Gandy 75041

Agrimony, Barberry, Blackberry, Black Cohosh, Black Currant, Blue Cohosh, Buchu, Burdock root, Calamus, Celery, Chaparral, Cleavers, Cornsilk, Cucumber, Damiana, Dandelion, Elecampane, False Unicorn, Fennel, Gotu Kola, Gravel root, Golden Rod, Hawthorn berries, Horseradish, Horsetail, Hydrangea, Juniper berries, Kava Kava, Lady's Bedstraw, Liquorice, Lovage, Marshmallow, Mistletoe, Mullein, Parsley, Pennywort, Plantain, Pleurisy root, Rosemary, Salad Burnet, Salad Rocket, Sassafras, Saw palmetto, Senna, Sesame, Shepherd's purse, Squaw vine, St. Johns Wort, Sweet Woodruff, Sugar Palm, Uva ursi, Watercress, White willow, Yarrow.

There is, however, a much more powerful diuretic exercise which you can do easily. I found out about it by fluke after having swollen feet for months. I got cured permanently in one day. Then I remembered the exercise to be a cure used all over Germany. I had just forgotten about it. I have written the incident up as a story and can email it to you on request.

......There is, however, a much more powerful diuretic exercise which you can do easily.

Hi,
I came across your note and am interested in the exercise you refer to in the note about diuretics.

Thanks in advance,

Traci

Gandy

Merry Christmas.
Gandy

I have used it regularly most of my life.

Gandy75041

GANDY75041

chiman

maybe putting a pillow under you feet in bet at night might be an dea, that will help with the return from the vein., arteries have the srength to push the blood up to the foot but the veins preasure s so much lower. therefore if you can, keeping it higher than ur hip, if only slightly wiil be of much use, i think.

i sugest in bed as that means you spend a long time liek that and it also means ur lying down so you CAN rais ur feet above your hips regardless of ur physical condition (well more or less).

worth a try anyway.

From my research, okra root does not tincture in alcohol. The properties are released by soaking in cold water and boiled.

I store my roots whole and cut up or powder just prior to it's use.

Compression stockings work, raising your feet works, uva ursi works, dandelion root works. Maybe sticking your foot in a bucket of water works, too, or maybe that's just a smartass "I know something and you don't!" bit of BS, too. Did anyone here ever get anything of value from that "Biogardener" dude? If so, would you share it?
Thanks!
Bill Whedon
billwhedon@billwhedon.com

Frances

I'd also be interested in your exercise for helping water retention. Would you be so kind as to share it with me too? Thanks in advance!

Vicki (BecauseILikeIt@aol.com)

Flavonoids seem to be pretty prominently associated with preventing or reducing edema in the literature, although there are many types of edema. Onions, apples, beans, and a wide host of other fruits and veggies are rich sources, there are also supplements of individual flavonoids like rutin, quercetin, etc.

Health: Internal: Used as a diuretic. Stimulates circulation and clears uric acid, relieving arthritis and gout. (Tea: 2 tsp to one cup boiling water, steep for 10 min. Drink 3-4 cups a day for 3-5 weeks.) External: A poultice treats eczema.

As well as Dandelion, this works rather well also.

From what I have learned it is a good diuretic. I read in several places how one needs to keep drinking plenty of water if they are going to be using goldenrod because of how it works as a diuretic.

I gathered and dried some to use in teas for the winter. Right now I just go outside to the fence row along the field and pick some to make tea. It is also said to help one not get bladder and kidney infections. I do notice that I have to pee more after I drink goldenrod tea.

Insects like goldenrod. I have saw tons of butterflies on goldenrod and the not so well known goldenrod spider that turns from yellow to white and hides on the flower looking all yellow and pretty just like the flowers.

If you do a google image search you will find pics of it and most likely reconize it.

Some people can handle these products easly enough and a few of my friends have no issues.. however my self and some other friends have more reactions.. and can not take such evasive products..

