Saturday, April 28, 2012

Welcome To the Wonderful World of Medicinal Herbs

from Rosemary Gladstar's book "Medicinal Herbs, A Beginner's Guide"

Recognized as the oldest system of healing on the planet, herbal medicine traces its roots back to the earliest civilizations. Today, herbalism continues to flourish as a people's healing art. Even with the amazing technological advances of conventional (allopathic) medicine, herbalism - the art and science of healing with plants - is still widely popular. And its popularity is gaining, not waning.  According to the World Health Organization, 80 percent of the world's population used some form of traditional medicine in 2008, and its rate of affordability, availability, and accessibility is surging.

So it's no wonder you're drawn to these healing plants and curious to learn more about them. But perhaps you're nervous about trying herbal home remedies. What are these herbs? Are they safe? Do they work? Can you grow them at home? Can you make your own remedies? When and how do you use them? How easy is it to get started? These are some of the questions we'll address here.

Botanical Boom

According to the"The Natural Pharmacy", by Schuyler Lininger et al., one out of every three adult Americans uses complementary/alternative medical care. Sales of botanicals have increased more than 300 percent since the 1990s and currently are an $8 billion industry.


Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Simple Exercises To Improve Your Eyesight Naturally


Simple exercises to improve your eyesight naturally
by Fleur Hupston

(NaturalNews) Aging vision (or presbyopia) affects many people over the age of 40. People who have developed presbyopia find they need to hold books, magazines and other reading material at arm's length in order to focus properly. What are the causes of this condition and can vision be improved by exercising the eyes?
What causes Presbyopia?
Presbyopia is thought to be an age-related process, differing from astigmatism, near-sightedness and far-sightedness, which are related to the shape of the eyeball and are generally caused by genetic and environmental factors. Presbyopia is believed to stem from a gradual thickening and loss of flexibility of the lens inside the eye. It is commonly held that these age-related changes occur within the proteins in the lens, making the lens harder and less elastic. Age-related changes also take place in the muscle fibers surrounding the lens. With less elasticity, the eye has difficulty focusing on nearby objects.
How can vision be improved?
There are a number of eye exercises that have proven to be effective in alleviating the symptoms of presbyopia. These exercises consist of flexing and relaxing routines, which stimulate the eye muscles, thus overcoming laziness of the eyes. This helps them to perform more efficiently, leading to improved vision.
Exercises to improve your vision naturally

Focusing on near and far objects:

Hold your thumb in front of you, about 15cm away. Try to focus on your thumb. After 1 to 2 minutes, focus on any object which is more than 3m away from your thumb but in the same direction. Now refocus on your thumb again. Once you have done this a couple of times, try doing it with each breath you take, for between 5 and 10 minutes.
Zooming the object:

Sit up straight in a comfortable position. Stretch your arm out to arm's length while keeping your thumb in a "hitch-hiking" position. Focus on your thumb while it is at arm's length. Bring your thumb closer to your eyes while trying to maintain focus. Move your thumb back to arm’s length. Repeat this exercise for five minutes.

Palming:

This is a very effective method to reset the vision when your eye has become tired and vision has become blurred.

Rub both your palms together for 3 to 4 minutes, till you feel the warmth. Once warm, place them on your eyes in a cup shaped position, such that your fingers are resting on the forehead. Keep your eyes steady and make sure that no light passes in between the fingers. See the darkness inside your cup shaped hands and feel the warmth of your palms. Repeat several times.

Rotation of the eyeballs:

This exercise loosens your ocular eye muscles which helps to improve blood flow in surrounding areas of the eye, increasing the level of oxygen, thus improving vision.

Close your eyes and rotate your eyeballs in a clockwise and then an anti-clockwise direction. Repeat this 10 to 15 times.

Up, down and from side to side:

Imagine a clock face in front of you. Now move your eyes from
12 to 6 o'clock, 20 times. Move your eyes from 3 to 9 o'clock for another 20 times. Next, rotate the eye around the clock in clockwise and anti-clockwise directions. After doing this, close your eyes and rest for a while.

Spending as little as 20 minutes a day should improve your vision noticeably within weeks. Objects that appeared blurred will begin to appear crisper and sharper.


Sources for this article include:

http://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/presbyopia.htm

http://www.improve-vision-naturally.com/rebuild-your-vision.html

http://eyecare.ygoy.com

About the author:
Fleur Hupston is a professional freelance writer. She is passionate about natural, healthy living and is currently studying to be a naturopath. She divides her time between studying, writing and home-schooling her children.

Friday, April 6, 2012

Sage Plants Given Water Which Had Received Positive and Negative Messages

Here's a photo of the sage plants taken yesterday, April 5.  This was the first time they were given water that had been given the positive and negative messages.  In the time between Day 0 and now, we had gotten blessed rain which had watered all three of them equally.  So far, they still look the same.

Sage Plants, Day 24
(click on the photo to see a larger image;
click on the "back" button to return to this blog)



I'll be posting more photos as I continue watering them.  We'll see if the messages affect their growth!

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Oregano Is A Healing Herb And Natural Antibiotic

Oregano is a healing herb and natural anti-biotic

photo of oregano plant
Oregano Plant
by Dr. David Jockers
See all articles by this author

(NaturalNews) Oregano is a wonderful, aromatic herb that is native to the Mediterranean. It is thought to have originated in the mountainous regions of Greece, Turkey and Italy. It was named by the Ancient Greeks "Mountain Joy." Oregano is one of the most powerful healing herbs and natural anti-biotics ever studied.

