Raynaud’s disease

Have you heard the saying “cold hands, warm heart”? I don’t know if the two are related, but if your fingers are painfully cold and pale as a result of Raynaud’s disease, let me suggest a warm soup.
I recommend a vegetarian vegetable soup, richly seasoned with red hot pepper powder, garlic, ginger, and mustard, with the addition of borage oil (Borago officinalis), currant oil, and evening primrose oil (Oenothera biennis).
Do not skimp on the amount of soup. Eat until you are full. Then strain some of the soup and rub it on your cold fingers. Finally, I warmly recommend that along with this soup-remedy for Raynaud’s disease, you also take the medicinal plant ginkgo.
If my doctor heard how I suggest this treatment method, she would surely think I have lost my mind.
But please understand. There are entirely understandable scientific reasons behind each of my suggestions, more convincing than those related to the conventional treatment of Raynaud’s disease advocated by traditional medicine.

Conventional Approach

Raynaud’s disease seems to be caused by the constriction and spasms of the small arteries (arterioles) that supply blood to the fingers. As blood flow decreases, the fingers start to hurt and become white or bluish. Raynaud’s disease sometimes also affects the nose and toes. It occurs much more often in women.
Although Raynaud’s disease can appear independently of other diseases, it sometimes represents a symptom of scleroderma, a rare and severe disease that causes skin hardening and damage to internal organs.
Doctors often prescribe corticosteroids, such as prednisone (Deltasone, Orasone), for the treatment of Raynaud’s disease and scleroderma.
However, corticosteroids potentially produce many undesirable side effects, such as weight gain, acne, and cardiac arrhythmia. And in some circumstances, they can cause the worsening of Raynaud’s disease itself.
Because of these problems, sometimes caused by corticosteroids, I think it is much wiser to treat Raynaud’s disease with selected medicinal herbs.

Garlic (Allium sativum)

In an excellent study that lasted 12 weeks, scientists gave a daily dose of 800 milligrams of garlic to patients suffering from intermittent claudication, a condition caused by narrowing arteries in the legs. People with severe claudication have difficulty walking. At the end of the study, those who took an inactive substance (placebo) showed no improvement in walking, but the group that took garlic walked much better, clearly indicating an improvement in blood flow to the legs.
Garlic improves blood flow. In fact, many proponents of alternative medicine for the treatment of Raynaud’s disease advocate the use of a combination of garlic and ginkgo, which is also known to improve circulation. I suggest simply adding more garlic to your daily meals. If you prefer, you can also take garlic in capsule form.

Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba)

Literally dozens of studies prove that ginkgo improves blood flow. Most of these studies have focused on the plant’s ability to improve blood flow to the brain, which is why ginkgo extract is frequently prescribed throughout Europe for recovery from strokes and slowed mental processes caused by aging.
However, several studies have also investigated the effect of ginkgo in treating intermittent claudication. When people suffering from severe claudication take ginkgo, this medicinal plant gradually causes a significant improvement in walking ability. Although the reasons that lead to blood flow disorders differ, Raynaud’s disease is somewhat similar to claudication, only it affects the fingers instead of the legs.
European doctors often recommend ginkgo for the treatment of Raynaud’s disease, and there are many clinical cases where patients with Raynaud’s disease experienced significant improvement after taking ginkgo. To me, this is understandable. If I suffered from this disease, I would definitely try ginkgo. The medicinal part of the plant is the leaf; however, the concentration of active ingredients (ginkgolides) in the plant is so small that making tea from its leaves is not very beneficial. If you want to try this medicinal plant, buy ginkgo pills or capsules made from standardized extract. This extract is usually prepared in a ratio of 50:1, meaning that 25 kilograms of ginkgo leaves are needed to process half a kilogram of extract. You can find the extract in health food stores and herbal pharmacies. You can try a daily dose of 60 to 240 milligrams, but do not exceed these doses. In large quantities, ginkgo can cause diarrhea, irritability, and restlessness.

Ginger (Zingiber officinale)

Chinese herbalists often recommend this “hot” medicinal plant for treating diseases that cause cold symptoms, including Raynaud’s disease, which causes fingers to freeze. Ginger lowers blood pressure and cholesterol levels, contributing to the normalization of blood flow throughout the body, including the fingers.

Mustard (Brassica nigra, Sinapis alba, and other species)

I’m sure you’ve heard of mustard poultices. When applied to the skin, they cause mild irritation that increases local blood flow, producing a feeling of warmth and tingling. Known in medicine as rubefacients (substances that cause redness of the skin), mustard and other medicinal plants that produce a similar effect have long been used for treating Raynaud’s disease.
You can prepare a mustard poultice by mixing 120 grams of freshly ground mustard seeds in warm water to make a thick paste. Try applying these poultices to your fingers when symptoms of the disease appear. According to British herbalist David Hoffmann, author of the Herbal Handbook, other rubefacients include cloves, garlic, ginger, horseradish, nettle, peppermint oil, rosemary oil, and rue (Ruta graveolens).

Red Pepper (Capsicum, various species)

Here is another classic rubefacient. In the old days, people used to sprinkle red pepper powder in their shoes to keep their feet warm in winter. If I had Raynaud’s disease, I would try mixing red pepper powder into some vegetable oil and massaging it into my fingers. (Just be careful not to get it in your eyes while the mixture is on your fingers.) I could also add a little borage, currant, or evening primrose oil. You can use red pepper externally, but it is also a very tasty spice for any dish, especially various salads.

Source: J. A. Duke “The Green Pharmacy”

Circulation problems can be extremely successfully resolved and/or alleviated with bioenergy treatments. It is especially important to start bioenergy treatments immediately after the first symptoms appear, as the prognosis is much better then.

Franjo Lenac