Natural Health Remedy Library - H

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Natural Health Remedies, organized by the complaint. Please note that if you choose to help your body heal by using any of these remedies, it is important that you still have to seek help with a qualified health advisor, such as a doctor, as well, because everyone's body is unique. It is good to take responsibility for your own health but make sure that you are informed by many different sources, before taking action.

H

Hangover
Headaches
Heartburn
Heart Disease
Heart Palpitations
Hepatitis
Herpes Virus
Heavy Metal Toxicity
Hiccups
Histamine Intolerance
HIV
Hormonal Problems, Women
Hormone Imbalance
Hot Flashes
Hyperthyroidism
Hypoglycaemia
Hypothyroidism

A, B, C, D-E, F-G, I-J, K-L, M, N-O, P-Q, R, S, T-Z

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Other Natural Remedies

Hangover

Natural Health Remedies for Hangover

See also: natural health remedy entries for alcoholism and cravings for alcohol.

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Headaches - Natural Health Remedy

Please refer to: Natural Headache Relief.

Heartburn

See the natural health remedy for: acid reflux.

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Heart Disease

According to Dr. Robert Rowen, ozone therapy is very beneficial for heart disease, Dr. Mercola reports on his website. You may wish to look into other oxidative therapies as well.

Vitamin C and Heart Disease

Book: Dr. Matthias Rath: "Why Animals Don't Get Heart Attacks... But People Do!" (free download). This book discusses heart disease from a cellular health point of view and includes topics, such as: "Why You May Not Have Heard About This Medical Breakthrough Before", "The Cholesterol-Heart Disease Fallacy", "Eradication of Heart Disease" and "Cellular Medicine".

Also from Dr. Matthias Rath: "Cellular Health Series - The Heart" (book, download pdf for free)

Please note also that a mycoplasma infection may be a causative factor in heart disease.

Dr. Joel Wallach and Dr. Gabriel Cousens link heart disease to copper deficiency.

Dr. Joel Fuhrman: "The End of Heart Disease: The Eat to Live Plan to Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease":

"Heart Disease: Drug-Free Alternatives to Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease (What Doctors Don't Tell You)" by Lynne McTaggart:

See also: natural health remedy entry for arteriosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.

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Heart Palpitations

Typical everyday causes for heart palpitations can be: caffeine, alcohol, food intolerance, sugar intolerance, carbohydrate intolerance, lack of adequate protein in the diet. Check with your doctor that the palpitations are not linked to anxiety/ panic attacks, hyperthyroidism or other more serious problems.

In my case the worst of the palpitations were first eliminated by eliminating certain foods. I used the pulse test to identify which foods I was intolerant of. Food intolerances have often been linked to the leaky gut syndrome, which in turn has been linked to candida overgrowth. In the long-term I noticed that eliminating candida, taking strong probiotics (BioCare Replete Intensive), and taking lots of digestive enzymes (6-8 capsules per day, mostly before eating) began to gradually reduce problems with both intolerances and palpitations.

When certain foods were the cause of the palpitations, taking 2 capsules of digestive enzymes just before eating usually helped greatly.

The palpitations seemed to get worse if I ate sugar and refined carbohydrates and starches, if I drank alcohol, was under a lot of stress, tired, or otherwise weak.

I noticed that the palpitations may be linked to not eating enough protein, since sometimes it seemed that the palpitations were reduced when I ate a can of tuna (on bread or on its own). Or perhaps the amino acids just have a calming effect.

Palpitations may also be linked to the central nervous system and the hormone production by the endocrine glands. Read: adrenal fatigue.

Read, as relevant: food intolerance, anxiety, hyperthyroidism, Caffeine Blues (book summary), alcoholism and sugar addiction.

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Hepatitis

According to the NHS UK: "Hepatitis is a term used to describe inflammation (swelling) of the liver. It can occur as the result of a viral infection or because the liver is exposed to harmful substances such as alcohol."

