Beat Big Pharma Drug Prices And Chemical Additives – Make Your Own Safe, High Quality, Natural Topical Ointments At Home

February 24th, 2012

Natural News

By: JB Bardot

Consumers are bombarded daily by pharmaceutical company hype over the promise of clear skin and painless backsides achieved by using ineffective and sometimes dangerous topical applications for everything from hemorrhoids to eczema and acne.

While people are emptying their wallets for Big Pharma’s witch’s brews, they could be making their own high quality ointments with healthy, natural ingredients. Instead of suppressing symptoms with medicines that dovirtually nothing, are expensive and may have damaging long-term effects, mix your own salves using effective, inexpensive and natural ingredients.

Most salves, ointments and lotions are simple to make from medicinal tinctures mixed with ingredients like lanolin, glycerin, cocoa butter, olive and coconut oil or aloe vera.

Lanolin

Lanolin is a rich emollient made from sheep’s wool. It makes an excellent base for medicinal salves and naturally moisturizes skin. Lanolin has been used for thousands of years as an all-purpose vehicle for a long list of skin-care products for both medical and cosmetic purposes, including hypoallergenic preparations. The myth that lanolin causes allergies, is just that — a myth — and in actuality, the incidences of a lanolin allergyare negligibly low.

Glycerin

Glycerin is a byproduct of the soap-making process and provides a wonderful natural base for making medicinal lotions. As a humectant, glycerin attracts moisture to the skin. It’s a naturally sweet-tasting, clear liquid which, when frozen, becomes a sticky paste. It mixes well with alcohol or water but not with fats or oils. Straight glycerin is dehydrating when used on its own; however, when diluted with water, it’s an excellent skin-softening moisturizer.

Medicinal Tinctures

Many medicinal tinctures can be purchased over-the-counter from homeopathic pharmacies. Some tinctures require a prescription from a doctor. Tinctures are similar to herbal extracts in that they are made from herbs and preserved with alcohol. Tinctures are not quite as strong as liquid extracts. Although extracts may be more potent, they lose their potency faster than tinctures and they contain plant matter suspended in the mixture, making them less desirable for use in topical applications. Tinctures are the preferred choice for making most medicinal salves and lotions. Ointments made from lanolin tend to be greasy. Glycerin lotions absorb into the skin in most cases, leaving no residue.

Tincture Percentages

Percentages of tinctures to base ingredients vary; however, a safe guideline is to add 10 to 15 percent tincture to the mix. When making salves and ointments with lanolin, the texture may be too thick. In order to thin, add a small amount of olive or coconut oil. For example, try 2/3 lanolin to 1/3 olive oil, then add the tincture and mix by hand or in a food processor until well blended. Decant into dark glass containers and store covered in a cool, dry place.

Medicinal Applications

Here are some suggestions for making ointments and lotions for personal use using tinctures and either lanolin or glycerin. Other natural bases and tinctures can also be used andexperimented with. Tinctures should be 1X potency if you can get them. If not, get the lowest potency available.

Wounds, scrapes, infections, acne — equal parts Echinacea, Calendula, Hypericum, Arnica montana

Bruises and muscle strain –Arnica montana

Foot problems, aches, corns, plantar warts — Thuja

Scar removal including acne scars and keloids — Thiosimaminum

Hemorrhoids — equal parts Hamamelis virginicus, Aescus hippocastanum, Arnica montana, Calendula (Mix in lanolin base. Do not use glycerin.)

Sprains and joint pain — Arnica montana, Rhus toxicodendron, Ruta gravolens, Calcarea florica, Symphytum

(Author’s note: I cannot recommend places to buy products; however, here is a list of U.S. homeopathic pharmacies. http://www.homeopathyhome.com/directory/usa/pharmacies.html

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What’s Really Causing Your Headaches?

February 11th, 2011

Health.com

By: Hallie Levine Sklar

You assume … Your aching neck is caused by hours at the computer.

Who knew? Your BlackBerry or iPhone is the real culprit.

We all know that poor posture at the keyboard can cause aches and pains, but too much text messaging can also increase the risk of neck and shoulder pain, according to a recent Temple University study. It turns out that the way the body is positioned for texting (stationary shoulders and back with rapidly moving fingers) is very similar to the position for typing on a computer, possibly priming you for neck pain, says study author Judith Gold, ScD, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Temple University’s College of Health Professions and Social Work.

