coffee, wine and red clover tea bags

Submitted by Christine on April 6, 2010 - 6:24pm
Body: 

I have created this new forum in hopes of categorizing questions related to hormonal health. Let's begin with Deb's last question to me:

"I have been a coffee drinker but I believe you are going to tell me that it is not good for the LS right? So I am trying to curtail or give it up, as well as wine!
I see they sell red clover tea bags online–do you think they are as effective as the tea you make?"

Hi Deb,

Coffee and wine are both pretty tough on the liver, and liver health is an important factor in any chronic disease. I love wine, but have limited my consumption to a couple of glasses every week or two. I feel much better. Alcohol does become more and more difficult for the body and brain to process, and I think it's fair to say that eventually we all have to either cut way back or give it up entirely. Might as well get a head start.

I used to be a two-fisted coffee drinker and was able to give it up in my forties. I now enjoy green tea very much - even moreso with red clover added. I can honestly tell you that it is better than coffee in all ways - but cannot know if you would agree.

I think most of us can find loose red clover tea with flowers and leaves included. I have no way of knowing what is in the bags. All I can tell you is that I make a strong brew with loose tea that is a nice mixture of flowers and leaves. We add freshly grated, organic ginger in the morning. yum.

Christine

kiki

May 9, 2010 - 2:49pm

no problem! that's what we do here, isn't it ;-)

little fused lying down flat to big, meaning they fused flat outwards (so didn't affect birthing). one of the joys of what can happen with LS, but i never knew i had it. absolutely no symptoms, just fusing, which i didn't find out about till i was in my late 20's. never really went comparing to lots of other women, so my body was just my body. but a gyn commented on it and diagnosed LS.
ah, the joys! on the other hand, as someone else who had this said, it's the simple anatomy version that means no trouble finding anything! minimalism all the way ;-)

louiseds

May 11, 2010 - 6:08am

I think you are right Kiki. We only have one body and it is like it is. I am glad you can look at it like that. Labia seem to have a role for me in being the curtains in the doorway, that kind of protect the vaginal entrance if the big labia spread out, and stop chafing to a degree. I guess they also provide a degree of 'lubrication', a bit more tissue when it is needed.

debspups

May 14, 2010 - 11:22am

Hi Christine and Friends,
Has anyone ever tried or been prescribed Prednisone for LS? I know it is a powerful drug but sometimes only a week or so on it I am told can knock your system back to normal? Thoughts??? -Deb

Christine

May 14, 2010 - 12:37pm

Hi Deb,

I haven't. Perhaps it will knock down your immune system and diminish the inflammation. Just understand systemic corticosteroids need to be closely managed. It's such a frustrating disease, isn't it? I'm quite certain our own cortisol plays a big part - that's why it seems counterintuitive to add more to the system in the form of a drug. But perhaps it will interrupt some feedback loop or something.

Let us know how you do.

Christine

debspups

May 17, 2010 - 9:45am

Hi Christine,
I had a discussion with one of my many docs about your comment in your LS article about taking Fosamax, which I have been on, and why the femur breaks happen. It's pretty interesting how the Fosamax works--scary. I wanted to ask you--what do you do for your calcium intake?? deb

Christine

May 17, 2010 - 12:31pm

Lots of greens and beans and some dairy. More importantly, I try to keep an alkaline environment in my blood stream so calcium isn't being continuously leached from my bones.

debspups

May 17, 2010 - 2:00pm

Hi Christine,
I'm not understanding the alkaline environment--what do you do to maintain that??? deb

aza

May 17, 2010 - 2:26pm

I'm not Christine but here is a link to get you started, debspups

http://www.truthaboutwellness.com/alkalize.html

Google will reveal heaps and heaps of info

heavenly

May 17, 2010 - 6:16pm

Glad to hear some discussion on alkaline enviroment for the body. Have been studying for a long time the alkaline/acid connection within the body. Acid can kill if not in balance with the alkaline. Anyone can buy test strips to see what their balance is. I know also that when the body is too acid the body takes alkaline from the bones and what would one think that would mean? The only place the body can retrieve the calcium to balance itself is from the bones. The study of acid and disease is quite interesting. Sorry, this may not be the place to get into this subject, just got carried away.LOL

kiki

May 23, 2010 - 3:20pm

sorry, coming to this late!
christine, how do you try to keep your body alkaline?
i started reading about this with regards to candida, as apparently being too acidic helps candida thrive. so i'm drinking apple cider vinegar + lemon twice a day to try to restore my PH. but don't know if it's teh best way...

does testing with strips really tell you your PH?