Megavitamin therapy: Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) in megadoses is claimed to inactivate and protect against Hepatitis by Orthomolecular.org.

See also: natural health remedy entries for viral infections, inflammation, alcoholism.

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Herpes Virus

Herpes Simplex virus type 2 has been shown to potentially be killed by the essential oil of chamomile. (David Wolfe, Longevity Now)

Dr. Andrew Saul states that the best cure for the herpes virus is vitamin C powder (ascorbic acid) made into a paste and applied directly on the herpes lesion and around it over many days until the lesion is gone. He states that this may permanently eliminate the herpes from the body. In addition, megadoses of vitamin C can be taken internally. Read more here: Herpes, Oral and Genital; Human Papillovirus (HPV)

See also: natural health remedy entry for viral infections.

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Heavy Metal Toxicity

I tried to eliminate heavy metal toxicity with hair tissue mineral analysis and the associated Nutritional Balancing program, but I don't believe in the program anymore and recommend against it, due to problems their supplementation caused me.

Avoiding heavy metal exposure is a good idea (e.g. from pollution, food grown in contaminated soil, deodorant and other chemicals, canned food, aluminium, etc.) but the methods for getting them out of your body once there are controversial.

Detoxification protocols, such as green juice fasting, juicing fresh cilantro (coriander), and chelating with zeolite clay and other substances have been reported to help detoxify heavy metals.

It is also worth keeping in mind that many health problems are put down to heavy metal toxicity, when they may in fact be caused by other things. I am personally suspicious of claims of copper toxicity, because of a personal experience I had, where so-called 'copper detox' was causing me anxiety (for three years) and it turned out to be copper deficiency instead, corrected by supplementing with copper!

I believe the safest route is to strengthen your body, as it is capable of detoxifying at least some amount of heavy metals on its own.

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Hiccups

I use a following trick to get rid of hiccups:
Breathe your lungs full, and hold your breath while swallowing as many times as you can while holding your breath. (Note: It is difficult.) Breathe out, take a deep breath and repeat until the hiccup is gone. Normally two in-breaths and swallowing x10 each time is enough to clear the hiccup for me. Note that you can try to use a drink to make the swallowing easier and see if it works but I think it may work better if you just swallow air.

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Histamine Intolerance

"When the gut is wounded, it is unable to create enough enzymes to handle your unique histamine load." - bodyecology.com

"In order to rebuild your histamine tolerance, it is essential to repair the lining of the gut since the gut lining releases one major group of enzymes." - bodyecology.com

I found out I had histamine intolerance a long time after I began to keep a list of foods I was intolerant of. Those included: wine, beer, cheese, dairy yoghurt, some dried fruit, olives, most packaged & processed foods, and tomatoes. I bought DAO (diamine oxidase) enzymes and suddenly, after drinking experimental two glasses of white wine, I didn't experience any of the negative symptoms I usually did: flu-like symptoms, headaches, tiredness, shortness of breath, negative emotions (irritability, guilt, worry, feeling down), swollen under-eyes, bloatedness, mucus congestion, cough.

Histamine intolerance can be genetic, but in most people it is a curable condition. It is usually linked to gut problems, e.g. bacterial imbalance in the gut (dysbiosis), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), leaky gut syndrome, SIBO (small-intestine bacterial overgrowth) - or all of these problems at once. Most food intolerances in general can be remedied by healing the gut. Follow the links to read about the above conditions to determine how to heal your gut.

Tests for Histamine Intolerance: Your doctor can take blood tests for histamine and tryptase levels to diagnose you, Dr. Doni explains.

Avoiding histamine-rich foods can be difficult, but fortunately for most people it will only have to be done for a while, until the gut lining is healed and able to produce the necessary enzymes again to break down histamine. Search online for a detailed list of histamine-rich foods, which includes all fermented foods, all aged foods, some nuts, some berries and fruit, some vegetables. In addition you may have to avoid foods which 1) help release histamine in the body, 2) DAO enzyme blockers (e.g. green tea), 3) foods with cause inflammation, and 4) foods which make leaky gut/ systemic candida overgrowth worse. It sounds complicated but can be done. Some people may tolerate some of these foods better than others.