The Rx? Vary your position—sometimes text with hands in your lap, other times with hands higher up—because holding one position for long periods is what may cause the pain. You can also get relief with this quick stretching routine, courtesy of Tanya Boulton, managing teacher of PURE Yoga East in New York City: While seated, tilt your head to the right and raise your right arm up and over your head, gently resting your hand on the left side of your head; close your eyes and hold for 6–8 breaths. Repeat on the other side. Then interlace your fingers behind your head, drop your chin down toward your chest, and draw your elbows toward each other; hold for 6–8 breaths.

You assume … Lack of sleep is to blame for your headaches.

Who knew? Napping isn’t helping.

You may know that sleep problems can trigger headaches, but if you take naps to try to get some relief, you may actually make the problem worse, a recent study suggests. “Napping during the day can lead to insomnia at night, and lack of sleep makes you even more susceptible to headache pain,” explains study author Jason Ong, PhD, director of the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Training Program at Rush University Medical Center.

To break the cycle, try skipping your nap and going to bed earlier. If you are still plagued by headaches—or are tossing and turning at night—see your doctor to discuss treatment options. One to try: cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), which may help you better deal with the stress that may be causing both headaches and insomnia.

You assume … You’re just destined to keep getting pesky UTIs.

Who knew? Your supermarket chicken may be to blame.

Sounds crazy, but it’s true, according to a study published this past January in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention journal Emerging Infectious Diseases. When researchers surveyed chickens from local supermarkets and restaurants, they found that the strains of E. coli bacteria in the poultry were the same as those causing urinary tract infections (UTIs) among women in the area. “E. coli can live in your intestine without making you sick. But when it passes through your digestive system, it ends up in your anal area and can be swept into your urethra during sex, causing the UTI,” explains study author Amee Manges, PhD, a professor of epidemiology at McGill University in Montreal. “Unfortunately, because many chickens are fed antibiotics to prevent disease while alive, the bacteria present may be already resistant to some common antibiotics.”

Your best protection? Avoid ingesting E. coli in the first place. Manges recommends cooking chicken thoroughly to kill bacteria and washing hands, utensils, cutting boards, and countertops with hot soapy water to avoid cross-contamination. You may also want to buy antibiotic-free chicken when possible, to reduce the chance of being exposed to drug-resistant bacteria. And it doesn’t hurt to practice a few good hygiene rules for UTI prevention: pee after sex to flush bacteria from your urethra, and wipe from front to back after using the bathroom.

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Doctors Finally Testing Patients For Vitamin D Deficiency

September 3rd, 2010

Natural News

By: David Gutierrez

Growing awareness about the prevalence and risks of vitamin D deficiency is leading more and more doctors to test their patients’ blood levels of the vitamin.

“Upwards of 70 percent of American adults are vitamin D deficient or insufficient,” said cardiologist James O’Keefe of St. Luke’s Mid-America Heart Institute. “In the last year, awareness of vitamin D deficiency has really exploded.”

Vitamin D is more properly classified as a hormone, and it helps regulate gene function in various parts of the body. It is naturally synthesized in the skin upon exposure to ultraviolet radiation from sunlight, but sedentism and growing use of sunblock have worsened deficiency rates in recent decades.

According to O’Keefe, vitamin D testing has become the most popular “a la carte” blood test ordered by doctors in the past year. The test costs about $100, and is covered by some insurance providers.

Vitamin D is known to play a role in bone health and immune function, but many doctors are now fingering deficiency for a number of more general complaints. Carla Aamodt, another doctor at St. Luke’s, notes that when she orders supplementation for patients with vitamin D levels below 10 nanograms per milliliter, the patients feel better overall, have more energy with less muscle aches and pains.”

The jury is still out on optimal vitamin D levels, but researchers agree that they fall somewhere between 30 and 40 nanograms per milliliter.

Billie Howard Barnes of Kansas City suffered from chronic pain until her doctor ordered a vitamin D test and discovered that her blood levels were a paltry 5 nanograms per milliliter.

“I’m 43, and getting up in the morning, my feet would hit the floor and every joint in my body was sore,” Barnes said. “I didn’t realize how bad it had gotten. It just kind of crept up on me.”