Oregano has a warming and aromatic flavor to it. It can be very hot and bitter at times when it is picked fresh. The bite usually wanes as it is dried. Oregano became a staple of Italian-American foods. American soldiers who were stationed in Europe during World War II brought oregano back as the "pizza herb." It was soon used in more popularity in pastas, grilled/roasted veggies, meat & fish. It is also popularly used in meat marinates and salad dressings.

Oregano Oil is an extraordinarily powerful natural anti-biotic. Oregano has been found in a recent study to be significantly better than all of the 18 currently used anti-biotics in the treatment of MRSA staph infections. The strong phenol anti-oxidants destroy pathogenic bacteria, viruses and yeasts.

Incredible anti-oxidant capacity
This super herb is very rich in anti-oxidant phytochemical flavonoids and phenolic acids. It is the third highest herb in oxygen radical absorbancy capacity (ORAC) with an impressive score of 200,129. Oregano is one of the world's greatest sources of the powerful phenol component thymol. Thymol is great for improving digestive function as well as destroying harmful microbes.

The USDA ranks oregano's antioxidant capacity anywhere from 3 to 20 times higher than any other herb. Oregano has four times the antioxidant power of blueberries, 12 times that of oranges and 42 times greater than apples.

Oregano oil has been classically used as a disinfectant, an aid for ear, nose, & throat/respiratory infections, candida, and any sort of bacterial or viral conditions. Additionally, it works to suppress inflammatory mediators and cancer cell production. Oregano oil is more potent than the dried herb; however, the dried version still contains many powerful health benefits.

Studies have shown that carvacrol, a phenol anti-oxidant within oregano has powerful anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial activity when applied to food or taken in supplement form. Oregano also contains rosmarinic acid which has very strong cancer fighting properties.

Use dried oregano on vegetables, meat dishes and salads. Oregano oil can be used as an aromatic essential oil and/or as a medicinal. Simply put a dash behind your ear and a dash on your neck. Strong oregano oil may burn a little but will wear down in a few seconds. One could also ingest oregano oil - 1-5 small drops in a glass of water as it is particularly strong.

Oregano essential oil is available from my website at:
https://www.youngliving.org/laurasoils
Click on the Product Line link on the left and search for “Oregano”.

Sources for this article include:
http://www.naturalnews.com/034895_oregano_antioxidants_herbs.html
http://www.naturalnews.com/027333_oregano_parasites.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregano

About the author:
Dr. David Jockers owns and operates Exodus Health Center in Kennesaw, Ga. He is a Maximized Living doctor. His expertise is in weight loss, customized nutrition & exercise, & structural corrective chiropractic care. For more information go to www.exodushc.com To find a Maximized Living doctor near you go to www.maximizedliving.com Dr. Jockers is also available for long distance phone consultations to help you beat disease and reach your health goals.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

The Health Benefits of Alkaline Water


I just recently discovered how important pH balance is for the body. As it turns out, the body should be more alkaline than acidic. Here is some information on the subject.

Acid-Alkaline Balance 
Proper health starts with the correct acid-alkaline balance in your body. The pH level (acid - alkaline measurement) of our internal fluids affects every cell in our bodies. Extended acid imbalances of any kind can overwhelm your body, and lead to health complications.
  
Just as the body regulates its temperature in a rigid manner, so will it manage to preserve a very narrow pH range - especially in the blood. As a matter of fact, the body will go to such great lengths to maintain a blood pH of 7.365 that it will even create stress on other tissues, body systems, and organs to do so. Chronic acidity will interrupt all cellular activities and functions - it interferes with life itself. 

When the pH of the body gets out of balance (too acidic), we may experience low energy, fatigue, excess weight, poor digestion, aches and pains, and even more serious disorders. 
The cycle of acidity begins primarily as a result of three things: 

1. Ingesting acids. Eating too many acidifying foods like processed sugar, meats, dairy, coffee, alcohol, etc., create an acid ash in the body. These acids can overload the body’s ability to neutralize them.

2. Creation of acids. Pathogens and microforms (such as bacteria) create acidifying toxins in the body. As the body becomes more and more acidic, bad bacteria, yeasts and other microforms proliferate in the body. Since these organisms are living, they eat as well as create resulting toxins. These toxins are often very acidifying. 

3. Improper elimination of acids. Not all acids are the same; some are weak and some are strong. Weak acids like citric acid are much easier to neutralize than strong acids like uric acid (which causes gout). The body uses many systems in order to buffer acids including breath, mineral reserves, and fat. When the body’s buffering systems become compromised, excess acids build up.  

The process of reestablishing acid-alkaline balance begins with proper diet and nutrition. This includes eating alkalizing foods (vegetables, low sugar fruits, etc.), super hydration (drinking plenty of alkaline water that is ionic and structured), and proper supplementation.

Bottled water you can buy that is more alkaline are Penta and Essentia.

To find a store near you that sells Penta, click on the link below:
http://www.pentawater.com/_pw/store.php?sub=5&item=1

The link to the Essentia Water website is below.  They don’t have a store locator, but it can usually be found at health food stores, or you can order directly from the website and have it shipped to you:
http://www.essentiawater.com/index.html

You can also purchase filters so you can make your own filtered, ionized, alkaline water at home directly from your faucet at:
https://www.water-revolution.com/selfhealwater