SiamWEB Health Corner: Article : Ailments: Common Tonics: In the mountains in northern Thailand, you may come across Chinese settlements where snake wine is sold. You'll see a snake preserved in a bottle of wine. One cup a day is supposed to improve your sexual performance. That may be a doubtful claim but even modern medicine recognises that poor body resistance and performance have something to do with the food we eat. In fact, many types of common foods have the ability to cause or combat diseases and speed up or delay healing. There is now scientific evidence that healing and protective foods taken over long periods of time, have a long-lasting effect on the body and leads to total health as well as longevity.

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Garlic	Ginseng	Aloe Vera	Fish Oil
Ginger	Yogurt	Isotonic Drinks	Aromatherapy

Garlic

We don't think much of garlic except that it frightens vampires and gives a terrific aroma to our fried carrot cake, kway teow, Hokkien mee and other mouthwatering but not-so-healthy delights. However, as the best-selling over-the-counter supplement in Germany, garlic is certainly something to be reckoned with. Scientific research on this cheap and common condiment has shown it to reduce the incidence of strokes, heart disease, cancer and colds.

Garlic is one of the substances richest in antioxidants. It is also one of nature's strongest broad spectrum antibiotic. As early as 1858, Louis Pasteur discovered that bacteria couldn't grow in the presence of garlic. The substance responsible for this anti-bacterial action was found to be allicin. However, allicin is so unstable that it cannot withstand processing, so it cannot be packaged as a drug. In order for garlic to be an effective antibiotic, it has to be raw and crushed.

Heart disease researchers have also noted, somewhat by accident that enthusiastic garlic eaters are less anxious, agitated and irritable compared to heart attack patients on conventional drugs only. Thus, garlic may have some unexplained mood-elevating properties.

One problem normally experienced by travellers in developing countries is stomach upset. Sometimes, the problem remains after the traveller returns home. It could be due to parasites and the "miracle cure" seems to be raw, crushed garlic. In one research on a group of American schoolchildren suffering from chronic diarrhoea after a trip to Asia, garlic actually worked better than the usually prescribed drug, metronidazole.

For those trekking at high altitudes, garlic is the miracle drug which Sherpas in Nepal swear by when it comes to altitude sickness. Nobody knows how it works but many Westerners have claimed that it is effective. However, for those on a honeymoon, an odourless drug like Diamox, available at all pharmacies in Kathmandu, is probably a better choice.

Ginseng

Valued more than gold in China, Ginseng was considered a miracle drug for the old, weak and stressed. Analysis shows that it contains many B vitamins, choline, minerals and hormones. Unlike other Chinese medicines, Ginseng has been well researched scientifically. It has been proven to increase concentration and endurance in hospital nurses under great stress. It also has both a calming and a stimulating effect.

People who have tried using Ginseng might have noticed the tremendous price differences between different products. Well, wild ginseng is much more highly valued than cultivated varieties. Manchurian wild ginseng is the most expensive. Those containing saponins or hormone-like substances are more expensive than those without saponins.

Though ginseng has always been used as a tonic, it certainly should not treated like one if taken regularly in high doses. In fact, the root has strong medicinal effects. Chinese physicians call it a "warming" drug. Its use during periods of acute inflammation has caused a worsening in the condition of the consumer. In the East, ginseng is seldom taken alone. It is usually tempered with other "cooling" drugs. Therefore, the use of ginseng should be anything but casual. It may even be wise to consult a Chinese physician before using it.

Aloe Vera

Aloe Vera is an easily recognised plant with thick jagged leaves around a flower stalk in the middle. It is probably one of the best known "cosmetic plants" by virtue of its healing powers on skin.

However, aloe vera has two different parts which behave very differently. They are namely, the juice and the gel. The juice is obtained by breaking the leaves at the base. The thin liquid that flows out is the juice. It tastes bitter and is good for constipation but very little else. The gel is taken from the contents of the leaves themselves and contains many known and unknown healing substances. Some of the known ones include steroids, enzymes, amino acids and antibacterial agents.

Applied on damaged skin including burns, aloe vera gel promotes healing. It also has a softening and smoothening effect. The presence of aloe vera is therefore often highlighted in various facial lotions, emollients and even food tonics. Attempts at extracting and packaging this gel may cause some loss of its active ingredients. Herbalists advise on the use of fresh gel obtained from home-grown aloe vera.

Fish Oils

Fat is a bad word. As an adjective, nobody likes to be called it and as a noun, nobody likes to eat it. Scientifically, however, fats are made up of benign substances like fatty acids and glycerol. Fatty acids are absorbed into the blood when fats are digested. They are then used for the formation of cell membranes and hormones. The excess is deposited in places we don't want them to be.

