Earth Clinic Presents...
NATURE’S BEST REMEDIES
Edited by Daniel P. Kray
An Earth Clinic Publication
Body Axis, LLC.
Atlanta
Copyright © 2011 by Body Axis, LLC.
Cover photography by Chris May
Book design by Denise Wellenstein
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.
DISCLAIMER
The preparation and publication of this book has been undertaken with great care. However, the book is offered for informational purposes only and cannot be taken as a substitute for professional medical prevention, diagnosis, or treatment. Please consult with your physician, pharmacist, or health care provider before taking any home remedies or supplements or following any treatment suggested by anyone within this book. Only your health care provider, personal physician, or pharmacist can provide you with advice on what is safe and effective for your unique needs or diagnose your particular medical history.
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
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FIRST PRINTING: 2012
ISBN-978-0-9828963-5-8
Table of Contents
Seborrheic Dermatitis (Dandruff)
Skin Infections (cysts, boils)
Appendix: General and Specific Notes of Caution
Appendix 2: Apple Cider Vinegar
INTRODUCTION
We’re bringing you the very best that Earth Clinic has to offer in super-concentrated form—like a multivitamin of natural remedy knowledge! That’s what this book is all about. More than a decade’s worth of planet-spanning information on natural remedies has been collected on the pages of EarthClinic.com. It’s the internet’s most trusted resource for options in natural healing, it’s wonderful, and it’s colossal—sometimes overwhelmingly so.
Many of the natural remedies on Earth Clinic were passed down through generations. Others were discovered just yesterday to genuine fanfare on the website. Whatever the source of the knowledge, real people in the Earth Clinic Community have changed their lives with simple remedies from their own kitchens, their own gardens, and with other natural healing agents you can easily find not far from home. We at Earth Clinic are very proud to have built the sort of clinic where no one is turned away, where everyone returns home with more information and hopefully much improved in health.
Usually, they soon come back for more! Like we said, there is an enormous library of health secrets on the website, for those who are sick and in need just as well as for the hale and hearty who want to find the path to optimal health.
Sometimes though, all we want is the quick and easy answer. That can be especially true when we’re sick or injured, or even more especially when those we love are the sick and injured. For that reason, the editors at Earth Clinic have distilled the vast Earth Clinic treasury of knowledge down to its best and essential answers to your home health needs in this book.
What is Earth Clinic?
In case you’ve never been to the Earth Clinic website, let me quickly explain what you will find here in this book. EarthClinic.com, an alternative health and healing site, was launched on the web in 1999. It has grown into a top-ranked health portal because people took an interest in the idea of simple, effective, tried-and-true remedies and in the possibility of freely sharing them with each other.
Earth Clinic has since become a global community of shared knowledge on safe, inexpensive, natural cures and home remedies from around the world. Each remedy has been contributed, tried, and reported on by regular people just like you. You and no one else! We do not accept direct advertising or promote any company’s products. All we do is provide a venue for people to talk about their own family’s experience with natural remedies used around the world. That’s how you know you can trust us.
How We Chose Our Remedies
Reader contributions, with the input of a few alternative health expert volunteers, make up almost all of the material on the Earth Clinic website. Our in-house experts review and then allocate those contributions throughout the site to make up its content—hundreds of ailments matched by thousands of natural remedies.
In pulling this text together, we scanned all of the contributor posts for each condition, looking for those that had solid backing—many positive reports from readers who found a cure or relief in the remedy, and very few reports of side effects or incomplete cures (while remembering that no cure is going to work the same way for everyone).
Likewise, many conditions listed on the site were not included in the text you find here, simply because the jury is still out on finding a great natural remedy for that condition. You very well may find a remedy that works fabulously for you if you go and visit the site, but we wanted to present you with only the cream of the crop.
Only the absolute best remedies made the list to follow here. Still, that’s not to say they’re foolproof. Each person’s health needs are different, even when suffering a common condition. But so many have found near-miraculous relief using these remedies that we are eager to share them as broadly and conveniently as possible.
A Word of Explanation
The remedies presented here are boiled down to the utmost simplicity—quick and handy answers to your pressing health needs. However, the treasury of first-person accounts on EarthClinic.com is hard to replace. Our brevity here is quick and efficient, but it necessarily neglects certain complexities presented in more detail online.
If you begin to find relief from a remedy presented in this book, or if you are having trouble finding relief from one of these top natural remedies, please consider visiting the website to dig deeper into the wisdom that only our readers’ personal experiences can provide!
