Home remedys

[Guest guest]

For Your Information

http://www.bestdeal.org/Merchant2/essentialdepot/infofiles/fyi.shtml

Fabulous Citrus Face Mask: This all natural concoction is safe for any skin type once per week. Mix one teaspoon fresly squeezed orange juice with one teaspoon plain yogurt. Leave on for 10 minutes, then rinse with warm water. The lactic acid in the yogurt nourishes without stripping natural oils, and the OJ packs a pure dose of wrinkle-fighting vitamin C. Out of fresh OJ? Substitute with orange or mandarin essential oil..

Sweet Salve: New research shows that honey (in its raw, unprocessed form--not what you usually use to sweeten your tea) can be a great natural remedy for wounds, burns and postoperative infections.

Moths? How about strategically placing cotton balls which have been dipped in cedarwood essential oil? Dip the cotton ball, squeeze out excess oil and place as needed. Make sure the oil is not touching fabrics, leather or varnished/painted surfaces.

Rev Your Workouts - With Scent: The right aromas can jump-start an exercise routine and help you recover afterward. Here are some suggestions:

a) Before a workout: Peppermint, rosemary or basil. All three scents stimulate circulation, peppermint also increases stamina.

While exercising: Citrus, especially tangerine and mandarine. Use citrus when you feel pooped mid-workout; it refreshes the brain and nerve endings.

c) Post-workout: Lavender, rosewood or ylang ylang. Calming lavender and rosewood soothe sore muscles and strengthen skin; ylang ylang balances muscles.

Americans Take Health Care Into Their Own Hands: The Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA) recently released the results of a study on the self-medication trends of Americans. According to survey results, Americans are increasingly comfortable managing their own health. The study found that 59% of Americans say they're more likely to treat their own health condition now than they were a year ago. In addition, 96%, an overwhelming majority, say they are generally confident about the healthcare decisions they make for themselves. The survey also revealed that Americans rely more on themselves than on physicians when feeling under the weather. (HerbalGram 52, yr. 2001)

Anti-Fungal Remedies with Essential Oils: You can create an anti-fungal skin spray by combining 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon of lavender essential oil in a spray bottle. Shake well and spray onto the skin once a day after showering. Apple cider vinegar restores the healthy acidity of the skin, which makes it more resistant to fungal growth. Lavender is antimicrobial and soothes itching and inflammation. Another anti-fungal remedy is to mix equal parts of tea tree and lavender essential oils and apply this undiluted to the affected area twice daily with a cotton ball.

Some Other Remedies:

*Headaches: Soak your feet for 10 minutes in a basin of water as hot as you can tolerate. At the same time, hold a compress dipped in ice-cold water mixed with 2 drops of lavender essential oil to your forehead. Why it works: The hot water dilates blood vessels, increasing blood flow to your feet and drawing it away from your head, while the cold compress constricts blood vessels in your head. Lavender oil relaxes tense muscles.

*Insect Bites: Fill a 4-ounce bottle with distilled witch hazel. Add 8 drops of peppermint essential oil. Shake well and apply with a cotton ball as needed. Why it works: Witch hazel and peppermint oil calm the itch and help prevent infection.

*Dry Skin Relief: Once a week or so, follow this traditional African practice: Smooth shea butter all over your body and relax on a towel for about half an hour (our soapmaking grade shea butter would be great for this treatment!). Then, with a loofah or a rough washcloth, gently scrub the butter away in a bath or shower. Why it works: This treatment sloughs away dead skin cells and smooths your skin.

10 Food Additives to Avoid: Sometimes it seems impossible to escape corn syrup, hydrogenated fats, and other products of modern food manufacturing. But some synthetic ingredients are worse than others. The following pose the greatest health threats, according to integrated health practitioner Elson Haas, M.D., author of The Staying Healthy Shopper's Guide.

(1) Acesulfame, often listed as Ace-K (2) Artificial colors or FDC colors (3) BHT or butylated hydroxytoluene (4) BVO or brominated vegetable oil (5) MSG or monosodium glutamate (6) Olestra (7) Saccharin (8) Sodium nitrate and nitrite (9) Sulfites, especially sodium bisulfite (10) Sulfur dioxide.

Just how "toxic" is your home?

Take each room separately and analyze its contents for potential "toxicity." Start with the bathroom and note the number of chemicals in this room alone. Detoxifying a bathroom would include replacing toiletries with simple natural items, some which you can make yourself.

Toothpaste: Redmond salt & clay. For flavor, you may add a few drops of clove or mint oil.

