by Nelson, Dr. Christopher's Herb Shop
This seems to be a common complaint today. Edema (or dropsy) is a condition where fluid is not eliminated but is stored in the soft tissues or cavities of the body. Often the ankles or abdomen will swell. Usually edema is diagnosed along with kidney disfunction. This makes sense, because if the urinary tract becomes compromised it will become difficult to eliminate fluids. Usually a diuretic drug is prescribed in such cases.
Of course we ask ourselves "Why is the body doing this?". Too much salt can aggravate this condition. Wearing out the kidneys with soda also does no good. It can be a side effect of diabetes.
Dr. Christopher taught "Diet is the key to eliminating the cause. Meats, pastries, salt, etc., should be avoided. Eat fruits (grapes and coconut especially), sprouts, leafy and green vegetables, (do not mix fruits and vegetables). Use vapor baths and diaphoretics to open the pores, stimulants to increase and regulate circulation, diuretics for kidneys, and be sure to treat the whole digestive system with tonics. Also rub the body with vinegar and cold water and be sure to keep the bowels cleaned." [SNH p.19]
We have found that working on the kidneys can be very helpful, and sometimes the kidney herbs have offered enough support that nothing else was needed. This has not always been the case, though. Usually we look at three particular areas of the body to make the best use of the herbs.
The first is to tone up the kidneys. Oddly enough, one of herbal medicine's strongest points are its diuretics. I have been surprised, because usually a drug will have a much stronger action than an herb. Yet a mediocre herbal diuretic (such as dandelion) is still more powerful than the drugs on the market now. Maybe that will change, but it still gives you an idea of how well they work.
A diuretic will cause the body to eliminate water through the urinary tract. This especially useful when there is scanty urine. The strongest herbal diuretics we use are juniper and parsley. David Christopher recalls one time when a woman had been diagnosed with kidney failure, and was told that she would die in six hours. She was so swollen with water her entire body was like a balloon. In the hospital, David asked if she had been given a diuretic. The doctors told him 'Of course she has!'. They would not let her have any herbs orally, but had no problem if a fomentation was used. So the herbalists assembled made parsley root fomentations and covered her whole body with them. Soon her pores opened up, and little springs of water came out through the skin. The water was voided and she was saved.
I was surprised when the Kidney formula (which has juniper and parsley in it) wasn't helping at all with some cases of edema while others told me wonderful things like "I can see my ankles again!". I came to learn that if the kidney herbs didn't offer any improvement after 1-2 months, there where two other factors to investigate.
The second is the health of the bowel. Dr. Christopher considered someone regular if they ate three meals a day and had three bowel movements a day. Otherwise the rest of the body had to pick up the slack, and the kidneys are one of the first. The kidneys receive so much focus with this disease while the rest of the digestive system is ignored, yet it can play a critical role. We have had some make better improvement using the Lower Bowel formula when the Kidney formula wasn't enough.
The third would be the health of the endochrine system. This would include the pineal gland, pituitary gland, thyroid, thymus, pancreas and adrenal glands. We have found that if someone has adrenal failure or a chronic problem with one of these glands, that they may plateau in their progress, sometimes not making any with the kidney herbs. Naturally a protocol would have to be followed for the endocrine problem before a permanent improvement could be expected.
Some may wonder if water should be drunk when dealing with this problem. We feel that the kidneys need water to function and a reasonable amount should be used. Other people I have consulted with have shared cases where the edema was reversed by gradually drinking more water. Half ones body weight in fluid ounces is a good rule of thumb to go by.
Find Dr. Christopher’s Herbal Formulas, single herbs, essential oils, books and more at Dr. Christopher’s Original Herb Shop: www.drchristophersherbshop.com.
NOTICE: All information in this newsletter is given out as information only and is not intended to diagnose or prescribe.