A
Abdominal Pain
Abdominal pain - sharp or dull, chronic or passing - can be a symptom of more critical conditions. Common causes include gas/flatulence, indigestion, and gallstones but could also be a stuck ileocecal valve, pancreatitis, appendicitis, etc.
BEST REMEDY:
Apple Cider Vinegar: A tablespoon taken straight can halt stomach pain due to food poisoning. Otherwise, a teaspoon to two tablespoon’s worth in a large glass of water with meals can be a general tonic.
Acid Reflux
Acid Reflux or GERD is a very common condition in which the liquid content of the stomach backs up into the esophagus, causing painful burning.
BEST REMEDIES:
Apple Cider Vinegar: A teaspoon to two tablespoon’s worth in a large glass of water with meals can balance the stomach’s acid content and prevent acid reflux.
Apple Cider Vinegar and Baking Soda: One-quarter teaspoon of baking soda with up to two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in a large glass of water can balance the stomach’s acid content and prevent acid reflux.
Pickle Juice: Stop a bad acid reflux attack by drinking up to a half cup of pickle juice.
Dietary Changes: Some dietary changes such as having several small meals throughout the day, avoiding fatty foods or carbs, and eliminating sodas can reduce acid reflux symptoms.
Apples: An apple (or two) a day is reported to prevent acid reflux and can be used to stop an attack. Applesauce and apple juice can sometimes work as well.
Aloe Vera: A bit of aloe juice straight from the leaf, commercial aloe vera juice, or aloe vera gel caps can be taken with meals to soothe the throat and stomach.
Digestive Enzymes: Health stores offer tablets containing “digestive enzymes” that can be taken with meals.
Baking Soda: 1/8 - 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda in a glass of water can halt the pain of acid reflux.
Lemons: Real lemonade or a squeeze of lemon in a glass of water with your meal can prevent GERD symptoms.
Licorice Root Extract: DGL or “Deglycyrrhizinated” Licorice Root Extract is available from health stores. Two pills a day is said to cure acid reflux.
Acidophilus: This probiotic commonly found in yogurt can also be taken in pill form.
Betaine Hydrochloride: Betaine HCL is available in capsule form. It effectively adds hydrochloric acid to your stomach, improving digestion to stop the attacks.
Mustard: A teaspoonful or two of mustard can stop the symptoms of an acid reflux attack in its tracks.
Acne
Common acne is generally most acute in teenagers but can still be an occasional or constant problem for adults as well. The face, back, and chest are most commonly affected.
BEST REMEDIES:
Apple Cider Vinegar: A daily ACV tonic (1 tsp - 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar in a large glass of water, w/ or w/o honey) can clarify the skin and give it a healthy glow. A couple of teaspoons of ACV diluted in a cup of water can be used as a skin toner.
Hydrogen Peroxide: Dip a cotton ball in hydrogen peroxide, then dab it all over the affected skin. Hold the cotton ball to existing blemishes for a couple of minutes for deeper treatment.
Coconut Oil: Using coconut oil as a daily moisturizer on the affected areas of the skin can clear up breakouts and improve the overall look of your skin.
Tea Tree Oil: Use a cotton swab to dab tea tree oil on existing acne a few times a day to dry out the oily skin and clear up the blemish.
Garlic: Add raw garlic to your daily diet and its antibacterial allicin compound will kill off the bacteria that cause acne on your skin.
Lemons: Use a bit of lemon juice like a toner to clear away excess oils and clarify your skin. Feel free to dilute in a bit of water as well if the lemon has a bit of a bite to it.
Baking Soda: Make a paste of a bit of baking soda and water, then use as a facial scrub. For more extensive body acne, put two tablespoons of baking soda in your bathwater.
Aloe Vera: Apply aloe vera gel directly to your skin 2-3 times a day to clean and dry up excess oils on your skin.
Acne Scars
Even after the acne has cleared up, acne scars can last for years and be an unsightly frustration.
BEST REMEDY:
Aloe Vera: The antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties of pure (especially fresh) aloe vera gel, when rubbed into acne scars 2-3 times a day, can reduce and eliminate their appearance. It may reduce the occurrence of breakouts too!
Allergies
Hay fever and seasonal allergies can be an annual nightmare for some of us, but a few natural remedies can prevent allergy attacks or at least reduce allergic symptoms.
BEST REMEDIES:
Apple Cider Vinegar: A bit of apple cider vinegar in a tall glass of water once a day can stop an allergy attack and reduce seasonal allergy symptoms. Start with one teaspoon and built up to as much as two tablespoons. You can add a touch of raw local honey as well for added effect.
