It wasn’t too long ago that nature’s remedies were what families generally depended upon for health tonics and cures for illnesses. Modern-day medicine changed all that. Synthetic remedies were formulated in quantity, packaged, and shelved in stores to be sold as over-the-counter drugs or those acquiring a prescription. Increased costs for medications and concern over health complications caused by side effects from these drugs have worked together to renew interest in a more natural means to manage health issues. Nature’s drug store is making a comeback. This article explores the issues and lends convincing testimony as to the benefits of natural remedies. Remedies your Grandmother once swore by!
Medicinal herbs become “quackery”
Remember when Grandmother strapped a warm mustard pack to our congested chests when we had a cold? Or used a warmed tea bag to rid pink eye, a clove of garlic to stop an earache, or prepared a mixture of chaparral and olive oil to cure itchy skin? I do.
Distances between townships, limited funds, and the lack of readily available medical professionals and facilities all dictated that a woman be not only a wife, mother, and housekeeper but also a doctor. Folklore healing practices, curative uses of herbs, and other medicinal “family secrets” were stealthily guarded and passed down from generation to generation.
Superstition and myth “remedies,” without any practical application, crept into the mix, for instance, witch doctor-type practices such as hanging herbs that resembled tears around a child’s neck to help him cut teeth. “Reading” tea leaves foretold future love interests, and assertions like placing certain spices under the pillow improved memory and prejudiced many toward the genuine curative uses of herbs. Little by little and through the years, suspicion of the validity of any natural, herbal remedy began to take root. That is why many modern-day practitioners regard the medicinal use of herbs as “quackery,” nothing more than old wives tales.
Grandmother knew best
However, a growing number of otherwise conventional medical professionals acknowledge what Grandmother knew all along. Natural, herbal remedies to maintain good health and cure certain diseases are valid. Nature’s drug store is making a comeback.
And why should that be surprising? After all, we – like plants – are organic. The synthetic drugs used today were formulated to mimic their natural counterparts and not vice versa. In the old days, there was no other way to treat illness and discomfort, help heal wounds, or cure bodily dysfunctions than with natural means.
It was while living in tune with nature and studying wildlife that early man learned of the medicinal “powers” of herbs. Animals bitten by a poisonous snake survived after chewing snakeroot, a wounded bear rolled in mud to heal better and escape infection, and old, rheumatoid deer eased their misery and made joints more limber by resting under the therapeutic rays of the sun.
Nature’s well-worked-out plan for good health and freedom from disease is observed in animals. It is people who have strayed from nature’s medicine chest to create man-made remedies – some of which are less effective, costly, and riddled with adverse side effects. Working with and not against nature increases our chance of a healthier life while decreasing our risk of disease and premature bodily limitations and dysfunctions.
A wealth of healing resources is there for the taking, but we must open our eyes to the possibilities available. To highlight this fact, let’s take a look at the multiple medicinal uses of just one herb, commonly regarded as a noxious or disposable weed.
One herb with multiple medicinal uses
Sometimes found intercropped with corn and wheat in the Midwest United States, common burdock grows wild and vies for the sun and nutrients of the soil. Though routinely overlooked as a native weed, it nevertheless has the potential to gift the bearer greater health and ease skin afflictions when harvested for its root.
In the herbal world, burdock is unsurpassed as a blood purifier. It is also the “king” of herbs in treating chronic skin problems such as eczema, acne, psoriasis, boils, and syphilitic and canker sores.
Make a medicinal tea by bringing 1 quart of water to a boil. Reduce heat. Add 4 teaspoons of cut, dried burdock root. Cover and simmer for 7 minutes. Remove from heat and let steep for 2 hours. Drink at least 2 cups daily on an empty stomach or more if the problem persists. This concoction can also be made in a larger quantity and used topically to wash affected skin areas as needed.
Mixed with catnip and made into tea, burdock root effectively clears stubborn kidney and gallstones. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons of chopped or cut fresh or dried burdock root. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Add 3 teaspoons chopped or cut fresh or dried catnip leaf, and let steep for 1 ½ hours, then strain.
For each cup, add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and ½ teaspoon of pure maple syrup or blackstrap molasses (to sweeten). Drink slowly. Follow with 1 tablespoon of pure virgin olive oil 10 minutes later.
Repeat this regimen 3 times a day. The tea helps soothe irritated tissues and helps break up or partially dissolve the stones. The olive oil acts as a lubricant to expel them from the body more easily. Important to the success of this remedy: digest no greasy, fried foods, soft drinks, refined carbohydrates (such as white flour or white sugar products), red meat, or poultry during the course of this treatment.
Well-known lecturer, author, and medical anthropologist John Heinerman, Ph. D, of Salt Lake City, Utah, recommends the following: take the last cup of tea and spoonful of oil at night before retiring. Sleep on the right side, and prop a pillow under the armpit. Heinerman says this posture seems to expedite the removal of the stones from the body.
Burdock root ground to a powder, combined with dried red clover and dandelion root and packed in gel capsules, can help clear up acne and blemishes. Take two a day – morning and evening. Besides an aid in clearing problem skin when combined with burdock, red clover is also famous as an alternative cancer treatment and is a natural blood thinner.
More herbs with medicinal properties
Many herbs have medicinal properties. Dandelion root was been hailed as a miracle cure for warts and liver spot remover by the late Will Greer, who portrayed Grandpa Walton on “The Waltons.” Britain’s licensed medical herbalist, Dr. David Potterton, noted that the high insulin content in dandelion root makes it a good sugar substitute for persons who suffer from diabetes mellitus.
An infusion made from elderflower and water makes a mild astringent and can safely be used for eye baths. At the same time, chamomile is excellent as eye compresses for inflammation of the eyelids. Garlic is an excellent natural antibiotic and immune system builder. Cayenne is beneficial for circulation and stomach ailments. In fact, many of the herbs used for culinary purposes are not only great flavor enhancers but medicinal as well.
Besides herbs, many vegetables and fruits, especially organic, yield health and medicinal benefits. Celery juice is a natural diuretic that is useful for persons with rheumatism or those who want to lose weight. Cabbage is effective in the fight against duodenal ulcers and is a good source of calcium for those who must avoid dairy products. Radish is helpful for gallbladder and liver ailments, and spinach improves the hemoglobin in the blood. Beets are excellent for certain liver conditions and for improving blood hemoglobin.
Use with caution
While undeniably health-enhancing, natural or herbal remedies should never be used alongside synthetic or prescription drugs without the prescribing doctor’s knowledge. For instance, while grapefruit can effectively reduce high cholesterol levels, it isn’t recommended in combination with certain prescription medications meant to lower cholesterol. In fact, many cholesterol-reducing medications warn not to consume grapefruit while taking that medication.
Because many of nature’s offerings have potent medical and health-enhancing properties, one must become knowledgeable about the benefits and cautions of each. Like any medication, increasing concentrations, doses, or mixing one with another for medicinal purposes could be harmful instead of helpful. And mixing natural/herbal remedies with synthetic/prescription medications is not recommended unless prescribed by a doctor as an enhancement.
Instead of rebelling against nature, we can become more in tune with the gifts endowed by nature. The same health laws that apply to the animal kingdom also apply to man. We have something valuable to relearn from our wild counterparts. By joining hands with nature and embracing the natural, we can enhance our health and increase our longevity.
