A Few Simple Herbal Remedies for Common Ailments
With all the news about tainted ingredients from China in off the shelf medicines and health formulas, and the FDA pulling children's cold remedies off the drugstore shelves, it's time we looked at other ways to treat common ailments that most of us occasionally suffer from. Getting chemicals out of our health treatments is, in most cases, a very desirable and healthy thing to do. The following are a few of my absolute favorites, and every bit as effective as anything you would buy in a drug store or that a doctor would prescribe. Put together a small chest of herbal remedies and keep the chemicals in your life to a minimum.
Stomach Gas, Heartburn, Flatulence and Bloating- There are a few remedies that work very well. The quickest for upper digestive tract gas pains and heartburn is to chew a half a teaspoon of fennel seed. Relief, in the form of deep burps, usually happens within a few minutes. And fennel seeds taste good too! They taste like licorice. Strong Peppermint tea is a soothing relief for lower gastric distress. You can also add some fresh ground ginger to the infusion. Ginger helps settle the stomach and intestines.
Colds, Flu, and Fever- For a fever use a tea made from Elder and Yarrow, which can also be flavored with Peppermint to make it more tasty. A drop or two of eucalyptus oil dabbed right under the nose will help relieve nasal congestion. Echinacea with Golden Seal is good for lessening severity of colds and flu if started early. For colds with heavy congestion hyssop, horehound and slippery elm are good for breaking up the congestion. For a sore throat eat fresh pineapple, which is also a great source of vitamin C without taking C supplements (which all come from China.) A friend of mine uses apple cider vinegar with wildflower honey, ground ginger, and a just a bit of brandy as cold/flu symptom relief. And my favorite remedy to start hammering with at the very first sign of any of these is oregano oil. I put a couple drops in a glass of water and drink it down, though the taste isn't very pleasant. It does come in capsule form, but I've found that drinking it in water gets the effects more quickly to exactly where they're needed-- the back of my throat! I do this at least every 4 hours the first two days and back off to three times a day for a few days after.
Chapped Lips, Dry Skin- The most effective relief is to hydrate. Drink your 8 glasses of water a day and you'll be much less prone to suffer from these ailments. For cold weather chapping, which may still happen a bit, coconut oil is the best, the skin soaks it right in, and in no time at all there is no greasy feel at all.
Bronchitis- Make a tea of stinging nettle, honeysuckle, and thyme. Use a full two teaspoons full of stinging nettle per cup of hot water. Pound down a few cups a day for a few days and you should see a fair bit of relief. Most of the cold and flu treatments will also help relieve some of your bronchitis symptoms, especially horehound and hyssop, which will help you get rid of the gunk in your lungs.
Vaginal Yeast Infection- Cut all yeasty and sugary foods out of your diet for a couple weeks. This includes anything fermented such as vinegar, wine, beer, and liquors. Cutting carbs down is also a good idea. Also, don't eat any breads made with yeast. Ditch the fungus foods too, foods like mushrooms and blue cheese. Stick to soft cheeses in moderation, and keep milk (high in sugar) to a minimum.Eat plenty of yogurt, but don't eat the high sugar commercial kind! Buy plain yogurt and flavor with vanilla extract and sweeten with stevia. To treat the area itself, a douche made with plain yogurt mixed with garlic tea will relieve symptoms and restore balance to the immediate area.
Bladder/Kidney Infections and Cystitis- Does anyone not know that plenty of Cranberry Juice will help? Also, plenty of water, even more than your usual 8 glasses. Uva Ursi and/or Juniper Berry tea will help with the inflammation and burning, and clean out the infection. Fennel Seed and Marshmallow Root can also be helpful, but be aware that a lot of these herbs are natural diuretics so doubling your fluid intake is as essential to your treatment as the herbs are for getting rid of a bout of cystitis. While treating for these ailments, cut coffee, tea, and other high acid content beverages out of your diet, since they can irritate the urine tract and cause a relapse.
First Aid for Cuts and Scrapes- Tea tree oil is a good antiseptic, but you usually have one that's just as effective right in your refrigerator- garlic. Wash area gently with soap and water, then cut open a clove of garlic, squeeze it to release some of the oil and rub the oil onto the cut or scrape. Ginger root works in a similar manner for those who hate the smell of garlic, but you need to make a paste of the ground ginger with a few drops of water to apply.
With all these herbal remedies, the diet you're eating is as important as the treatment. Cut out junk and food additives, and eat healthy to speed the healing process, and continue to do so after you heal to help prevent you getting sick again.
Here are some links for you so you can find further herbal remedies for other ailments.