Mouthwash: Prepare a cleanser with grapefruit seed extract.

Mouth rinse: Another option is to rinse with an anti-microbial such as tea tree oil.

Deodorant: Aluminum-free deodorants using herbs or grapefruit seed extract make a delightful deodorant or antiseptic spray for scratches, rashes and bites. As a deodorant, grapefruit seed extract works quite well--it kills the source of the odor, namely the bacteria.

Shower: Use a shower filter to enjoy chlorine free water.

To Clean The Bathroom: 20 Mule Team Borax to the rescue. Pour in half a cup into the toilet bowl, swish a few times, leave in the bowl overnight and flush in the morning. White vinegar and water diluted 50/50 is a great overall countertop and floor cleaner.

Laundry: The laundry room is yet another toxic time bomb, loaded with phosphate detergents and caustic chemicals including bleach, spot removers and fabric softeners. Your new laundry list should include laundry soap (not detergent-based), a safer bleaching agent such as sodium percarbonate, a water softening agent such as zeolite (a mineral rock) and a chemical-free spot remover. When using soap-based laundry products one can also supplement with such disinfectants as grapefruit seed extract (20 drops per load), eucalyptus oil (especially helpful for mites) and tea tree oil. Instead of fabric softener or scented sheets, try a few drops of your favorite essential oil on a hanky or sock and toss it in the dryer--you'll be delighted with the aroma emitted when you open the door.

Others:

A few drops of lavender or eucalyptus directly to the toilet bowl, a drop or two on the inside of the toilet tissue, and a few muslin bags filled with lavender or rose petals should accommodate the most discriminating fragrance connoisseur.

A mister composed of purified/distilled water and essential oil (i.e. lavender, tea tree, etc.) is a superb air freshener.

Other helpful spot removers and cleaners to stock up on include white vinegar, baking soda, club soda, fresh lemons (the juice works wonders on many types of stains), and salt. Salt and vinegar often work effectively for removing perspiration stains.

If you have your clothes dry cleaned: At minimum, consider hanging your clothes in the air for an hour or two to at least vent the fumes from the perchlorethylene used in conventional dry cleaning. Additionally, consider looking for a "wet cleaner" in your area that provides professional, solvent-free cleaning. This system uses cleaning methods that claim to generate no hazardous waste.

A Soap Safety Update:

More and more doctors are sounding an alarm about the frightening rise in drug-resistant germs. Many researchers believe that antibacterial soaps and lotions may actually encourage strains of resistant germs and that we should curb or end the use of these antibacterial soaps. However, the latest news isn't encouraging--a shocking 76% of liquid soaps on the market now contain an antibacterial agent like triclosan, according to a recent survey.

Just last year, the American Medical Association's Council on Scientific Affairs recommended that the FDA evaluate and regulate over-the-counter antibacterial products. The evidence so far suggests that washing your hands with plain soap and water is equally, if not more, effective in killing bacteria.

Solution? Add an antibacterial all natural essential oil, such as tea tree or eucalyptus, to a standard liquid soap base.

Quick Remedies:

Heal Ingrown Toenail--Soak your toe in a basin filled with one part tea tree essential oil or grapefruit seed extract and 5 parts warm water two or three times a day. Switch to roomier shoes. (Tea tree and grapefruit seed extract ward off infection.)

Fix Athlete's Foot--This is a fungus that causes itching and burning feet. Suggestion #1: Once a day, add 5 or 6 crushed garlic cloves to a basin of warm water. Soak your feet in the basin until the water cools. Dry your feet thoroughly. (Garlic kills fungi.) Suggestion #2: To a basin of warm water add 6 drops of either tea tree or thyme essential oils. Follow the same procedures mentioned above. (Both these essential oils are anti-fungal.)

Soften Dry or Dishpan Hands--Grind 1/2 cup rolled oats in a food processor or coffee mill. Scrub your hands gently with a mixture of one part ground oats and one part natural body lotion (may substitute natural body lotion with yogurt or a good vegetable oil). Rinse well and pat your hands dry. Heat a small bowl of almond oil in the microwave or in a double boiler and soak your hands in this for 10 minutes. Wipe away excess oil and push back your cuticles. Apply natural hand cream. Do this once a week. (Oats slough off dead cells. Almond oil soothes skin and repairs nails.)

Puffy Eyes--Moisten two chamomile tea bags with comfortably warm water so they are damp, but not dripping. Lie down, place the bags over your closed eyes, and relax for 15 minutes. (This herb reduces swelling....be careful, though, if you have ragweed allergies in which case you shouldn't use chamomile.)