Category: Organs & Glands

Tired Eyes, Floaters, Eyesight, Cataracts, Glaucoma, Macular Degeneration and Fuchs Dystrophy

One sheet for the whole eye. Pink eye and styes are on the Infection: Ears, Sinuses & Eyes sheet. Everything here comes back to one thing: keeping circulation flowing in and out of the eye.

Understanding the Condition

How the Eye Is Fed

Light comes in through the cornea, the clear window at the front of the eye, passes through the pupil and the lens, and lands on the retina, the light-sensing layer at the back. The retina turns light into nerve signals, and the optic nerve carries them to the brain. At the center of the retina is the macula, a spot about the size of a pencil eraser that gives us our sharp, detailed sight.

Some of the most important parts of the eye have no blood vessels at all. The cornea and the lens must stay perfectly clear, so they are fed by a clear, watery fluid (the aqueous fluid) that fills the front of the eye. This fluid is made all the time behind the iris, flows forward through the pupil, and drains out where the iris meets the cornea, carrying waste away with it. The retina is fed from behind by a rich bed of blood vessels, the choroid.

So every part of the eye depends on circulation: nourishment flowing in and waste flowing out. When that flow slows or clogs, waste builds up and tissue starves. That is the story behind every condition on this sheet.

Tired Eyes and Changing Eyesight

Inside the eye, a small ring of muscle changes the shape of the lens so we can focus. Looking up close, it tightens and the eyes turn in toward the nose; looking far away, it relaxes. Hours of close work, reading and screens keep these muscles tight all day, and like any muscle held tight too long, they tire, stiffen and lose their range. That is a large part of why focusing gets harder as the years go by. Muscles that are exercised and fed stay stronger.

Floaters

The large back chamber of the eye is filled with a clear gel, the vitreous. Floaters are small bits of debris drifting in that gel, and their shadows fall on the retina, so we see them as specks, threads or cobwebs that drift when the eye moves. When the eye cannot clear its waste, the specks can build into larger strands, like ropes across the field of vision.

Dry Eyes

Every blink spreads a thin film of tears over the eye: water from the tear glands, mucus to hold it in place, and oil from tiny glands along the edge of the eyelids to keep it from drying out. When the glands are clogged or the film breaks down, the eyes feel gritty, burning and tired, and may water too much as they try to make up for it. Staring at screens cuts our blinking nearly in half, which makes it worse.

Cataracts

The lens is made of tightly packed proteins, arranged so precisely that light passes straight through. The cells at the center of the lens are never replaced, so some of those proteins are as old as we are. Over the years, with waste and wear, the proteins begin to clump together and the lens clouds, like a frosted window. Sight becomes dim and blurred, colors fade, and lights at night grow halos and glare.

There are three main kinds, depending on where the clouding forms:

• Nuclear: the center of the lens slowly hardens and yellows. The most common kind; it usually comes on over years.
• Cortical: cloudy streaks like the spokes of a wheel start at the outer edge of the lens and work inward.
• Posterior subcapsular: forms at the back of the lens, just under the thin capsule that wraps it. This is the fast-growing kind, and it can go from mild to serious in a few months.

Glaucoma

Glaucoma is a problem of pressure. The aqueous fluid is made all the time, and it must drain out as fast as it is made. In glaucoma, the drain where the iris meets the cornea slows or becomes blocked, the fluid builds up, and the pressure inside the eye rises.

The pressure presses everywhere inside the eye, but the weakest spot is at the back, where the optic nerve leaves the eye. Over time the pressure squeezes the nerve and the tiny blood vessels that feed it. Starved and crushed, the nerve fibers begin to die, and once they are lost they do not come back. Sight lost to glaucoma does not return.

The most common form, open-angle glaucoma, comes on so slowly and quietly that it is called the “silent thief of sight”:

• Early: the pressure is up, but there is no pain and no change you can notice. Only an eye exam finds it.
• Moderate: small blind spots appear at the edges of your side vision. The brain fills in the gaps, so most people still don’t notice.
• Advanced: the side vision closes in until you are looking through a tunnel.
• End stage: the last of the central vision goes, and blindness follows.

Angle-closure glaucoma is different: the iris itself pushes forward and blocks the drain, and it can happen suddenly, with severe eye pain, a red eye, blurred vision with halos around lights, headache, and nausea or vomiting. That is an emergency; sight can be lost within hours. Normal-tension glaucoma damages the optic nerve even though the pressure reads normal, and poor blood flow to the nerve is believed to play a part.

Those most at risk are people over 60, anyone with a parent or sibling who has glaucoma, people of African or Hispanic descent, and those with diabetes, high or very low blood pressure, strong nearsightedness, or long-term steroid use, including steroid eye drops. Because early glaucoma has no symptoms, a pressure check and an exam of the optic nerve are the only way to catch it before sight is lost.

Macular Degeneration

The light-sensing cells of the macula work hard and use a great deal of energy. Each day they shed their worn-out tips, and a layer of cleanup cells just beneath them digests that waste and carries it away. Beneath the cleanup layer is a thin filter, and beneath that the choroid, the bed of blood vessels that brings in oxygen and nourishment and carries waste off into the blood. Everything passes through that filter in both directions.

Over the years, if the waste is not cleared as fast as it is made, it builds up. Yellow deposits of fat and protein, called drusen, collect beneath the cleanup layer, and the filter thickens and clogs. Less nourishment gets in, less waste gets out, and the cells begin to starve. That is the beginning of macular degeneration.

Dry macular degeneration is the most common form, about 8 or 9 of every 10 cases:

• Early: a few small or medium drusen. No symptoms; it is found only on an eye exam.
• Intermediate: many medium drusen or some large ones. Some people notice a slight blur in the center, or need more light to read.
• Advanced: the starved cells die off in patches, and a blurry or dark spot grows in the center of your vision. Faces and print become hard to make out, while the side vision stays.

