Herpes Nation Newsletter Volume One, Edition Six
Welcome Home
A Herpes Free New Year
This year my fondest wish for you is to have a year where herpes is a non-factor in your life. A year in which you spend no more time worrying about herpes than you would worrying about how many different children have played the role of Annie in Little Orphan Annie on Broadway.
It’s it largely up to you. If you are willing to make peace with the herpes virus and take a fearless personal inventory of your life you will be able to identify the habits and lifestyle choices that are triggering your outbreaks. You have the power to make progressive changes without being dependant on a prescription drug. No matter what your past history is with herpes you can change your situation now.
What a person can do is almost unlimited, what most people choose to do is largely disappointing.
Choose to control your herpes infection instead of having your lifelong herpes infection control you.
To celebrate this great new year I am offering a free gift to all readers of this newsletter. Email me at holistic at natropractica.com to ask for your gift.
Happy New Year
christopher scipio
homeopath/herbalist
holistic viral specialist
Dress for success. A warm scarf may be your best ally in not getting a cold. And ladies, no matter how sexy you are, you may wish to reconsider plunging exposed necklines at this time of year. Button up your coats. Dress in layers and eschew those low riding pants and jeans.
Act immediately. Usually the first sign of a cold or flu is a sore throat followed by fatigue. As soon as you feel even the hint of this coming
drop everything you are doing and get out of the cold and into your bed. Rest is key, even if it means taking a day or two off from work and your duties as a parent. If you don’t slow down you will probably get sick.
An ounce of prevention… Carry around those dried ginger cubes you find in health food stores. Reed’s brand has organic ginger cubes. Suck on them and eat them whenever the weather or chilly or you feel your throat getting sore or itchy. I have avoided dozens of colds
this way.
Silence is golden. If you feel your throat getting sore or itchy, stop talking. Save your voice.
Hydrate yourself. Drink lots of water and teas containing vitamin c during the winter like rose hips or hibiscus. My favourite
is a combination of rose hips, hibiscus and ginger.
If you feel yourself sliding down into sickness drink plenty of ginger and green onion tea (use the white bulb part of organic green onions)..
Make sure you carry around the homeopathic remedy gelsenium sempervirens 30c, and take 2 pellets every 1-2 hours if you start feeling ill.
Definately consider getting my Milena Cold and Flu formula at the bottom of this newsletter. It’s the best formula I have ever created and I have never gotten a cold or flu while taking it as a preventative.
The Hidden Dangers of Caffeine
Adrenalin is what gives athletes that winning burst of energy and
Good Samaritans the ability to rescue people by lifting cars.
Adrenalin is also the source of our “fight-or-flight” response,
which enabled our prehistoric ancestors to escape from saber-toothed
tigers and other predators.
By stimulating your adrenal glands to produce adrenalin,
caffeine puts your body in this “fight-or-flight” state, which is
useless while you’re just sitting at your desk. When this adrenal
high wears off later, you feel the drop in terms of fatigue,
irritability, headache or confusion.
At this point, you may reach for another “hit” of caffeine, followed
by another, and another and maybe even one more. If you constantly
keep your body on a caffeine high, you’re constantly keeping your
body in “flight-or-flight” mode.
Cherniske explains your body’s “perspective” of this constant state:
“Imagine you lived in a country that was always under threat of
attack. No matter where you went, there was a perpetual state of
alert. Not only that, but your defenses were constantly being
depleted and weakened.
Does that sound stressful? Caffeine produces the same
effect on your body, like fighting a war on multiple fronts at the
same time.” Cherniske calls your body’s constant state of alert
“caffeine-ism,” which is characterized by fatigue, anxiety, mood
swings, sleep disturbance, irritability and depression.
After prolonged “caffeine-ism,” your body enters a state of adrenal
exhaustion. Your caffeine consumption has simply pushed your adrenal
glands so much that they’ve burned out. Ralph T. Golan, ND, describes
this unfortunate state in his book, Herbal Defense: “Caffeine forces
your glands to secrete when they don’t have much left to give, and
they have to keep digging deeper and deeper, making you more and more
tired over time. And over the years, it takes more and more coffee to
get the same result.
