What is DIZZINESS?

Dizziness is a sensation that includes vertigo, light-headedness, faintness, and imbalance.

Professor Kitahara Tadashi and his team at Nara Medical University Hospital in Japan, identified the cause of vertigo or dizziness in 97.5% of the cases presented to him.

He explains that when you move your eyes intentionally, you don't feel dizzy. But if your eyes move involuntarily, things around you appear to be moving, that makes you feel dizzy. The involuntary movement is due to a condition called nystagmus.

Dizziness is caused by the inner ear.

In the inner ear, the cochlea detects sound, and the semicircular canals assist in maintaining balance.

The semicircular canals are made of 3 tubes: anterior, posterior, and lateral canals.

These canals have a semicircular shape, and they detect the rotation of the head in three-dimensional space.

The anterior canal detects forward and back head movement. The posterior canal senses tilting. And the lateral canal identifies rotational movement.

Information from each canal is transmitted to the brain, which then sends commands to the eyes and the limbs to keep balance.

If the semicircular canals stop functioning properly, the brain cannot give accurate commands. Consequently, the movement of the head and that of the eyes go out of sync. This is how dizziness occurs.

There are more than 40 diseases that are accompanied by dizziness, some can be life-threatening like stroke.

What is VERTIGO?

Vertigo is dizziness with a sense of spinning or other motion. Vertigo can be mild and self-limiting of unknown cause.

What is BPPV?

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is a severe, short-lasting vertigo induced by certain head positions.

BPPV is the most common cause of dizziness or vertigo involving a spinning sensation.

At the base of the semicircular canals are the otolith organs, on top of which there are 100 thousand calcium carbonate particles called otoliths or ear stones.

BPPV occurs when the ear stones become dislodged, often due to calcium depletion or stress and fall into some of the semicircular canals.

When standing, the detached ear stones remain in place and do not cause vertigo. However, lying down or in other positions where the inner ear is tilted for long periods, these ear stones can roll into the semicircular canals and cause vertigo.

Normally ear stones are broken down in about a month, so treatment usually involves improving blood flow to the inner ear with medication.

However, if other ear stones enter the canal s, the vertigo can recur intermittently.

What is BETAHISTINE?

Betahistine is a histamine analoque that functions as a vasodilator to improve blood flow to the labyrinth and brain stem.

Betahistine, with or without diuretics, has been used for long-term control of vertigo, dizziness or imbalance.

What is GINGER?

Identification name: Zingiber officinale Roscoe

Family: Zingiberaceae

Habitat: native to Asia

Medicinal part: rhizome

Key chemical constituents: it contains oleoresin, volatile oils, pungent phenolic compounds. Specifically: zingerone is antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-emetic, flavoring, fragrance agent; zingiberene is antiulcer; 6-gingerol is antineoplastic.

Properties and uses: ginger stimulates heat-sensitive receptors of the stomach causing a feeling of local heat. It reduces nausea and vomiting; opens up circulation to the peripheral tissues; inhibits arachidonic acid metabolism; reduces platelet aggregation; reduces arthritic pain and inflammation. Therapeutic role of gingerol in the treatment of asthma as it decreases eosinophils to the lungs and suppress helper T cell immune response to allergen.

Curiosity: there are 80-90 species of the genus Zingiber. Traditionally used for indigestion, colic, cramping, peptic ulcer, loss of appetite, gastrointestinal infections, fever, colds. Hot ginger wine is a useful home remedy in case of flu with fever, prepared with 5 slices of fresh rhizome, juice of half a lemon, red wine, honey and hot water.

Caution: no toxic effects reported at dietary intake or normal therapeutic doses. However, in high doses (>10g) it may cause gastric irritation, heartburn, bloating. People with gallstones, gastric ulcers or reflux use it with caution.

What is SESAME?

Identification name: Sesamum indicum L.