Wet macular degeneration is the fast and dangerous turn. The starved tissue cries out for blood, and the body answers by growing new vessels up through the filter and under the macula. These new vessels are fragile; they leak fluid and blood that lift and scar the macula, and central sight can be lost within weeks or even days. The first warning is often that straight lines suddenly look wavy or bent.

Macular degeneration rarely causes total blindness, because the side vision remains, but losing the center of your sight takes away reading, driving and seeing the faces of the people you love. The risk rises after 50 and especially after 60. Smoking is the strongest risk you can change, doubling the risk or more; family history, high blood pressure, heart disease, a diet low in greens and much bright sunlight add to it.

Fuchs Dystrophy

The cornea must stay fairly dry to stay clear. When it soaks up too much water, it swells and turns cloudy, like frosted glass. The back of the cornea is lined with a single layer of tiny pump cells whose whole job is to pump water out of the cornea, all day and all night. They work hard and use a great deal of energy, and in adults they do not grow back. When one dies, its neighbors stretch to cover the gap.

In Fuchs dystrophy these pump cells wear out and die faster than they should. Small bumps called guttae form on the back of the cornea, and fewer and fewer pumps are left to do the work. When too few remain, water builds up, the cornea swells, and vision clouds. It usually affects both eyes and moves slowly, over 20 to 30 years; many people never get past the early stages.

• Early: a few bumps on the back of the cornea. No symptoms; found at a routine eye exam.
• Middle: the pumps fall behind. Vision is blurry on waking and clears as the day goes on, because the eyes are closed all night and the cornea can’t dry out. Glare and halos around lights at night.
• Later: the swelling stays all day. Small blisters can form on the front surface of the cornea; when they break, they are painful and feel like something is in the eye.
• Advanced: the cornea becomes hazy and scarred, and sight is seriously lost.

Fuchs often runs in families, and women are affected two to three times as often as men, especially after menopause. Symptoms usually begin in the 50s or 60s. Smoking, diabetes and heavy sun exposure add to the wear on the pump cells.

The Emotional Side: the Energy Work

Healing the whole person. We are body, mind and spirit, and all three must heal together.

Louise Hay, in her book Heal Your Body, describes these patterns:

• Eyes: represent the capacity to see clearly, past, present and future. Turn it around: I see with love and joy.
• Eye problems: not liking what you see in your own life. Turn it around: I now create a life I love to look at.
• Cataracts: inability to see ahead with joy; a dark future. Turn it around: Life is eternal and filled with joy.
• Glaucoma: stony unforgiveness; pressure from longstanding hurts; overwhelmed by it all. Turn it around: I see with love and tenderness.
• Dry eye: angry eyes; refusing to see with love; would rather die than forgive; being spiteful. Turn it around: I willingly forgive. I breathe life into my vision and see with compassion and understanding.
• Nearsighted: fear of the future. Turn it around: I accept Divine guidance and am always safe.
• Farsighted: fear of the present. Turn it around: I am safe in the here and now. I see that clearly.
• Astigmatism: “I” trouble; fear of really seeing the self. Turn it around: I am now willing to see my own beauty and magnificence.
• Crossed eyes: not wanting to see what’s out there; crossed purposes. Turn it around: It is safe for me to see. I am at peace.
• Wall eyes: fear of looking at the present, right here. Turn it around: I love and approve of myself right now.
• Eye problems in children: not wanting to see what is going on in the family. Turn it around: Harmony and joy and beauty and safety now surround this child.

Emotional patterns paraphrased from Louise Hay, Heal Your Body (Hay House). These are not faults to blame anyone for; they are places to look and let go.

Areas Affected & Opening the Way to Healing

The eyes are fed by the blood, so the eyes are only as clean as the body behind them. Keep the bowels moving with LBF, and keep the liver and kidneys clearing, so the waste the eyes let go of has a way out of the body. Then work on the eyes themselves.

The Eyebright Flush

The Eyebright flush is the heart of this sheet. The small amount of African bird pepper in the formula draws the eye’s circulation in and then lets it recede, carrying waste out with it, while the other herbs soothe, tone and cleanse.

• Set up both eyecups first, and have a cold, wet washcloth ready, wrung out from a small bowl of ice water.
• Add 1 to 3 drops of Eyebright to the eyecup, then pour room-temperature distilled water on top, so the drops mix in.
• Always flush both eyes, even if only one is troubled, and alternate which eye you start with. Fit the cup over the eye, tip your head back and open the eye into the wash. If the eye wants to shut the first time, that is normal; rest the cold cloth over it and try again.
• Expect a minute or two of sensation, more the more irritated the eye is. That is the circulation flooding in and receding. Once it settles, the eye feels noticeably better.
• How often: floaters and tired eyes often clear in one flush. For cataracts and macular degeneration, flush at least twice a day, faithfully.
• Eyebright by mouth: Dr. Christopher also had people drink the formula: ½ teaspoon (two dropperfuls) in a cup of hot distilled water, morning and evening, along with the flush.

See An Herbal Eyewash for Tired, Irritated Eyes for full directions, and my video of the flush at daradietz.me.

Hot and Cold over the Eyes

Hot and cold water over the eyes pumps circulation in and out of them, and it helps every condition on this sheet. In the shower, hold a washcloth over your closed eyes so the force of the spray doesn’t hurt the tender tissue on and around the eye. Use one washcloth for the hot water and one for the cold, and go back and forth.

The Eye Exerciser: Lifting Weights with Your Eyes

My father, a doctor of biochemistry, used this string exercise in his practice when I was a teenager. There was always one hanging somewhere in his home, tied to a ceiling fan or a curtain rod. He read his novels without glasses into his late 80s. Eye doctors use a similar tool, called a Brock string, to train the eyes to work together.

Making it. Use about 10 feet of string; twine is great. Tie on or press in place 4 or 5 beads, buttons or other small objects, about 18 inches apart. Tie the far end to a ceiling fan, a bed post, or the top of a curtain rod next to your favorite chair, anywhere it can hang out of sight and be easy to use.

Using it.

