Everyone has a doctor in him or her; we just have to help it in its work. The natural healing force within each one of us is the greatest force in getting well. Our food should be our medicine. Our medicine should be our food. Hippocrates.
You don't have to do something exotic to enjoy the benefits of natural healing agents. So many things in your kitchen - common spices, common herbs and foods - have powerful healing agents as well. Chris Kilham
Note: This post is not meant to be medical advice. It is only my experience--in all cases I sought medical treatment first and the nutritional information I received was secondary. Before you try anything natural check with your doctor first.
My previous "Health Nut" post was about the circumstances that led me to start taking vitamin supplements and the benefits they brought me. Over the years I have been so healthy my doctor accused me of being boring. However, as I grew older, I experienced more health challenges. Research revealed to me that God has provide us healing in nature--mainly herbs.
I'd like to make clear at this point that I am not opposed to medicine and doctors. I have a wonderful doctor I respect and who has been a great help to me. I also believe main person responsible for my health is me.
The first critical health issue that came my way after I passed age 40 was arthritis in my knees and hip, leading to chronic pain and poor mobility. That's when I started taking more than just a multi-vitamin. I took MSM and glucosamine. While it wasn't a magic cure, it did help. If I didn't think it wasn't helping all I had to do was stop taking it to find out that it really had been. I eventually had two knees and a hip replaced which transformed my life, so I no longer needed to take these supplements. However they were useful when I needed them. So was exercise.
About the time arthritis came along, I started having serious acid reflux and found out I had a haital hernia and a damaged esophagus, which led me to taking prescribed drugs--Proton Pump Inhibitors such as Previcid. I took them for 17 years and they worked great but I wondered if they might cause long term problems or hamper my ability to lose weight. After a time, not even this drug worked--I'd take a pill for a few years and suddenly it was like I had gotten a bad batch and I would need to switch prescriptions. The last time it happened there were no new drugs on the market, and the doctors were unable to present a solution, with exception of one ER doctor who told me that melatonin could help close the sphincter to the esophagus. This sent me back to prayer and research.
There are a lot of herbal remedies for digestive issues that I tried but didn't work for me. Ginger is good for the digestion but the capsules didn't give me the results I was looking for until I started eating a slice of raw ginger with every meal. Caraway seed crackers really helped too. I also took the melatonin and it helped--not only at night but all day. I am no longer taking any over the counter or prescription drugs for acid reflux and I rarely have any trouble with it, especially after I changed my diet. I think that I needed time to get the drugs out of my system before I could get better, because I am beginning to believe that some medicines create a need for itself in the body--kind of like an addiction. There are always side effects to consider taking long term prescriptions. I have had anxiety and severe depression because of stomach drugs. I am grateful that I no longer have to take them.
On that note, not every doctor is open minded to alternate methods to healing. When I told my gastrologist, about the ginger and melatonin he said they haven't been proven but if it works keep on doing it. He probably thought it was all in my head, but if enough people tell him that he might be willing to research himself. Doctors are not taught about nutrition and herbs in medical school.
When I started having surgeries, I came home from the hospital with a souvenir--staff infections. These were powerful germs that required powerful antibiotics, which I had to take every few months; I was told by a doctor that I would always have trouble with them. Not wanting to go down the path of antibiotic resistance, I prayed for answers. While my primary doctor told me focus on general health practices like water, exercise, sleep, taking extra vitamin C and good nutrition--I wanted the magic pill. In this case I actually found one! One lovely day, I was on Facebook and saw a post about curative powers of black cumin seed and I knew intuitively that was the answer. I found it for sale online and started taking it twice a day and infection episodes dropped off dramatically. I found that there are many anti-bacterial and anti-viral inexpensive herbs on the market if I need them such as cloves, Oregon grape root, cat claw, echinacea, golden seal and oil of oregano. Daily I take cumin, garlic, cayenne and turmeric --a microbiol (fights infections) and anti-inflammatory. It's been a couple of years since I have taken an antibiotic. Like Chris Kilham said above --our simple cooking herbs are powerful medicine.
I was spending more than I wanted to on supplements and herbs, so when I saw a two pound bag of organic turmeric on sale I bought it on impulse and then wondered...What am I going to do with this? Fill capsules of course! I bought a gizmo for filling the capsules on Amazon for $20 and 1000 empty gel caps are about $8 (links below) and I have enough turmeric for a long time. I also fill cumin and cayenne capsules and some other herbs I found on sale I thought I'd try. I spend an hour or two every few months filling capsules and have saved a lot of money. I think this truly makes me a health nut. lol
I am not finished with the natural healing discussion, I still want to talk about health problems that were fixed by changing my diet and about
exercise, however this is enough for now. I hope you enjoy the art.