When taking probiotics, you may need to use specific strains which are best for histamine intolerance (according to Dr. Doni): Bifidobacterium infantis and B. longum (they actually interfere with histamine pathway and reduce levels of histamine intolerance, she says).

DAO (diamine oxidase) enzymes can be purchased as supplement which helps to break down the histamine in foods, reducing or eliminating the negative symptoms. The supplements I found so far with diamine oxidase: 'DAO Histamine Digester' by Nutricology, 'DAO Histaminase' by Allergy Research Group, 'Histamine Block' or 'Histame' by Seeking Health, HistamAid88 by Swanson and Dao Histamine Digester Supplement (Nutricology). Note that they seem to be currently (in March 2017) difficult to get, as the manufacturers say that the raw ingredients are in short supply. The good news is that DAOSin by Sciotec seems to be available at www.eat-all.com.

If you take this supplement it is advisable to not take it continuously for more than, say, two weeks at a time, so that your body doesn't grow too used to it. There hasn't been much research on this supplement yet and therefore it is possible that your body stops producing the enzymes itself if it regularly gets them from an external source. I cannot guarantee it's safe but I feel that it probably is and will try it myself and see if it helps as much as the other diamine oxidase supplements I've tried.

I will attempt to remedy my histamine intolerance by staying away from the following for four weeks (elimination diet): strawberries, citrus fruit, pineapple, avocado, spinach, plums, tomatoes, frozen foods, ready meals, processed meats and fish, wheat, aged cheeses, fermented foods, long-life foods, all foods left out of the fridge for a length of time, alcohol, caffeine, wheat, yeast, certain probiotics (TBC), canned food, kiwi, banana, chocolate, cacao, dried fruit, chickpeas, cashew nuts, walnuts, condiments, sauces, restaurant food, street food, chemicals & additives. Also, lectin and glutamate -rich foods should apparently be avoided by histamine intolerant people. In addition I will have to avoid foods which I am also intolerant of but which are not usually linked with histamine intolerance. And because I have recently been diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), I won't be able to eat too much fiber (no big salads), starches (potatoes, pasta, bread, root vegetables, etc.), onions, concentrated sugar or spices. Even though a BRE food intolerance tester also suggested I have candida, I will continue eating fruit while taking antifungal supplements. I have also been a vegetarian for most of my life so I won't eat much meat, possibly a little bit of organic meat.

It has for sure been tough to figure out what I can eat since all the different healthy diets I have tried have caused different types of problems. However, now I will try a four week elimination diet, when my diet will be very simple. The idea is that I will keep simplifying my diet until I feel well for four weeks solid, and then add one new food each day to see how I react to it.

I will be having a smoothie for breakfast, made out of lettuce and apple juice (or fresh fruit). Alternative breakfast 1 will be 24-hours soaked and well-rinsed oat groats with cinnamon, salt and almond milk. Alternative breakfast 2: scramble made out of beans, herbs, oil and salt (or eggs). For lunch, I will have steamed green vegetables with olive oil, lemon and salt, with fruit and nuts on the side. If in a rush I will just have a soya yoghurt/ quark with fruit and nuts on the side. Dinner: Fruit salad with honey and lemon juice; or home-made green veg soup with olive oil; or one of the above dishes. In addition, I will be able to eat young cheeses, e.g. ricotta, small salads, tofu and almond milk. Ginger in juice form and green juices should be very beneficial. I will be very busy with work soon again, however, so I will get used to the 'mantra': "When in doubt: have a smoothie, pecan nuts and fruit."