• Hold the end of the string, with the first bead, right at your nose, or as close as you can get and still focus on it.
• Focus on that first bead. Make it as clear as you can and hold for a few seconds. The string behind it will split into a V: that is both eyes working together. If one side of the V fades, that eye isn’t doing its share.
• Jump your focus out to the third or fourth bead, letting the eye muscles relax there.
• Jump back to the first bead and hold it clear again.
• Then go out to the farthest bead, and play back and forth between the distances, focusing for a few moments on each, always coming back to the bead by your nose.
• How often: at least once a day, and sometimes more.

Up close, the muscles in the eyes tighten; at a distance they relax. Moving between them is lifting weights with your eyes. No string handy? Use two pens, one at your nose and one at arm’s length, with something across the room as the third point.

Feeding the Eyes

• Dark leafy greens. The macula has its own yellow pigment, made from lutein and zeaxanthin. The body cannot make these; they come only from food, especially kale, spinach and collards, along with egg yolks, corn and orange peppers. This pigment acts like built-in sunglasses, filtering harsh light and protecting the cells.
• Carrot juice. For poor eyesight, Dr. Christopher had people clean the bowels and drink a quart or more of freshly made carrot juice a day, six days a week. His story of the young pilot is below.
• Rest the eyes. Look up from close work and screens often, and look into the distance.

Cataracts

Flush faithfully, at least twice a day. It can take a few months of flushing to completely clear the buildup that is a cataract, and for many the results are lasting.

Glaucoma

I have not personally supported a glaucoma case, so what follows is Dr. Christopher’s teaching. Glaucoma is a problem of pressure. Treating the eyes alone would be a foolish, inexperienced step. Something like this needs the whole body supported: the full flushing programs and liver cleansing, along with the Eyebright flush.

Understanding how glaucoma progresses, I can see how the Eyebright would be helpful. It supports circulation in and out of the eye and keeps the eye clean of debris, supporting all the small pumps and drains so they keep working well.

Keep having your eye pressure checked while you do the work. Early glaucoma has no symptoms, and only a pressure check will tell you how you are doing.

Macular Degeneration

I have worked with macular degeneration, and the Eyebright is very helpful. I have yet to see it fail to clear this issue. Flush at least twice a day, eat your greens, and support the whole body. If straight lines suddenly look wavy, see the eye doctor right away; that is the warning of the wet kind.

If you have been flushing for a few months without results, it is time to flush the liver (see When It Stops Working, Flush the Liver, above).

Fuchs Dystrophy

• While the surface of the eye is whole, in the early and middle stages, the Eyebright flush supports circulation in and out of the eye as it does for any other eye condition.
• If blisters form. If the eye becomes painful, feels like something is in it, or you are told blisters have formed, stop flushing that eye until it heals, and see your eye doctor.
• Infection Salve for the blisters. Apply it over the closed lid, a little back from the lash line, never in the eye itself. Cover with a gauze pad and an eye patch. It speeds the healing of the blisters and helps clear any infection.
• Watch for infection. A broken blister that becomes infected can turn into an ulcer on the cornea, which can scar quickly. If the eye grows redder, has discharge, becomes more painful, or can’t stand light, see the eye doctor the same day, and keep the salve going alongside.
• Before any eye surgery, including cataract surgery, tell your surgeon you have Fuchs, so they can protect the pump cells.

Use distilled water for all teas and eye washes, and when taking your extracts in hot water.

Level of Commitment

• Gentle support. Tired eyes, floaters, dry eyes and changing eyesight: the Eyebright flush as needed, the eye exerciser daily, and hot and cold over the eyes.
• Focused cleansing. Cataracts and dry macular degeneration: the flush at least twice a day, the exerciser and hot and cold, greens and carrot juice, with liver flushing and kidney flushing so the body stays on top of the waste the eyes let go of. Have your eyes checked after three months. If the eyes aren’t responding, flush the liver.
• Incurables Program. Glaucoma, wet macular degeneration and advanced Fuchs: the whole-body work of the Incurables Program alongside the eye work, with your eye doctor keeping watch on the pressure and the retina.

A Loose Healing Plan

• Start the flush: Eyebright in both eyes, once for tired eyes or floaters, at least twice a day for cataracts or macular degeneration, with Eyebright in hot water morning and evening.
• Every day: the eye exerciser at least once, and hot and cold over the closed eyes in the shower.
• Feed the eyes: dark leafy greens every day, and fresh carrot juice.
• Clear the body: keep the bowels moving with LBF, and add liver and kidney flushing for cataracts, glaucoma and macular degeneration.
• Not moving? when what should work doesn’t, or what was working stops, flush the liver.
• Look at the heart: the energy work above, especially when nothing else seems to move.
• Check in: for cataracts, have your eyes checked after three months; for glaucoma, keep your pressure checks; for any of the emergency signs, go now.

Stories from the Work

From Dr. Christopher’s Files

These stories come from Dr. John R. Christopher’s books and newsletters, used with his original eyewash formula. They are his, not mine.

Watch

More on the Eyes

• An Herbal Eyewash for Tired, Irritated Eyes
• Infection: Ears, Sinuses & Eyes
• Cleansing the Liver and Gallbladder, and Clearing Parasites

This information is for education only. It is not meant to diagnose, treat or replace care from a qualified health professional.

_{Photo: James Collington / Pexels}

Overactive and Underactive Parathyroid, High and Low Blood Calcium, and Healing After Neck Surgery

Understanding the Condition

Tucked against the back of the thyroid, at the base of the throat, sit four tiny glands, each about the size of a grain of rice. These are the parathyroids. They share the thyroid’s neighborhood but not its job. The thyroid sets the pace of the body; the parathyroids guard one thing above all: the calcium in the blood.

Calcium is far more than bone. Every heartbeat, every nerve signal and every muscle that tightens and relaxes depends on just the right amount of calcium in the blood, and so does clotting. The bones are the body’s calcium bank, holding nearly all of it in reserve. The parathyroids decide when to make a withdrawal.

