2. Nutraceuticals – effective remedy for drug resistance.

By Malini Shankar

Digital Discourse Foundation

Slugline: Convention on Biological Diversity maybe an international covenant to conserve the biological wealth of Planet Earth – for Humanity alright. But how do we make stake holders benefit from this Convention so as to make it a win-win situation? In this 2^nd article on the series Traditional Medicines, Malini Shankar takes a look at how Biological Diversity benefits Humankind.

In the age of drug resistance and COVID 19 triggered steroid administration or modern medication –if you like - nutraceuticals have turned out to be the Manna from Heaven in battling drug overdose and steroid induced complications.

Dr. H.B. Shivaleela, retired Head of the Department of Food and Nutrition in the University of Agricultural Sciences, G.K.V.K. Campus in Bangalore tells Digital Discourse Foundation that fenugreek sprouts is the go to solution to reverse the harmful impact and sife effects of steroid administration on our anatomy. 

People who have to take lifelong medication – be it for physiological or psychological reasons / mental health are invariably victims of either severe side effects or drug resistance which leaves the patients immune to drug administration itself. The disease which they are attempting to treat becomes double hindrance and the burden of medication - a double whammy.

The side effects then blur with the symptoms of the medical condition itself; the medicines become more intense and side effects often become more intense than the medical condition. Medication seems redundant when side effects increase and blur the medical condition. Experts blame symptomatic treatment of the medical condition where the medical professionals do not treat the root of the malaise.

At some point the drug efficiency comes into question but the patients are advised not to stop medication and people are caught in an inescapable vortex. Asthma, Arthritis, Blood pressure or hypertension, Bipolar Disorder, cholesterol, constipation, Clinical Depression, Diabetes, epilepsy, dermatological issues, HIV / AIDS, Schizophrenia, swollen feet ankles and wrists etc. leaves one suffering chronic side effects from the medication. Some of these life-long medication alter the PH Balance in the body permanently impairing hormonal functionality and triggering further medical complications. It’s a nightmare that one has to live with. No wonder good health is considered a blessing.

Side effects include bloating, weight gain, insomnia, irritable bowel syndrome, severe peripheral neuropathy, loss of taste, shivering of the limbs, loss of balance, burning soles, blurred vision, bloating, loss of bladder and bowel control, hair loss, increase or decrease in appetite, temper tantrums and irritability, impairment of daily functionality, unregulated sleep, complete paralysis of gut bacteria, even paralysis or hemi-paresis of the limbs, have been recorded. In one case bipolar medication triggered Diabetes in one person. Just imagine!

In such desperate circumstances some patients turn to traditional medicines like Ayurveda, Unani, Homeopathy, Yoga etc. and other forms of Native Nutrition to restore gut bacterial functionality to recover good health. Others resign themselves to fate and continue suffering. It is for these people that native nutrition has to come to the rescue.

Bittergourd is tested and clinically proven in effective Diabetes control. 

Bittergourd is used in mainstream cooking in South and Southeast Asia, Africa, Micronesia etc. Bitter gourd and many other gourds are native nutrition in South and Southeast Asia. The agro-meteorologically sourced nutrition that obtains from the Soil complements the calorie intake and output, maintaining the perfect balance for nutrition and good health. That is why indigenous people are often healthy and robust even if they have vitamin deficiency. Pharma companies use extracts of such medicinal plants and fruits to offer nutraceuticals. It is one way in which the United Nations’ Convention of Biological Diversity meets the needs of common man. That is the focus of this series of articles on Traditional Medicines.

At this stage it is essential to reiterate that people respond to different forms of treatment subjectively. One person’s medication maybe poison to another. So if one wants to recover good health without intervention medicines, one may start experimenting with native nutrition / nutraceuticals - the premise is… one “grew up with native nutrition” and medication on the other hand is possibly deleterious to one’s overall health given the side effects of long term medication.

It is a subjective call one has to take. If native nutrition is helping, one can proceed gradually. Not in all cases will medication help, and not in all cases will only native nutrition / nutraceuticals help. But nutraceuticals or native nutrition is safer in terms of side effects. For instance uncontrolled Diabetes or – worse still uncontrolled hypertension will not be brought down easily without medication. But maintenance dose with significant changes in lifestyle and native nutrition will help sustain. Powerful medication for control of Hypertension has serious side effects like Baille’s Palsy. And without taking BP medication, uncontrolled spikes in BP can trigger stroke, paralysis and heart ailments.  

