Immune System Support

Think you're getting a cold or the flu? Can't shake the one you already have? Well here are some easy, natural things that you can do in order to boost your immune system:

GINGER

Consume a grape-sized chunk (or two if already sick) a day of fresh ginger. One way to do this is to shave it with a cheese grater into a cup of hot water and allow it to steep for 10 minutes before you drink. You can also make a decoction by chopping up the whole root and throwing it in a pot of water. Heat the water until it has reached a simmering boil and allow it to boil down until half of the water in the pot is got. Take care to actually simmer your decoction as opposed to allowing to go into a strong boil so that you can extract the nutrients properly. Dump a couple of tablespoons into your coffee or tea or just take them as is, everyday.

GREEN TEA

Drink 3-4 cups of green tea a day when you are sick and 1-2 cups day when well. 

SLEEP

Some people underestimate the healing powers of a deep sleep.And when I say deep sleep, I mean take some melatonin, benedryl (I know its not natural and contradicts the point of my blog but it helps none the less) and a bunch of *sleepy herbs, grab book, and STAY IN BED for a whole entire day or so. Of course you have to get up to eat, drink and pee, but try to sleep as much as you can
or just rest if you can't fall asleep. Keep in mind that your body needs to expend as much energy as it possibly can on healing and running around is the opposite of helping it.

SALINE

Saline is an awesome defense against and a cure for sinus infections. I am not exaggerating this by any means. My uncle once suffered from near chronic sinus infections for a while and kept going to his doctor to get antibiotics for them. One day when he was talking to my Papa (his father) about his infections and Papa told him to just use saline instead of the antibiotics. Now if anyone knows anything about sinus infections, its Papa! So, my uncle tried it and no more sinus infection! He had to go back to the same doctors office because one of his children had an ear infection at some point after. While there he told the doctor about his findings and low and behold the doctor told him that that was also a valid way of treating sinus infections! My uncle was pissed.... But anyway, you can also use a nettie pot but PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE boil the water before use. There is a rare but deadly amoeba out there that can eat your brains if you don't....

Yeast Infections (treatment for women)

There is nothing more irritating than a case a thrush! What other malady can induce impure thoughts about pine cones?  Here is how to make the itching stop immediately so that you don't have to give into temptation:

What you will need:

Tampon with applicator
Vegetable oil of any kind but coconut oil works best.
Tea tree essential oil &/or lavender oil

Dilute to tea tree oil with the olive oil. It seems like different people can tolerate different strengths of tea tree oil. I don't need to dilute it at all (you should always dilute your essential oils but tea tree and lavender are exceptions to this rule) but if you are sensitive and neglect to dilute, you will only feel worse. So, dab a bit of tea tree oil on your wrist and see what happens. If it starts to burn, dowse your wrist in vegetable oil and wipe away. This means you need to dilute. So take about 3 tablespoon of vegetable oil and pour them into a cup. Then put in about 10 drops of tea tree oil.

Now you can load up your tampon with the solution. Place the tampon into the cup and allow it to soak for a minute or so. OR you can make a little funnel out of a plastic baggie by cutting the tip off of one of the bottom corners and pour the solution into the other end of the tampon. Either way, allow to solution to soak in before insertion. This will help fight the infection AND stop the internal itch almost immediately.

Use the same solution on the outside of the vagina but take care to wash and dry (pat dry NO RUBBING! It will make the infection spread on your skin)  real well before application.

Baths with any kind of UNSCENTED salt will also help aid in fighting both the infection and the itch. Use very liberally! Like 3 to 4 cups or more. You can also add some of the tea tree/lavender solution described about in your bath as well.

These 2 things you can do before you go to bed to help fight the infection:

* Douche with kiefer.

* Insert a tablet of active acidophilus

Be warned that in the morning you will have a ton of discharge. Take your bath then maybe?

And last but not least, here is a list of  ways to help aid in the healing of any infection:

* Consume a grape-sized piece or two of fresh ginger.

* Drink a couple of cups of green tea.

* Eat raw garlic

And if all else fails, please go to the doctor.

