Herbs That Help Stop Bleeding

Herbs that help stop bleeding are also known as astringents.

The way that they work is they cause a tightening of the tissue.

Many well known astringents are also referred to as warrior herbs because those wounded in battle knew which herbs that grew wild could help to stop the bleeding.

The four that are mentioned in the picture at the top are just a few of very many herbs that can be used to stop bleeding.

Lavender oil is a great fix for small cuts and burns and is also soothing.

Aloe Vera sap can be used fresh.

And chamomile and yarrow can be made into a poultice, wrapped in a clean cloth and applied directly to the skin.

Cardiotonic Herbs

 

The inspiration for this post came after a friend of mine, a very young guy not even thirty years old, had a minor heart attack.

He is doing fine and the doctors don't have any clear diagnosis of what caused it. 

I really would like to suggest that he take Hawthorn berries, even just for a few months to help strengthen his heart. 

But the truth be told I don't fully understand how these plants help and affect the heart. 

Even after going through the research that has been done on these plants it is hard to understand the mechanism behind their effects on improving cardio health. 

Hawthorn is still at the top of the list of Cardiotonic herbs, while garlic even though I did not add it as one of the three cardiotonic herbs, is by many considered to be a cardiotonic as well. 

The second on the list of cardiotonic herbs is motherwort, the latin name for this plant is Leonurus cardiaca, so even the name implies its use as cardiotonic.

I found some very in depth research into effects of Motherwort that show how it actually helps protect the heart. 

Here is the link to that.

https://www.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/2019/4303215/

The last on my list of cardiotonics is Convallaria, also known commonly as “Lily of the valley”.

The reason that I put it at the bottom of the list is because it seems to work like foxglove which is a strong heart stimulant and needs to be used with care.  

 

Four Immune Stimulating Herbs And A Bit On How They Work

My first idea for this post was to write about how certain herbs can help to strengthen our natural immune response. 

But then I thought to myself that someone else has already done that, I will just find it and give you all a link.

I could not find anything of the sort.

Ok, I do not think that I went further than the first page of search results, but who does.

Anyway, all I saw was stuff, kind of like this, listing off different herbs or giving recipes.

What is interesting though is there is not a lot of research proving that most of these herbs actually strengthen the immune system.

Let me explain.

For example, a herb such as thyme, is a very strong antimicrobial herb, which is very useful when trying to fight off an infection.

But it does not affect the immune system (as far as I know).

These kinds of plant medicines are very good to help fight disease, but that is not what I am talking about here. 

Also the four herbs that I am going to talk about.

• Garlic

• Elderberry

• Withania

• Astragalus

Are not herbs that strengthen the immune system by simply nourishing the body (those are great to).

But these are herbs that actually strengthen the body's natural immune response.

How do they do it?

Let me try and explain a few of the ways that they work without getting all scientific and boring.

Also because I can't be bothered to go and look up all those fancy names that I can never remember, let alone spell.

Even spell check doesn't know what they are. 

From what I understand there are two ways that they can work.

1 - they cause the body to produce more white blood cells which go around our body killing germ cells that might have found their way in.

2 - this one is a bit hard to understand but there is something beautifully poetic about it, they produce a sort of in check state of inflammation that is ready to go in a sort of controlled state at the first sign of trouble. 

Pretty cool right?

For any of you who would like all the big words and scientific lingo here are the links to each of these herbs research articles. 

Garlic

https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/food-beverages/garlic

Elderberry

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1756464614002400

Ashwaganda(Withania) 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3252722/

Astragalus

https://cmjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13020-019-0234-0

 

Three Great Antispasmodic Herbs

 

When treating a dry hacking cough it is a good idea to add an Antispasmodic herb to the formula.

This helps to calm the cough.

But the interesting thing is that also when treating a wet, productive cough, you should have an Antispasmodic herb in your formula.

It might seem counterintuitive to some because if the cough is productive we are going to add expectorant Herbs to help clear the lungs.

The reason we still want an Antispasmodic herb is so that the coughing action is slow, steady and clearing.

This is one of those things that I learnt that stayed with me.

Truth be, it even resonates very well with me now. Not only physiologically, but also as a state of being.

We need to be in a way slow and consistent to be productive, not spasmodic.

Don't be such a spaz.

Ok a link to the clinical research is under each herb.

Tilia

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4147264/

Mint

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5814329/

Sage

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4003706/

Five Anti-inflammatory Herbs - With Clinical Research To Prove it

 

Anti inflammatory Herbs are extremely useful.