I think citrus fruit, flax seeds, and canned tuna are absolutely fine with me, and I will add these (one by one, and see what happens) as soon as I've felt well for a continuous four weeks. I hope this trial will work for me. I will return here to update.

Read 'Allergy UK' charity's advice on histamine intolerance here. They have a helpline you can call. I called them and they recommended seeing a dietitian on the NHS (National Health Service), who would be able to design an elimination diet for me. Alternatively, she said I could hire a dietitian from the Freelance Dietitians Group. Dietitians in the UK are more highly qualified than nutritionists, as they have to complete a three-year MSc degree before they can call themselves dietitians.

This book was extremely useful: "What HIT me? Living with Histamine Intolerance: A guide to diagnosis and management of HIT - A patient's point of view" by Genny Masterman:

I saw someone report (somewhere) that a high micronutrient diet was extremely helpful in reducing their symptoms of histamine intolerance. Therefore green smoothies and juices sound like a very good idea. For a general understanding of a 'high-micronutrient-diet' (not specific to histamine intolerance) refer to Dr. Joel Fuhrman's work: interview with Dr. Fuhrman and book summary.

Eating lots of fruit or other soluble-fibre foods may help heal histamine intolerance: "Studies show that the soluble fiber that you get through your diet can boost levels of enzymes, breaking down histamine and safeguarding against leaky gut." - BodyEcology.com

Read also: "Histamine Intolerance, MTHFR and Methylation" on 'MTHFR.Net: Your Expert Resource on MTHFR Gene Mutations'. The article is very interesting and it lists the following amongst histamine intolerance symptoms (I have marked in bold the ones I've experienced):

• flushing
• rapid heart beat
• profuse sweating
• headache, migraine
• food allergies
• seasonal allergies
• urticaria
• prickly heat
• large swollen mosquito bites
• runny nose
• bloody nose
• car sick
• seasickness
• motion sickness in general
• itchy
• irritable
• nausea
• vomiting
• higher sex drive (not really a problem typically but good to know)
• asthma, exercise-induced asthma
• stomach ache
• menstrual cramps
• chest tightness
• loose stools
• skin issues (eczema, psoriasis)
• insomnia

In addition, the following are also commonly reported among histamine intolerance symptoms:

• tiredness, exhaustion
• anxiety
• vertigo, dizziness
• arrhythmia, or accelerated heart rate
• difficulty regulating body temperature
• tissue swelling
• nasal congestion, sneezing
• hives

Quercetin and chaga mushroom tea seemed to help me in reducing histamine intolerance symptoms and to reduce stress during a presentation. GABA helps to reduce stress also. Taking anti-histamine medication (at a different time) possibly helped the symptoms a little bit but not much.

This website provides some indication whether you have histamine, fructose and lactose intolerance or not, through their questionnaire: Intolerance Test by Eat-All.com.

Credit: Two readers contacted me earlier to suggest I had histamine intolerance. I would like to give a thank you and credit to them as the information they provided did help me figure this out. One of them was Jason, who writes about his own experience with brain fog here and the other one hasn't provided his/her name (yet).

These are links that Jason (above) provided and which provide plenty of information on histamine intolerance:

• "Treat Elevated Histamine, Naturally" by a website called 'Second Opinion Physician', whose director is Dr. David Epstein, a functional medicine practitioner. (They also provide a 'telemedicine' service for mood disorders and mental illness - i.e. 'health care at a distance'.)
• "How to Treat Histamine Intolerance and High Histamine Levels" by Selfhacked.com
• "Histamine Intolerance, not allergies, may be at the root of your symptoms! Histamine Intolerance Syndrome" by Dr. David Jernigan, Hansa Center

Link Between Mold Exposure and Histamine

"Dr. Theoharides at Tufts [...] has long spoken of the link between mold exposure and mast cell activation. Activation of mast cells would release histamine, along with other inflammatory molecules into the blood stream." - Healing Histamine: The Mold Histamine Link

Note that histamine intolerance has been linked to asthma, osteoarthritis, and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). It also often coexists with other food intolerances, among them: lactose intolerance and fructose intolerance.

