Weekly advice from our herbs and alternatives expert
By Sara Altshul
My iPhone does things my cell phone never could, and it really was worth waiting on line for four hours last July to acquire it. It’s found me taxis, movies, reviews, and restaurants; figured out tips after a meal; connected me to my Facebook family; helped me settle bets by letting me Google from anywhere; and entertained me with silly applications like the world’s tiniest violin and a harmonica you can sort of play with your mouth.
Inspired by Amanda MacMillan’s recent blog about iPhone fitness programs, I decided to check out a handful of apps that focus on my beat, natural healing. Here’s my review:
NaturalCures (free)
Created by Jacob Teitelbaum, MD, a leading fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome specialist and the author of From Fatigued to Fantastic and Pain Free 1-2-3. This site distills Dr. Teitelbaum’s expertise about how to recover your vitality and end chronic pain. Features include an A-to-Z directory of health problems and natural remedies tailored to each; a nutrition tab that lists some supplements; and natural health news and blogs from other leading natural health experts.
Pros: It seems to be especially helpful for people with fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue problems.
Cons: Herbs are largely ignored as treatments for various conditions, which I think is an oversight for an app called NaturalCures.
iAroma (.99)
This one’s a basic primer on how to use essential oils for healing and spirit-lifting. It lists about 75 essential oils and their therapeutic value, and it has an A-to-Z conditions list that tells you which essential oil treatments ease specific problems—including dosages and “how to use” info. An A-to-Z “emotional” category tells you which essential oils are appropriate for problems from anger to worry.
Pros: It’s handy if you’re in a health-food store trying to figure out which oil to use for which condition.
Cons: I can’t find anything that indicates the source of the information. It would be reassuring to know that an experienced clinical aromatherapist collaborated with iAroma’s developers.
iPlant (.99)
More than 300 culinary and medicinal herbs are listed in this database, with 150 or so photos.
Pros: So far, it’s the only application I’ve found with an extensive listing of medicinal herbs.
Cons: No sources or scientific citations are included yet, though the developer tells me he’s working out agreements to include these. There’s no dosage or other info that herbalists consider critical, either, such as part of plant used or what kind of preparation to choose (tea, tincture, capsules, etc). What’s more, my quick scan revealed questionable and just plain silly statements, such as “Using kava with a group of people may induce you to publicly confess everything” and “Chamomile is an excellent herb for people that complain about every little thing.”
YogaMudra (.99)
Mudras are Buddhist hand gestures that practitioners use as a meditation aid and to enable healing. This very cool app uses vivid photographs to show how to perform a variety of mudras and explains how they can ease health problems. I love the way this app works: You see the photo, then you tap it for a description of how to perform it and what its benefits are.
Pros: Very intuitive—I figured it out how to use it without any knowledge of mudras.
Full disclosure: I didn’t know what a mudra was till I came across this app, so can’t comment on the accuracy of the info.
Homeopathy (.99)
This 200-year-old “less-is-more” healing system relies on highly diluted remedies to treat emotional and physical ills. Practitioners use substances that in a well person would actually cause the symptoms you’re trying to relieve, or they use substances that in large doses can treat the symptoms. This app offers an extensive A-to-Z symptom list as well as a remedy list.
Pros: Easy to use. Here’s one cool function: When you select a remedy, up pops a square (it even has a shadow) that tells you what the substance is. Tap the square and it flips over to give you dosage information and what it’s suitable for.
Cons: You need a basic understanding of what homeopathy is to really understand this app.
Homepathic Pharmacy (.99)
A nice companion for the Homeopathy app. This uses your iPhone’s GPS system to find pharmacies in your area that stock homeopathic remedies.
Pros: Uses Google Maps to show locations.
Cons: I don’t know how frequently the information is updated or how complete it is.
Reflexology (.99)
Specific points on your hands and feet correspond to specific areas on your body. Apply pressure to those spots and you enable healing in the corresponding body part—or so goes reflexology theory. This app lists conditions via iPhone’s “rollerball” finder—you “spin” the ball and stop on the body part you’re having trouble with, then an illustration pops up showing where to apply the pressure.
Pros: The illustrations are easy to read.
Cons: Vagueness and weirdness. Body parts listed include the “brain” as well as the “temple”—so if you have a headache, which should you select? And how many people know when they’re having problems with their “illeocecal valve” or their “sigmoid colon,” I wonder?
Last Updated: March 6, 2009
Filed Under: Sara Altshul
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