But the thing that can be confusing is knowing which plants that are used traditionally as anti inflammatory have actual clinical research to back up the tradition.

I obviously can't help with all plants that are known to be Anti-inflammatory but here are the first five that I was able to think of.

For the most part the anti inflammatory actions have to do with showing the activity of these things called prostaglandins which cause inflammation in the body.

I will write the name of each hey and a link to the research that I found below the name.

Ginger

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3665023/

Chamomile

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2995283/

Aloe Vera

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6330525/

Yarrow

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3232110/

Plantago

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5878035/

Natural Medicine for Arthritis – Best Food Supplements to help Treat and Prevent Arthritis

If you are looking for a form of natural Medicine for arthritis to help you relieve painful symptoms or just doing research for any reason. You probably already know what arthritis is and what the underlying causes of the different forms of arthritis are. But just in case you don't know and are just looking for some natural medicine for arthritis. I am going to give a very brief explanation of what arthritis is.

Arthritis is very simply put damage and inflammation of the joints in the body. Now in order to understand how natural medicine for arthritis can be helpful we need to have a bit of basic understanding of the joints in our body. So let's explain this short and simple. The joints usually effected are synovial joints.

There are three main parts of the joint

1. Bone
   
2. Cartilage
   
3. Synovial membrane and fluid
   

The joint is made of two bone ends coated with cartilage with a space which is filled with the synovial fluid that lubricates the joint so the cartilage slide over each other smoothly. The entire joint is also covered in the synovial membrane which renews the synovial fluids.

Now either because of wearing out of the cartilage (osteoarthritis) or inflammation caused by over stimulation of the immune system (rheumatoid arthritis), the synovial fluid in the joint dries up and the cartilage starts to grind against each other. Eventually what can happen is that even the actual bones can start to rub against each other. This damaging of cartilage and bone causes pain and more inflammation.

Supplement	Dosage	What does it do?
Bromelain	Bromelain should be taken three times a day or as suggested on label, preferably between meals	Bromelain is an enzyme which helps the body to reduce inflammation
Chondroitin sulfate	500-100 mg per day	Helps to strengthen joints ligaments and tendons
Omega 3 fatty acids	1000-3000 mg per day taken with meals	Helps to control inflammation as well as pain
Glucosamine sulfate	500-100mg per day	Help to protect and rejuvenate bones, cartilage and synovial fluids and membrane
Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM)	500-1000 mg three times per day	Helps to reduce inflammation, aid joint and tissue repair and reduce pain
S-Adenosylmethionine (SAMe)	400 mg two times per day	Helps to reduce pain and inflammation Warning – should not be taken if you suffer from depression
Sea cucumber (beche-de-mer)	Should be taken as directed on label	Contains lubricating compounds which are also found in joint and synovial fluids
Silica	Should be taken as directed on label	Helps rejuvenation of bones
Superoxide dismutase (SOD)	Should be taken as directed on label	Antioxidant which protects the joints from free radical damage
Calcium and magnesium + copper, vitamin D3 and zinc	Should be taken as directed on label	They all are helpful to protect and rejuvenate bone and protective tissue

 
These are not the only supplements that can be take to help treat arthritis with natural medicine but the top ten.

Natural Remedy for Poison Oak

Friends of ours that are out in California for the summer called us up this morning to say hello. My wife spoke to them for a lot longer than I did and when she got off the phone she said that the oil I make work really well for treating poison oak. Now I make a lot of oils for a lot of different things and the last oil I made was for respiratory problem so it took me a second to figure out what she was talking about. Before our friends had left I gave them a natural first aid oil that I had developed with a friend of mine when we had a clinic together. I am going to tell you how to make it because it is very simple and yet very effective in treating all forms of skin irritation.

First I would prepare medicinal calendula oil. I would then take a ten ml dropper bottle and put fifteen drops of lavender essential oil and fifteen drops of tea tree essential oil. I would then fill the rest of the bottle with the medicinal calendula oil. This oil is great for cuts, burns, bites and now I know even for poison oak.

Anemia – Top Five Natural Food Supplements to Help Treat Anemia

Anemia is either a reduction of either red blood cells or the amount of hemoglobin in the blood.

