WomenCo.

awesome topic, Sherrie!  We used onion plasters, with lots of cooked onions in a plaster laid over the body.  We also tied garlic cut in half into a cloth on the bottoms of little feet for a few days.  It was really good.  Thanks for this topic, it's going to be really educational!  The natural stuff can sometimes be the best!

McKaren,

Great remedies. I want to try to the ginger root ( really for the nice bath)  I wonder what the charcoal tablet was for?

McKaren says ...

We grew up with a couple of strange ones -- not even sure I know what they were for anymore; for some reason -- if we were feeling poorly they'd give us a charcoal tablet -- have no idea why.  Of course, the nasty castor oil - yuck.  Comfort foods were also used -- my favorite, when you were finally on the mend you'd get egg custard (I love that stuff) have a great recipe for too.  Also -- poached eggs and chicken soup (good for whatever ails you -- still use that one).  However, my youngest was prone to strep throat and I was freaked out over the massive amounts of antibiotics she needed to take so I did some research -- this is a great remedy, and my little one would tug on my pants and ask for it when she was sick.  It's a ginger compress: 

1. you finely grate ginger root until you have about a golf ball sized amount; wrap that up in some cheesecloth and tie it closed; t


2. then fill a dutch oven with water, put the ginger in and steep it (just under a boil) for about 15 mins or so, you'll know when it's ready to use -- the water gets bright yellow -- the smell is wonderful. 


3. Fold a handcloth lengthwise, and dip the middle of the towel in the water, wring it out and wrap it around the neck and throat.  You want to be careful -- it should be hot but not scalding --


4. you hold the towel in place until it cools and repeat this until the skin turns pink. 

It's my understanding that the ginger -- being so yin -- draws the blood to the surface of the skin -- sort of, melts the mucus -- you want to drink lots of water after.  But -- it helped with all the stiffness of the strep throat -- and actually reduced the downtime for my daughter being sick.  You can also take the water (after the compress is done) and pour it into a bath -- or use it as a footbath -- lovely!  You don't want to use this near the heart area -- you wouldn't want to apply it near an area of concern say -- of a cyst, or cancer.  But for tension, stiffness -- simple detox -- it's a wonderful refreshing treatment. 

Thanks for the great post, Karen, and for the warnings, too.  My doctor loves holistic and natural remedies, but the big concern is that they still have to be used properly, and not alot of people seem to know that, so I'm glad that you included that.

For rashes, especially poison ivy, an oatmeal bath if you don't live in Louisiana.  If you do live there, a bath in sassafras tea, made from boiling the bark.

Varicose Veins: Nothing of dietary nature that can make SEVERE varicose veins go away, but preventing varicose veins you would eat fiber. The did studies in london with a surgeon and med. researcher that vaircose veins can be prevented by a high fiber diet! My grandma & papa always said eat your herbs! Today almost everything we eat is processed. We don't want to cook from scratch anymore. Bread is one of my pet peives. That fluffy crap that you get off the store shelf! Nothing like the scent warffing through the house of fresh baked bread! Then add some fresh herbs from the garden into it YUMM! I grow my own Rosemary, Oragano, Parsly, Basil, Tomatoes, etc. Anything here in Florida that will grow Lemon Balm, Bee Balm, the Lemon Balm & Bee Balm make into salves. One is great for keeping the sketter's away. Going back to Nature is the only way as far as I;m concerned. I'm not downing Doctor's but (MY oppinion) they just give out too many scripts that have (13) example too many side effects. One I saw on TV that said possible coma (Ya really want to take that one! Or leaky annal! Ya that's great too! Anyway; Goats Milk is the best for Psoriasis, Acne! When I was young I grew up using Goats Milk soap & drank goats milk (was allergic) to real milk! I had great skin as a teenager! No bumps. Kids in school asked me what I did to keep pimples away! Oh well Natural is one of my hot topics. No one really has time to bake or cook anymore! I find it quite difficult & then when you go to store you can'nt find the things you need. I was looking for Mustard seed couldn't find it to make pickles & Cake Flour to bake cake from scratch (Not there) either. Oh, well My Hero is Doctor Andrew Weil, MD. Big teddy bear that I would love to hug (he's so knowledgeable) chow for now diane jernigan

djmagic -- I love Dr Weil too -- I have found some of his wonderful products at Origins.  I grow herbs as well, the easy ones, rosemary, sage, oregano, lavender.  I am a baker from way back -- love to bake bread especially -- it's so soulful -- and each loaf dependant upon the humidity in the air, my temperament that day -- love it, though as the years have gone by I've added a dough-hook to my paraphenalia -- kneading is hard on my wrists!  Funny story -- my husband, who loves the bread too -- came to me one day and said I should lay off baking so much bread -- so I did and the very next week he comes to me complaining -- "where's the bread?"  go figure, can't win.  But there's something about warm bread -- right out of the oven -- yum. Also -- (I could just go on and on) there's lots of folks who've never had anything but the white air-fluff stuff pretend bread -- and guess what?  they often don't like real bread. 

