What Really Works: The Insider’s Guide to Complementary Health. Susan Clark

explosion of interest in the field I am sure this will change and that, hopefully, companies will themselves adopt a more co-operative approach in the 21st century.

      There is also no question that solid scientific research is effectively ‘sat on’ for years before reaching the public. Take the case of folic acid (vitamin B₉) and it’s proven role in preventing Spina Bifida and other neural tube defects in the foetus. The discovery that taking 400mcg of folic acid per day could reduce the incidence of this distressing condition by 80% is now cited as one of the greatest breakthroughs in 20th-century medicine. Yet, according to the authors of The Natural Pharmacy (one of my most well-thumbed health bibles), an astonishing 30 years passed between the time researchers first reported this breakthrough and doctors routinely passing the information on to their pregnant patients. The same is true of another discovery which could and should help reduce the risk of the Western world’s number 1 killer – heart disease.

      Homocysteine is a normal byproduct of the metabolism of protein, but high levels in the blood have been shown to be 40 times more accurate as an indicator of the risk of heart disease than cholesterol. When levels are elevated, it rapidly damages the arteries and causes an immediate build-up of artherosclerotic plaque – the main trigger for both heart attacks and stroke.

      This link was first discovered by a Harvard scientist called Dr Kilmer McCully, who was investigating the cases of several infants and young children who had mysteriously died of advanced heart disease. His research, which won him no friends at the time, was first published 30 years ago. However, for political and probably financial reasons, his findings were ignored and McCully was forced to leave Harvard.

      Perhaps the major sources of funding for heart disease research were only interested in those projects investigating the link between cholesterol and heart disease. This is bizarre, though, not least because 80% of all fatal heart attacks occur in men who do not have high cholesterol levels. A cynic might suggest the reason this information was suppressed was because commercially, there was less money to be made from a safe and natural supplement than from pharmaceuticals or cholesterol-free and cholesterol-lowering foods. The good news is that this injustice has recently been exposed in the US, where homocysteine research is finally getting the attention and funding it deserves. Sadly, we have yet to see the same trend in the UK.

      You can, by the way, ask your doctor to test your homocysteine levels. If they are too high, you need to supplement your diet with vitamins B_6, B₁₂ and folic acid.

      Herbalism – How to Use Herbs

      The fastest way to get the standardised, active ingredient of a herb into the bloodstream is by taking it in tincture form. This is always my preferred method when I am in a rush and don’t have the time to grind, pulp or infuse fresh herbs.

      You can also buy herbs and herbal combinations in tablet, capsule, powdered and dried form.

      Organic Tincture Organic tinctures are now readily available in many health stores and by mail order (see Resources). Each herb will have instructions for how much to take and when on the label, so keep a supply in the cupboard for when you need them.

      Infusion This is the method herbalists use when they need to extract water-soluble ingredients from the less dense parts of the plant such as the leaves, stems and flowers. You can also use it with the roots and fruits if these have been chopped finely enough.

      What to Do: Pour 500ml of off-the-boil water on to 30g of the finely cut herb in a container with a tight-fitting lid. This coverage means that volatile substances which might otherwise evaporate are retained. Leave the solution for 10-15 minutes to infuse. Strain the liquid and allow to cool to body temperature. The usual dose is one cup of infused liquid taken three times a day, before meals.

      Poultice This simply describes the technique where the fresh plant is bruised or crushed to a pulp which is then mixed with a moistening material, ready to apply directly to the area where it is needed. You can mix the dried herbs with a little hot water or use a host paste such as flour, bran or corn meal.

      What to Do: To make a poultice paste, mix 60g of dried herb or herbs with 500ml of loose paste. Sandwich this paste between layers of sterile, thin cloth or gauze and apply to the wound or affected area.

      Compress If you have ever placed a warm facecloth over tired eyes, then you have already used this technique.

      What to Do: Soak a clean towel or sterile cloth in a hot or cold herbal infusion or decoction. Wring it out and place gently over the affected area. Repeat several times. If you are in a rush, you can use this same technique with water in which you have dissolved a few drops of your favourite essential oil.

      Decoction The harder parts of plants, especially the bark, seeds, roots and rhizomes, only release their active ingredients after a more prolonged hot-water treatment.

      What to Do: Soak 30g of your chosen herb in 500ml of cold water for 10 minutes. Pour this mixture into a saucepan, cover and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10–15 minutes. Remove from the heat, keep covered and allow the liquid to sit and cool for another 15 minutes. Strain and drink as a tea, in the same way as an infusion.

      Homoeopathy

      The principle underpinning homeopathy is that you use like to treat like. Thus, for the streaming eyes and running nose of hayfever, you take a remedy made up of the pollen of mixed grasses – the very cause of your misery. Technically, homoeopathy does not count as a natural remedy since the tiny homoeopathic pillules you will take have been synthetically manufactured, not harvested from nature, but the underlying principle of treating the whole person and the cause of an illness, not just the symptoms, brings the subject comfortably under the umbrella of complementary health.

      In fact, homoeopathy can really come into it’s own as a truly complementary practice. For example, the first time I visited India, I decided to have the conventional anti-malarial treatments since I was a first-time visitor to this part of the world and because an earlier health problem had left my immune system under par. I was planning to travel in rural areas and did not think my immune system would withstand a malarial infection, so I took the allopathic pills but then supported my system with a tailor-made homoeopathic remedy to keep me well.

      I rarely, in my columns, recommend more than the very basic homoeopathic remedies for more than the very elementary of illnesses. It can take up to seven years to qualify as a skilled homoeopath (as long as the training for many doctors) which is, to my mind, convincing evidence that this is not something you can pick up over a weekend course. A qualified homoeopath will, for example, take a detailed medical history at your first visit and prescribe according to what is known as your constitutional type.

      Each homoeopath will have his or her own intuitive way of working, too. Mine, for instance, will decide on a treatment plan only after determining how the patient reacts to specific types of pain, as well as other factors. Hers is a very precise art, combining clinical training, experience and intuition. Your practitioner will decide on what is called a constitutional remedy. Mine is Gelsemium – and I am given this, along with other remedies, regardless of my specific complaint.

      My feeling with homoeopathy is that if you can afford a qualified practitioner, then have a constitutional diagnosis and take advice for more serious conditions. For everyday problems, such as bruising or travel sickness, homeopathic pills and creams can be highly effective, so it is worth keeping these in your holistic medical kit as useful standbys.

      In homoeopathy, the potency of the active ingredient of any remedy is so diluted that not only can it cause no harm, sceptics will argue that it can’t possibly do any good either. New research is beginning to suggest the answer may lie in the fact that the human body itself is a natural homoeopathic machine.

      Thanks to ongoing UK-based research, where homoeopaths have been investigating the ability of water to record a signal, it is now being suggested that homoeopathy works according to an even deeper principle than that of treating like with like. What is actually going on is something 21st-century healers call Bio-Resonance.