Kiki

debspups

May 24, 2010 - 2:17pm

Hi Kiki and All,
Not having much luck with the inflammation due to LS, I had mentioned earlier that I was visiting a naturopath. Well she placed me on a "cleansing" juice, which also keeps my system on the alkaline side. I have been on it for about ten days and I have also stopped taking the Lyrica topical cream my OB gave me because it looks like the juice is helping me so much, along with the 64oz of red clover tea I am drinking. I can't tell you everything that is in the juice but it has lots of dark green vegetables and it sweetened with Stevia. I drink 2 10oz glasses each day, one with breakfast and one with lunch. I have some fruit with it for breakfast, try to eat a healthy lunch and dinner is always up for grabs for me. I have managed however to stay away from the cakes and cookies and soda though because sugar makes your system so acidic. I think Christine is definitely on to something with the alkalinity thinking. The vege drink seems to be cleaning my system and I am going to the bathroom with more regularity. I am thinking that the whole disease process has more to do with toxins being held in the system than anything else. deb

Christine

May 24, 2010 - 9:40pm

Kiki...our breakfasts are quite alkaline (soaked almonds and fruit) and I just try to add enough raw greens and veges at dinner to balance more acidic foods such as grains and nuts. I don't make a big deal of it and can sense when I need something raw like an orange with a few dandelion greens.

Deb...good to hear your dietary changes are helping. Diet is hugely important, but as Kiki knows, many people on healthful diets develop LS. I finally got around to making a batch of red clover salve (recall that the red clover I ordered was terrible) minus the irritating hops I used in my first batch, and it is helping tremendously. Whether or not it is directly effecting the tissues I don't know. But it's obvious to me that it is acting as a barrier, which supports my urinary metabolite theory. The tea is a life-saver, but is not curing it 100%.

I think we will have more date over time.

Chrisitne

debspups

June 8, 2010 - 4:24pm

Hi Christine,
I've been drinking 2 quarts of red clover tea for a couple of months now and all of a sudden last week I started getting GI upset (acid over-production) when I drink more than about a quart. Any thoughts? thanks, deb

louiseds

June 8, 2010 - 10:51pm

Hi Debs

I have been taking a similar quantity per day to treat some seriously debilitating dermatitis on my hands. Improvement was rapid at first, and enabled me to do things with my hands and fingers once again. The redness has almost completely gone, unless I do heavy duty cleaning or outdoor work. Even with rubber gloves my skin does not like the buildup of condensation in them. Constant friction and dirt also seems to dry them out. The areas affected are shrinking and my fingerprints are slowly returning. Even if I have a breakout the area is reduced.

I think that even though I have to take red clover twice a day to continue the process, there are some longer term things happening in my skin. I am wondering if the number of oestrogen receptors in the skin decreases. Perhaps the skin thinks, "there is plenty of oestrogen around now, so I don't need to keep so many antenae out there", in the same way as the menopausal woman's body produces constantly higher levels of FSH and LH in an effort to make ovulation happen. Less receptors would mean that less of the harmful metabolites can attach, which would normalise the skin again.

Perhaps you have experienced another type of change which means that there is now excess oestrogen in your system, which could be causing the nausea. I have only been able to find one symptom of oestrogen overdose, and that is nausea or upset stomach.

I would reduce the dosage of red clover tea and see if you can reduce the upset stomach and still maintain the level of improvement in symptoms. Another thing I have read is that women's bodies vary in the amount of herbs of any sort they need to get improvement in symptoms. You just need to find your own level.

I have started using red clover salve topically. I find that helps a lot. If I miss out on an evening tea, the salve will calm my dermatitis if applied the followikng morning.

Louise

Pages