Editor’s Letter
Healing is so much more than this
We look at the Mediterranean diet and Parkinson’s disease amongst other topics in this issue, but did you know these two topics are actually also linked? A new study suggests a strong correlation between the Mediterranean diet and later onset of Parkinson disease (up to 17 years later in women and 8 years later in men). It is important to take note of the impacts specific foods and micronutrients may have on brain health and to drive home the connection between the gut and the brain in disease management. The study was published in Movement Disorders.
With this newsletter, magazine and our other platforms, I do not wish to detract from or undermine the role of medical doctors or even the kind of medicine they practise. There is a place for surgery, antibiotics, hospital care and even symptomatic medicines, but we need to recognise the limits of allopathic medicine.
There is a spirit, a heart in natural medicine and by that I don’t mean the herbs, supplements or essential oils as those are only tools. There is an invisible presence that plays a role in healing. I strive to honour that which is steadfast, the ‘unmoving mover’ as Aristotle named it and our intuition that guides us just like a sick animal is guided to a healing plant.
Animals are clueless about patents and placebos. We need to open our minds and allow for an integration of two very different ways of seeing health and disease. We can strive to be less symptom-treatment orientated and more directed to help the body heal itself — more heart, less head; more prevention, less cure. We are not just bodies that are ill or biochemical processes and bacteria, viruses or cancer cells that need to be corrected, cut out, burnt and killed. But we know this.
Deep down we recognise that ill health and healing is so much more than this.
THANK YOU TO OUR EXPERTS
Our authors receive no payment or any other form of remuneration from us or from industry. The result is a credible platform that you, are readers, can trust. Here’s to all of them! May their tireless and tremendous efforts bring them well-deserved rewards.
Yours in Healthy Living
What Does Gluten Intolerance Mean?
Table of Contents ↑|Gluten and wheat intolerance is common today, with many sufferers being unaware of their condition. Wheat products can result in digestive disorders, respiratory tract conditions such as asthma and allergic rhinitis, or skin problems such as eczema and urticaria in people sensitive to wheat. Gluten intolerance doesn’t necessarily manifest as gut symptoms, so some people have no idea they’re intolerant.
The Therapeutic Properties of Aloe Ferox
Table of Contents ↑|Aloes are succulent plants of the Lilliaceae family and are mostly indigenous to sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. About 360 species have been identified in these regions. The medicinal use of aloes dates back to antiquity. Ancient rock art of the San people depicts the harvesting of aloes resembling Aloe ferox.
Mediterranean Diet linked to slower Mental Decline
Table of Contents ↑|People who eat and drink like the Greeks may think a little more clearly into old age, hints a study published in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The findings add to a handful of evidence that a Mediterranean-style diet may be as good for the brain as it is for the rest of the body.
Permaculture Restores Ecosystems & Communities
Table of Contents ↑|A Shona African community healed their damaged ecosystems by restoring their springs, rebuilding their soil and regenerating their agriculture. In doing so they alleviated poverty and malnutrition. Permaculture farming has proven effective all over the planet.
Music as Therapy for Parkinson’s Disease
Table of Contents ↑|Parkinson’s disease is a long-term degenerative neurological disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. Music can provide therapeutic benefit to enhance movement and mood in people living with Parkinson’s disease.
The Importance of Touch
Table of Contents ↑|Human beings as social creatures, are born with an innate sense of wanting and needing to touch, initially as a primary means of learning and later communication. It is the FIRST sensory system to develop, and continues to function after sight and hearing have failed, thus helping us stay ‘in touch’ with our world.
