Gillian McKeith's Food Bible (308 page)

HERBS AND SUPPLEMENTS

Pygeum is an herb that is being increasingly used in BPH with good results.

Support the urinary tract with herbs—nettle, parsley, dandelion leaf, slippery elm bark, and uva ursi can all be beneficial.

Supplement with zinc citrate, chelate, or gluconate and EFAs. After this, take saw palmetto.

EXTRA TIPS

Engage in regular exercise—exercise increases oxygen and nutrient flow to the area. Avoid cycling, as this can put pressure on the prostate.

Have hot then cold showers—start with a normal hot shower, then switch to cold for 30 to 60 seconds, directing the water to the abdomen. Then switch back to hot for two to three minutes. Repeat two or three times. This improves circulation and lymph flow to the area.

PSORIASIS

Psoriasis is a distressing, common skin disorder that first appears in the late teens to thirties. It manifests as reddish, silvery, raised, scaled lesions. Once you have it, it is very hard to get it into remission. However, there are occasionally spontaneous remissions and it never appears again. It can manifest as thick scalp dandruff or scalp lesions that spread mainly over the middle torso, back, elbows, knees, groin, genitals, anus, and very occasionally, the face and neck. It tends not to itch, although it might, and it looks unsightly. The nails can be affected too, taking on a mottled appearance and even falling off. It can cause sufferers to cover up even in the summer, hide away, avoid the beach, and feel embarrassed, miserable, and depressed.

With psoriasis, the skin cells are multiplying at a much higher rate than with normal skin, causing a pile-up of skin as new cells come in before the old cells have had time to shed. There is an imbalance between what’s called AMP (cyclic adenosine monophosphate) and GMP (cyclic guanidine monophosphate). Increased GMP results in rapid skin cell development and increased AMP results in decreased cell replication.

It takes perseverance to deal with this condition and you have to be really determined to stick with it.

CAUSES MAY INCLUDE

Hereditary condition.

Inherited fault in antibody-antigen response to foreign organisms like
Candida albicans
.

Toxin overload.

Sluggish bowels.

Emotional stress.

Liver imbalance and impaired liver function.

Candida albicans
yeast overgrowth.