Alternative Health

In recent years the issue of Alternative Healing has skyrocketed to the forefront of the medical field. A 2004 government survey concluded that more than one third of adults use alternative medicine and healing.

One facet of this burgeoning interest is Herbal Medicine. While it may seem "trendy" to some, Herbal Medicine has been around for thousands of years. In fact, many of the familiar pharmaceutical medications we use today were originally created from "natural" ingredients.

Drugs like opium (from poppies), aspirin (from willow bark), digitalis (from foxglove) and quinine (from the cinchona tree.) Interestingly, the synthetic version of "aspirin" is credited with the beginning of the pharmaceutical industry. A chemist working for the Friedrich Bayer Company in Germany created the synthetic. The company registered the term "aspirin" as a trademark but Bayer lost the patent rights when the Allies seized and resold its foreign assets after World War I.

Here are 3 herbal remedies to help with popular conditions:

1. Arthritis.

The term Arthritis literally translates to "joint inflammation." If you suffer from Arthritis, chances are you have taken drugs to combat the effects or tried other "home remedies." If you haven't yet tried "Urtication," it might be helpful. The term "Urtication" comes from the botanical name, Urtica dioica and dates back some 2,000 years to biblical times. Urtica dioica is "Stinging Nettle. The treatment is to grasp the nettles in a gloved hand and swat the sore joints with the nettles. This may seem bizarre, but the practice has proven to be so effective for some sufferers of arthritis that they now maintain a nettle plant on their window sill.

2. High Blood Pressure.

Try vegetable soup. Yes, vegetable soup. Add any of the following: Celery, Garlic, Hawthorn, Kudzu, Onion, Tomato, Broccoli, Carrot, Purslane (any anything else that contains magnesium), Saffron, Valerian, Fennel, Oregano, Black Pepper, Basil and Tarragon. Consume on a regular basis. Eliminate pork, beef, and alcohol from your diet. Eat more plant foods and herbs and use a good vitamin regimen.

3. Dandruff.

Create an herbal scalp rinse. Add one teaspoon of Potassium Chloride (find in salt section at the supermarket) into 6 cups of water. Heat until the Potassium Chloride dissolves. Chop four ounces of fresh Celandine (if fresh is not available use a half cup of the dried herb instead).Add Celandine to the solution. Allow to stand for two hours. Then boil slowly for 20 minutes. Strain out the plant material, and simmer reducing to one and one half cups. Add eight ounces of glycerin and continue simmering reducing the liquid slowly to two cups. Strain the result and bottle it. Store in cool place. Use once or twice a day as a hair rinse.

Lastly, make certain that both your physician AND your herbalist are fully aware of all medications and/or herbal treatments you are using.

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