Processed foods -- our bodies don't really know what to do with them.  What's wrong with slowing down long enough to prepare a meal, with real ingredients to share with the ones we love.  Can we really be too busy to slow down long enough to chew our food?  share alittle conversation? take the time to consciously fuel our bodies? 

Honestly -- we all move too fast -- the few remaining sane ones need to stand up -- and put their collective "foot" down.  sorry I'll get off the soapbox now.

'

djmagicherb says ...

Varicose Veins: Nothing of dietary nature that can make SEVERE varicose veins go away, but preventing varicose veins you would eat fiber. The did studies in london with a surgeon and med. researcher that vaircose veins can be prevented by a high fiber diet! My grandma & papa always said eat your herbs! Today almost everything we eat is processed. We don't want to cook from scratch anymore. Bread is one of my pet peives. That fluffy crap that you get off the store shelf! Nothing like the scent warffing through the house of fresh baked bread! Then add some fresh herbs from the garden into it YUMM! I grow my own Rosemary, Oragano, Parsly, Basil, Tomatoes, etc. Anything here in Florida that will grow Lemon Balm, Bee Balm, the Lemon Balm & Bee Balm make into salves. One is great for keeping the sketter's away. Going back to Nature is the only way as far as I;m concerned. I'm not downing Doctor's but (MY oppinion) they just give out too many scripts that have (13) example too many side effects. One I saw on TV that said possible coma (Ya really want to take that one! Or leaky annal! Ya that's great too! Anyway; Goats Milk is the best for Psoriasis, Acne! When I was young I grew up using Goats Milk soap & drank goats milk (was allergic) to real milk! I had great skin as a teenager! No bumps. Kids in school asked me what I did to keep pimples away! Oh well Natural is one of my hot topics. No one really has time to bake or cook anymore! I find it quite difficult & then when you go to store you can'nt find the things you need. I was looking for Mustard seed couldn't find it to make pickles & Cake Flour to bake cake from scratch (Not there) either. Oh, well My Hero is Doctor Andrew Weil, MD. Big teddy bear that I would love to hug (he's so knowledgeable) chow for now diane jernigan

There are times when modern medicine is necessary, such as severe vericose veins, but we do love to use natural products whenever possible.  Going natural has even been known to work along with medicine to help cancer patients remain in remission far longer, so whatever we can do to take care of our bodies in the natural way is the best thing for our bodies!  All of these are great recommendations, especially the goat's milk.  We had another post regarding the use of pee, and my father told me years ago that in his younger days, the womenfolk would rub their faces with the baby's first wet diaper of the day to keep their skin clear!

McKaren says ...

djmagic -- I love Dr Weil too -- I have found some of his wonderful products at Origins.  I grow herbs as well, the easy ones, rosemary, sage, oregano, lavender.  I am a baker from way back -- love to bake bread especially -- it's so soulful -- and each loaf dependant upon the humidity in the air, my temperament that day -- love it, though as the years have gone by I've added a dough-hook to my paraphenalia -- kneading is hard on my wrists!  Funny story -- my husband, who loves the bread too -- came to me one day and said I should lay off baking so much bread -- so I did and the very next week he comes to me complaining -- "where's the bread?"  go figure, can't win.  But there's something about warm bread -- right out of the oven -- yum. Also -- (I could just go on and on) there's lots of folks who've never had anything but the white air-fluff stuff pretend bread -- and guess what?  they often don't like real bread. 

Processed foods -- our bodies don't really know what to do with them.  What's wrong with slowing down long enough to prepare a meal, with real ingredients to share with the ones we love.  Can we really be too busy to slow down long enough to chew our food?  share alittle conversation? take the time to consciously fuel our bodies? 

Honestly -- we all move too fast -- the few remaining sane ones need to stand up -- and put their collective "foot" down.  sorry I'll get off the soapbox now.