Turmeric: It’s not exactly a spoonful of sugar, but a teaspoon of turmeric powder in a glass of water can stop a dripping nose and sore throat due to allergies. Turmeric in capsule form is also available from health food stores.
Honey: Enjoying some raw local honey (or chewing honeycomb) before the start of allergy season can give your body a sort of vaccination to prevent or reduce seasonal allergy symptoms. Try one teaspoon at bedtime to combat allergies and help you sleep better as well!
Anemia
Anemia is actually a shortage of hemoglobin in the body - the protein that helps carry oxygen in the blood - but we most often think of it as a shortage of iron, since it is that lack of iron that reduces the amount of hemoglobin in an anemic person, causing fatigue and other symptoms.
BEST REMEDY:
Blackstrap Molasses: Add a tablespoon of blackstrap molasses to your diet each day, and that single serving can supply 70% of your daily iron needs. Look for blackstrap (and possibly unsulphured) molasses. It may only be available in a health food store, but it will be richer than the ordinary sort you find in grocery stores.
Anxiety
The constant, almost inexplicable uneasiness of anxiety is fairly epidemic these days and can take a real toll on your general health and sense of well being, a genuine dis-ease.
BEST REMEDIES:
Cold Showers: End your daily shower with a cold-water rinse for a minute or so. Be sure to target the head and lymph nodes (armpits, neck, groin, etc.). Great for fighting depression and boosting energy too!
Rhodiola: Rhodiola rosea is a flowering plant in the same family as the Jade Plant. Available in pill form, its active components offer many people almost instant relief from anxiety and depression.
Apple Cider Vinegar: The familiar apple cider vinegar tonic (1tsp-2 Tbsp ACV in a tall glass of water, natural sweetener optional) can balance the body in a way that seems to quickly reduce anxiety symptoms, including high blood pressure.
Arthritis
The inflammation and pain of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis can be debilitating. Natural measures to protect and restore cartilage and bone at the joints can help.
BEST REMEDIES:
Apple Cider Vinegar: Easily our most popular remedy for arthritis. Some people experience remarkable transformations with continued use! Try sipping this ACV tonic throughout the day—32oz. of water, up to a quarter-cup of unpasteurized apple cider vinegar (start with a tablespoon), and optional natural sweetener.
Turmeric: The Indian spice turmeric is a wondrous anti-inflammatory with a variety of medical benefits, including the reduction of arthritis pain and inflammation. Turmeric pills are available, or try a teaspoonful mixed in a glass of warm milk (almond or rice will do as well as dairy).
Blackstrap Molasses: The many minerals available in large quantities in blackstrap molasses (not the typical stuff from the grocery store) could be the reason many people have found relief from arthritis pain with a daily tablespoon of blackstrap molasses.
Asthma
Chronic asthma symptoms can be not only disruptive but also disturbing and occasionally life threatening. Finding a natural way to prevent asthma attacks can reduce the strain on your body.
BEST REMEDIES:
Apple Cider Vinegar: The apple cider vinegar tonic has helped some people entirely give up their inhalers! Most asthma suffers choose two tablespoonfuls in a large glass of water (honey or other natural sweetener optional), but you can start with a smaller amount of vinegar if you like. Really clears congestion.
Dietary Changes: Eliminating dairy or choosing an alkaline diet might be the simple secret to eliminating your asthma condition.
Coffee: A hot cup of black coffee can offer quick relief from an asthma attack, between the steamy cup and coffee’s ability to stimulate the body.
Athlete’s Foot
Common Athlete’s Foot (also jock itch) is a fungal infection that causes an irritating rash, itching, broken skin, and redness on the skin. The infection can be passed casually from infected surfaces and often shows up between the toes and on the feet.
BEST REMEDIES:
Apple Cider Vinegar: Applied directly to the infected skin, apple cider vinegar can kill off the fungus that causes the infection while disinfecting the foot. Unlike other vinegars (which will also kill the fungus), apple cider vinegar will also soothe the burning feeling. Dab on the affected area or soak feet in a warm water bath with a cup of apple cider vinegar for half an hour. Be warned though, it might burn a bit worse on contact!
Urine: Odd but true! Simply urinating on your own feet while in the shower can kill off the athlete’s foot fungus. Wash the urine off as the last thing you do in the shower so that it has time to take effect.
