BACK TO ASK THE HERBALIST INDEX

ANSWERS FROM CARLOS:
QUESTION: I'm 15 years old I think I have a yeast infection I'm not sure but if it is what can I do to cure it?

ANSWER: In a douche bottle mix 1 tablespoon of Acidophilus powder, 2 tablespoons of Vinegar, 2 drops of essential oil of Tea tree, 2 drops of essential oil of Rosemary and 2 drops of essential oil of Lavender.
Use only in the amounts indicated ! Mix together well, and add 3 cups of warm water. We suggest that you douche 3xs day with this mixture. You may also soak a tampon in it and insert it into the vagina. Do this daily, in the morning, and remove it at night. If your vagina is inflamed add to this mixture 1
teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda.

I would also suggest that you eliminate foods that stagnate the system, such as: Pork, heavy red meats, white sugar, all dairy and all fried or greasy foods. Avoid potatoes, mushrooms, tomatoes, ketchup, all alcoholic beverages, chocolate, coffee, milk and vinegar. I suggest decoctions of Lemon grass and Pau 'D Arco bark in equal parts. Add to these 15 drops of extract or tincture of Dandelion to detoxify the
system. Sweeten with honey and drink 3 or 4xs day.

Follow a regimen of exercise daily. Sweating is powerful way to cleanse your body from accumulated toxins.  Eat plenty of yogurt. Remember that it is of the utmost importance that you eliminate all forms of sugar from your diet for now.

QUESTION: I have been reading about candida issues and have read that red clover (as tea, tincture, etc.) is recommended, but I am also taking armour thyroid, and I have found some things that say red clover is not good to take if you have low thyroid.  I also found some things that say stay away from greens (kale, broccoli, etc.) but these are also recommended foods in the candida books I have been reading.  So I am confused what is ok and what is not, I just want to try and get better and not make other issues.  Thank you for your time and any help you can offer. 

ANSWER: Actually Red clover is primarily a detoxifing herb, but it is not really used for Candida very often. 

Candida is sometimes a tubborn condition to treat, but it is extremely important that you body eliminate the toxins that make treatment harder.  So, towards that end we suggest that you begin drinking plenty of fresh water daily and infusions (teas) of Green tea adding to these 25 drops of extract of Dandelion root. Sweeten only with a bit of honey and drink 3xs day.  Extracts or tinctures work better and faster.  Continue drinking the teas for 5 days.

You should immediately reduce your intake of alcohol, mushrooms, vinegar, soy sauce, barbecue sauce, breads, sugar, jams or jellies, chocolate, beets, carrots, and all foods containing yeast. If you smoke, quit. When you need to use a sweetner use honey or Stevia. If you also use scented bath oils discontinue the use.  Avoid taking antibiotics unless it is absolutely necessary.

Eliminate white sugar, pork, red meats, smoked or cured meats, cheese, pastas, mayo, and the consumption of too much milk or eggs, these stagnate and overload the digestive system by causing it to produce extra enzymes and juices necessary for digestion. Eliminate all fried foods, soda and colas. 

Enhance your diet with plenty of fresh oily fishes (salmon, mackerel), plenty of fresh garlic and onions, ginger root, brown rice, fresh raw or steamed vegetables and plenty of fresh fruits. Drink fresh Cranberry juice often.  Eat plenty of yogurt daily or take a good Probiotic supplement 2xs day. 

A very helpful solution is a douche of plain yogurt. Douche and hold for a few minutes.  You may want to add a handful of Baking soda to your warm baths some folks have found this to be very helpful.  I suggest that you also drink infusions of Pau D'arco and Barberry in equal parts. Drink 2xs daily. Sweeten only with honey. 

In TCM we often use the formulas Long Dan Xie Gan Wan and Huang Lian Shang Qing Wan which are powerful herbal combinations to promote the cleansing process. 

A low-level regimen of exercise would also help you to sweat out toxins. You would benefit from perhaps Yoga or Tai Chi you local library should have books or videos on these. Just fifteen minutes per day would do wonders.  One last suggestion, avoid stress, stressful places and stressful people.

ANSWERS FROM LORYHL DAVIS:
QUESTION:  Hi there!  I don't know if I am doing the right thing for me or not but I just started taking Finest Natural Ginseng standardized extract 200 mg. Bottle says real root panax ginseng (100% root) extract, standardized to contain 5% ginsenosides. This I bought at Walgreens.  I also bought Folic Acid.
      The reason for these purchases are to help me cause I have too many problems and don't like taking prescription drugs. The following are to include:
Reoccurring bladder infections
Reoccurring yeast infections
Reoccurring bacterial vaginosis infections ( vaginal area always has icky odor and is embarrasing to have sex with my boyfriend)
Fibromyalgia
Myfacia (these two give me severe neck, shoulder and back pain and major fatigue)
Sleep apnea
Anti nuclear antibody
My upper stomach will blow out huge at random times daily and I burp more than ever.
        I had an iridology reading done which showed I had issues with:
Mental ability
Mental inherent
adrenal gland
mid back (where I have lots of pain)
upper stomach (high toxicity possible)
really bad nerve rings (she thought I wore contacts even but i don't)
             Basically, I live with pain, can't concentrate, infections all the time and sick of those prescriptions that don’t do anything for me.
                I don't have much money to see a herbalist and don't even know where one would be. I just praying that someone can help me. I really want to thank you so much for offering to read my info. Have a blessed day!

ANSWER: Sorry to hear about you trials.  I suggest you go on the internet, and look up diets for Candida Albicans, holistic treatment of, and there are books, and diet sheets written on this topic. I suspect you have this in your body, and it may be causing all or most of your symptoms. It will take alot to explain. Take a look at the information in the download section and do go search, for the other, or the books.

You will need herbs, we have the following:
- for your liver, Giver to My Liver
- Life Force Fiber Food. to gently cleanse
-acidophilus, highest quality and live bacteria count, for the gut and the body, pills or powder
- herbal bolus, for the vagina, to pull toxins, and heal imbalance
- change of diet
- education of yourself, that you will find out what has made you this ill, and what you can do to help yourself.    Please let us know if we can help further