Top five natural food supplements for treatment of anemia

Supplement	Dosage	Additional information
Raw liver extract (best from organic beef source)	500 mg twice a day	Contains all of the nutrients needed for the production of red blood cells
Blackstrap molasses	1 teaspoon taken twice a day	Has iron and B vitamins
Folic acid with biotin	800 mcg folic acid and 300 mcg biotin two times a day	Needed for the builing of red blood cell
Floradix Iron + Herbs	Two teaspoons two times a day	Contains iron in a form that is non toxic, easily absorbed and from a natural source
Vitamin B12 injections or sublingual form	Injections are as prescribed by a physician, sublingual form 2,000 mcg three times a day	A must for the production of red blood cells

Natural Medicine Treatment for Fever Blisters, Oral Herpes and Herpes Simplex 1

All of the above are really the same thing.

The chances are that if you are reading this you know exactly what I am talking about. They usually come out when you get sick, are under a lot of stress or just made out with someone new. It starts with very mild irritation on the lip usually in one spot ant then the blisters form, those ugly little white areas of inflamed skin. Then if you are lucky they scab up after a couple days and after about a week or so the hole story is nothing but history, until the next brake out.

Well it doesn't have to be that way. From my experience taking 500 mg of L-Lysine, which is an amino acid found in any protein rich food, can keep those out brake from happening.

Also if you act fast and as soon as you start to feel the very first signs of an out brake, you can do two thing and be over with the whole story within two days.

Keep L-Lysine and tea-tree oil in your house at all time. As soon as you start to feel any inflammation of your lip, start this treatment. Take 1000 mg of L-Lysine 4 times a day on a empty stomach. And start putting tea-tree oil on the inflamed area. You can put the tea-tree on as much as you want the more the merrier. Just put a drop on your finger and apply it to the irritated area of the lip.

Do this and you will be done with the out brake very quickly.

Take the L-Lysine every day and you may not get another brake out.

Good luck

Easy Exercises to Help Prevent Carpal Tunnel Syndrome - CTS

CTS is what happens when the median nerve, which runs through the wrist gets compressed or damaged. This seems to be brought upon by repeated hand motions over many years. Today we see that anyone who spends many hours a day working on a computer has an increased chance of developing CTS.

Here are three easy exercises that can help to prevent CTS

1. Rest one forearm on a table palm down. Now with the other hand lift the fingers of the hand resting on the table to stretch the muscles of the wrist, hand and forearm. Hold the stretch for five minutes and then repeat with the other hand.
   
2. Stand at the edge of a table and place you hands palm down on the table. Now lean forward slowly to stretch the hands and forearms.
   
3. Place a rube band around you finger to create resistance and the open and close your fingers.
   

Natural Home Remedy for Toothaches

This is a good quick formula that is very easy to make as long as you have the right ingredients on hand. I actually just came up with it because my wife has been having some serious tooth pain. Of course she needs to see a dentist, but what about until then.

So what I made for her is a very simple mouth wash that helps to relieve the pain and also fight any inflammation or infection. I took a 300 ml bottle filled it ¾ of the way with water. Then I added about 30 ml of vodka but any grain alcohol of about 40% alcohol will work. Then I added 15 drops of lavender essential oil, 8 drops of mint oil, 10 drops of eucalyptus oil and 13 drops of sage oil. I out the cap on the bottle and shuck it very well. This kind of preparation should be kept closed and preferably in the refrigerator.

DO NOT SWALLOW THE MOUTH WASH. It is not harmful at all if you swallow a bit and even if you swallow a lot it wouldn't be a problem but it could be bad for the stomach.

Mouth washed should be used as many times as needed to keep the pain down. When using mouth wash, concentrate on the area of the mouth where the pain is.

All of the oils that I put into the mouth wash have anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory. The mint and the lavender oil are very helpful in relieving the pain.

The alcohol helps the oils to mix better with the water.

Warning – some people may be allergic to the oils in this formula. So if you have not used these oils before it is a good idea to put some of the solution on the inside of your elbow and wait ten minutes to see if it becomes red. If it does become red don't use this formula.

Eyebright – Monograph

Common – Eyebright

Botanical Name – Euphrasia Officinalis

Parts Used – Foliage and/or the Whole Plant

Active Constituents - Iridoid glycosides, flavonoids, and tannins.

So what is Eyebright good for?

Therapeutic Properties – Anti-inflammatory, astringent, anti-catarrhal.

Eyebright has been used for hundreds of years for varicose ailments. Eyebright has mainly been used to treat inflammation of the eye. But due to possible toxic effects of the herb is has been recommended to be taken only in homeopathic form.

