The alarming growth in people's resistance to sometimes life-saving antibiotic drugs is increasingly seen by senior politicians and professionals as a considerable threat to our health.

The ability to fight bacterial infections with antibiotics was one of the main advances in health care during the 20th century.  
But the effectiveness of antibiotics in the 21st century is blamed on overusing antibiotics in medical treatment and in farming.

The seriousness of antibiotic resistance was identified by the Chancellor of the Exchequer at a meeting in Washington of the IMF.  He told delegates that ten million people a year could die by 2050 if antibiotics can no longer treat infections and argued that that this is an even greater threat to humanity than cancer.  (Times 15/4)

We need to curb the use of antibiotics and find alternative ways of treating infections. Herbal medicines can also help combat antibiotic resistance. They have a significant potential to treat minor infections so reserving precious antibiotics for use in more serious cases. There are many medicinal herbs which have antimicrobial action and which were used traditionally in treating infections.

We do not want to return to the days when only herbal medicines were available. And today's herbal medicines have clear differences. Modern conditions, considerably more hygienic than in previous centuries, mean that the milder action of herbal medicines can be more effective.

Modern research has identified the antimicrobial action of plant constituents, which herbs are most effective, and the therapeutic doses required. Furthermore, research has shown that a combination of antibiotics and herbal medicine can enhance the action of antibiotics and help to overcome antibiotic resistance.

An area where herbal medicine can be particularly effective is treating and preventing urinary infections.  Those suffering from recurring urinary infections are repeatedly treated with a course of antibiotics only for the infection to return. I have had success in using herbal medicine to treat the infection and prevent recurrence of urinary infections using a tailored combination of herbs to treat the infection and also  enhance the ability of the body’s own immune system to fight infection.

Alarmingly, there is evidence that children are increasingly unable to fight common infections because the antibiotics given cannot kill the bacteria. A particular example is urinary tract infections caused by E.coli.  Treatment with herbal medicine could be an effective alternative either used in combination to enhance antibiotic treatment or alone to prevent recurrence of infection.

If we are to ensure our future health we must consider alternatives such as herbal medicines in fighting infections.
 

Type 2 Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease with life-threatening complications. More than three million British adults have type 2 diabetes and this is growing by 5% or 150,000 people each year.

This growing problem flows from increases in obesity and sedentary life styles. Worryingly, one in three adults show pre-diabetic signs with poor control of blood glucose levels, which boost the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
The good news is that if you are pre-diabetic and you act now, you could stop type 2 diabetes in its tracks. The risk of developing diabetes is minimised by catching the condition early as pre-diabetic signs can precede full-blown type 2 diabetes by many years.

You can, therefore, make changes that significantly improve glucose control.  This requires better diet, and lifestyle. And that can be effectively combined with treatment using herbal medicine.

This early control of blood glucose stops the need for drugs, and the dangers of long-term complications such as heart and kidney disease, blindness and nerve damage, leading to amputations.

A pre-diabetic state is defined as fasting glucose levels which are higher than normal, but not high enough to be classified as type 2 diabetes. In healthy individuals, blood glucose is usually tightly controlled but during the development of type 2 diabetes the control of both fasting and post-load glucose becomes abnormal. This results from insufficient secretion of insulin and lower responses to insulin.

The key to treatment is to increase insulin production and then the response to insulin.  Weight loss is a very crucial part of lifestyle changes needed to achieve this. Losing >5% can reduce low level inflammation and insulin demand, and increase insulin response.

Diet changes should include less saturated fat intake, more fibre, no refined carbohydrates, plenty of vegetables and low fruit, as well as moderate protein intake including more nuts, which also curb the risk of diabetes development.  Exercise of at least 30 minutes for five times a week starting with gentle walking is very important as  are good sleep patterns which aid weight loss.

Treatment with herbal medicines enhances the benefits of these vital life style changes. A group of herbs which are particularly beneficial are spices such as ginger, garlic, cinnamon, turmeric and capsicum. These reduce inflammation and help balance blood glucose. Other effective herbs in controlling blood glucose include gymnema, fennel, liquorice, goat’s rue, ginseng and baical skullcap.

A Medical Herbalist will select the best of these glucose-controlling herbs for each individual and combine them with others to improve liver function, lower cholesterol, improve vascular function and reduce inflammation. They will advise which nutritional supplements are necessary for balancing blood glucose. These include chromium, magnesium, omega 3 fatty acids, vitamin B, vitamin D and zinc which are very important for normalising glucose levels.

Combining crucial life style changes with herbal medicine treatment provides a real opportunity to reverse poor control of blood glucose and prevent the development of type 2 diabetes. This will avert long term health problems and improve the chances of continued good health and well being.