October 2009 Ezine articles Archive

Natural Living Column

Greetings. 

This month I have decided to write about cranberry.  This herb is well known for preventing and treating minor, or recurrent, urinary tract infections.  Have a great month, and remember, spring is on the way, so get outdoors into the spring sunshine.  I’ve chosen a barbeque lamb recipe that’s ideal for spring barbeques. 
Wishing you many good things
Moonhawk

Cranberry, more than just something nice to have with Turkey and pork. 
Cranberry – Vaccinium oxycoccus is a small evergreen shrub that tends to grow in boggy ground.  It is native to North America and northern Asia.  It is the ripe fruit and fruit juice that is used in herbal medicine.  The use of cranberry to treat urinary tract infections has been traced back to Native American Indians.  This is supported by recent studies that have suggested that it is useful in treating minor urinary tract infections. 

The bacteria which most commonly causes urinary tract infections is Escherichia coli – E.coli.  Like many bacteria, E.coli is a slippery little sucker that uses any means available to adhere to human tissue e.g through the use of microscopic hooks (P-fimbriae) that grab on to tissue in the urinary tract, allowing the bacteria to colonise and then invade.  Cranberry is a bacteriostatic that inhibits this action.  Therefore, if the E.coli can’t stick, it can’t cause infection.  One of my tutors once described cranberry as giving a teflon coating to the urinary tract. 

Herbs that may used along with cranberry to treat urinary tract infections include corn silk and bearberry.  Echinacea, and other immune system herbs, may also be included in a herbal prescription, depending on individual symptoms.  

It is important that people with acute urinary tract infections seek medical advice in addition to consulting with their herbalist or naturopath.  Infections in the urinary tract can spread to the bladder and kidneys, which may cause serious illness.  While herbs can assist, sometimes antibiotics are needed to make sure the infection is eradicated.  Your herbalist or naturopath can prescribe supplements to help your body cope with the side effects of antibiotics.  If symptoms worsen while taking cranberry, seek medical advice. 
It is often people who have recurrent urinary tract infections who turn to cranberry as a preventative.  I like to ask these patients what it is in life that is ‘pissing them off’.  In most cases there is something, and addressing that can also be beneficial to preventing repeat infections.  Urinary tract tonics may be prescribed to strengthen the urinary system and prevent further infections. 

If you choose to use the juice as a therapeutic agent, you need to drink around 330ml of unsweetened juice each day.  Unsweetened cranberry juice is quite tart and some people may find this unpleasant.  Most people prefer to take cranberry as a tablet or capsule. 

There are some concerns with using cranberry in patients who are also taking warfarin or other blood thinners.

Also, patients who have a history of oxalate kidney stones should not take cranberry. 
There is no evidence to suggest that cranberry is unsafe during pregnancy.  However, as with all herbs, caution is recommended wne prescribing cranberry to pregnant women.  Cranberry is compatible with breastfeeding.

References:  The Essential Guide to Herbal Safety by Simon Mills and Kerry Bone.  Herbs & Natural Supplements – an evidence based guide by Lesley Braun and Marc Cohen.  Medicinal Plants of the World by Ben-Erik van Wyk and Michael Wink.  Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants by Andrew Chevallier. 

Spring Lamb Barbeque

Ask your butcher to butterfly a leg of lamb.  You need to end up with around 1.5 to 2kg of boned lamb. 
In addition to the lamb you need:
1 cup dry white wine  3-5 cloves of garlic (crushed)
1 bunch of mint chopped  ¼ cup chopped parsley
1 large sprig of rosemary chopped

Mix the above ingredients together and rub over the lamb.  Place the lamb in a bowl, cover, and marinate overnight.  This is an important step as a long marinade time will allow lots of time for the flavours to spread through the meat. 

Cook the lamb in a covered barbeque, according to manufacturer’s instructions, for 40-50 minutes.  You generally have to use indirect heat, but check what your barbeque instruction book says.  Remove from heat, rest of 15 minutes, slice and serve.  A green salad, baked potatoes, Greek salad, or similar make good accompaniments to this dish. 

Dear JAR,
Northern Autumnal greetings to you, Dear Southern Springtime Friend! These days we taste the sweetness of the crisp cool air as we scurry off to work or school or just go out for a walk – autumn is here! The myriad colors just dazzle my sensibilities; no matter how long I live here I am still awed by the explosive beauty. And people come here from all over just to get a glimpse of Mother Nature’s Art Show. Here in Vermont those visitors are called Leaf Peepers! It is difficult to find a hotel room during this time, since they are booked months in advance. We are lucky that the colors are splendiferous this year – sometimes they disappoint.