Important Update

Dr. Batmanghelidj writes in his well-known essay on 'Unintentional Chronic Dehydration':

"I discovered that histamine is a vital chemical messenger in the brain. Histamine has a most important function not written about in medical textbooks. It is in charge of water intake and drought management in the body. It is less active when the body is fully hydrated, and becomes increasingly active when the body becomes dehydrated. This was the connection I was looking for. In short, histamine produces pain when an area in the body is suffering from drought! [...]

"... water is the best natural diuretic - and antihistamine. It's also the choice treatment for arthritis, heartburn/hiatus hernia, asthma, allergy, depression, stress, angina pain, hypertension, back pain, heart disease, skin problems, prevention of cancer. And many more."

- F. Batmanghelidj, M.D.

Alison Vickery writes in "Are You Sick or Thirsty? Histamines and Hydration":

"There is no evidence that water can regulate histamine levels in or body but there is evidence that dehydration results in the realse of histamines in the brain."

Ulla, the editor of Cheap Health Revolution writes:

"It took me a while to realize my food intolerances included histamine intolerance. I describe this discover above. I can eat small amounts of histamine-containing or histamine-releasing foods, but have learned to avoid most of them most of the time, so as to avoid the very uncomfortable intolerance symptoms. While on holiday, I take DAO enzymes with any food I am not completely sure of. Once enzyme pill is only able to neutralize a small amount of histamine-containing food or drink so I am often forced to take many enzyme pills in one day.

"Three days ago I came across the idea that excess histamine release in the body may be linked to dehydration. I began to drink two pints of water with ionic trace minerals each day before breakfast. As a result my histamine intolerance symptoms have definitely reduced. I seem to be able to tolerate histamine better. I have also increased the amount of raw fruit and green juices in my diet simultaneously. These two changes seem to make a difference. Note that for proper hydration not only water but adequate minerals also are crucial, because the correct mineral balance in the cell allows water and nutrients to get into the cell and toxins to get out."

Read also: "Neurotransmitter Histamine" by Dr. Batmanghelidj.

Read also: Natural health remedies for Dehydration.

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HIV

See: AIDS, viral infections

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Hormonal Problems: Women

Book: 'The Vitamin Cure for Women's Health Problems' by Helen Saul Case discusses, among other things, menstrual and premenstrual issues, PMS, bloating, cravings, acne, migraines, heavy periods, insomnia, fatigue, breast tenderness, mood swings, bacterial vaginosis, yeast infections, sex drive concerns, urinary tract infections, bladder infections, kidney infections, health problems caused by hormonal contraception, prevention of female cancers, endometriosis, stress, anxiety, depression, hot flashes, sweating, vaginal atrophy, vaginal dryness, hair loss, joint discomfort, urinary incontinence, infertility and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD).

See also: hormone imbalance.

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Hormone Imbalance

As hormones are in the fluids of the body, dehydration can affect hormone balance adversely.

Note that Vitamin D can be considered a hormone, rather than a mere vitamin, as explained in this article: Vitamin D Revolution (Soram Khalsa book review).

Documentary: "The Fantastical World of Hormones" - read Dr. Mercola's review here.

"The Link Between Diet and Your Hormones" by Dr. Mercola

Note that systemic candida overgrowth can cause hormonal problems, according to Jeffrey McCombs.

See also, as relevant: women's hormonal problems, endometriosis, menstrual cramps, mental health problems, sluggish thryroid, tiredness, infertility, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), progesterone deficiency, nervous system disorders, nervousness, hot flashes, candida, moodiness, menopause, liver weakness, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, insomnia, hypothyroidism, heavy metal toxicity, copper toxicity, fibrocystic breast disease, estrogen dominance, estrogen deficiency, breast cancer, anorexia, anxiety, acne.