Some people reach the point of drinking half a dozen or more cups of
coffee to get the same result and it’s barely keeping them awake.
That’s severe adrenal depletion.”
In other words, caffeine affects your body just like any drug. You
start taking it slowly, but as your body develops a tolerance to it,
you need more and more to feel the same effects. Eventually, your
body reaches a point where it can’t be without it; otherwise, you
will start to experience withdrawal symptoms.
You may think that you don’t drink nearly enough to become addicted
to it, but you probably already are. “Careful research conducted by
the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine shows that low to moderate caffeine
intake (as little as one 14-ounce mug per day) can quickly produce
withdrawal symptoms,” writes Cherniske.
Yes, caffeine is a drug, even though it’s something that you
ingested in your beloved chocolate bars and colas since early
childhood.
Instead of reaching for your morning cup of coffee, you can do your
body a big favor by eating a healthy breakfast instead. A good
breakfast, maintained by a healthy lunch, will keep you energetic all
day. You can read News Target’s page on breakfast to learn to
distinguish between the good and bad breakfast foods, but whatever
you do, don’t wash it down with a cup of coffee.
Kathleen Sales, CBT, CCHT, EFT
International Energy Therapist
ANCIENT WISDOM ~ A Healing Place
www.ahealingmind.com
Herpes: The Great Illuminator
I have written before about the positive aspects of having a life-long herpes infection, and there are several, today another one has made itself known to me.
Herpes can be a great illuminator.
When you are having an outbreak or herpes-related symptoms it can bring to the surface some of your deepest, darkest fears, insecurities and neuroses.
Some of the ones that my patients tell me that come up most often are insecurities about body image, memories of past sexual abuse, fear of not being desired/being unattractive, fear of rejection, fear of infecting others, fear of ridicule and fear of being outed.
If you were struggling with your body image before having herpes, having outbreaks sends that fear right up into the stratosphere. This is the proverbial double-whammy. For some people until they make peace with their feelings about their body they will not have the virus under control. For others, until they make peace with herpes, having outbreaks will make the schism between themselves and their body way worse and there will be no reconciliation between themselves and their body until making peace with the virus first.
For those who were the victims of past sexual abuse or who were coerced into sex-work as young people, having symptoms of outbreaks can bring some ugly, terrifying or emotionally paralyzing feelings up to the surface, some of them long-buried. If the person was infected with herpes as part of the sexual abuse or exploitation, that adds another huge layer to the issue. This is the most daunting of the herpes illuminations but it is better to have this illuminated and on the surface rather than repressed. Herpes can provide an opportunity to understand and work on this issue. Holisticallly healing your herpes can help change your relationship with yourself in an empowering way which can be part of a larger programme of healing these past wounds and vice-versa.
It’s very challenging, obviously to feel attractive and desired when having regular outbreaks or symptoms, this is one of the many reasons why having a supportive, understanding partner/s is crucial for someone with herpes and why I encourage people to let go of anyone they are having an intimate relationship with who isn’t supportive and understanding.
As human beings we tend to fear rejection more than almost any other fear. The advertising industry is largely propelled by re-inforcing this fear in order to sell everything from antiperspirants to plastic-surgery. It is especially crushing to be rejected for something you have no control over like race, height, or having herpes. Twinned with this fear of rejection is a fear of ridicule. There are a number of cruel people out there (thankfully only a small minority) who have said and continue to say harsh things about people with herpes. Most people are far more loving and tolerant than this but the fear of being ridiculed like the fear of rejection can get blown up way out of proportion.
The fear of infecting others in and of itself can trigger symptoms and outbreaks.
This is a healthy fear in so far as it can be a motivation for treating your herpes and practicing safer sex but you should not allow it to become an overwhelming fear or it may get in the way of reclaiming your sex life which is a important step in living a holistically healthy life with herpes.
We could all make the fear of being outed a thing of the past by coming out of the closet and talking about herpes, educating the general public about herpes and herpes prevention and by claiming our place in the sun as a majority of the population, but because we don’t do this, we have self-imposed on ourselves the status of a dis-empowered ashamed community. I am always amazed by how far some people will go to not have to out themselves as a person with herpes. People have the right to keep their private lives private, but many of the people in the public arena who willing admit to me in private that they have herpes won’t admit it in public and this includes radio and television talk show hosts, porn stars, sex-educators, health-care workers, etc.