They work like a careful banker (see the picture below). When blood calcium dips even a little, they release parathyroid hormone (PTH). PTH draws calcium out of the bones, tells the kidneys to hold on to calcium and let phosphorus go, and has the kidneys turn on vitamin D, the vitamin we make from sunshine, so the gut can absorb more calcium from food. When calcium is back where it belongs, the glands rest. Dr. Christopher noted that the thyroid works in cooperation with the parathyroids in regulating the mineral salts of the body, especially calcium.

How It Develops

Parathyroid trouble is quiet. Many people feel only tired, achy and foggy, and the first real clue is a calcium number on a routine blood test. It tends to go one of three ways:

• Overactive parathyroid (hyperparathyroidism). Most often one of the four glands grows a small lump that is not cancerous (an adenoma) and keeps sending out PTH even when calcium is already high. Less often several glands enlarge together. The bones are drained to keep the blood loaded, and the extra calcium has to go somewhere. The old saying is “stones, bones, groans and moans”: kidney stones and calcium settling in the kidneys; thinning bones and fractures; belly troubles (constipation, nausea, heartburn, ulcers); and tiredness, weakness, low mood, poor memory and foggy thinking. Great thirst, frequent urination, aching joints and a rise in blood pressure often come with it. It is most common in women after menopause. Radiation to the neck earlier in life, long use of lithium, and family history can play a part, but often no cause is found.
• Glands working overtime for a reason. Sometimes the parathyroids are healthy but are being pushed. Low vitamin D (too little sun), poor absorption from a troubled gut, a diet that robs calcium, or weakened kidneys keep blood calcium low, and the glands work harder and harder to make up the difference. Blood calcium may look normal while PTH runs high, and the bones quietly pay the bill. Here the glands are answering a need, not causing the problem, and the healing is in meeting that need.
• Underactive parathyroid (hypoparathyroidism). The glands make too little PTH, and calcium runs low. By far the most common cause is surgery on the neck, most often removal of the thyroid. The tiny glands can be bruised, lose part of their blood supply, or be removed along with the thyroid. Often they recover over weeks to months as the tissue heals; sometimes the damage lasts. Less often it comes from the immune system or from very low magnesium, which the glands need to work. Low calcium brings tingling around the mouth and in the fingers and toes, muscle cramps and spasms (especially the hands and feet), twitching, tiredness, anxiety, brain fog, dry skin and brittle nails. Severe drops can cause throat spasm, seizures or heart rhythm trouble, which is an emergency.

The blood tests tell the story: calcium, PTH and vitamin D, along with phosphorus, magnesium and kidney function. A bone density scan shows what the bones have lost. These are the best way to know which direction the glands have gone and to measure your progress.

The Emotional Side: the Energy Work

Healing the whole person. We are body, mind and spirit, and all three must heal together. When one part is neglected, the other two cannot find complete healing. A person can follow a perfect herbal program, but if she stays in a life that keeps wearing her down, or never makes time to care for herself, the body will keep losing ground. Healing the body often means facing what is happening in the heart and spirit as well.

The body and the heart are not separate. Long-held feelings settle into the body, and the throat is where we speak up and express who we are. Louise Hay, in her book Heal Your Body, does not single out the parathyroids; they share the throat with the thyroid, and the same patterns apply to both.

• The thyroid and its neighbors: feeling humiliated, held down, always waiting for your turn. Turn it around: I move past old limits and let myself express who I am, freely and creatively.
• Throat problems (a lump, hoarseness, trouble swallowing): not speaking up for yourself, swallowed anger, stifled creativity. Turn it around: It is safe for me to speak up. I express myself with ease and I am willing to change.

Emotional patterns paraphrased from Louise Hay, Heal Your Body (Hay House).

Areas Affected & Opening the Way to Healing

Look at the picture below. The parathyroids sit on the back of the thyroid, close beside the windpipe, the food pipe and the nerve that runs the voice box. Anything done to the thyroid, a swelling, an inflammation or an operation, reaches them too. But their work reaches far beyond the neck: into the bones they draw from, the kidneys that must carry the extra calcium out or hold it in, the gut that absorbs it, and the nerves and muscles that need it to fire and relax.

Why the neighbors matter. When calcium runs high, the kidneys take the brunt: they are flooded with calcium they must carry out, and stones form. A constipated bowel holds waste the kidneys and liver then have to clear. When calcium runs low, the nerves and muscles complain first. So caring for the parathyroids always means caring for the kidneys, the bowels and the bones along with the glands themselves.

Opening the Way: Packs and Warmth

• M&L Salve pack or Gland Formula fomentation. Dr. Christopher’s glandular formula, mullein and lobelia, is food for the glands, and a pack over the front of the throat reaches the parathyroids as well as the thyroid. Spread M&L Salve on flannel, lay it over the throat, cover with plastic wrap and a towel, and add gentle heat. Or soak a flannel in a hot tea of three parts mullein to one part lobelia, lay it over the throat, cover it and leave it on overnight. Six nights a week.
• Gentle hot and cold. Alternating hot and cold compresses over the neck bring fresh circulation and nutrients into the area. Be generous with the warmth and keep the cold brief.
• Keep the bowels moving. Constipation is common when calcium runs high. Bowel cleansing with LBF keeps the waste moving out so the rest of the body can do its work.
• Keep the kidneys clear. With an overactive gland, drink plenty of water every day so the extra calcium is carried out instead of settling into stones, and include kidney flushing in your program. If stones have already formed, see Kidney Disease.

After Neck Surgery: Calming and Rebuilding

When the parathyroids have been bruised or their blood supply disturbed during an operation, the work is to calm the area first and then rebuild the tissue. Begin only once the incision has fully closed, and keep taking any calcium and vitamin D your doctor has prescribed while the glands recover.

