ALS and Tonic Herbs

What is ALS?                                                                                                                                                Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's Disease," is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body.

A-myo-trophic comes from the Greek language. "A" means no or negative. "Myo" refers to muscle, and "Trophic" means nourishment–"No muscle nourishment." When a muscle has no nourishment, it "atrophies" or wastes away. "Lateral" identifies the areas in a person's spinal cord where portions of the nerve cells that signal and control the muscles are located. As this area degenerates it leads to scarring or hardening ("sclerosis") in the region.

Early Symptoms                                                                                                                                   As motor neurons degenerate, they can no longer send impulses to the muscle fibers that normally result in muscle movement. Early symptoms of ALS often include increasing muscle weakness, especially involving the arms and legs, speech, swallowing or breathing.

Prognosis

The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost.

 What Types of Nerves Make Your Body Work Properly?

The body has many kinds of nerves. There are those involved in the process of thinking, memory, and of detecting sensations (such as hot/cold, sharp/dull), and others for vision, hearing, and other bodily functions. The nerves that are affected when you have ALS are the motor neurons that provide voluntary movements and muscle power. The heart and the digestive system are also made of muscle but a different kind, and their movements are not under voluntary control. When your heart beats or a meal is digested, it all happens automatically.

 Cause of ALS 

Although the cause of ALS is not completely understood, the recent years have brought a wealth of new scientific understanding regarding the physiology of this disease. While there is not a cure or treatment today that halts or reverses ALS, there is one FDA approved drug, [riluzole] that modestly slows the progression of ALS as well as several other drugs in clinical trials that hold promise.

No matter what your individual course or situation may be, The ALS Association and your medical team are here to help. http://www.alsa.org/about-als/what-is-als.html

Riluzole Side Effect                                                                                                                                         Nausea, stomach pain, low fever, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, jaundice; fever, chills, body aches, flu symptoms; chest discomfort, dry cough, trouble breathing; cough with yellow or green mucus; stabbing chest pain, feeling short of breath. This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. http://www.drugs.com/sfx/riluzole-side-effects.html

Herbal Treatments

See: The Health Alert: Elixirs - Snake Oils - Tonics

Certain herbal treatments may nourish and enhance the integrity of the nervous system, which may in turn help ALS symptoms. Examples of nerve tonics include lemon balm, oat straw and St. John's wort. Other herbal treatments that may support the nervous system include black cohosh, blue cohosh, lavender, linden flower, valerian and motherwort.

Oat straw is an herbal treatment that may be prescribed as an adjunct therapy in the treatment of ALS. Oat straw is commonly used a restorative nerve tonic and may help treat other symptoms that may occur in conjunction with ALS, including stress, insomnia and depression.  http://www.livestrong.com/article/399284-herbal-treatment-for-als/#ixzz2bsB4K2VD

How Garlic Works:      
Compound break-down, about 15 minutes after ingesting garlic: Empties Lymph System; Stimulate and fortify Body Systems & Organs; Enters Blood System; Digestive Properties.

Allicin the “magic bullet” component penetrates the cell walls fortifying existing and new cells. When a foreign cell is penetrated, i.e. bacteria or virus, it is destroyed and flushed from the body. In fortifying the body’s systems, the immune system is strengthened against recurrence. 

This is not medicine or medical advice. Consult healthcare provider supplements may react adversely with Rx and o-t-c drugs.

The TONIC Nutrition Garlic Supplement contains the potency of raw garlic with no unpleasant taste and residue. Originally taken to prevent colds and flu The TONIC helps maintain Good Health, Naturally.