How to Treat a Sore Throat Naturally With What You Have In the House

If you start getting a sore throat and you can't get out and get some good old Recolas, here are some things you can do with what you have in the house.

First off is lemon juice, always best if fresh squeezed but also if from the bottle it will help. The lemon juice will help to kill any bacteria that may be causing the sore throat and also help get rid of some of the irritation.

Next eat some fresh garlic or onions. You can have them in a salad or with some bread but they must be fresh and not cooked or heated. They both contain sulfur compounds that will help to kill bacteria and also help to heal any damage to the soft tissue of the throat.

Gargling with vinegar and drinking thyme tea while not being very tasty can be very helpful as well.

If you are all out of the ingredients I mentioned above then maybe you have some Tabasco source in the cupboard. I don't usually suggest this to other people but what I have done in the past when I was all out of other choices is drip Tabasco sauce right down to the back of my throat. It hurts real badly but then the throat does not hurt as much. Maybe just forget about the Tabasco.

Feel better soon

Canker Sores (Aphthous Ulcers) – What are they and how can we treat them with Natural Medicine

Canker Sores are small areas of inflammation that developed on the inside of the mouth. They can appear on the inside of the cheeks and lips as well as on the tong and gums. The inflamed area then turns into an ulcer, which lasts anywhere from four to twenty days. They can range in size from that of a grain of sand to the size of a grape.

The exact cause of these canker sores is no known for certain. They may be brought on by irritation to the tissue of the mouth, viral infection, stress, weakness of the immune system, trauma and fatigue. They may also be linked to deficiencies of iron, lysine, vitamin B12 and folic acid.

Nutritional supplements that can be helpful if you suffer from canker sores.

1. Acidophilus
   
2. L-Lysine
   
3. B-complex Vitamins
   
4. Vitamin C with bioflavonoids
   

You could also apply lavender oil directly to the affected area 2-3 times a day. This helps with the pain immediately and also speeds up the healing process.

To avoid getting canker sores in the first place it is important that you maintain a balance of minerals, acidity and alkalinity in the body.

If you are repeatedly getting canker sores you should get a blood test to check for nutritional deficiencies.

How to Treat Nausea using Herbs

I learnt how to treat my motion sickness because I always try to make the best use of all my time. And at a point in my life when I was traveling a lot by bus I wanted to be able to read and study on the bus. But the problem was I would get crazy nausea when I would read. So here is what I figured out works.

Number one best thing that I found was dry ginger candy. It has a very strong taste but it would do the job. The reason that for me the ginger candy was best was because I was traveling and I could just keep it in my bag.

But if you are at home you could make yourself a cup of ginger tea and that would work well also.

Mint is another great herb for treating nausea. You can make a tea or use one drop of mint essential oil in a cup of water or on a sugar cube to sort your stomach out.

So don't puke just yet. First try some ginger and mint and if they don't help, then you can go ahead and hurl.

Aluminum Toxicity – what is it? And what can be done about it.

Aluminum is the most abundant metallic element in the earth's crust. Aluminum toxicity can lead to a large range of symptoms such as rickets, gastrointestinal problems, poor calcium metabolism, anemia, extreme nervousness, decreased liver and kidney function, headaches and even Alzheimer's like symptoms. Aluminum on its own is not able to pass through the Blood brain barrier but when it attaches itself to potassium it can then pass through. The scary thing is that aluminum is in almost every food that we eat. Many municipal water suppliers are treating their water with alum (aluminum sulfate). This is one reason why it's a good idea to do a detoxifying program every so often, so that our body can have a chance to rid itself of excess toxic material such as aluminum.

Here are some supplements that can help to protect the body from aluminum toxicity.

1. Apple pectin
   
2. Calcium magnesium supplements
   
3. Coenzyme A
   
4. Kelp
   
5. Lecithin (granules or capsules)
   
6. L-Glutatione

Classic Chamomile Tea treatment for Stomach Ulcers

This treatment method can be very effective. All you need is some chamomile tea and 20 minutes longer to lie in bed in the morning.

Prepare a strong cup of chamomile tea before you go to bed and put it next to your bed.

When you wake up in the morning before you get out of bed, drink the cup of chamomile tea. Now right after you drink the tea lay on each of your four sides for five minutes. That's five minutes lying on your back, five on your stomach, five on your right side and five on your left.

The healing powers of the chamomile will help to ease the pain and repair the damaged tissue caused by the ulcer.

This is not a silver bullet, if you do this just once it may help for that day but not long term. Also this will work best when done along with lifestyle changes to help heal the ulcer.

