Guggulu

Guggulu 

(Commiphora mukul) is one of Ayurveda’s strongest purifying herbs, used for thousands of years to clear the sinuses, treat obesity, soothe inflamed joints, and relieve chronic skin disorders. Medical research today is validating many of the traditional uses of guggulu – including its anti-inflammatory and cholesterol-lowering properties. Guggulu helps detoxify unhealthy tissues and is effective for a wide variety of conditions, including:

• High cholesterol
• Arthritis
• Rheumatism
• Fibromyalgia
• Myofascial pain
• Gout
• Diabetes
• Endometriosis
• Nervous disorders
• Canker sores
• Gingivitis

Guggulu is a complex herb that contains four of the six tastes – bitter, pungent, astringent, and sweet. It is especially helpful for stabilizing Vata and Kapha imbalances without aggravating Pitta. However, anyone taking blood-thinning medications should not take guggulu because it reduces platelet stickiness.

Prescribed frequently guggulu is for people who have accumulated toxins from major life stresses such as serious illness or a prolonged antibiotic treatment. In addition, guggulu’s purifying properties are extremely helpful for those who have recently stopped using recreational drugs or abusing alcohol.

As a mouthwash, guggulu is a helpful treatment for canker sores and gingivitis. Simply crush a tablet in one-half cup of warm water and use three times daily. You can also use this same mixture on superficial skin wounds to aide in healing.

Advice for Candida Sufferers

Candida albicans is a common yeast present in our environment that usually does not cause any major health challenge. People whose immune systems are severely suppressed may have difficulty maintaining healthy defenses against candida, which can cause serious infections.

Most people who carry the diagnosis of candida are better served by thinking in terms of accumulated toxicity rather than infection. Due to a weak digestive fire, known in ayurvedic medicine as agni, the body accumulates toxins or ama that inhibits one’s natural vitality and immunity.

In our experience , people who receive the diagnosis of candida usually notice a dramatic improvement after undergoing panchakarma treatments, which are offered as part of our weekly Perfect Health program. If you aren’t able to attend in the near future, I suggest that for one month, you follow these steps:

1. Engage in a regular, twice-daily meditation practice.
2. Eat a healthy Kapha-pacifying diet. In general, favor warm, light foods that contain the pungent, bitter, and astringent tastes. Reduce your consumption of foods containing the sweet, sour, and salty tastes.
3. Follow a course of ayurvedic detoxifying herbs: Take two triphala tablets twice a day and one guggulu tablet twice a day. Triphala and guggulu are both digestive and blood purifiers that help strengthen the digestive fires and release stored toxins.
4. Drink ginger tea several times a day to help clear toxins from the body’s channels of circulation. 

Focus on this detoxification program for one month. If you still feel your immune system is vulnerable, there are several immune-strengthening ayurvedic herbs that you can take to replenish your body’s defense mechanisms: ashwagandha, guduchi, and amalaki.

Balancing Your Dosha

Guggulu is one of Ayurveda's strongest purifying herbs, used for thousands of years to clear the sinuses, treat obesity, soothe inflamed joints, and relieve chronic skin disorders. Medical research today is validating many of the traditional uses of guggulu – including its anti-inflammatory and cholesterol-lowering properties. Guggulu helps detoxify unhealthy tissues and is effective for a wide variety of conditions characterized by stagnation and congestion.

Frequently prescribed guggulu is  for people who have accumulated toxins from major life stresses such as serious illness or a prolonged antibiotic treatment. In addition, guggulu's purifying properties are extremely helpful for those who have recently stopped using recreational drugs or abusing alcohol. Guggulu also offers great relief to those who suffer from nonspecific pain such as fibromyalgia, rheumatism, and myofascial pain syndrome.

As a mouthwash, guggulu is a helpful treatment for canker sores and gingivitis.

Guggulu is a complex herb that contains four of the six tastes – bitter, pungent, astringent, and sweet.

