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Journal of an Herbalist
By Karima Burns, MH, ND 25/05/2001
Client: Nahid
Case: Nahid came to me complaining of weakness, dizziness, mood swings and bouts of lethargy in the afternoons. She explained that she had been tested for "almost everything" at the hospital and that all, including the one test they thought would show up positive - for hypoglycemia - came back negative. She could not explain her condition, as she was otherwise in good health and had a positive outlook on life. So, she decided that she wanted me to teach her how to lead a more active and vibrant life.
Journal: I explained to Nahid how, as an herbalist I would go through "naming" her disease, but would instead be trying to balance her body systems. However, I
did mention to her my own experience with hypoglycemia. I tested negative for six years and then found out that the tests are not usually accurate (Murray, 1991 p. 264). I had suffered in confusion for ten years, always wondering what was "wrong" with me. Fourteen years ago I switched to a hypoglycemic diet and healed myself through herbs, a lifestyle change and diet.
I did an "iridology reading" (reading of the iris) on Nahid, asked her details about her health history and then asked her some general questions about her lifestyle and dietary habits. It was at this point that an interesting pattern emerged - one she hadn't been conscious of before.
Nahid had originally thought this was a problem she recently developed. However, she realized by talking about it that the same problem had been plaguing her throughout her entire life. She remembered that when she was a young girl she used to come home from school and find it necessary to sleep right away before she did any homework. She spoke about her reluctance to have children with her husband of twelve years because she felt she could not "keep up with them" and she spoke of her husband's confusion with all her mood swings.
Her diet also revealed a pattern. Her main food staple since childhood had been white bread and pasta. For breakfast, she would eat white bread with a little cheese and tea; for lunch she would have a large loaf of bread with some spread; and for dinner she would have some kind of pasta with a light sauce. She ate sparingly of vegetables and meat. As she became older and took responsibility for her own cooking, Nahid found that she naturally migrated towards the same foods as an adult. She often had a roll with coffee and milk for breakfast, a sandwich with heavy bread for lunch and pasta for dinner. She rarely ate from other grains such as rice or barley.
I suspected her high carbohydrate diet was keeping her body in an imbalanced state. To make matters worse, her carbohydrates were mostly refined and she had also developed an affinity for sugary carbohydrates like: donuts, cakes and cookies. Furthermore, her diet was high in wheat, a grain known to cause allergic-type reactions in many people.
Simple and refined carbohydrates like: bread, rolls, and pasta, can cause an over release of the hormone, insulin, when they are eaten. The scientific term for this condition
is…post-prandial reactive hyperinsulinemia, which means that too much insulin is being released after eating. Over time, people who are
hyperinsulinemic become insulin resistant causing the cells in their muscles, nervous systems, and organs start to close down to the high levels of insulin in their blood. Insulin is no longer able to open the doors to these cells and allow food energy (blood sugar or glucose) to enter. At this point, one may experience symptoms of low-blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia) including irritability, shakiness, tiredness, intense cravings, confusion, and headaches. Since the blood sugar cannot easily enter the muscles, nervous system, or organs…much of the food energy gets channeled into the fat cells and weight gain results easily. Over time however, as high insulin levels continue, even the fat cells can shut
down and the blood glucose gets trapped in the blood stream bringing on the condition known as adult-onset diabetes (Murray, 1994 p. 66).
In addition to the problems of a high carbohydrate diet, Nahid's body also had to deal with the problems associated with eating refined foods. Refined foods, lacking in vital nutrients, must take the nutrients they need from either the meal that is being eaten or from the body itself. Since Nahid's meals contained little in the way of fruits and vegeatables, her body had probably been leeched of vital nutrients for years (Balch, p.30).
Nahid's diet was also high in wheat. Spring wheat, the most common form used in today's market, is known to cause allergies, bloating, hot flashes, indigestion, mood swings, irritability and fatigue in many people (Pitchford, p. 125).