So drastic changes are fraught with risk. A middle ground is then advocated. Drastic changes in lifestyle are needed to sustain only a maintenance dose of medication for treating hypertension or Blood Pressure: Walking, physical exercises like Yoga, cycling, Aerobics, cardio, Pilates, breathing exercises, oil free diet, garlic consumption atleast thrice a week, and a maintenance dose of BP medication will be sustainable.

Garlic helps in fighting manifold disorders: blood pressure, cholesterol, obesity, PCOD, fertility issues, heart and vascular ailements, and so on...

Garlic has very high medicinal properties and is found to be effective in treating hypertension and cholesterol. Garlic is recommended for people suffering from bloating, constipation, IBS or Irritable Bowel Syndrome, high Blood Pressure or Hypertension etc.  

Another instance… someone I know feared anti biotics and pain killers and refused to take both anti biotics and painkillers for her worsening dental condition. She preferred to chew on cloves which is known pain killer but was not effective in treating her molars’ infection. Consequently her molar infection worsened leading to gum infection. The remnants of unbroken cloves were stuck in her damaged molars and led to rotting of the remaining molars. The chronic pain left the inner walls of her cheeks / walls of her mouth corroded…

Those who have been treated with steroids face manifold health complications. Weight gain, PCOD / PCOS, uncontrolled Hypertension before the age of 35, uncontrolled Diabetes, growth of facial hair, impairment of vision, muscular dystrophy, arthritis, and so on plague people who have been treated by immune suppressants like steroids.

Native nutrition has been documented as helping reverse Diabetes contrary to modern medicine. Common every day kitchen essentials like turmeric, ginger, garlic, curry leaves, Papaya, and medicinal plants … Jamoon fruit / Jamoon fruit juice, Jamoon seed powder, bitter gourd, neem leaves, fenugreek leaves and sprouts, Moong sprouts, cloves, cinnamon sticks, mint leaves, coconut oil, sesame oil, flax seeds, Melon seeds, Sun flower seeds, Chia seeds, these are all immensely curative and more sustainable for Humankind than chemically stuffed medication.

Annona muricata called Lakshmanphal in India and the Tropics is considered very effective in preventing breast cancer. Gymnema sylvestre commonly called Madhunashini (destroyer of excess sugar) is another herb found in the Subcontinent which is the natural herb to beat Diabetes.

People who suffer from Asthma see no choice but to administer or puff steroids to clear their lungs. Gradually they put on weight and become immune to steroid administration, leaving their suffering worse off. But Yoga has a very simple solution: Pranayama – a traditional breathing technique while seated in the Vajrasana position for 20 minutes each morning - and exactly 14 days later Asthma bids goodbye!

This Yoga posture is called Vajrasana. It helps in digestion, lung infections, battling endocrine disorders and vascular ailments. Done with Pranayama or breathing exercises like shown in the picture below it is effective in altogether bnishing Asthma. 

Amla or Phyllanthus emblica is a sure fire cure for many lifestyle disorders that ceate endocrine disorders and diseases. It is also touted to have cancer curing properties. 

Gooseberries or Amla - that is Phyllanthus emblica and Jamoon fruit or Syzigium cuminii are infinitely beneficial to Diabetics and Cancer survivors.

Jamoon fruit or Syzigium cuminii is considered the only fruit safe for Diabetics. Its fruit pulp helps reduce sugar spike and substitutes insulin in chronic Diabetics. Its seeds are also very effective in mitigating sugar spikes in known Diabetics.

Fresh Apricots are considered to cure Cancer according to traditional wisdom of the Himalayan nomads who trace their ancestry to the Aryan race from Central Asia.

Apricots – being very rich in Vitamin C, are ostensibly clinically proven in effectively regressing cancer causing cell mutation. They have medicinal properties that can cure Cancer it is claimed. Infact in Germany immunotherapy is now preferred to radiation for Cancer patients.

Probiotics filled native nutrition are clinically effective in restoring gut bacterial functionality which helps in beating drug resistance. 

