Although it is not widely known, a vast number of the prescription medecines that we use today are derived from compounds found in plants.  These chemicals are first isolated and then produced in concentrated form before being tested in humans. It is this concentration of active ingredients that makes them so effective, but it also gives rise to side effects as well. Essential oils are useful supplements for athletes to take. Most athletes have a morbid fear of fat in their diet. As much as possible, they stay away from anything with fat in it and especially animal fat. As a matter of fact, if you were to take a look in their fridges, you would see all low fat foods. However we do no that in spite of all the focus of dieters on fat reduction, that our body needs a certain amount of oils and fat to work well. This is particularly true of athletes that are in training. Although it is a bit of a simplification, these essential oils can be seen as lubricants that deal with all those rusty hinges and other moving parts in our bodies.

Diet supplements are useful to everyone and not just athletes. Nutritional supplements come in all shapes and sizes but there are always a few that can help to improve your health. Supplements are basically vitamins and minerals that support the healthy functioning of your body and its processes. They are already present in your body, so you are not adding anything that should not be there. As long as you don’t exceed the daily intake limits you cannot do anything but good to your health – that includes weight loss as well as overall wellbeing. Just be aware that these are standard nutritional supplements and not diet pills or appetite suppressants. If you want to have the healthy diet of a performance athlete these are best avoided.

• Breast Swelling and Tenderness
• Dizziness
• Nausea and vomiting
• Abdominal bloating
• Headache
• Water retention
• Swelling of the face, hands, ankles
• Depressed mood
• Fatigue
• Crying spells
• Irritability or anxiety
• Difficulty sleeping

 Herbal Remedies

For cramping camomile, black cohosh and valerian all have a great reputation for easing the pain. With these types of herbs it is best to know when you are going to start and to take them the day before and then every few hours once you are starting. The way that you take the herbs will depend on how you buy them from your favorite natural remedy store.

Parsley, dandelion and horsetail are all diuretic herbs that are used to treat urinary tract infections in women. They are also effective in reducing bloating and water retention and the symptoms and weight gain that are associated with them.

Evening primrose oil has been traditionally eaten with food to help to reduce PMS, but nowadays it is best to take evening primrose oil which has been extracted in a strength that makes it more effective when it is taken for short period. If you want to eat the herb, you need to take it over a long time for it to work well in most women.

The Chaste tree berry has a good reputation for alleviating the symptoms of PMS, but it does produce some side effects in a small number of cases. It has been reported to help with headaches, irritability, breast tenderness, and weepiness. Side effects are usually digestive tract related.

Magnesium

Women who take Magnesium supplements over an extended period have been shown to have better periods. Improvements have been found in water retention, weight gain, breast tenderness and mood swings. one study was for people taking 350 mgs three times per day, while another was taking 200 mg per day. Both studies reported improvements. If you have an existing medical conditions you should talk to your doctor before taking supplements as they can interact with some drugs and they do make some conditions worse.

Diet

Suggestions for dietary changes to improve symptoms of PMS include avoiding caffeine and alcohol and taking small, regular meals to stabilise your blood sugar levels. Most nutritionists will suggest avoiding fatty foods and reducing intake of red meat. you should reduce salt intake and eat potassium rich food to counteract water retention. You should increase your intake of fresh fruit and vegetables as well as nuts and beans.

Exercise

There is a lot of anecdotal evidence that taking brisk aerobic exercise can help to relieve PMS symptoms and help to relax women. Cycling, running and swimming are popular ways to get this type of work out. Yoga can also help to relax you if you are feeling tense, just as it does with other conditions like yeast infections or acid reflux.

No matter which natural remedies for PMS you choose, remember to take them for several cycles and to be patient and not expect instant results.

We could find no studies of scientific value on the subject but we did find a lot of evidence from users who support natural remedies as effective treatments for brain related conditions. Certainly in the case of herbal remedies there is a long history of their use to calm people and to improve focus and concentration. The herbs that are used tend to come from Asia and they are not very well known in the West, but in the countries where they are found naturally they have as strong a reputation as our medicinal herbs have here. The evidence for homeopathy is more anecdotal.

Certainly there is a case to be made for a more holistic approach to the treatment of ADHD, with a focus on exercise, good diet and stimulation complimenting any remedies or drugs that are taken.

This is supported by new research into Alzheimer’s that has been carried out by Dr Deborah Barnes (PhD) at the San Francisco VA Medical centre. According to her findings up to 50% of all Alzheimer’s cases could be prevented by either lifestyle changes or by treatment of chronic medical conditions which could include natural treatments.

In a large scale, global study, Barnes found that the following were the key risk factors associated with 51% of cases of the disease:

• low education,
• smoking,
• physical inactivity,
• depression,
• mid-life hypertension,
• diabetes and
• mid-life obesity

Of course all of these conditions will benefit from a holistic approach that includes diet and exercise and the benefits in terms of quality of life for individuals and cost reduction for families would be enormous. So far the focus of health professionals has been on turning to the drugs companies to solve this problem, but this research opens the opportunity for those involved to take a different and more effective approach.

So while we will continue to look for more research support for these types of natural remedies, we will keep an open mind on remedies for brain conditions. It seems clear that a holistic approach will not do any harm and will probably do some good and that herbal remedies can be effective in this area. Although they are not as well known as remedies to treat yeast infections or colds and flu, they can nevertheless work well.

