Natural cures have been developed over centuries, and were common before the era of modern medicine.
Food and especially herbs have long been used to treat every ailment. Hippocrates the father of medicine said, "Let your food be medicine and your medicine be your food."
For the most part they have been forgotten. Some natural remedies we've heard about, such as ginger root for motion sickness. I can remember as a child my dad patting apple cider vinegar on a sunburn to soothe and to keep it from peeling.
Some have gained respect. Dr. Oz mentioned using a Neti Nasal Pot with water, baking soda, and salt to clear sinuses on Oprah's TV program. The next day you couldn't find a Neti Nasal Pot to save you life in any store.
There are three kitchen items that I wouldn't want to go without. These three items have a thousand uses and will keep for a very long time in storage. I use them every day and they are inexpensive. It doesn't take a degree in natural therapies to understand how to use them either. These remedies are not FDA approved. After all they aren't sold as prescriptions.
Joshua is happy to help me illustrate home remedies.
Drug companies aren't interested in doing studies when there's no profit involved. Many of the accounts helping and even curing illnesses are anecdotal. The only thing that really matters is if it works for you.
1) Hydrogen Peroxide
That's right just plain ol' peroxide purchased at any drug store. It costs about two dollars for a quart. I also have a small 16 ounce bottle that I've replaced the cap with a spray top.
Hydrogen peroxide needs to be protected from light or it loses its effectiveness, so I keep it in its light-proof bottle with the new top. You'll find this small bottle by my kitchen sink.
Peroxide is disinfectant, antiseptic, and an oxidizer. It kills bacteria, viruses, and mold. You can spray it on cuts to kill germs that might cause an infection. I spray it on my fruit and veggies and then scrub them to kill bacteria. I also spray it on my sinks and wood cutting board to kill germs.
When you feel a cold or sore throat coming on, gargle peroxide several times a day. It will kill the virus. Same for an ear ache. Lay on your side, sore ear up, with a dropper put a few drops of Hydrogen Peroxide in the sore ear. Wait a few minutes. You'll feel and hear the peroxide bubbling. It's doing it's thing, killing germs and viruses.
I give my little dogs each a double spray in their mouths. It works as a mouth wash killing germs causing doggie breath. Hey, people can gargle with it and soak their tooth brushes in it, so it's good for dogs, too. You can spray it on your hands to sanitize them. You can use it to clean out animal cages, litter boxes, and animal food dishes.
2) Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
I stock up on coconut oil when it's on sale and keep it stored in the cool of my basement. I use coconut oil for cooking. It takes the heat better than olive oil. Dick, my husband, loves omelets and grilled cheese sandwiches cooked in a dab of coconut oil. I use it in all my baking. It gives food a mildly sweet taste.
It has anti-bacterial properties helping with digestion. It also helps to control parasites and fungi.
Don't need hair conditioners, ‘cause coconut oil works just fine. In fact, it'll even get rid of dandruff.
Applied topically, it will relieve the pain of hemorrhoids.
I regularly use it to remove make up and as a moisturizer.
Coconut oil is a natural treatment for healing eczema and dermatitis. A kindergarten teacher says she kills head lice by saturating her head with coconut oil. She then covers her head with a shower cap and leaves it on overnight. The next morning she washes it out. If the infestation is severe, she repeats the process the following night. This sounds like a much safer way to get rid of head lice than the store-bought chemical treatment. It'd be worth a try.
3) Raw Organic Apple Cider Vinegar
Organic Apple Cider Vinegar has been used to cure and prevent a variety of ailments for centuries. As early as the time of Hippocrates, vinegar was used to treat patients.
There are hundreds of uses for Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV), it could fill volumes. I'll just hit the highlights. ACV is a naturally fermented food with antibiotic and antiseptic qualities that fights germs, bacteria, mold, and viruses. It's rich in enzymes and potassium, naturally supporting a healthy immune system.
ACV contains over forty vitamins and minerals, including potassium. There are studies confirming that ACV helps with weight loss and lowering blood sugar levels. Many of the accounts of ACV helping and even curing illnesses are anecdotal. For me, thousands of anecdotes equal data.
In my experience, ACV stopped my acid stomach, stopped the effects of food poisoning for my daughter and again for a son-in-law. ACV stopped my 12-year-old granddaughter's asthma cough in only two days. To our surprise, she began to have regular bowl movement's shortly after including ACV in her daily routine. Seems this is another benefit.
Among other things, cider vinegar is very effective in detoxifying various organs, kidneys, bladder, liver etc., by keeping a proper alkaline/acidic balance in the body. It is a purifier, as it has a means of breaking down fatty, mucous, and phlegm deposits within the body.
Cider vinegar also helps oxidate the blood which consequently prevents the blood from becoming too thick and gluey, which gives rise to a strained heart and blood vessels resulting in high blood pressure. ACV promotes digestion and pH balance,
It's said to help soothe dry throats, helps remove body sludge toxins, helps maintain healthy skin, soothes sunburned skin, and relieves muscle pain from exercise. It's said to kill yeast and fungus infections. ACV releases toxins from the liver and is reported to help numerous ailments including arthritis, high blood pressure, skin conditions, high cholesterol, insomnia, fatigue, liver and kidney problems, asthma, allergies, weight loss, indigestion, and acid stomach. ACV even is even a remedy for morning sickness.
This wonder food costs just over four dollars for a quart. It's recommended to take 1 tablespoon in eight glasses of water at meals and before bed. The recommendation for children is one teaspoon in a glass of water.
Vinegar has a strong taste, so some people may want to add it to apple or orange juice. If you purchase pH strips at a whole foods store, you can easily track your pH levels (7 to 7.5 is optimal). Less than seven is acidic and higher is alkaline. Then adjust the amount of ACV you take: more if too acidic, less if too alkaline.
The cheaper white vinegar is a fantastic cleaning solution. Use it on pots and pans, dishes, cutting boards, full strength with baking soda for unclogging drains, diluted for windows. When my dogs leave a yellow spot on my rug, I dilute it in water, pour it on the spot, and wet vac away the spot and the odor. I've heard that sprayed on the ground, it will kill ants.
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