• First, calm the inflammation: Healing Salve. Comfrey root, marshmallow root and marigold with rosemary, lavender, frankincense and helichrysum oils, soothing and healing to inflamed tissue and a salve Dara uses over incision and biopsy sites. Make a salve pack over the front of the neck and leave it on overnight.
• Then, rebuild the tissue: BF&C Salve packs. Once the soreness and swelling have settled, switch to Dr. Christopher’s Bone, Flesh and Cartilage formula, led by white oak bark and comfrey root, traditionally used wherever bone, flesh and cartilage need to be restored. Spread it on flannel over the neck, add gentle heat for 30 minutes to an hour, and leave the pack on overnight. Steady, ongoing use is what rebuilds.
• Let the skin breathe. With any salve pack, leave the area open and clear of salves for at least 6 hours each day.
• Rebuild from the inside as well: BF&C extract. The adult dose is 1 teaspoon three times a day, so the tissue is fed from within while the salve works from without.

Feeding the Body

• Calcium the body can use. Dr. Christopher’s Calcium formula (horsetail grass, comfrey root, oat straw and lobelia) gives calcium that has already passed through plant life, so the body can assimilate it without leaving mineral residue for the kidneys. Dara regards ordinary calcium pills as ground-up rock. 1 teaspoon three times a day, taken with a good whole-food blend such as Superfood; it is a food formula and can be used freely. This is the first support when calcium runs low: after neck surgery, when the glands are working overtime, and for the cramps and twitching of low calcium. It is safe with an overactive gland too. The body builds its calcium from these herbs after they are taken in, so the formula does not dump a load of calcium into the blood; when the blood runs high but the bones are still lacking, it feeds the bones.
• For cramps and spasms. While calcium is being rebuilt, the M&L Salve or Lobelia eases any kind of cramping. Rub the M&L Salve into the cramping muscle or lay a salve pack over it; the lobelia in it is the antispasmodic that lets a locked muscle go. Lobelia extract can also be taken by mouth: usually one good dropperful does the job; take up to two, depending on the size of the person and how bad the cramps are. Cramping that will not let go, or tightness in the throat, is an emergency (see the box below).
• Parsley root tea. Dr. Christopher’s food for the parathyroids: the root brings calcium, B vitamins and iron that nourish the glands. Pour a quart of boiling water over a cup of firmly packed fresh parsley, steep 15 minutes, strain and refrigerate. Drink it through the day. Parsley also keeps the urine flowing, a help to the kidneys when calcium runs high.
• BF&C for the bones. When an overactive gland has been draining the bones, the BF&C extract (1 teaspoon three times a day for an adult) helps rebuild them, and it has long been used to help move calcium deposits along.
• Super Kelp and the greens. Super Kelp (Atlantic kelp, Irish moss and dulse) and daily dark greens bring the magnesium and trace minerals the glands need to do their work.
• Sunshine. Vitamin D is made in the skin from sunlight, and without it the gut cannot take in calcium. Get out in the sun regularly, and have your vitamin D checked; if it tests low, ask your doctor how best to bring it up, since calcium cannot be put to use without it.
• Stop the calcium robbers. Soft drinks, coffee, chocolate and junk foods draw on the body’s calcium and leave the glands working harder. Fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds feed the body instead.

Level of Commitment

How much work the parathyroids take depends on which way they have gone and why. Be honest about where you are:

• Gentle support. For glands working overtime because of low vitamin D or a calcium-poor diet, borderline labs, or a mild, temporary drop in calcium after surgery. The Calcium formula with Superfood, parsley root tea, greens and Super Kelp, sunshine, and an end to the calcium robbers.
• Focused cleansing. For a diagnosed overactive or underactive parathyroid, or tissue damaged by neck surgery. Add the M&L Salve pack or Gland Formula fomentation six nights a week; after surgery, the Healing Salve and then BF&C packs with the BF&C extract; bowel cleansing; and weeks of liver flushing alternated with weeks of kidney flushing, so the body stays on top of the healing. Plenty of water when calcium runs high. Have your labs rechecked as you go.
• Incurables Program. For parathyroid cancer, which is rare, or a long-standing, serious case that has already damaged the kidneys or bones. The supports on this sheet continue, while the full Incurables Program, which includes cleansing the bloodstream with HEAL’s Blood Purifying formula, is done hand in hand with your medical team. Blood Purifying contains chaparral, which has long been regarded as one of the strongest blood purifiers in herbal use. It has had years of bad press, but used wisely it supports the body in clearing cancer, and over the years many members have used it to eliminate tumors. Use with care: take Blood Purifying in courses, not continuously: two dropperfuls 4 to 6 times a day for a week at a time, in a few ounces of grape juice, while drinking 64 to 128 oz. of liquid a day. Avoid it during pregnancy or nursing and with existing liver disease. If the skin or the whites of the eyes turn yellow, the urine turns dark, or there is pain under the right ribs, stop and have the liver checked.

A Loose Healing Plan

1. First: know which way the glands have gone. Have calcium, PTH and vitamin D checked, along with phosphorus, magnesium and kidney function, and a bone density scan if calcium has been high. The plan depends on the answer.
2. Weeks 1–2: Build the foundation. Start your Foundational Program (Superfood, Echinacea, Vitamin C, and bowel cleansing with LBF).
3. Feed the body. Begin the Calcium formula with Superfood, whether calcium runs low or high; it feeds the bones without loading the blood. If calcium is high, drink plenty of water. Either way: parsley root tea, greens, Super Kelp, sunshine, and no calcium robbers.
4. Open the way. An M&L Salve pack or Gland Formula fomentation over the throat at bedtime, six nights a week, with gentle hot and cold over the neck.
5. After neck surgery: once the incision has closed, Healing Salve packs to calm the area; when it has settled, BF&C Salve packs overnight with the BF&C extract by day (1 teaspoon three times a day), leaving the area open and clear of salves at least 6 hours each day. Keep taking what your doctor prescribed while the glands recover.
6. Weeks 4 onward: Alternate. A week of liver flushing, then a week of kidney flushing, for as many rounds as your level of commitment calls for, with gentle-support weeks in between. The kidneys matter most when calcium has been high.
7. About 3 months: Check your progress. Have your labs rechecked. If an overactive gland is still pushing calcium up, talk with your doctor about removing it, and keep the supports going before and after. After surgery, recheck as often as your doctor advises, since prescriptions may come down as the glands heal.