Until gays and lesbians started coming out of the closet in the 60’s and 70’s they had no rights or influence in this society and so it will continue to be for us until we decide to change.
No matter how well you feel that you are doing on the emotional, mental and spiritual levels in dealing with herpes it won’t be until you are tested by outbreaks and symptoms that you will know where you truly are. Herpes is the great illuminator shining a piercing light on your deepest and darkest fears and insecurities related and un-related to “the gift”.
christopher scipio
homeopath/herbalist
holistic viral specialist
www.natropractica.com
www.herpesbook.com
Three More Holistic Herpes Recipes from Cassa Wood
Asian Salmon
1/3 cup of Maple syrup
1/3 cup Soy Sauce
2 tbsp of Hoisin sauce
2 tbsp peeled and sliced ginger
Dried red pepper flakes
3-5 gloves of chopped garlic
Juice of 1or 2 fresh limes
2-4 Wild Salmon fillets
Place the sugar, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, lime juice, red pepper flakes, garlic in a saucepan, bringing the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, and cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until the sauce forms a glaze.
Preheat the broiler.
Place the salmon fillets on a broiler pan and cover with the 1/3 of the sauce. Let sit for 15 minutes. Broil them until cooked through, about 8 minutes, and again baste more of the asian mixture. Remove the salmon from the heat and baste once more with the sauce before serving. Great by itself or served with basmati rice!
I will also cut it into small pieces and snack on it throughout the day.
Bok Bok Mushrooms
Bok choy and shiitake mushrooms are a natural combination for a quick stir-fry because….
1-2 tbsp olive oil
3-5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 or 2 bok choy heads, trimmed and thinly sliced
4 cups sliced shiitake mushroom caps
2 tbsp of oyster sauce
1 tbsp of sesame oil
1 tsp of sea salt
2-3 tbsp of hemp seeds (optional to sprinkle overtop)
IF you have a Wok, great! This is the time to use it. If not just use a fry pan. Heat oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant but not browned, about 30-60 seconds. Add bok choy and mushrooms. Cook and stir until wilted, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking, stirring often, until just tender, 3 to 5 minutes more. Stir in oyster sauce, sesame oil and salt. Serve hot with hemp seeds sprinkled overtop.
Baby Chick Spinach
1 bunch or bag of baby spinach
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
3-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 19-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
1 tbsp of thyme
1 tbsp of oregano
2 tbsp of ground cumin
1 tsp of sea salt
1 tsp of paprika
1/2 cup of raisins
1/2 cup of chicken or veggie broth
Bring a soup pot to medium heat, adding the oil, garlic, onions and cook for 5-10 minutes. Add in the spices and chickpeas after about 5 minutes, stirring and slightly smashing the chickpeas. Don’t let it dry out, adding more oil or broth if necessary. Then add the spinach in allowing it to wilt. Stir in raisins and broth and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and let it sit for 5 minutes before serving.
The Milena Cold and Flu Formula
Three Years ago I developed the Milena Cold and Flu Formula to deal with the increasing number my patients and friends suffering from colds and flus every winter, including many that tuned into bronchitis and pneumonia.
The Milena Cold and Flu Formula combines Lomatium Dissectum, Linden Flowers, Boneset, Elderberries and Flowers and a proprietary Botanical Anti-Viral Complex.
All the ingredients in the formula are hand-prepared and hand-formulated in small batches in a powerful tinctures of Appleton’s Jamaican overproof rum. All the ingredients been clinically proven the boost the immune system and to significantly speed up the healing process with Colds and Flus.
It will help you heal faster from a Cold or Flu and help lessen the severity of all accompanying symptoms but the real power of the Milena Cold and Flu Formula is in it’s ability to help prevent a Cold or Flu. Take it as directed at the first signs of any Cold and Flu and there’s a good chance that you may avoid becoming ill in the first place.
I encourage you to order some and have it on hand for yourself and your family. You can request it by email holistic at natropractica.com
