Nutritional Healing for Women
 By Maureen Kennedy Salaman 

You can enjoy unimpaired vigor, win your personal weight war, stop sickness from invading your life and reverse it if it does — by eating healing foods and taking nutritional supplements. Here are some tips on how you can overcome chronic problems to live longer, and feel and look better. 

Wrinkles are the result of time, ultraviolet rays, bad habits and stress. Fortunately, there is much we can do about them. Scientists — and a lot of women — have discovered that alpha hydroxy acid (AHA), found in apples, grapes and other fruit can remove shallow wrinkles, crows feet and laugh lines. It also removes dry skin, scaly patches, acne and age spots, those pesky brown spots that reveal one’s age about as well as a birth certificate. It works by sloughing off the outer layer of skin, forcing it to regenerate itself and preventing the build up of skin cells and oils. Here’s a recipe for alpha hydroxy cream. Cook a cored and peeled apple in a little milk. Mash the apple in the milk. Cool the mixture. Then apply it once weekly and leave it on the face for 15 to 30 minutes.

 Fatigue: 
The most common symptom of a vitamin B12 deficiency is fatigue. Thiamine — another B vitamin — has been found to help with fatigue. Thiamine is found in the germ and bran of wheat, the husk of rice, and that portion of all grains which is commercially milled away to give the grain its lighter color and finer texture. A diet rich in brewer’s yeast, wheat germ, blackstrap molasses and bran will provide the body with adequate thiamine. Eating sugar will cause a thiamine depletion, as will smoking and drinking alcohol. Vitamin B12 is found in liver, crab, herring, red snapper, flounder, salmon, lamb, swiss cheese, eggs, haddock, cottage cheese and swordfish. 

Sleeplessness: 
If you have trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep, consider your medicine chest. Sleeping pills, sedatives and tranquilizers can contribute to poor quality of sleep. Better to choose the natural way. Calcium — always combined with magnesium — helps relax the muscles and soothe the nerves. Magnesium also works with vitamin B6 and tryptophan. All are found in complex carbohydrates: whole grains, fruits and vegetables. 

Bruises/Varicose Veins:
 If you bruise easily, you need to eat more dark berries, which contain flavonoids, important to keep the capillaries in the skin and the body strong, so they don’t break easily. Rutin, found in buckwheat, helps strengthen blood vessels so they don’t break and cause varicose veins. 

Healing After Surgery or Injury:
If you haven’t heard about antioxidants, it’s time you did. They are specific nutrients that keep our bodies from breaking down, whether from injury, surgery, the sun or time itself. They can mean the difference between a long-lasting infection and quick healing. Your antioxidant arsenal should include vitamin C with bioflavonoids, vitamins A and E, the minerals selenium and zinc. There are many excellent antioxidant formulas on the market. For healing, take at least 1,000 milligrams of vitamin C four times a day. A cosmetic surgeon I know insists his patients quit smoking during recovery. That’s because smoking restricts circulation in the skin. Vitamin E increases circulation. 

Weight Loss: 
The first thing to realize about eating snacks is that it is OK to eat between meals. It won’t cause you to gain weight, and it won’t ruin your appetite. Studies show people who live longer eat less calories. So, if eating snacks between meals means you eat less, it is in your best interest anyway. The second thing to realize is that snacking is actually a good idea. Eating between meals stabilizes blood sugar so your energy is high, and it prevents your body from switching into its “starvation” mode, where, since the stomach is empty and hunger exists, it believes there is a need to store food for the future. Eating healthy snacks can actually help you lose weight. The benefits of snacking are greatest when what you eat is high in nutrients, fiber, complex carbohydrates and low in fat. Examples are radishes, carrots, celery, apples, whole grain crackers, green pepper, raw potato, cucumber, zucchini and whole grain, unsweetened cereal. 

Menopause: 
John R. Lee, M.D. a family physician from Sebastapol, California, has been treating women for more than 15 years with natural progesterone cream. Dr. Lee believes most, if not all, of the symptoms related to menopause are a direct result of a lack of progesterone. He has all his patients use progesterone cream. Why cream? Oral progesterone is diluted when it reaches the liver, so high doses are needed. Progesterone in the form of cream is less expensive, easy to apply, and works as well as pills or injections. 

Ovarian Cysts:
Certain nutrients are important to cellular tissue, including that which makes up the ovaries. Some even have a direct impact on ovaries specifically. Gamma linolenic acid (GLA), is an essential fatty acid that not only strengthens body tissue, but allows the body to absorb the kind of oils and fat found in ovarian cysts. What this means is that when you don’t have enough GLA in your body, the tendency of your body tissue to store fat and accumulate cysts is increased. The best source of GLA is borage oil, found in stores as a supplement. 

Fibrocystic Disease: 
In 1985, the Cancer Committee of the College of American Pathologists called “fibro-cystic disease” unacceptable terminology and expressed concern that women might be denied medical insurance on this basis. If your insurance reimburses you for breast exams and mammograms, notice what diagnosis your doctor or radiologist writes on the forms. If he or she writes “fibrocystic disease”, request that he or she instead refer to it as “cystic mastitis” or “mammary dysplasia”, which are other, less-alarming terms used to denote this problem. The key to beating fibroids is to decrease the amount of circulating estrogen. To do this, go on a low-fat, preferably vegetarian, diet containing no more than 20 to 25 grams of fat a day and eliminate all dairy products. Also, no caffeine. 

Fibromyalgia: 
This painful syndrome may be caused by calcium deposits, which has been shown to be helped by a combination of magnesium, malic acid and vitamin B12. The mineral magnesium works best when taken with other minerals, most especially calcium and potassium. The B vitamins also work best together. Take these nutrients in liquid form to overcome digestive problems that may prevent absorption. 

Stress:
 There is nothing like the hectic life of a businesswoman on the road to create stress. If I never see another airport terminal, I’ll die happy. Whatever takes your mind off your troubles will help you alleviate stress. And for your body, get regular exercise and take B vitamins. There are no other nutrients more important to mental health than the B vitamins. The B-complex vitamins provide the body with energy, metabolizing fats and protein, and are necessary for the normal functioning of the nervous system. They are the single most important factor for the health of the nerves. 

Maureen Kennedy Salaman is an expert in the field of health and nutrition. She is the author of six books and tours the country speaking on this topic. For more information, call (800) 445-HEAL or (650) 864-3922.

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