Capsule Filling Gizmo https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078V7YNYT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1
Capsules https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000ACUJRW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1
Black Cumin Seed https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0048DO0JM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1
Note: This post is not meant to be medical advice. It is only my experience--in all cases I sought medical treatment first and the nutritional information I received was secondary. Before you try anything natural check with your doctor first.
My previous "Health Nut" post was about the circumstances that led me to start taking vitamin supplements and the benefits they brought me. Over the years I have been so healthy my doctor accused me of being boring. However, as I grew older, I experienced more health challenges. Research revealed to me that God has provide us healing in nature--mainly herbs.
The first critical health issue that came my way after I passed age 40 was arthritis in my knees and hip, leading to chronic pain and poor mobility. That's when I started taking more than just a multi-vitamin. I took MSM and glucosamine. While it wasn't a magic cure, it did help. If I didn't think it wasn't helping all I had to do was stop taking it to find out that it really had been. I eventually had two knees and a hip replaced which transformed my life, so I no longer needed to take these supplements. However they were useful when I needed them. So was exercise.
About the time arthritis came along, I started having serious acid reflux and found out I had a haital hernia and a damaged esophagus, which led me to taking prescribed drugs--Proton Pump Inhibitors such as Previcid. I took them for 17 years and they worked great but I wondered if they might cause long term problems or hamper my ability to lose weight. After a time, not even this drug worked--I'd take a pill for a few years and suddenly it was like I had gotten a bad batch and I would need to switch prescriptions. The last time it happened there were no new drugs on the market, and the doctors were unable to present a solution, with exception of one ER doctor who told me that melatonin could help close the sphincter to the esophagus. This sent me back to prayer and research.
There are a lot of herbal remedies for digestive issues that I tried but didn't work for me. Ginger is good for the digestion but the capsules didn't give me the results I was looking for until I started eating a slice of raw ginger with every meal. Caraway seed crackers really helped too. I also took the melatonin and it helped--not only at night but all day. I am no longer taking any over the counter or prescription drugs for acid reflux and I rarely have any trouble with it, especially after I changed my diet. I think that I needed time to get the drugs out of my system before I could get better, because I am beginning to believe that some medicines create a need for itself in the body--kind of like an addiction. There are always side effects to consider taking long term prescriptions. I have had anxiety and severe depression because of stomach drugs. I am grateful that I no longer have to take them.
On that note, not every doctor is open minded to alternate methods to healing. When I told my gastrologist, about the ginger and melatonin he said they haven't been proven but if it works keep on doing it. He probably thought it was all in my head, but if enough people tell him that he might be willing to research himself. Doctors are not taught about nutrition and herbs in medical school.
When I started having surgeries, I came home from the hospital with a souvenir--staff infections. These were powerful germs that required powerful antibiotics, which I had to take every few months; I was told by a doctor that I would always have trouble with them. Not wanting to go down the path of antibiotic resistance, I prayed for answers. While my primary doctor told me focus on general health practices like water, exercise, sleep, taking extra vitamin C and good nutrition--I wanted the magic pill. In this case I actually found one! One lovely day, I was on Facebook and saw a post about curative powers of black cumin seed and I knew intuitively that was the answer. I found it for sale online and started taking it twice a day and infection episodes dropped off dramatically. I found that there are many anti-bacterial and anti-viral inexpensive herbs on the market if I need them such as cloves, Oregon grape root, cat claw, echinacea, golden seal and oil of oregano. Daily I take cumin, garlic, cayenne and turmeric --a microbiol (fights infections) and anti-inflammatory. It's been a couple of years since I have taken an antibiotic. Like Chris Kilham said above --our simple cooking herbs are powerful medicine.
I was spending more than I wanted to on supplements and herbs, so when I saw a two pound bag of organic turmeric on sale I bought it on impulse and then wondered...What am I going to do with this? Fill capsules of course! I bought a gizmo for filling the capsules on Amazon for $20 and 1000 empty gel caps are about $8 (links below) and I have enough turmeric for a long time. I also fill cumin and cayenne capsules and some other herbs I found on sale I thought I'd try. I spend an hour or two every few months filling capsules and have saved a lot of money. I think this truly makes me a health nut. lol
I am not finished with the natural healing discussion, I still want to talk about health problems that were fixed by changing my diet and about
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| Poppy Stepping Store 12 inches Acrylic on Concrete |
Capsule Filling Gizmo https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078V7YNYT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1
Capsules https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000ACUJRW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1
Black Cumin Seed https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0048DO0JM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1
Hi Maxi! Nice to see that you're back writing here. I've move to Wordpress.com.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad more and more people, especially in the western world, are moving towards natural herbs and spices as their medicine. For us Indians, it's an old, old (Ayurveda) treatment. Our foods essentially have ingredients that make them a good source of nourishment and health. The sad part is, most of the new generation, in India, has switched to eating stuff that is not quite what they require to be healthy. :(