Category Archives: Women’s Health
Iodine deficiency is the most common cause of hypothyroidism. Iodine is essential for the healthy function of the thyroid gland and adequate amounts must be obtained from the diet or its function is inhibited. A chronic deficiency of iodine may produce goitre.1
(more…)Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) seed was highly valued in ancient Egypt and Greece as both a vegetable and a medicine, as it still is in India, Asia, Eastern Europe and The Middle East. It can be used much like cod liver oil as a nutritious supplement for supporting treatment during illness, for children with bone disorders, or simply to nourish the constitution.1 A flour made from the seeds contains good amounts of fibre, fatty acids, amino acids, alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, lecithin and iron, and if added to wheat flour improves its nutritional value significantly. When sprouted, the seeds are a good addition to salads just like other seeds or legumes.2,3
(more…)Vitex (Vitex agnus-castus) is a common shrub in the Mediterranean region which occupies rough ground around roads and gullies, recognisable by its strong scent, leaf stem carrying several leaflets resembling hemp, and spikes of lavender coloured flowers. Dioscorides mentions that it was used to encourage chastity, and we still know it as chaste-tree or monk’s pepper because it can be used by both men and women to suppress libido.1
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