees experience less tiredness and depression.

The Swedish research team analyzed data from more than 11,000 men and almost 2,900 women in France who were surveyed for seven years before and seven years after they retired. Seventy-two percent retired between the ages of 53 and 57 and all were retired by the age of 64.

Now take a look at these statistics: in the year before retirement, 25% of the participants suffered from depression and seven percent were diagnosed with various conditions, including diabetes, respiratory disease, heart disease, and/or stroke. But after retirement, there was a big decrease in mental and physical fatigue, and a smaller, but still significant decrease in depression. As for rates of chronic diseases — they didn’t decrease, but gradually increased with age, as the researchers expected they would.

The research team noted that many people find full-time work tiring, so, once that is removed, energy levels go up. But they also suggest that retirement allows people to engage in more stimulating and restorative activities. Have you ever been in the position where you were too tired at the end of the work day to exercise? No so for retirees, the researchers say, who can get all the health benefits of exercise when they don’t have to contend with job fatigue.

One of the best foods for promoting the health of your skin is salmon. Salmon happens to contain one very important ingredient: omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids are essential for your health, but, because they cannot be made by your body, you must get them from the foods you eat. Cold water fish, like salmon, are higher in omega-3 fatty acids than warm water fish.

Increasing your consumption of omega-3-fatty-acid-rich foods such as salmon could help keep your skin supple and youthful. Most Americans are low in omega-3s; they tend to get far more omega-6s in the diet they eat. Medical experts recommend a 1:1 ratio of omega-6 fatty acids to omega-3s. Often, for the average American, the ratio is more like 20:1. If you boost your consumption of salmon and other oily fish, you’ll be increasing the amount of omega-3s you get and you could be helping your skin to look and feel healthier.

German researchers were able to prove in a double-blind, randomized, parallel group study that omega-3s could improve the health of damaged skin. The trial was quite extensive and was performed in eight European centers. Eighty-three patients hospitalized for chronic plaque-type psoriasis with a severity score of at least 15, according to the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI), participated in the 14-day trial. The patients were given either an omega-3 fatty acid treatment or an omega-6 treatment.

The researchers found that the omega-3 group had a significantly lower score on the PASI index after treatment than the omega-6 group. The omega-3 group also had the greatest improvement in overall scaling and redness of skin. The researchers concluded that omega-3-fatty acids are effective in the treatment of chronic plaque-type psoriasis.

One possibility that many people are unaware of is low levels of hydrochloric acid in the stomach. When you don’t have enough hydrochloric acid, your intestines allow tiny particles of food to enter the bloodstream, causing an allergic reaction.

Candidiasis is another likely cause of eczema. Candidiasis is an overgrowth of yeast that kills off friendly bacteria in your body. But by far the most common cause of eczema is food allergies. Even chronic stress is thought to trigger eczema.

To help cure eczema, try to determine if a food allergy is causing your skin to react. Use an elimination diet to see if you can isolate a food that is triggering your condition. Try avoiding eggs, peanuts, soy foods, wheat, and dairy products. If your skin condition clears up, one or more of these foods may be responsible for the inflammatory response that causes eczema.

Take friendly bacteria like acidophilus and bifidus in capsule form to give your digestive system a boost. You can find these supplements at any health food store, as well as some pharmacies. Follow the recommended dose on the label.

To help ease itching and redness, make a natural paste from goldenseal root powder, vitamin E oil, and a little honey. Apply to the affected area. This could help to clear up any bacterial infection, heal sore and irritated skin, and reduce symptoms of itching.

One final thing you can do is to apply a tea tree oil antiseptic cream on your skin, especially after bathing or showering. The chemicals in tap water can further irritate eczema, so tea tree oil is great remedy for dealing with the necessity of exposing the skin to chlorinated water.