More on the Parathyroids

• Thyroid Ailments
• Kidney Disease
• Calcium You Can Actually Absorb
• Knitting Bone, Flesh and Cartilage Back Together
• A Healing Salve to Keep on Hand

This information is for education only. It is not meant to diagnose, treat or replace care from a qualified health professional.

_{Photo: James Collington / Pexels}

Childhood Thyroid Issues

My mother used to joke that when puberty hit it knocked me out. She was right. It seemed I could not get enough sleep. On a typical day I’d drag myself out of bed in the morning. Somehow I’d manage to get through school without falling asleep, come home, sleep on the couch until dinner, take a bath, and crawl back to bed, where I’d sleep until morning when I’d do it all again. Sometime during the fifth grade my parents took me to a pediatrician and discovered my low-functioning thyroid. The doctor prescribed thyroid medication, which she said I’d need for the rest of my life.

Life began to get interesting after I woke up. I faithfully took my little pill every day. I noticed even one day without my medication would bring on a brain fog along with the urge to sleep the day away. After giving birth to my daughter the brain fog was more dangerous. If I missed a dose I noticed I did not have the mental ability to keep up with my active toddler. She could wander away from me and I would not even know she had gone until a crash or some other heart-stopping noise made me aware of her whereabouts. It began to bother me that I was only me when I took my pill.

Discovering the Power of Kelp

Kelp came into my life through the suggestion of a trusted friend. She said kelp would safely provide me natural energy. I was very interested. Several years earlier I had experienced the consequences that follow overdosing on caffeine. The energy needed to maintain life as a single parent and full-time student was enormous. I would have done anything short of taking illegal drugs for more energy. My friend shared that she had used kelp pills freely for years. This sounded too good to be true, but also too good not to check out. I began taking four or five kelp pills a couple of times a day. Right away I noticed I did have more energy. This was great! I also did not experience the crash that usually followed after hopping myself up on caffeine.

After using kelp freely for over a year I experienced heart palpitations one morning after taking my normal thyroid medication. The emergency room doctor checked my blood levels and found my thyroid functioning within the normal range. This was shocking information; I had understood there was no healing my thyroid condition. At twenty-five years old I had taken my last thyroid pill.

Kelp has continued to be an important part of my daily food program. After founding HEAL Marketplace I experimented with combining the different kelps until I found a combination that suited me well. We call this our Super Kelp Blend, a mix of Atlantic Kelp, Irish Moss and Dulse. These herbs are excellent food for a malfunctioning thyroid; it does not matter if the thyroid is over producing or under producing. Kelp is God’s gift, His master herb for the thyroid gland.

More on the Thyroid

• Thyroid Ailments (the full picture: causes, supports and a healing plan)
• Kelp: Food from the Sea for the Thyroid (how to use kelp, and why its iodine is different)

This is shared for educational purposes, from my own study and experience. It is not medical advice.

_{Photo: James Collington / Pexels}

Underactive and Overactive Thyroid, Hashimoto’s and Graves’, Goiter, Nodules and Thyroid Cancer

Understanding the Condition

The thyroid is a small, butterfly-shaped gland at the base of the throat. Its two lobes sit on either side of the windpipe, joined by a narrow bridge, just below the voice box. When it is working properly, we are hardly aware it exists.

Small as it is, the thyroid sets the pace for the whole body. It stores practically all of the body’s iodine and uses it to make thyroid hormone (thyroxine, called T4, and its more active form, T3). That hormone tells every cell how fast to burn its fuel. It governs body temperature, energy, heart rate, digestion and the speed of the bowels, growth, the menstrual cycle and fertility, and, to a great degree, mental and emotional balance.

The thyroid does not work alone. The pituitary gland in the brain acts like a thermostat. When the body needs more hormone, the pituitary sends a signal called TSH, and the thyroid answers. When there is enough, the pituitary eases off (see the picture below). Iodine from food is the raw material the thyroid needs to answer that call.

How It Develops

Thyroid trouble usually creeps in slowly. Because the hormone touches everything, the early signs are easy to blame on something else for months or years. It tends to go in one of these directions:

• Short on raw material. Without enough iodine coming in, the thyroid has to work overtime to make its hormone. It often enlarges in the effort; this swelling in the neck is a goiter. Function slowly drifts low.
• Underactive (hypothyroidism). Too little hormone, so everything slows down: tired even after 12 hours of sleep, cold hands and feet, weight gain, constipation, dry skin and cracked heels, brain fog and poor memory, thinning hair and eyebrows, heavy periods, puffiness in the face, depression, and cholesterol that climbs. It has been called “the unsuspected illness” because it is so often missed. Today the most common cause is Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, where the body’s own immune system slowly attacks the gland.
• Overactive (hyperthyroidism). Too much hormone, so everything speeds up: a racing or pounding heart, trembling hands, feeling hot and sweaty, weight loss even while eating well, anxiety and irritability, trouble sleeping, loose bowels, and sometimes gritty or bulging eyes. The most common cause is Graves’ disease, where the immune system over-stimulates the gland.
• Nodules and lumps. One or more lumps can form in a gland that has struggled for years. The great majority are never cancerous. Some “hot” nodules start making hormone on their own, apart from the rest of the gland.
• Thyroid cancer. Most often it grows out of a nodule or a long-troubled gland rather than healthy tissue. The common types grow slowly, and caught early, while still inside the gland, the outlook is very good. It needs medical care (see the box below).

Women are affected far more often than men. Thyroid changes often first show up at turning points in a woman’s life: puberty, pregnancy, after childbirth and at menopause. The blood tests a doctor runs (TSH, free T4, and thyroid antibodies for Hashimoto’s) show which way the gland has gone and are the best way to measure your progress.

The Emotional Side: the Energy Work

Healing the whole person. We are body, mind and spirit, and all three must heal together. When one part is neglected, the other two cannot find complete healing. A person can follow a perfect herbal program, but if she stays in a life that keeps wearing her down, or never makes time to care for herself, the body will keep losing ground. Healing the body often means facing what is happening in the heart and spirit as well.

