Simple Home Remedies
Here
are a few examples of items that are likely already in your cupboards:
Apple Cider Vinegar
As
a gargle for sore throat (either diluted in water or straight).
As a gargle when coming down with a cold (either diluted in water
or straight). As a
disinfectant for cuts and scrapes (a little on a wet cotton ball works
well). As a digestive aid for
heartburn, hiccups, chronic belching (dilute
1 tablespoon in ½ cup water and drink with food).
Epsom
Salt
Add
1-2 pounds to a full hot bathtub of water and soak for 20 minutes to
reduce aches and pains from overwork or over-exercise.
You can also add 10 drops of lavender essential oil to the bath for
further relaxation. Add ¼
pound to dishpan of hot water as foot soak; again to relieve aches and
pain and also to promote healing of minor sores.
You can also add 2-3 drops of lavender essential oil for further
relaxation.
Ginger
Powder
Dissolve
½ to 1 teaspoon in hot water and cool to preferred temperature.
Use it for: Nausea, colds, chills, aches and pains, motion
sickness, morning sickness, intestinal and stomach gas
Raw
Honey
As
a syrup, mix 1 tablespoon honey with ½ tsp fresh lemon juice; take once
every hour or two for sore throat relief.
As a natural antibiotic ointment, apply a thin layer of honey over
cuts or other puncture wounds or burns to promote healing.
As a food, can be helpful to reduce allergy symptoms.
As a food, can be helpful to reduce ulcer symptoms.
As a moisturizer, apply to skin or hair for short period of time,
rinse with clear water for improved softness.
Olive
Oil
Make
an ear oil remedy by adding 5 drops tea tree oil to 1/8 cup olive oil.
Good as lubricant for sexual intercourse.
Rub on skin underneath any herbal poultice.
Great as a hair moisturizing treatment; add 1 egg to ¼ cup olive
oil (adjust amount of oil according to length of hair) and mix well; rub
in well to wet hair, cover in saran wrap and then a heavy towel; leave on
for 30 minutes. Shampoo out
with normal shampoo.
Peppermint
& Chamomile tea bags
Drink
a cup of peppermint tea, brewed in hot water, to relieve indigestion,
intestinal gas pains, or cramps in general.
For babies, a few drops of peppermint tea on your finger for them
to suck can help relieve a tummy ache or symptoms of colic.
Sometimes, just rubbing the tea on the outside of their tummy can
help. Or if you are a nursing
mother, drink the tea yourself. Again,
brewed in hot water, a cup of chamomile tea can relieve stomach aches,
menstrual cramps, anxiety, tension headaches, and the inability to fall
asleep. For babies, ¼ to ½
cup of chamomile tea may be added to a bath (test with a few drops first)
to help a baby relax and fall asleep.
A few drops on the finger for them to suck may also help with
sleep, colic, tummy aches, or any kind of indigestion.
Sea
Salt
As
a gargle to reduce sore throat pain. Made
into saline solution to wash out eye or nose:
Add ¼ tsp sea salt to ¾ cup boiling, non-chlorinated water; cool.
Use this saline solution to rinse out mildly irritated or infected
eye or in neti pot
to
flush out sinuses when congested. Add
to olive oil with a few drops of lavender oil to make a wonderful salt
glow exfoliant. Rub all over
skin while in shower, wash off and enjoy your baby-soft new skin.
Witch
Hazel
Witch
hazel with alcohol must not be used internally.
It can be used externally to: soothe irritated skin, rashes, cuts;
to use as a deodorant; to soothe bruises; to soothe insect bites; to
relieve shaving irritations; to use as a facial toner.
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As
the debate on healthcare reform announces the staggering numbers of
uninsured, the high costs of keeping everyone healthy, and the even higher
costs of helping everyone to die, I have been nagged by that small, still
voice in the back of my head. It keeps asking me: why is everyone so
sick?
And why are we so dependent on the medical
system for all our care?
Since you already know I am a holistic
nutritionist, no doubt, you can imagine what my thoughts are regarding why
we are so sick. In a nutshell, I would say we have removed ourselves from
our own food chain. We have given away our rights and relationships
with the quality and nature of our of food. We have accepted the
notion that all food is created equal. This we have done lulled by
the promises of convenience and cost savings. Now, the job of seeing
the connections between out-of-control healthcare costs, an epidemic of
obesity that includes children, the government farm policy, and a
crippling mental dependence on the doctor's office seems insurmountable.
But let me quickly add, this is no reason
to become discouraged. Many people have perceived these connections
and are working on unraveling them. For an easy overview, rent one
of these movies: Fast Food Nation, King Corn, or Food, Inc., or The Future
of Food. Or if you're so inclined pick up one of Michael Pollan's
excellent books (click here to read a review I wrote
last year on his "Omnivore's Dilemma").
In any case, what I really want to write
about today is self care. The old farm home remedies that I grew up
with are so simple and effective (and cost effective), that they have
become virtually un-used today. Huh? That sentence doesn't
make a lot of sense, but I do believe it is true.
Somewhere along the line, it would seem
that we made a decision that unless it is dispensed by a doctor and costs
a lot of money, it can't be of any use. Certainly there are
occasions when modern medicine really does have heroic life-saving and
crisis care services to offer. But how often are we standing at
death's door? The preponderance of daily health concerns are, of
course, not life threatening.
I have no recollection of being taken to
the doctor's office as a child. My Dad tells me we did go, but very
infrequently and only for the most serious problems. Mother was our
household doctor. But more than that, the concept of relying on
someone else for our wellbeing was absent in my parents'
consciousness. Yes, like most those of their generation, they were
greatly enamored and deeply appreciative to the medical community for saving lives with the
heroic inventions of their times: antibiotics and vaccinations. But
that did not translate into the fear and doubt I see today in households
with young children.
I believe that part of
our "healthcare reform" needs to come in the form of re-learning
the self care attitudes and strategies of our not-that-distant
ancestors. Somehow along the way, as we reaped the benefits of
technologically advanced medicine, we decided to throw out the benefits of
time honored, nature-based home remedies.
Not only did we put an
enormous burden on the medical system, but more importantly, we gave up
the independence and personal strength that comes with self sufficiency.
Maybe what we really need right now is a good cup of tea.
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"I
am the Allower of my own Wellbeing"