Agrodiversity rich regions like Indian subcontinent offers myriad varieties of green leafy vegetables – a safe source of magnesium … so essential for good sleep. Drug resistance often manifests as insomnia…. For whom a green leafy soup in the nights / evenings is an incalculably great Melatonin fix!

In a country like India where milk and milk products are imbibed into the cultural ethos, commercial dairying forbids some of us from consuming milk – paving the way for improvised dairy research – lactose free milk. But lactose free milk has been a traditional tenet in pastoral practice as per traditional wisdom! 

One nutritionist in Bangalore in India helped a Type II insulin dependent diabetic reverse Diabetes completely by weaning her off milk and milk products. Such is the hidden toxins in the dairy industry. On the other hand, traditional tenets in pastoral practices means there is no threat of cholesterol or lactose intolerance in the milk yield.

Native breeds of cattle do not need anti biotics to secrete milk.

Neem, Amla, Jamun and bitter gourd are guaranteed cures for Diabetes.

My personal battle against drug resistance:

And yes it is possible to reverse Diabetes. I myself was a victim of severe drug resistance. Diabetology drugs wrought so much havoc on me. Apart from weight gain and severe insomnia my skin paled to the point my face looked like charcoal / lava rocks, the drugs became so ineffective that my fasting sugar levels breached 400! For a person who could do 3 hours of work out per day, 6 days a week, the drugs impaled me to the point I had to drag myself to the toilet, daily walking regimen was a long forgotten muscle memory.

No tablets worked and I did not want insulin because as a reporter covering environment and earth sciences I go to very remote areas, so carrying sandwiches with my infinite camera equipment to a volcano rim is not feasible I told the doctors. Risking my own life I simply threw out the tablets and gradually decreased the mildest Diabetes tablet – Glycomet - and brought back my sugar to feasible levels. I have shed 29 kilos I had put on courtesy the tablets.

Now I eat healthy native nutrition, am active again and am able to do cycling, yoga, walking and Pranayama daily. I reversed Hypertension completely and am off tablets for both hypertension and Diabetes. Oh thank god I had the courage to give up Allopathic medication. I only take Neurobien medicines / tablet now, nothing else.

Nutraceuticals like Amla juice, Jamun syrup / juice (without sugar obviously) neem and bitter gourd were immensely helpful in the transition period. Simultaneously I undertook a strict diet with plenty of probiotics to restore gut bacterial functionality under the counsel of a professionally trained nutritionist, and I am confident that I will completely reverse Diabetes, slowly but surely.

My frugal but healthy mealplan includes:

·         I take millet malt and cucumber juice for breakfast, alongwith a cup of fruit and four almonds (unsoaked).

·         I eat 1 chapathi (whole wheat baked bread) with Dal (lentil soup / curry) and a vegetable side dish, 1 small serving of fresh vegetable salad, 1 cup of Daliya or crushed wheat / Lhapsey with buttermilk for lunch;

·         My dinner or supper comprises of 1 cup of vegetable soup and green tea + 1 glass of oat milk or millet soup.   

·         As for physical activities, I do 20 minutes of cycling, 20 minutes of yoga and 40 minutes of walking Monday to Saturday besides, I do about 30 – 45 minutes of Pranayama every day.

Risks of Ayurveda:

Allopathic doctors caution patients against Ayurvedic medicines because there is no certification or standardization of ingredients used in the manufacture of Ayurvedic medicines. Allopathic doctors further allude to kidney damage when one consumes such undocumented loosely packaged traditional wisdom. Cynics readily refer to old wives’ tales and superstition masquerading as traditional wisdom. But what goes in favour of native nutrition is that it does not imbalance chemical balance in the body – like potassium or sodium, rather native nutrition regulates the chemical balance in the body reckoning with genetic intelligence of one’s body complementing agro meteorological conditions.

Further, try taking a second opinion from another Ayurvedic practitioner and what you get is pure social polemics! One is left to one’s own wisdom while deciding. Hence informed scientific opinion matters. India has set up Medicinal Plants Conservation Areas and FRLHT - Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions across the country in recognition of local agro meteorological conditions that go into cultivation of native nutrition. This fortifies the local population in calibration against the agro meteorological vulnerabilities.