The body and the heart are not separate. Long-held feelings settle into the body, and the throat is where we speak up and express who we are. Louise Hay, in her book Heal Your Body, ties thyroid trouble to the sense that life keeps passing us by, that our own turn never comes. Healing the thyroid often means also giving ourselves permission to speak, to create and to live our own life.

• Thyroid in general: feeling humiliated, held down, always waiting for your turn. Turn it around: I move past old limits and let myself express who I am, freely and creatively.
• Underactive (hypothyroidism): giving up; feeling stifled with no way out. Turn it around: I build a new life on terms that truly support me.
• Overactive (hyperthyroidism): rage at being left out or overlooked. Turn it around: I am at the center of my own life, and I approve of myself and what I see.
• Goiter: resentment at having things forced on you; feeling like a victim, thwarted and unfulfilled. Turn it around: I am in charge of my own life, and I am free to be myself.
• Throat problems (a lump, hoarseness, trouble swallowing): not speaking up for yourself, swallowed anger, stifled creativity. Turn it around: It is safe for me to speak up. I express myself with ease and I am willing to change.

Emotional patterns paraphrased from Louise Hay, Heal Your Body (Hay House).

Areas Affected & Opening the Way to Healing

Look at the picture below and notice what the thyroid is wrapped around and pressed against. It hugs the front of the windpipe, with the food pipe just behind. The nerve that runs the voice box travels up behind it. Four tiny parathyroid glands, which manage the body’s calcium, sit on its back. The great blood vessels on either side carry its hormone to every part of the body, and the lymph nodes of the neck drain the area.

Why the neighbors matter. A swollen gland presses on its neighbors: a feeling of a lump in the throat, trouble swallowing, a hoarse voice or a tight, full neck. The rest of the body matters too. Much of the hormone the thyroid makes (T4) has to be turned into its active form (T3) in the liver and the gut, so a congested liver and a backed-up bowel leave the body short even when the gland is working. And a slow thyroid slows the bowel, which adds to the load. That is why bowel cleansing and liver flushing are part of every thyroid program.

The Parathyroids: the Calcium Regulators

The four parathyroid glands sit on the back of the thyroid, each about the size of a grain of rice. They share the neighborhood but not the job. The thyroid sets the pace of the body; the parathyroids guard the calcium in the blood, which the heart, nerves and muscles depend on. When blood calcium dips, they release parathyroid hormone (PTH), which draws calcium out of the bones, tells the kidneys to hold on to calcium, and turns on vitamin D so the gut absorbs more. When calcium is back up, they ease off.

• Overactive parathyroid (hyperparathyroidism). Most often one of the four glands has grown a small, non-cancerous lump and keeps making hormone even when calcium is already high. Calcium is pulled out of the bones and builds up in the blood. The old saying is “stones, bones, groans and moans”: kidney stones, thinning bones, aches and belly troubles (constipation, nausea, heartburn), and tiredness, low mood and foggy thinking, often with great thirst and frequent urination. Many people have few signs, and it is found when a routine blood test shows high calcium.
• When the glands are working overtime for a reason. Low vitamin D, poor calcium absorption or failing kidneys keep calcium low, so the parathyroids work harder to make up for it. Here the glands are answering a need, not causing the problem, and the healing is in feeding the body and caring for the kidneys.
• Underactive parathyroid. Uncommon, and usually follows surgery on the neck. Calcium runs low, bringing tingling around the mouth and fingers and muscle cramps. It needs medical care.

Not the same as an overactive thyroid. With an overactive parathyroid the thyroid labs are usually normal; the blood calcium and PTH tell the story. Bugleweed and the kelp guidance on this page are for the thyroid. For the parathyroids, Dr. Christopher used parsley root tea: the root brings calcium, B vitamins and iron that nourish these glands. Pour a quart of boiling water over a cup of firmly packed fresh parsley, steep 15 minutes, strain and refrigerate. Because high calcium so often ends in kidney stones, keep the water coming in and the kidneys flushing well. A true overactive gland is a medical matter: a doctor will confirm it with calcium and PTH tests, and it is usually treated by removing the one enlarged gland.

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That is the short version on the parathyroids. For the full picture, see my Parathyroid Ailments sheet. Now, back to the thyroid.

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Opening the Way: Fomentations and Warmth

• Gland Formula fomentation. Dr. Christopher’s glandular formula, mullein and lobelia, is the first support for a malfunctioning thyroid, whether it is underactive or overactive. Make a tea of three parts mullein to one part lobelia, soak a flannel in it as hot as can be tolerated, and lay it around the throat over the thyroid. Cover it with plastic and leave it on all night, six nights a week, until relief is obtained.
• M&L Salve pack. The same two herbs in a salve, without the mess. Spread the M&L Salve on flannel, lay it over the throat, cover with plastic wrap and a towel, and add gentle heat. The heat drives the herbs into the surrounding tissue so they can do their work more quickly.
• Gland Formula as a tea or extract. Alongside the fomentation, drink a cup of the mullein and lobelia tea two or three times a day, or take the Gland Formula extract, 2 to 4 droppers (½ to 1 teaspoon) three times a day.
• Gentle hot and cold. Alternating hot and cold compresses over the neck bring circulation to a sluggish gland. Be generous with the warmth and keep the cold brief, especially if the heart is racing from an overactive thyroid.