In fact, this year summer was practically non-existent – it rained so much that it felt like summer was a plane on the runway, and just never took off! So autumn snuck up on us and the leaves turned colors so fast – we are all suspecting that it will be a very cold winter. Someone said they saw that the deer in the woods have had their thick winter coats filled in for the past several weeks – another sure sign of frosty times ahead. That just gives us plenty of opportunity to hunker down!

Has the swine flu made the rounds in Oz yet? Even though there is no real hysteria, there have been many changes here in the way that businesses and hospitals are dealing with the public. If anyone that shows up in the Emergency Room has a cough and/or fever, they are fitted with a mask and whisked away to a private room, isolated from everyone. I also heard that someone who showed up at a clinic was turned away because of her fever/cough/headache. Public places are equipped with hand sanitizer; at the bank there is a sign that reads, “If you have a cough or fever, we will be happy to help you at the drive-up window.” One thing that I feel is a positive development is that people are actually encouraged to STAY HOME if they are sick! It seems so simple and the right thing to do, but many reasons come up for marching on in spite of it.  I remember several years ago being checked out by a cashier who sneezed into her hand and then without even wiping it off, she proceeded to wrap my package and staple it!  At that time I was grossed out by that action, but too hesitant to speak up – today I would handle it very differently. After all, it is everyone’s health and well-being at stake.

October is a very interesting month. To me the sign of Libra has always seemed so benign, yet a peacemaker cannot make peace unless there is conflict. A paradox, that! It’s nice to be a helper or a peacemaker, but then we take the risk of needing and attracting conflict and folks who depend on us more than themselves. Life is so funny that way. We need to fulfill our destinies by becoming who we are, but who knows how that rocks the equilibrium of the universe? I suppose there is room for everyone, and this is all a big swirling mish-mosh - a bubbling vegetable soup with us sitting on croutons as we float around waiting for some new spice to change the flavor.  So while we are waiting, join me on my crouton for awhile, and let’s just float and enjoy the ride, my fourteen carrot friend!  With mutual moral support, we’ll deal with the change as it comes…J

Now I am in the mood to go make some soup! We’ll talk again soon….

Love always,
JEM

Dear JemStar,

Swine flu has made its way down under – we were told just like you guys up in the northern hemisphere to wash your hands and take days off if you were ill.  Unfortunately, several people have died and many more have been sick.   As you mentioned these messages rallied at the other end of the spectrum with jingles about, “soldier on; soldier on!” Even though these public health notices are displayed everywhere and promoted in most media forums you still get the person who chooses to ignore basic health warnings.  For example the other day I was in the ladies loo (bathroom) and someone flushed walked out of the cubicle and then walked outside without washing her hands.  I was horrified.  I then saw her float down the escalator and hold on to the rubber railing.  Later on that day she was doing the shopping and picking up fruit and sniffing and then putting them down.  You could almost see the germs jump around like a Mexican samba all over the groceries.  I guess it is a good thing in the respect that it is a reminder that not everyone has the same cleanliness standards as you do and we must be mindful of washing our fruit and vegetables.  I mean to say it is not that hard to wash your hands now is it?

Spring has sprung in the southern hemisphere.  Floriade has been a huge success here in Canberra.  People come from all over to stroll among the glorious gardens and floral exhibitions.  It is quite an event in October.  This year we have been blessed with a great drop of rain over the past couple of weeks.  Storms have been rolling in across the Great Dividing Range and giving us a much needed drop of rain.

Personally, I love October and the energy of the Libran sun phase.  For me this is a time of balance and since I am a Scorpio I find myself having an annual clean out my closet ritual.  Of course I focus on the clothes but review and tossing out spills over into other areas of my life.  I find it very therapeutic.  I know that this feverish activity is in contrast to my Scorpion credo of “hanging on” but I feel that these outworn articles of clothing our outdated beliefs and attitudes have served me in a previous birthday year.  Soon my new year will begin and I choose to take a different perspective or refashion my life to experience new experiences.  It is ironic how many new beginnings seem to flood in in November.

Life is funny, Jem and like you I am often astounded how we navigate through life with a destiny under our arm and how our adventure is aligned to another persons’ or we learn (sometimes the hard way) that we are going in the wrong direction.  I’ve always said life would be so much easier if we had an instruction manual or at least some business rules.  What do you think?  If you want to go this way put on your indicator and follow the yellow brick road.  Or if you want to go that way then do a u-turn and go back to where you started from.  I guess if it was that simple then we wouldn’t experience the gratifying experience of arriving somewhere where it feels just right – hmm hum, now would we?  Plus, I am inclined to throw caution to the wind and tear off in a different direction – just for fun.