Family: Pedaliaceae

Habitat: native to America, Southern Staes, India

Medicinal parts: leaf, seed, oil

Key chemical constituents: the seed contain flavonoids, phenolic acids, alkaloids, tannins, saponins, steroids, terpenoids, and minerals like calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, copper, zinc, and phosphorous. Specifically, sesamin that is antineoplastic, neuroprotective; sesaminol that is antioxidant; gamma tocopherol that is food antioxidant; lecithin that is used in food additives.

Properties and uses: sesame is antioxidant, antibacterial, cardiotonic, antidiabetic, antitumor, antiulcer, antiinflammatory, analgesic, and lowers cholesterol. In Thai medicine, sesame seeds are used for joint problems, tooth decay, bone weakness, cough, constipation, hemorrhoids, and painful or blocked menstruation. Sesame promotes strength and increases body warmth as a nutritive tonic.

Curiosity: in Hindu mythology sesame seed was considered a symbol of immortality and its oil was used in prayers and burial ceremony. The genus Sesamum has 10-12 species. The oil was used as laxative and to promote menstruation. The oil can be used as a substitute for olive oil. The leaves mixed with water form a mucilage that was used in infantile cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, catarrh, bladder troubles, acute cystitis, and strangury.

Caution: allergies to sesame oil may occur in some people.

Tamara is 45 years old and never had any episode of dizziness or vertigo.

But one day, she woke up feeling dizzy. She looked around and everything was spinning 360°C like being on a rollercoaster. Even lying down or closing the eyes, the spinning would not stop. She noticed that that if she turned her head in a particular direction while lying down, it felt a bit better.

As she could not leave her bedroom, her dad went to the doctor for help. The doctor prescribed her betahistine.

The spinning stopped in 2-3 days after taking the medication. But it reoccurred in 2-3 months later. She took the same medication and the symptoms stopped and never reoccurred again.

What caused her vertigo? What can she do to stop it from happening again?

The inner ear contains many very small blood vessels, so it is important to improve blood flow. It is key to eat food that can achieve that.

Calcium and vitamin D are helpful in preventing ear stone-related dizziness.

Therefore, eating regularly foods that contain calcium and vitamin D, can help prevent dizziness.

For example, shirasu, whitebait of Japan, is a small immature fish that is rich in calcium and vitamin D, which enhances the absorption of calcium.

Sardines with bone, salmon with bones are great source of calcium.

Sardines are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids DHA and EPA which enhance blood flow.

SESAME seeds and GINGER are also good for circulation.

You can't just eat these 1-2 days and expect health benefits. It is important to continue eating them every day. By doing so you can prevent dizziness and loss of balance.

​References

NHK World-Japan. Thorough Examinations for Causes of Dizziness - Medical Frontiers - YouTube, 2023.

Buckley, Nick, ed. Australian Medicines Handbook 2019.

Walker, Mark F., and Robert B. Daroff. "Dizziness and Vertigo."Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 19ed. Vol.1. No.2. Mcgraw-Hill, 2015.

Grieve, M. A Modern Herbal: the Medicinal, Culinary, Cosmetic and Economic Properties, Cultivation and Folk-Lore of Herbs, Grasses, Fungi, Shrubs, & Trees with All Their Modern Scientific Uses. Dover Publications, 1971.

Sharma, Monika, and Subash Sahu. Gallery of Medicinal Plants:(Dravyaguna Vigyan). Thieme, 2022.

National Center for Biotechnology Information. "PubChem Compound Summary for CID 72307, Sesamin" PubChem, https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Sesamin. Accessed 12 June, 2023.

National Center for Biotechnology Information. "PubChem Compound Summary for CID 94672, Sesaminol" PubChem, https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Sesaminol. Accessed 12 June, 2023.

National Center for Biotechnology Information. "PubChem Compound Summary for CID 92729, gamma-Tocopherol" PubChem, https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/gamma-Tocopherol. Accessed 12 June, 2023.

National Center for Biotechnology Information. "PubChem Compound Summary for CID 122218, 1,2-Diacyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine" PubChem, https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/1_2-Diacyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine. Accessed 12 June, 2023.

Salguero, C. Pierce. A Thai Herbal Traditional Recipes For Health And Harmony. Findhorn Press, 2003.