It's especially helpful for stabilizing Vata and Kapha imbalances without aggravating Pitta. However, anyone taking blood-thinning medications should not take guggulu because it reduces platelet stickiness.

High Cholesterol

Elevated cholesterol levels increase our risk for cardiovascular disease. Even more important than the total cholesterol level is the relative and absolute amounts of LDL ("bad") and HDL ("good") components of cholesterol. Although cholesterol is an essential chemical for our body, providing the basic molecule for many essential hormones, too much cholesterol increases the deposition of fat into our blood vessels, increasing our chances for a stroke or heart attack.

Most cholesterol that circulates in our body is manufactured in the liver. Only 15% actually comes from the foods that we eat; however, diet is the most direct non-drug way we have to modify cholesterol levels.
 

Cholesterol is a component of animal fat so that any food derived from animals will carry some cholesterol  red meat, fowl, seafood and dairy are all sources of cholesterol. Favoring a mostly vegetarian diet is the easiest way to reduce cholesterol intake and blood levels. Mono-hydrogenated oil such as olive oil and omega-3 fatty acid rich flax seed and cold water fish have been shown to have a positive effect on cholesterol levels, while partially hydrogenated vegetable oils have a negative effect
.

An Ayurvedic herb called guggulu (Commiphora mukul) has been shown in studies to lower cholesterol levels by about 15%. It is derived from a resin and acts similar to some Western medicines to bring cholesterol out through the digestive tract.

Red yeast rice utilized in Traditional Chinese Medicine contains natural sources of monacolin K, the basis of the medication, lovastatin. Another product developed in Cuba known as policosonal is derived from sugar cane wax and has been suggested to lower serum cholesterol levels, although a recent study failed to confirm the results reported in earlier studies.

If despite lifestyle changes your cholesterol level remains unacceptably high, the “statin” drugs are generally successful with low risk of side effects. Liver and muscle toxicity are known side effect (and have also been reported with red yeast rice). It’s important to remember that a risk factor means that your chances are increased – it does not mean that because your cholesterol level is elevated that you will definitely have problems with your blood vessels.

There are several other important risk factors for heart disease that can be modified through conscious choices. High blood pressure should be identified and treated. In the early stages, a meditation or relaxation technique can be helpful. Lack of regular exercise is another risk factor. Some moderate aerobic activity three times per week for thirty minutes is sufficient for most people to gain the benefits.

Hostility is a substantial independent risk facto for heart disease. Look at the underlying conversation you are having with your life. Is it one of resentment and blaming? If so, change whatever needs changing so your inner dialogue can be one of enthusiasm and enjoyment.

Sore Throats

Recurrent sore throats or upper respiratory tract infections are either due to suppression of your immunity or repeated exposure to irritants in your environment. I would first see a medical doctor and undergo a basic check-up for any evidence of a medical problem. This should include a careful examination of your throat and lymph nodes. A possible throat culture and some basic laboratory studies may be indicated. If you are sexually active, I would recommend an HIV test to be certain. 

Assuming that you are not dealing with a serious health concern, the next step is to look carefully at your environment. I’ll assume that you are not smoking cigarettes or marijuana. Are you exposed to smoke in your home or work environment? What is the quality of the air in your town? If you are indoors most of the time, consider getting an air purifier and a humidifier. These may be particularly helpful in your bedroom so you are breathing moistened, clean air while you are sleeping at night.

There are several gentle herbal gargles you can try. In addition to providing symptomatic relief, they may also provide some protection to the mucous lining of your throat. The first herb worth considering is slippery elm. Make a strong infusion from this botanical that comes from the inner bark of Ulmas fulva, Traditional Medicinals has a tea called Throat Coat that contains slippery elm. 

Gargle with and drink this infusion several times per day when you feel your throat irritation coming on. Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) is another healing herb to soothe and protect mucous membranes. Most health food stores carry chopped licorice root that can be made into a strong tea using one tablespoon per cup of water. Licorice tea has a soothing and anti-inflammatory effect and as well as a demulcent influence on the mucous membranes. 