As far as those concerned about fat-consumption are concerned, there are two groups of fatty acids worth considering. They are the omega-3 fatty acids found mainly in seafood and omega-6 fatty acids in most other meats. Though both groups are fatty acids, they behave very differently when absorbed into the body. Omega-6 is the bad boy that makes your blood sticky and also produces nasty prostaglandins that give rise to inflammation. Omega-3 fatty acids do the opposite. They keep the level of HDL (high density lipoproteins) or "good cholesterol" high while suppressing LDL (low density lipoproteins or "bad cholesterol".

They are also said to reduce joint pain from rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, asthma and migraine headaches. For people born with a high level of Lp(a), cholesterol levels remain high in spite of a low fat diet. In such cases, fish oils represent the only non-medical way of lowering one's bad cholesterol level.

The richest sources of omega-3 fatty acids are to be found in the fattiest fish from the coldest seas. These would include mackerel, anchovies, herring, salmon, sardines and tuna. Before you rush to the supermarket or start gorging yourself with tuna sandwiches, note that while omega-3 fatty acids are good for your health, they are just as bad for your figure as the other fatty acids. In fact, the benefits of omega-3 were first noticed when researchers found that while many Eskimos are overweight due to a high omega-3 fat diet, they seldom suffer from heart attacks. Similarly, when a package says no cholesterol, it just means "no cholesterol (but we can't say the same about other fats)".

Ginger

This is another common food that has been competing with garlic for attention. Also able to prevent blood from clotting within arteries, ginger contains the substance called gingerol which has effects similar to aspirin.

For centuries, Chinese physicians have been using ginger to treat a variety of diseases and symptoms like nausea, stomach upset, vomitting and the common cold. Research on patients who have undergone general anaesthesia shows that ginger is just as potent as some anti-nausea drugs. People who are seasick or carsick also show marked improvement after taking a bowl of ginger tea. Ginger also has an anti-depressant effect and may lift one's mood in spite of the weather.

Yogurt

Yogurt is actually an ancient food whose consumption has not been high until recently, partly because of improvements in flavouring as well as its touted therapeutic properties.

A cup or two of yogurt a day is said to boost immunity. It decreases the incidence of common cold. If you have diarrhoea, take a cup of yogurt. Friendly bacterial found in yogurt may compete with harmful bacteria in your intestines. They also compete with yeast and fungi that can cause infections. Some people are allergic to milk. They have to rush to the toilet after a large helping of vanilla ice-cream. This is because they are intolerant to lactose or milk sugar. For them, yogurt which has its milk sugar broken down by bacteria to yield acids, is a good source of calcium which they would otherwise lack.

Isotonic Drinks

The excessive loss of salts or electrolytes through sweating causes cramps, dehydration and heat stroke. Many isotonic drinks on the market aim at athletes and sport enthusiasts who fear for their lives. However, studies have shown that an athlete loses only about 5-7 % of body salts during very strenuous exercise. Most of us do not really need an isotonic replacement because we do get quite a bit of sodium and potassium in our diet. It is hence not a good idea to have isotonic drinks routinely after a game of tennis.

The hormone aldosterone is able to reduce the loss of salts through sweat and urine. As long as there is enough water in the body, the kidneys can produce a dilute urine which will result in very little loss of body electrolytes. Isotonic drinks may be indicated in people from temperate countries who are performing strenuous exercises under tropical conditions. With time, however, heat acclimatisation is achieved and even these people do not need isotonic drinks anymore.

Another possible indication is for people with acute diarrhoea. Large amounts of electrolytes can be lost under such circumstances. Furthermore, drinks containing a little sugar and salt is more easily absorbed by the body.

Aromatherapy

Don't underestimate the effect smell has on us. One quarter of people who have lost their sense of smell also lose their interest in sex. Based on the belief that some of the essential oils in plants give them their "life force", aromatherapy aims to cure human problems in much the same way. Unlike any of the above tonics, most of the mixtures for aromatherapy are only for external use, either for inhaling or massaging into the skin. We have seen the benefits of eating ginger. Well, the smell of ginger seems to have therapeutic properties too. The smell of lemon, as claimed by some aromatherapists, can not only stimulate appetite but also aid digestion.

Therapeutic mixtures range from snoring remedies to love potions. The ingredients can be common plants like lavender, jasmine, lemon, rose, nutmeg, clove and cinnamon or more exotic ones like myrrh, neroli and frankincense. You don't need to be an expert to concoct your own therapeutic mixtures. Several books with extensive lists of formulas and methods of preparation are available in our local bookstores. How effective are they? Some people say they are miraculous. Others end up with itching genitals from allergic reactions. Most people just feel nicely pampered.

Note that "aromatherapy" only aids therapy. It does not mean that you can go without medicines if you're sick. Also, when something is natural, it does not mean that it is safe. Lots of natural substances are toxic to certain people. One should be careful when using aromatherapy