So one of my pals that just did a show a few weeks ago got a HERBAL DIURETIC from the local grocery store in the value health section.. he said it worked just as well as the other stuff and was very easy on his system.

the company is called Natures Harmony and the product name is simply Herbal Diuretic.. not to mention as well.. this product was atleast 70% cheaper then the main stream stuff...

here i have provided a link for any one that wishes to check it out

http://www.naturesharmony.com/en/product_info/product_detail.php?id=111&category=9

or just go here and do a search

http://www.naturesharmony.com

I hope this helps.. i will be using it for my next show. i think it will do well for people that retain water due to certain diseases but like any thing.. do research before you buy!

;)

I agree with Dandelion (all parts of the plant are diuretic) as a 'safe' method of water release, Cranberry, celery, and tea (loose, but black or green doesn't matter so much) are also beneficial without being, well, scary.

Especially if you also have ANY form or arthritis, I highly recommend that you look in to Tumeric, which is also an anti-inflammatory, and one of the oldest herbs in the herbal pharmacy, period.

there are massage techniques specifically for treating edema and lymphatic buildup, that use elevation and rythmic compression to help drain the fluid...

but the 'exercise' that our missing Traut is, I suspect, keeping from y'all really is simple - bucket of hot water, bucket of cold water. plunge limb into hot water, count to 20, plunge limb into cold water, count to 20, repeat until you run out of 'hot' and 'cold'. then rest with limb higher than heart for 10 minutes. gentle massage/stroking towards body core, or 'brushing' is allowed during the resting time.

the problem with edema is that if you rely solely on diuretics, it is entirely possible to leave yourself severly dehydrated, with fluid still stagnating in a pool around your ankles.

There's a host of potential causes for leg edema, including heart failure, liver and kidney problems, venous thrombosis, venous insufficiency, malignancy, obesity, side effects of certain drugs and so on. In addition to some causes being readily treatable, others will lead to serious problems if people go without proper diagnosis and try to paper over the problem with agents not shown to provide symptomatic relief.

One herbal remedy for venous insufficiency that may provide modest relief of leg edema is horse chestnut extract. But again this isn't something you'd want to start taking without knowing the reason for your leg edema.

As to downton's herbal shopper site - it's not completely without useful information, but I'd do without pricey unproven supplements like "Aquadrene" and "Watershed" (some of this stuff sounds like it's being promoted for bodybuilders, who are notorious for abusing their bodies for short-term appearance benefits). And as for advice like this:

"...drink plenty of water(the more water you drink the less water your body retains)."

Um...nope.

From what you've described, I can assure you that there are several complex conditions that you're dealing with. For instance, the extent of your problem tells me that you have much congestion throughout the hepatic/venous/lymphatic systems. So, please be careful, because a diuretic probably isn't necessarily indicated in this instance.

Charles Benghauser
The Herbalist

How would you know this, and what would cause such a condition in your view?

Gandy said "I am disabled with bilateral hip osteoarthritis and do well to even get around in my home. My foot, ankle, and lower leg swelling has been a life-long problem" Also, (and I wasn't aware that this was said in his same post until you asked this question) he said "I gave up doctors years ago - all had the same answer - "poor return of the saphenous veins"."

It's a simple case of deductive reasoning and logic. I'm not sure how much anatomy and physiology you've had, but I can ask you a question to test your knowledge: How do his conditions develop? In other words, what pathway does his condition take? Where does it begin? There are priorities here and a diuretic for the kidneys must take a backseat.

Charles in Arizona
The Herbalist

Then it should be easy to explain.

Instead you suggest I don't know anatomy and physiology and ask me to diagnose the problem.

All we know is what he's told us, and it's that he has a long-term problem with venous insufficiency - a relatively common cause of leg/foot edema.

"Venous insufficiency is treated with leg elevation, compressive stockings, and sometimes diuretics.

So I'm wondering why you dismiss diuretics in this case, and what tells you he has "congestion throughout the hepatic/venous/lymphatic systems" - a syndrome I'm not familiar with.

To recommend herbal therapy, it's essential to understand the problem one is trying to treat.