After taking a high-dose supplement for a few weeks, Barnes began to recover.

“It wasn’t an instant thing, but I just feel much better,” she said. “I’m not as stiff. Colleagues say there’s more pep in my step.”

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Herbal Mint as a Natural Pain Reliever

December 16, 2009

Natural News

By Sherry Baker

Brazilian mint, known to botanists by its Latin name Hyptis crenata, has long been used by traditional healers in Brazil to treat pain and discomfort from a variety of ailments, including stomach aches, fevers, flu and headaches. In fact, researchers at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom say that the mint has been handed down as a prescription for pain relief for thousands of years. And a new study just presented at the 2nd International Symposium on Medicinal and Nutraceutical Plants held in New Delhi, India, concludes the ancient herbal therapy is, in fact, an effective, natural treatment for pain. The research is slated for publication in an upcoming issue of the journal Acta Horticulturae.

A team of Newcastle University scientists, led by Graciela Rocha, carried out a survey in Brazil to find out specifically how the herbal medicine is typically prepared and how much should be consumed as a treatment. They learned that traditional healers use the mint in a decoction, meaning the dried leaves are boiled in water for 30 minutes and then allowed to cool before being consumed as a tea.

Rocha, who is originally from Brazil, noted in a statement to the press that she remembers being given the tea as a treatment for various childhood illnesses. “The taste isn’t what most people here in the UK would recognize as a mint,” she stated. “In fact it tastes more like sage which is another member of the mint family.”

When the researchers tested the herbal tea in laboratory experiments with mice, they found it was just as effective at relieving pain as the pain reliever drug known as as indomethacin in the US and indometacin in the UK. Marketed under many brand names including Indocin, Indocid and Indochron E-R, indomethacin is a highly potent non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication used to reduce fever, pain, stiffness, and swelling. Unlike the natural herbal mint pain reliever, indomethacin is associated with a host of serious side effects including stomach upset, gastric irritation and the risk of heart attack.

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Osteoporosis Treatments Using Fern Plant

October 30, 2009

Natural news

By SL Baker

An illustration from an 1887 book depicts the fabled “Vegetable Lamb of Tartary” as a plant with a tiny furry animal coming out of a long stalk. The reason? This wooly tree fern was once believed to literally produce sheep. That legend no doubt came about because the plant has masses of wool-like fibers that emerge on top. It grows in mountainous areas of China, northeast India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Japan and has long been used in Asian medicine to treat rheumatism, muscle aches and pains, nerve pain, and body aches during pregnancy.

Now scientists studying the plant, known by its botanical name Cibotium barmoetz (C. barmoetz), have found evidence it contains several powerful phytochemicals. And these natural compounds could treat the bone-thinning disorder known as osteoporosis.

A research team from the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) in Hanoi, Viet Nam; Chungnam National University in Daejeon, South Korea, and the Kyungpook National University’s Skeletal Diseases Genome Research Center in Daegu, South Korea, analyzed the so-called “vegetable lamb plant” as part of a larger study of Vietnamese plant-based folk medicine. In all, scientist Young Ho Kim and his colleagues isolated eight compounds from an extract of C. barmoetz rhizomes. Rhizomes are horizontal underground stems that are involved in the vigorous reproduction of these fern plants. They send new roots out of their nodes and into the soil, resulting in new stems shooting up to the surface.

As reported in the October issue of the Journal of Natural Products, published by the American Chemical Society (ACS), four of these compounds showed remarkable properties when tested in the lab. They halted the formation of 97% of osteoclast cells (which break down bone) in laboratory cultures without harming other cells. That’s important because normal strong bones depend on a healthy balance between osteoblasts (cells that build bones) and osteoclasts. If the production of osteoclasts is increased or if osteoblast production is decreased, then bones can become brittle and weak. So the C. barmoetz compounds might be able to treat osteoporosis by reducing an over-abundance of osteoclasts, thereby normalizing bone marrow function.

Osteoporosis is characterized by low bone mass and deterioration of bone tissue which can make you susceptible to fractures. According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, 10 million people in the US now have osteoporosis (which literally means “porous bones”) and almost 34 million more are estimated to have low bone mass.

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