 

You're right, and what too many people don't realize is how much all that processed food clogs up the liver and slows the system down.  People who have gotten too used to things like processed white bread have a difficult time handling real food.  It was really hard for me to eat after moving into the city after I grew up, because I'm sorry, but city folks do not know what real food is.  Even the meat had no flavour!  I was used to eating the meat that we had grown ourselves, from bulls that had eaten out of our own pastures, pigs that we fed from slops from our own kitchen, chickens that were free-range in the truest sense of the word, and eggs from those chickens, as well as vegetables that we grew in our own fields and venison that the med would hunt, fish from the local lakes.  That was food.  This stuff that you buy in the shops just doesn't compare.  In fact, when I had a friend who tasted venison for the first time, she said it tasted too gamey!  I also like real buffalo meat, though I don't have it often, since we don't want them to go nearly extinct again.  Also, you can't find it in England.  Or at least not that I've ever heard.'

We didn't use natural remedies...we were a "better living through the latest chemicals" kind of family...even my grandparents used the latest pharmaceuticals rather than natural items...so you can imagine the shock to my internal and external systems when I finally realized a few years back the high levels of chemicals imbued to home products (at levels that would be banned by OSHA if they were in the work place...sigh...) that wreak havoc on both our bodies and the environment.

I am as glad I found Melaleuca, where I buy all my chemical free household and body products, and my vitamins, on line so I don't have to run hither and yon to get'em, or pay natural food store prices.

Check them out: www.melaleuca.com and you'll see what I mean.  I'm a member so I get the greatly reduced member prices.

Terri

McKaren says ...

You are so right about the food having no taste; long story short I was put on a strict macrobiotic diet (years ago) which is whole grains and food, no dairy, no meat...the first thing I noticed was the tastes!  Wow -- didn't remember carrots tasting so good!

It's really interesting how, once you get your system cleansed of all the things that we are unwittingly putting into it, your taste buds wake up!

that does work beautifully, and vitaman e also helps scars to heal so well that they barely show!  It's good for stretch marks, too, I'm told.  I never got those.  I know, but don't hate me.  I had two husbands bad enough to make up for it. 

What are your opinions about soft drinks?  I am "addicted" to diet coke and I wondered--any thoughts?

I know of a really great website HEALINGPETSNPEOPLERX.COM.   It's an online pharmacy; totally legitimate. U.S all the way. The cool thing about it is it has links to 1800 Petmeds, E Vitamins, online Pharmacy and Natural Remedies. They have tons of articles and advice. WWW.HEALINGPETSNPEOPLERX.COM  Since we are on the subject of Health Remedies and "Pharmacology". I thought it would be helpful! Check it out if you get a chance.

A few years ago, I collected old family recipes from my mother's side of the family (VERY large), and we had a cookbook published, which has turned out to be a lovely heirloom.  My mother went through all her mother's old recipes, and found one that was called "Momma's Recipe For Cockelburr Tea For Kidney Stones".   The recipe called for 1 ball of cockelburrs (dry ones) as large as 2 fists.  The directions were to boil in 1 quart of water until one teacup of fluid is left - then, use 1 tablespoon every morning for 3 mornings. 

That said, I'm not really sure where one would procure cockelburrs since I don't really know what they are, but my people are originally from West Texas, so it must be something that is plentiful in that area.  Anyway, thought you all would get a kick out of that.

Phyllis R. Neill, www.shementor.com

SheMentor says ...

A few years ago, I collected old family recipes from my mother's side of the family (VERY large), and we had a cookbook published, which has turned out to be a lovely heirloom.  My mother went through all her mother's old recipes, and found one that was called "Momma's Recipe For Cockelburr Tea For Kidney Stones".   The recipe called for 1 ball of cockelburrs (dry ones) as large as 2 fists.  The directions were to boil in 1 quart of water until one teacup of fluid is left - then, use 1 tablespoon every morning for 3 mornings. 

That said, I'm not really sure where one would procure cockelburrs since I don't really know what they are, but my people are originally from West Texas, so it must be something that is plentiful in that area.  Anyway, thought you all would get a kick out of that.

Phyllis R. Neill, www.shementor.com

I'm kind of chuckling, becuase I do know what they are, having spent some time in that part of the world, and I can't imagine that someone actually came up with a positive use for the little pests!  They're known as stickers in other parts, as they stick to your socks and shoelaces, and are very difficult to walk on.  They're almost impossible to get out of your socks and shoelaces, as they have so many little sticky things to grab on with.  They are, in short, a nightmare.  This is an interesting recipe.  Would you mind sharing some of those recipes for us?