Overactive Bladder

If you have to urinate more than eight times per day then you may bee suffering from an overactive bladder. If you have to urinate a lot at night, that may also indicate and overactive bladder. Some experts combine overactive bladders with urge incontinence, but we consider them to be seperate issues.

Urge Incontinence

If you have a sudden strong urge to urinate and then you leak urine then you may have urge incontinence. The gap between the urge and leaking can be anything from seconds to a minute. This is often cause by damage to the nerves that control bladder function or by another medical condition.

Functional Incontinence

This is mainly related to mobility and the ability to get to a bathroom.

Temporary Incontinence

People routinely develop illnesses that mean that they an urgent desire to urinate that they cannot control. A common example is a urinary tract infection. If you are taking medication or you have a bladder infection you can experience this type of incontinence, but it goes away once the cystitis is treated or when the medication is no longer taken.

Stress Incontinence

Leaking from the bladder is controlled by the sphincter muscles and the whole bladder is supported by the pelvic muscles. If these muscles are weakened, then the bladder can leak when we laugh, sneeze, cough or exercise. This is known as stress incontinence.

Mixed Incontinence

In quite a few cases people suffer from more than one form of incontinence and it is important that each tyep is diagnosed if the condition is to be successfully treated.

Bladder control problems arise from a wide range of issues. In some cases medication can be to blame. In others, infections like cystitis are the cause, but they will pass relatively quickly. More difficult to treat are cases where nerve or other bladder damage has been cuased by underlying conditions such as diabetes, Parkinson’s, MS, stroke or trauma. The issue is also frequently linked to people being overweight and this can be difficult to overcome for many.

The New York City Department of Health are clear that yeast infections are not normally sexually transmitted, although they are clear that in most cases we have very little knowledge about why people do get them. The exception as always is in cases where people have suppressed immune systems or if they suffer from a small group of underlying conditions such as diabetes.

The Mayo Clinic makes the point that it is possible for men to get a male yeast infection if they have unprotected sex with a women who has they infection. However they do make the point that just because a women has the infection, it does not mean that you will get it too. Transmission in this way is uncommon. They do make the practical that if you and your partner are both infected, then you both need to be treated. You should also abstain from sex until all yeast infection symptoms are gone.

An academic study that has been published in the British Medical Journal carried out research that showed that people who had sexually transmitted diseases (stds) also had yeast infections. 39% of women and 29% of men who were found to have stds also had a yeast infection. While it might be inferred that in these cases the infection was sexually acquired, that does not imply that sexual transmission is common.

The US Department of Health are clear that yeast infections can be sexually transmitted, but that most often, women don’t get this infection from sex. they state that the most common reason women get them is because of a weakened immune system. They also state that health experts do not know if a yeast infection can be sexually transmitted, but say that 12 – 15% of men get an itchy rash on the penis if they have unprotected sex with and infected women. The don’t give any references for this data in their information, so we could not follow up to see where this research data came from. they also say that Lesbians may be at risk of spreading yeast infections to their partners, although research is still underway to confirm this.

This article from a doctor in Canada also quotes the 12-15% figure for males, but again no reference is given. They do point out that the signs and symptoms of a thrush infection are very similar to those of several STDs, For this reason, if you have any cause for concern, you should seek professional help without delay.

So the overall picture is that the research does not confirm that yeast infections can be sexually transmitted. However if you have an STD you should also be checked for a yeast infection. If you both have a yeast infection, then abstinence is probably a good idea until all the symptoms have passed.

Doctors seperate two type of UTIs

• Lower UTI infections which are termed cystitis if the infection is in the bladder, or urethritis if the infection is in the urethra.
• Upper UYI infections are infections in either the kidneys or the urethers. Upper UTI infections are more serious because of the risk of kidney damage.

The most common symptoms of a urinary tract infection are:

• A frequent need to urinate
• Pain when passing urine
• Lower abdominal pain

While the symptoms of a UTI are very uncomfortable, the infection is not often life threatening. The most serious complications are sepsis and kidney failure. but these are rare. People who get recurring UTIs may need to make lifestyle changes and to get treatment to avoid future occurances.

Urinary tract infections can affect both men and women, but women are more susceptible because of their physical make-up. Both adults and children and affected but adults suffer more incidents of this type of infection.

Because the infection can occur in several site in the urinary tract, treatment does vary. However a majority of cases occur in the urethra of bladder and the treatment for them is quite straightforward. When treated promptly, the effects of the infection will not last more than a week. Home remedies for UTI can be based on household items, herbal remedies or even aromatherapy. Many resources on the web offer individual cures, but the best uti treatments involve a number of approaches that are combined and have been proven to work over time.

The quickest way to treat the symptoms are to apply heat or cold to the affected area. Ice packs work well initially if applied for 15-20 minutes and they will bring down any swelling or inflamation. If your pain is muscle related, then heat packs can loosen sore muscles and provide relief from the pain. Of course if you have suffered a sports or activity injury, you must rest the shoulder and avoid anything that could make matters worse. Do not be tempted to put stress on your shoulder again until it has been given time to fully recover.

For natural remedies, accupuncture and aromatherapy can both provide pain relief when you have a shoulder injury and St John’s Wort has been quoted by several sources as a good natural source of shoulder pain relief.