I told her that modifying her diet and herbal support would help her body maintain a healthy balance. For years, her body had not been fed the proper nutrients and had been bombarded with an imbalanced and insufficient diet. I modified her diet from 80% carbohydrate, 15% protein and 5% vegetables to only 20% carbohydrates, 40% protein and 40% vegetables. I also reduced her wheat intake by putting her on a four day rotation with wheat advising that she eat wheat the first day of her rotation; rice the second day; barley the third day; and oats the fourth day. She could also use grains like quinoa, amaranth and spelt to add variety. I advised her to reduce her sugar intake to deserts and limit them to after meals. Bread with sugar, rolls, jams and jellies and canned vegetables, which are also made with sugar, were not allowed in her new "diet".
I also told Nahid that she must reduce the stress on her body by limiting the intake of chemicals like caffeine, which stress her adrenal glands. Furthermore, I advised her to walk twenty minutes a day, which would help her body balance glucose production (Murray, 1994) and to get at least seven to eight hours of sleep a night, as sleep deprivation could also induce a hypoglycemic state (Murray, 1994).
For her herbal formula I gave her a simple tea of fenugreek and cloves. It was said by the Prophet Mohammad (SAWS) that, "If my ummah knew the value of fenugreek they would pay its weight in gold." Fenugreek certainly is worth its weight in gold for hypoglycemics. Fenugreek seeds have been found to be very high in a number of nutrients, most notably fixed oils, which are comparable to the beneficial cod liver oil and other therapeutic oils that contain high amounts of vitamin A and choline. The trigonelline in the seeds has been proven to have a hypoglycemic effect on rats, and has long been a favorite for treating people suffering from hypoglycemia and diabetes as well as fatigue (Murray, 1991, p. 282). Cloves are beneficial in speeding up the action of the fenugreek, as well as in killing any parasites or infections that may have resulted from years of high-carbohydrate and refined foods diet. Cloves also help eradicate Candida, a common complaint of people with highly refined diets (Balch p. 185).
Nahid returned a week later with a bouquet of flowers and hugged me. "I am so happy to have my life back!" she exclaimed, beaming. She continued to explain that within four days of changing her diet she had more energy than ever before. She also felt the tea was helping her body rebuild itself. Two months later she continues to eat a more varied diet, and although she has increased her carbohydrate intake again, she is aware of how her body reacts now and tries to rotate her grains as well as balance her meals. She also talked to her mother about her appointment and has gained more insight into her condition.
Her mother had the same diet, the same lifestyle and the same complaints Nahid did, both as a child and a young adult. The only difference is that her mother is still following the same diet and lifestyle, and after years of hypoglycemia has now developed diabetes. Nahid said that she considers herself very lucky and was sharing some of her new dietary tips with her mother, who was also feeling better.
I told Nahid that in order to continue feeling good, she needed to continue to balance her meals; limit sugar only to after meals; reduce caffeine in her diet to once a day and to be sure to walk for at least twenty minutes every day. I also explained to her that lack of sleep and stress could make her condition worse, even if her diet is controlled. I also told her that in the event that she did "break the dietary rules" (such as a party, an outing or a visitation) she could have a cup of fenugreek tea to counteract any sugary or refined foods she ate or that she could follow a sugary treat by a high-protein meal to get her system back in balance. She listened carefully to everything I said - then she asked me about some herbs she could take to increase her chances of having children.
Sources:
Balch, Phyllis, RN and Balch, Dr. James, MD. Prescription for Nutritional Healing. New York:
Avery Press, 1996.
Murray, Michael , ND and Pizzorno, Joseph. Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine. Rocklin, CA: Prima Publishing, 1991.
Murray, Michael T., ND. Diabetes and Hypoglycemia. Rocklin, CA: Prima Publishing, 1994.
Pitchford, Paul. Healing With Whole Foods. Berkeley, California: North Atlantic Books, 1993.
Karima Burns is a naturopath and herbalist. She has published her own newsletter about natural healing for four years and has studied many aspects of natural healing - from herbs to homeopathy to aromatherapy - for the past 12 years. She is an herbal consultant and teaches people about natural healing from her home in Saudi Arabia.
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