B
Back Pain
Acute and chronic back pain conditions can have a number of causes, from muscle damage to nerve issues.
BEST REMEDIES:
Apple Cider Vinegar: A twice-daily ACV tonic (1tsp-2Tbsp apple cider vinegar in a large glass of water—natural sweetener optional) can rebalance your mineral supply and revitalize the body as a whole.
Coconut Oil: Rubbing a bit of coconut oil into the affected area of your back can relieve back pain within minutes. It’s great for the skin too!
Bacterial Vaginosis
An imbalance in the body’s natural variety and amount of bacteria results in bacterial vaginosis, the most common type of bacterial infection. An unpleasant “fishy” smell and off-white vaginal discharge are the primary symptoms.
BEST REMEDIES:
Hydrogen Peroxide: 3% hydrogen peroxide, usually mixed with equal parts water, can be used as a douche or applied to a tampon (for temporary use, maybe 20-30 minutes).
Acidophilus: Acidophilus pills can be taken orally and inserted vaginally to add healthy bacteria to the vagina and restore your balance.
Folic Acid: 800 mcg of folic acid taken orally on a daily basis seems to strengthen the body and restore balance to the vaginal environment so that the smell and discharge go away. The CDC recommends at least 400mcg daily for all women, regardless.
Boric Acid: A capsule of boric acid inserted into the vagina can quickly stop the smell and discharge. Finding boric acid can be tricky, but your pharmacist should be able to order it for you.
Probiotics: Probiotic pills (they should be refrigerated!) are available that specifically target BV and similar conditions. Not all probiotics will have the same effect, so take your time in finding the right probiotic mix.
Yogurt: Plain yogurt with live cultures can be eaten or applied directly (try filling a tampon applicator) to restore your supply of healthy bacteria and stop the odor and discharge.
Bad Breath
Halitosis, or good old bad breath, is a common problem with no end of commercial “solutions”. Dental, digestive, and infectious conditions can be the root cause.
BEST REMEDY:
Hydrogen Peroxide: An occasional mouthwash that is 1 part 3% hydrogen peroxide to 5 parts water can instantly and lastingly cure bad breath. HP real gets rid of all those bad breath bacteria!
Bee Stings
The pain of a bee sting can be lasting and extreme, but a few natural remedies can reduce the bee’s bite! Of course, anyone allergic to bee stings should always have an epi-pen available.
BEST REMEDIES:
Apple Cider Vinegar: Soak a cotton ball in apple cider vinegar and apply it directly to the bee sting for several minutes. The acid will neutralize the sting’s toxin, stopping the pain and reducing any redness or swelling.
Tobacco: Your grandpa will tell you—moisten and place a bit of tobacco leaf on any bee sting to stop the pain and swelling within minutes!
Bladder Infections
A bladder infection, or more generally a urinary tract infection (UTI), results when bacteria get into the bladder or kidneys and multiply. The pain and discomfort can be remedied at home, but serious or reoccurring pain should be addressed with a doctor.
BEST REMEDIES:
Apple Cider Vinegar: A day or two of twice daily ACV tonics should halt a bladder infection, but continue for a few days afterward to make sure—take 1-2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, unsweetened, in a tall glass of water.
Cranberry: Cranberry pills and unsweetened cranberry juice can put an end to bladder infections.
D-Mannose: D-mannose seems to be the active ingredient in cranberry juice that prevents and may stop a bladder infection. You can find D-mannose pills at some health food stores and pharmacies.
Alka Seltzer: Take Alka Seltzer as directed to relieve bladder infection symptoms quickly. May not kill off the infection, but the relief is well worth it!
Apple Cider Vinegar and Baking Soda: Two or three times a day, drink a large glass of water with 1-2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and an eighth of a teaspoon of baking soda (watch out for the fizz!).
Baking Soda: Half a teaspoon of baking soda dissolved in a glass of water 2-3 times a day can provide instant relief from the burning. It will eventually remedy a bladder infection by restoring an alkaline balance to your body.
Sea Salt: A one-dose remedy (and no more than once!). Add a teaspoon of sea salt to a large glass of water and drink. Very effective, especially if combined with other UTI remedies.
Bloating
Bloating and fluid retention can be uncomfortable and make it tough to get into our favorite clothes! It’s usually a sign of some imbalance in the body.
BEST REMEDY:
Apple Cider Vinegar: A daily ACV tonic can restore your body’s mineral balance and reduce bloating. Start with one teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in a tall glass of water and build up to as much as two tablespoons. Take a few days off the tonic every so often.