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MRSA: Natures answer
4th May 2007
It looks like rain's on its way up here in Bristol...
So there's no way I can accompany Lara to the shops today.
The car's a good five metres from the house, and if I time it wrong, I could get soaked to the skin...
...which means I'd be walking around in cold, wet clothes whilst my body temperature rises due to being dragged from one department store to another...
...which would cause a temperature imbalance, which in turn would leave me open to viruses.
So I can't help Lara look for a birthday present for her mother due to medical reasons.
It's an open and shut case.
No, the only sensible thing to do today is make a nice cup of tea... (done)... have a couple of biscuits... (one down, three to go)... and spend a quiet day reading the papers, catching up on the dozens of reports and emails I get sent, and having a mooch around on the Internet in search of cuttingedge health news.
And boy have I found something interesting for you today...
A breakthrough from the Dark Ages
If you're a little bit squeamish, you may want to scroll down to the next section, because this sounds like it comes from the prescription pad of Dr Hannibal Lecter...
Okay, ready...?
According to a study published in Diabetes Care, maggots are helping patients suffering from MRSA infections... by eating them alive!
Cue thunderclap and demonic laughter.
Apparently researchers at the University of Manchester used green bottle fly larvae to treat thirteen diabetic patients aged between 1880, who had ulcers contaminated with the MRSA superbug.
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The maggots were let loose on the ulcers between two and eight times (depending on the size of the infection) over the course of four days.
The maggots happily ate there way through all the dead tissue and foul bacteria, leaving the healthy tissue alone.
Out of these thirteen patients, twelve were cleared of the bug within three weeks.
To put this in context, it usually takes twenty eight weeks using conventional treatments.
What makes it even more interesting is that conventional treatments carry the risk of irritating the skin (rashes and inflammation are two of the noted side effects caused by man made drugs), whereas the maggots cause NO side effects.
Weird huh?
Who'd have thought that having maggots eating away at you would be less intrusive than applying a simple gel?
But it just goes to show… even deeply unpleasant natural remedies can work harder, work faster and work safer than a pleasant looking man made remedy.
Although I have to admit, slapping maggots on my skin isn't the first natural remedy I'd reach for if I was suffering from an infected ulcer!
Especially when this brilliant herb is around…
The good cola...
Gotu kola is a creeping plant found in the swamps of Africa, Sri Lanka, and Madagascar... and as per usual in these countries, the peoples cottoned onto the fact that Gotu Kola was a powerful natural remedy far quicker than us.
Er, by a few thousand years.
The list of ailments this plant tackles is massive...
(Take a look at this… it's like rolling out the red carpet and watching all the major stars of the disease world pose for photos...)
Bad circulation, cancer, fatigue, breathing problems, psoriasis, eczema, obesity, arthritis, rheumatism, treatment of liver and kidneys, varicose veins, high blood pressure... the list goes on and on.
But on top of all this, Gotu Kola is also a powerful cleanser that not only helps keep skin healthy, but may actually repair damaged tissue.
This may be due to Gotu Kola being stuffed to the gills with madecassoside - a glycoside with strong anti-inflammatory properties.
In fact, its wound-healing properties are so punchy, Gotu Kola has even been used for the treatment of leprosy, this time due to another 'side'... asiaticoside.
This substance dissolves a protective coating that protects the leprosy bacteria... and once this is out of the way the immune system can get through and destroy the bacteria.
But it's not just used for extreme complaints...
Gotu Kola is also excellent for bedridden and post-operative patients. It speeds up the wound healing process, and helps prevent bedsores, epithelial ulcers, and muscular atrophy.
All in all, this herb seems like it can clean your body better than Kim and Aggie could clean your house.
But if you're thinking of giving it a go, or want to know if it would be suitable for you, consult your doctor first. |
Could a Kit Kat cure your cough..?
According to research recently published in The FASEB Journal Express, chocolate could be the way forward if you want to cure a cough.
An ingredient in chocolate called theobromine was found to be almost a third more effective in easing a persistent cough than codeine, currently considered the best cough medicine.
So if you're spluttering all day and want to stop it, reach for the hot chocolate, not the cough syrup!
Right, that's me done for the day. I feel a chesty cough coming on, and need to stock up on my new 'medicine'.
I'll be back again on Sunday.
Till then,
Yours as ever,
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