Bell’s palsy – What is it and what can be done Using Natural Medicine to Help?

Bell`s Palsy is an acute idiopathic unilateral facial nerve paralysis. Which in simple English means, that a nerve which controls one side of the face muscles, temporarily stops working for no knows reason. For the most part the condition last from one to six months.

The theory is that this is brought on by an inflammation of the nerve as it passes through the narrow bone canal under the ear. The inflammation then causes a cut off of the circulation to the nerve resulting in temporary nerve damage.

Treatment of Bell's palsy using natural medicine is in one way similar to that of conventional medicine in that one should start by taking anti inflammatory herbs and supplements. Omega 3 fatty acids and garlic are two thing that I would suggest to lower inflammation and also thin the blood a bit so that it can flow better to the nerve with the hope that this will quicken the rejuvenation of the nerve.

50mg of B-complex vitamins should be taken three times a day along with an additional B12 sublingual tablet which should be take once a day. This is to supply the body with what it needs to repair the damaged nerve.

Capsicum capsules have been noted to be very helpful due to the herbs blood moving properties. This helps with speedy delivery of all nutrients to the damaged nerve, which aid in a quicker recovery.

Nerve tonic herbs which help with improving blood flow would also be beneficial. Hers such as ginkgo biloba and guta cola can be very helpful.

Acupuncture can be extremely helpful also.

In most cases the problem will take care of itself even without any treatment, but the hope is that by helping the body to heal it will result in a more speedy complete recovery.

Natural Remedies for Hair Loss

For a lot of people hair loss is a very bothersome thing. The fact is that it has a lot to do with genetics but there must be something that you can do to either slow or stop the process.

My suggestion to people that are trying to stop the thinning and loss of their hair is two basic things.

1. Start taking a good multivitamin and mineral with a high concentration of B complex vitamins
   
2. Start using a herbal shampoo that contains rosemary oil
   

These two things are to help the whole of the body to be healthier and to increase blood flow to the scalp and hair follicles.

Another technique that could be helpful is to run the hottest water you can handle over your head and then the coldest water possible. Repeat this 4 or 5 times. This process is known as aqua therapy and is meant to increase blood flow to the hair follicles.

Other herbal remedies for hair loss:

Bhringaraj oil – this Ayurvedic medical herb is famed to help prevent hair loss, graying and dandruff.

Saw Palmetto (Men Only) – Because of its ability to balance testosterone levels it is believed to help prevent hair loss in men.

Nettle Root Extract – Contains vitamins and minerals which are important to healthy hair.

Jojoba oil – has been used to prevent hair loss and dandruff.

Aloe Vera – Is popular in the Caribbean and amongst Native Americans to promote healthy hair and prevent hair loss.

Good luck and let me know if you try something if it works or not.

 

 

Chamomile Tea for Eye Infections

As I have mentioned before I am not at all against using western medicines such as antibiotics and the like when they are necessary. And eye infections are one of those cases where I don't hesitate very long to use a antibiotic topical ointment to get rid of the problem quickly. But this last time that my one year old had a eye infection by the time we went to the doctor and picked up the prescription the eye was already 90% cleared up and the only thing we used was Chamomile tea.

So what happened? On Friday my son woke up with a bit more eye gunk then usual and by Friday night it was already bad. Very clear that he had an eye infection. So on Saturday I started to treat the eye with a strong chamomile tea. Now chamomile tea is very gentle, as one can tell even just by the taste of it. So it doesn't irritate the eye.


Very important note some people are allergic to chamomile!! If you don't know if you, your child or a friend is allergic you can check. Make a strong tea with two tea bags or two teaspoons of loose chamomile, add it to a cup of boiling water and let it steep for five minutes. With a cotton ball put a good amount of the tea on the inside of your elbow, where the skin is sensitive (but it's better than in the eye). If no redness or irritation accurse within an hour you should be fine.

Now beside for being gentle it is also a very effective anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial herb.

So how do you treat an eye infection with chamomile?

You prepare a strong tea as explained above and apply it to the eye with a cotton swab or cotton ball. The thing is that you need to do this about twenty times a day for it to be effective. But it is effective by the time we took our soon to the doctor and got his prescription on Sunday afternoon the swelling had gone down and the fluids had stopped draining. But only because my wife was the number one nurse that put the chamomile in his eye every half hour.

Don't let this replace proper medical care, it is always best to see your family doctor.