Feeding the Thyroid

• Super Kelp. Kelp is the master herb for the thyroid. It feeds the gland the iodine and trace minerals it is short on, and in Dara’s experience it helps whether the gland is over-producing or under-producing. Super Kelp is HEAL’s blend of Atlantic kelp, Irish moss and dulse. Dr. Christopher suggested 10 to 15 kelp tablets a day if there is any sign of a thyroid problem, or 2 or more a day to keep the gland in good condition. Dara takes 10 capsules in the morning and another 5 later in the day.
• Kelp in the kitchen. Use kelp powder in place of table salt, on salads and in cooking. A money-saving tip from Dara: buy Super Kelp powder by the pound and blend it with coconut oil into small chunks, so you get your kelp and coconut oil at the same time.
• Thyroid greens. Dr. Christopher fed the thyroid with parsley, watercress, romaine lettuce, turnip tops, Irish moss and Iceland moss. Put the greens on your plate and in your juices every day.
• Bugleweed for a racing heart. With an overactive thyroid, bugleweed is the traditional herb for calming the gland and the racing, pounding heart that goes with it. Dr. Christopher’s sources call it a superior sedative: it lowers the pulse without bad side effects, steadies heart palpitations, calms the nerves, and helps with the insomnia and worry that so often come with an overactive thyroid. Use bugleweed tincture on its own: ½ teaspoon stirred into a glass of juice, or into a cup of hot water as a tea with a touch of cayenne for more heart support. It is a support herb: take it as needed when the heart races or the nerves are on edge, and keep using it until the need for it clears. It is meant to quiet an overactive gland, so it is not for an underactive thyroid or Hashimoto’s, during pregnancy or nursing, or alongside thyroid medication without someone watching the labs.
• Rest. The pull toward sleep with an underactive thyroid is real. Honor it rather than pushing through with coffee or other stimulants; rest gives the gland room to rebuild.

Level of Commitment

How much work the thyroid takes depends on how long it has been struggling and which way it has gone. Be honest about where you are:

• Gentle support. For a tired, cold, sluggish body with labs on the low side of normal, a family history of thyroid trouble, or simply keeping the gland strong. Super Kelp daily, kelp in place of salt, thyroid greens, and real rest. Most people can live on this for good; Dara has for over 40 years.
• Focused cleansing. For a diagnosed underactive or overactive thyroid, Hashimoto’s, Graves’ or a goiter. Add the Gland Formula fomentation or M&L Salve pack six nights a week and the Gland Formula tea or extract by day; bowel cleansing; and weeks of liver flushing alternated with weeks of kidney flushing, so the body stays on top of the healing. Bugleweed for a racing heart. Have your labs rechecked as you go.
• Incurables Program. For thyroid cancer or a long-standing, serious thyroid condition. The thyroid supports on this page (fomentations, salve packs, the Gland Formula and Super Kelp) continue, while the full Incurables Program, which includes cleansing the bloodstream with HEAL’s Blood Purifying formula, is done hand in hand with your medical team. Blood Purifying contains chaparral, which has long been regarded as one of the strongest blood purifiers in herbal use. It has had years of bad press, but used wisely it supports the body in clearing cancer, and over the years many members have used it to eliminate tumors. Use with care: take Blood Purifying in courses, not continuously: two dropperfuls 4 to 6 times a day for a week at a time, in a few ounces of grape juice, while drinking 64 to 128 oz. of liquid a day. Avoid it during pregnancy or nursing and with existing liver disease. If the skin or the whites of the eyes turn yellow, the urine turns dark, or there is pain under the right ribs, stop and have the liver checked.

A Loose Healing Plan

1. Weeks 1–2: Build the foundation. Start your Foundational Program (Superfood, Echinacea, Vitamin C, and bowel cleansing with LBF). Have your thyroid labs done so you know where you are starting.
2. Start feeding the gland. Begin Super Kelp. If you have Hashimoto’s, an overactive thyroid or a nodule, or take thyroid medication, start with a small amount and build up slowly. Use kelp in place of salt and add the thyroid greens.
3. Open the way. A Gland Formula fomentation or M&L Salve pack over the throat at bedtime, six nights a week, with the Gland Formula tea or extract two or three times a day.
4. If the thyroid is overactive: add bugleweed for the racing heart, keep kelp modest, and work with someone who is watching your labs.
5. Weeks 4 onward: Alternate. A week of liver flushing, then a week of kidney flushing, for as many rounds as your level of commitment calls for, with gentle-support weeks in between.
6. About 3 months: Check your progress. Have your labs rechecked. If you take thyroid medication, check sooner and more often, since the dose may need to come down as the gland heals. Then keep kelp as part of your daily food for life.

Stories from the Work

More on the Thyroid

• My Thyroid Story
• Parathyroid Ailments
• Kelp: Food from the Sea for the Thyroid
• Food for the Glands
• Natural Support for the Glands
• Mullein & Lobelia
• Doing a Simple Salve Pack

This information is for education only. It is not meant to diagnose, treat or replace care from a qualified health professional.

Mullein and Lobelia together were what Dr. Christopher called his glandular formula. It was built to support the glandular system as a whole. It has long been used to ease the congestion and swelling that can come with an over- or under-active thyroid, and to bring comfort to mastitis and other glands that aren’t working as they should.

This is the formula taken by mouth, as food for the glands. The same two herbs also make a topical, which does a good deal more as a relaxant for locked muscles and joints; see Mullein and Lobelia: Letting Locked Muscles Go.

What a Good Gland Formula Contains

Just two herbs:

• Mullein, 3 parts. A gentle, deeply calming herb with a special affinity for both the respiratory system and the glands. It eases pain and quiets irritated, inflamed nerves, and it is counted among the most important herbs for healthy glandular function.
• Lobelia, 1 part. An antispasmodic and mild sedative, valued for easing pain and calming irritation throughout the body. Its great strength is removing obstruction and congestion.

“Parts” can be any measure you like, as long as you use the same one for both. By weight, that’s 3 ounces of Mullein to 1 ounce of Lobelia.

Putting It Together

Put the dry herbs in a glass jar and pour in 80-proof vodka. Once the herbs have settled, you want about 60% herb sediment on the bottom and 40% liquid on top. Shake the jar every day. The traditional timing follows the moon, from the new moon to the full moon, about two weeks. I prefer to let my extracts sit a full three months, which makes them good and strong. Then strain and bottle the liquid.

How Much and How Often

2 to 4 droppersful (½ to 1 teaspoon), three times a day.

For the thyroid in particular, see Kelp: Food from the Sea for the Thyroid, and for worn-out adrenals, where Mullein and Lobelia also play a part, Rebuilding Tired Adrenals.

This is shared for educational purposes, from my own study and experience. It is not medical advice.