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Hot Flashes, Hot Flushes

Read: Natural Health Remedy for Hot Flashes

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Hyperthyroidism

My mild (but difficult) hyperthyroid symptoms were alleviated by copper supplementation, when accompanied by other nutrients. Avoidance of zinc and certain B vitamins was crucial also. My experimentation was based on that of others', who had a full version of hyperthyroidism and found help from copper, magnesium, calcium, boron, etc. supplementation, in the correct proportions. Full report here: Hyperthyroidism Caused by Copper Deficiency?

There is a possible, interesting link between hyperthyroidism and copper deficiency. Note that copper is not always toxic, but is an important mineral when utilised by the body properly. The symptoms between hyperthyroidism and copper seem quite similar, and both also link to B12 vitamin deficiency and pernicious anemia (see article linked to above for further information).

Thyroid problems have generally been considered difficult to treat by means of alternative health. However, the above finding as well as Naturalnews.com provide some hope: Prevent and Treat Hyperthyroidism Naturally

"The most common causes for hyperthyroidism are a chronically inflamed thyroid (thyroiditis) and an autoimmune condition called Graves Disease", Dr. David Jockers states in the Natural News article. The first is a problem of inflammation and the second is the body's immune system attacking itself (autoimmune condition). Both, according to Dr. Jockers are caused by an immune system out of whack.

He says: "Several key factors such as intestinal dysbiosis, common food & environmental allergens, nutritional habits, vitamin D levels, and heavy metal toxicity must be addressed with any inflammatory and auto-immune disorder." Interestingly, he advices people with hyperthyroidism to avoid gluten, sugars, soy products, nuts, eggs, heavy proteins and all processed foods. He also states that one of the most common allergies is to plants from the nightshade family, i.e. eggplants, tomatoes, potatoes and onions and that anyone with inflammation or auto-immune conditions should get tested for food allergens or try an elimination diet.

To de-inflame the body, the following may help, according to Dr. David Jockers: Omega 3s (EPAs and DHAs), coconut products, berries, high quality whey protein (includes glutamine) from grass-fed cows or goats, turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, rosemary, and oregano. Also, vitamin D3 helps to coordinate the immune response. He recommends taking 10,000-50,000 IU of high quality emulsified vitamin D3 per day until your blood test levels reach over 60 ng/ml.

I have found that tomato and other foods I am intolerant of (celery, carrot, tuna, preservatives, etc.) cause heart palpitations. Stress and worries also give me heart palpitations (they didn't used to). One of my blood tests showed a slightly overactive thyroid. I have found that the 'Thyroid Calming Tincture' by HerbPharm helps to lessen the heart palpitations and the accompanying feeling of nervousness very quickly, sometimes within 1-2 minutes. The active ingredients are: motherwort leaf and flower, cactus stem, lemon balm leaf and flowering tops.

The article linked to above (Natural News) also made a link between allergies and hyperthyroidism, mentioning tomato and nightshade plant family allergies as two of the typical ones causing problems for those with hyperthyroidism.

Read also, natural health remedy entries for: inflammation, infections, allergies, food intolerances, autoimmune conditions.

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Hypoglycaemia

Natural health remedies for balancing blood sugar.

Read 'the Hypoglycemic Diet' on the Hypoglycemic Health Association website for some excellent information.

Read also, as relevant (often linked problems), natural health remedy entries for : sugar addiction, anxiety, stomach fat, addiction.

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Hypothyroidism

According to Ray Peat, too low levels of natural salt are linked with hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism, he says, increases the ratio of estrogen to progesterone and thus causes sodium loss. Read more in: Benefits of Natural Salt and see also the entry on 'estrogen dominance'.

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Natural Health Remedies A-Z - full list of conditions

This list is work in progress... New remedies are added weekly. Much of the information I have been collecting is still unwritten - I am doing the best I can to share it with you. However, if you would like me to write about a specific condition you can leave a request below.

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