Gum Disease remedy and pain relief

This one is real simple. So simple you might not believe me: Eat an apple or two everyday for about a week.

 "The apple could be considered a natural toothbrush: its firm flesh stimulate the gums and the malic acid (the apples natural occuring fruit acid) content cleanses the teeth. Apple juice contains condensed tannins which have properties that may help prevent periodontal or gum disease. (1)" 

I have used this method whenever my gums start to hurt and/or bleed and it works every time. I see results in a day or so and my gums don't give me any problems for about 6 months. 75% of Americans have some form of gum disease (2) and 51% of Kiwis have experienced bleeding gums which is a sign of gum disease (3). So, a lot of people need to get chomping!

Rinsing your mouth with salt water several times a day can also help.

If you need instant relief from the pain and to aid healing you can try the following:

* Take a wet hot tea bag and place it on the irritated part of your gums. Hold for at least 5 minutes.
* Get some tea tree or clove oil,  and rub it onto your gums with a Q-tip.
* Mix Rosemary oil essential with a little bit of vegetable oil or make a strong infusion with fresh rosemary. Massage this into your gums at least twice a day.

Be sure to drink plenty of water and try to lay off the refined sugar for a while as well. And of course floss, brush and chew sugarless gum or whole cloves. 



(1) http://www.natureandmore.com/products/apple
(2) http://www.umm.edu/patiented/articles/who_gets_periodontal_disease_000024_4.htm
(3) http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1202/S00120/dental-health-survey-shows-kiwis-have-nothing-to-smile-about.htm

Condition your hair for cheap...and without the chemicals

I don't know about you, but I have tried many different types of natural conditioners on the market and have been left with much to desire afterwords. So i resorted to a couple simple home remedies that really did the trick.

The following tips work for ALL hair types even extra fine hair:

Olive oil - Apply a palm full of oil into your hair rubbing evenly throughout. Make sure the tips have a little extra. DO NOT SOAK YOUR HAIR IN IT, just apply enough so that your hair is lightly coated. Leave it in for at least 15 minutes before showering if not longer. Use hot water in the shower and rinse your hair for about 5 - 10 minutes. This will allow the oil to fully penetrate your hair. Wash and condition as usual.

Jojoba oil - Apply to hair as above and then go outside and bask in the sun for the day. Braid your hair to keep the oil from getting in face. Wash and condition your hair and as usual when you get home. This is an ideal tip for summer time excursions to the beach or pool.

Apple Cider Vinegar - Take one part water and one part apple cider vinegar and use this as a rinse in the shower before or after you wash your hair. Take care to rinse your well with water afterwords or your hair will retain the smell of the vinegar.

Pretty much just about any vegetable oil will condition your hair to some degree. You could even use Crisco if you wanted!


Applying a natural conditioner or cream to your hair and braiding before you go to sleep helps as well. I also make an all purpose healing balm that I use on the tips of my hair every night. You could make a simply one at home with vegetable oil and non-irradiated beeswax or you could purchase some of mine at my esty store, La Donna Verde. There is a link to my Trademe listing on there as well for those of you who reside in New Zealand.

The many uses of castile soap

I prefer Dr. Bronner's castile soap because it always seems to work the best. Here is a list of the many things you can do with it:

Shampoo
Floor cleaner
Toothpaste
Household cleaner
Dish soap
Body wash
Laundry detergent

There are a few vague uses of castile soap listed on the actual bottle of course and you can take inspiration from those as well as what i have listed below:

Shampoo - Mix two cups of water or green tea (green tea helps to promote shiny hair) with about 20 ounces of castile soap. Place in a cooking pot and simmer the two together. You can add rosemary oil for a healthy scalp as well. Use around 20 drops. Allow to cool then pour into a bottle. Add tea tree oil for dandruff relief if needed. You can also use it straight if you wish.

Floor cleaner - Add a cup to a 2 gallon bucket and mop away. If you have some tough spots to clean, pour sea salt onto the floor prior to cleaning and use a sponge mop. Or just make a paste of castile soap and sea salt and scrub the spots by hand with an old sponge.