An Ayurvedic herb called guggulu, (Commiphora mukul) is a resin that has been used to heal inflamed mucous membranes. Crush a tablet or capsule into an ounce of water and gargle with it four times a day. It is not the best tasting stuff, but it has a healing and cooling effect on the mucous membranes. 

Neem (Azadirachta indica) is another potent anti-bacterial and anti-viral herb that is now available in a number of products including mouthwash.

Another Ayurvedic approach that may not sound great but can be very helpful is to gargle with a teaspoon of oil. Sesame seed oil is classically used but you can also try olive, almond and coconut. Swish it in you mouth and gargle for a couple minutes. Spit the residue out into a cup rather than down the drain. The lubricating effect of the oil can be protective from environmental irritants and infectious agents.

 Arthritis

The wear and tear of living on a planet with gravity affects all of us. The longer we’ve been walking around, the more likely we are to suffer with occasional pain in our joints. I am assuming that your medical doctor has performed an adequate evaluation to rule out specific types of arthritis or a herniated disc that may require more specific medical intervention. Assuming you are dealing with the common degenerative arthritis that most people face, you will normally experience periods of relative comfort, alternating with times of worsening. 

Usually an exacerbation of discomfort occurs as a result of not being sensitive to your body and overdoing an activity that aggravates the pain. Performing a regular set of stretching exercises at least twice daily can be the best preventive medicine. Be certain to do your stretching in a warm environment to avoid muscle strains that will add to your discomfort. Find a local yoga instructor or physical therapist and develop a simple set of stretches that you can do on your own at your own pace on a daily basis.

Because there is invariably some inflammatory factor in arthritis, most medical and holistic approaches focus on ways to reduce the inflammation. Many of our body’s potent natural inflammatory chemicals are derived from nutritional components, and there has been a growing body of information to suggest that inflammation can be modulated through dietary changes. We know that n-3 polyunsaturated (omega-3) fatty acids may tip the balance of chemicals in favor of anti-inflammatory effects. These fatty acids are most abundant in cold water fish , flax seeds and walnuts.

Several studies have suggested that favoring a primarily vegetarian diet can help arthritis sufferers. Part of the benefit may be the effect of vegetables on the population of bacteria in our colon. Changing the food we eat alters the bacteria that live in our bowels, which changes the composition of fatty acids that are made and absorbed. A diet rich in antioxidant vitamins including beta-carotene, tocopherols (vitamin E) and ascorbic acid (vitamin C) may also be helpful. The best way to insure adequate antioxidant intake is through a high fiber, low fat diet rich in fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

Supplementing with an antioxidant formula that includes a minimum of 15,000 units of beta-carotene, 200 IU of E and 1 gram of vitamin C is worth a try for a couple of months to see if you notice a clear benefit.Be careful not to get caught in the negative cycle of gaining weight because you are inactive due to the pain which is worsened by the extra pounds you are carrying. Focusing on a balanced diet and staying with a regular exercise program is essential.

For several years, studies have suggested that glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin sulfate may be helpful in reducing arthritis pain. The most recent report published in the New England Journal of Medicine this month did not find these chemicals, derived from animal cartilage or crustacean shells, were better overall than placebo for people with arthritis, but may be effective in those with moderate to severe knee pain.

In Ayurveda, the herb Commiphora mukul has been classically used for arthritis pain. Derived from a resin, it also lowers cholesterol. Known as guggulu, it is now widely available and is worth a try at 300 milligrams three to four times a day. Another Ayurvedic herb with anti-arthritis effects is Boswellia serrata. Derived from the tree that gives us Frankincense, it seems to blunt the production of certain inflammatory chemicals known as leukotreines.

It is also readily available in the United States and can be tried at a dose of 300 milligrams three times daily. Pay attention to the simple basics to prevent your pain flare-ups. Get enough rest, eat right, stay on a regular exercise program, and listen to your body’s signals when it is whispering so it doesn’t have to shout at you to get your attention.