So how is that soup brewing?  I think I will jump off my crouton and swim over to you!  There’s always room for one more.

Have a wonderful month – see you in November.
Peace and Love,
Jar

Greetings Solar Networks!

October 2009 promises to be a wow of a month.  We have navigated our way through the rocky outcrops of a Mercury retrograde cycle in September and I’ve survived (so far) the detoxification of my body.  I must admit there were some tough times with the choices I made but the rewards of a healthy body are priceless.

This month the Sun moves into Libra.  Libra is ruled by Venus the planet of plenty – lots of love and money.  This month is ideal for striking an agreement or at least negotiating a deal.  Libra, the scales likes balance and most Librans are destined to strive toward that balance for most of their life.  As we are all aware, “we are more than our Sun sign”.  However, our identity is closely aligned to the brightest star in the cosmos.

The Full Moon is October 4 12 degrees Aries at 4:10pm.  This Full Moon reflects themes from April 10 as the relationship axis is again highlighted by the Sun and Mon.  Personal needs and partnerships needs vie for attention and at some point you’ll need to choose between what you want and what someone else wants.  Promises and plans made now are likely to last as Mercury and Saturn align.  With the unconventional Uranus influence it’s totally appropriate to be bold and a little rebellious.

The New Moon is October 18 25 degrees Libra at 3:33pm.  Take note of the areas of your life that are energised and in focus under this New Moon as it paves the way for the Saturn energy shift beginning October 30.  Whatever requires attention in your life now will become the major areas of life that you’ll delve into more deeply under Saturn’s upcoming trek through Libra. Mars has just entered Leo encouraging leadership and creativity. Be bold, live with flair and show a little pizzazz.

The New Moon is the most fertile time to plant your wishes with the Universe.  Here are some Libran aspects which may be of assistance to you and your growth:

Marriage
Negotiation skills
Harmony
Teamwork
Sociability/diplomacy
Refinement
Healing
Co-dependency
Balance
Equity
Peace
Beauty
Art
Decorations

This is an ideal time for Librans to have a little “make over” try something new and creative with your personal style – you will be noticed.

October is a number one month.  This month the vibration is for making major changes or taking chances on the new - a good time to open a new business or do things in a more constructive way.

Our next card in the tarot journey is the six of wands.  The six of wands augurs public acclaim or acknowledgment of some kind.  This might take the form of a promotion, a qualification or the recognition of some piece of creative work.  So keep your head held high and look for the opportunities.

Buffalo is our animal totem for October 2009.  Buffalo medicine is strong in the power of prayer and being open to the abundance from the Universe.  You may be asked to use your energy in prayer.  You may also be called upon to be an instrument of someone else’s answer to a prayer.  This could portend a time of recognising the sacredness of every walk of life, albeit different from your own. To honour another’s pathway, even if it brings your sadness, is a part of the message that Buffalo brings.  This may be a time of reconnection to the meaning of life and the value of peace.  Most assuredly this time will bring serenity amidst chaos if you pray in earnest for enlightenment and the power of calmness and give praise for the gifts you already have.

Buffalo medicine is a sign that you achieve nothing without the aid of the Great Spirit and that you must be humble enough to ask for that assistance and then be grateful for what you receive.

Our crystal for the Librans is ametrine.  Everything about Libra is laid-back and emotions do not run deep; you cannot be bothered with such intensity.  What you are deeply interested in is love, desire and eroticism, and your seductive opal birthstone draws these to you in abundance.  But, be warned, wearing an Opal intensifies emotional states – although it can also act as an emotional stabiliser.  The gentle energies of Kunzite awaken your heart and attune you to unconditional love.

Our Libran Goddess for October is Athena.  The favourite child of Zeus, from whose head she emerged fully grown and wearing a helmet, Athena is the virginal Greek Goddess of wisdom and war.  She also presides over domestic and industrial arts, agriculture, justice and the city of Athens.  Her many gifts to humanity include gold smithing, shoemaking, the olive tree, the flute, the loom, the ship, the yoke for oxen, and the bridle for horses.  As in this portrait and the famous colossal statue of Athena Parthenos, that once stood in the Parthenon, she is often depicted with a serpent, which many cultures associate with wisdom, creative energy, death, and rebirth.

Like the serpent Athena is a paradoxical figure.  Mother goddess and Holy Virgin, benevolent protector and ruthless warrior, Athena encourages us to embrace all aspects of our being.

Well my celestial friends and colleagues I will bid you farewell for now and catch up soon in our intense Scorpion month in November.  I hope that all of your dreams manifest into magical surprises.

Peace and Love,

Hales