Toothpaste - Use a small drop on your toothbrush and do your thing. If it gets too foamy, use a little less next time. This is great for camping.

Household cleaner - Mix one part castile soap to four parts water into a spray bottle. Add 30 drops of tea tree oil to disinfect with.

Dish soap - Mix one part water into two parts castile soap into a bottle.

Body wash - Use straight out of the bottle.

Laundry detergent - Add a quarter cup of castile soap and a cup of sea salt to your water. If you have any white spots on your clothes afterwords, you may need to extend your rinse cycle.

Wanna make the stuff as opposed to buying it? Here's a recipe:

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Liquid-Castile-Soap

They don't make it clear in this article, but for your lye you will want to use potassium hydroxide as opposed to sodium hydroxide. The latter should be use to make hard soaps only.

UTI Urinary tract infection

 There are a couple of ways to go about treating them WITHOUT having to go to the doctors office. It just takes persistence. And if you don't have insurance or you just don't like antibiotics, persistence will be your friend.

One of the simplest ways to go about this is by going to your local health food store or pharmacy and buying some cranberry concentrates. Don't bother with the AZO brand as the bottle doesn't have that many pills and you need a lot of them! Take more than directed. Take five at one time if it tells you to take three and so on and so forth. Take care to consume about 64 ounces of water a day. If you can, stay home the first day of treatment so you can concentrate on urinating.

You can also try using uva ursi as well, but in my experience, the cranberry concentrates work better. Also, you can take too much uva ursi where as the cranberry concentrates can be taken in excess with no real consequence. Maybe an upset stomach, but that has yet to happen to me personally. Too much uva ursi and you will find yourself vomiting or taking a trip to the emergency room. There a was a formula i tried from the health food store once with uva ursi in it. I followed the directions and got sick anyhow. Please be careful with this one. Your best bet is using it in tincture form and sucking down the 64 ounces of water.


DO NOT TAKE BOTH OF THEM AT THE SAME TIME. They will cancel each other out.

You may also want to:

Add a teaspoon of liquid chlorophyll into a few of your glasses of water.

Consume a grape-sized piece or two of fresh ginger.

Drink a couple of cups of green tea.

These will help fight the infection itself.

There is also a homeopathic remedy on the market called uricontrol. It helps keep you from being  incontinent while you are working through the infection which is very important if you ask me!

Here's to having a happy bladder :)

UPDATE: Just read some VERY disturbing news on Jezebel.com:

"A new study of over 12 million bacteria found that E. coli resistance to ciprofloxacin, which is the antibiotic most commonly used to treat UTIs, increased five-fold between 2000 and 2010. The study also found that E. coli is getting wise to Bactrim, the second most commonly prescribed UTI drug. All of this spells trouble for treating the UTIs of the future, since E. coli is responsible for between 75 and 95 percent of these infections."

Maybe people should stop using so many antibiotics already! There are fine if you don't respond to to natural remedies, but people who don't are few and far between. You can read the whole article here: http://jezebel.com/5906531/weve-bred-a-race-of-super-uti-bacteria-that-could-leave-us-in-a-world-of-hurt

Treatment plan for dandruff

First, here are the things you will need. You might not need all of them. You can use one or more of the methods below to treat your dandruff. Use whatever works for you:

A bottle of tea tree oil
Fresh rosemary
An empty jar or bottle that can hold about 8 oz
A smaller bottle or jar
Apple cider vinegar
Jojoba or olive oil

1. Take some boiling water and steep your fresh rosemary to make an infusion. Allow to cool and strain it into your jar. This will be your hair rinse. Use it after you have washed and conditioned your hair.

2. Put about 10 drops of tea tree oil into both your shampoo and conditioner and shake.

3. After you shampoo your hair, rinse your scalp with apple cider vinegar and massage it into your scalp.

4. Put about 20 drops of tea tree oil into either a half a cup jojoba or olive oil and mix. Massage into scalp and let it sit for at least an hour. You can leave it longer if you like. If you want extra conditioning for your hair, go out and sit in the sun while this mixture is in you hair. Wash out when done.