Archive for the ‘Alternative Medicine Articles’ Category

Dandelion

-->
By Mary Welty

Dandelion
(Taraxacum Officinale)

Medicinal Part: Plant

Description: The dandelion is a perennial plant found, to the dismay of many, almost everywhere.

Properties and Uses: Aperient, Cholagogue, diuretic, stomachic, tonic. Dandelion has two particularly important uses: to promote the formation of bile and to remove excess water from the body in edemous conditions resulting from liver problems. The root especially affects all forms of secretion and excretion from the body. By acting to remove poisons from the body, it acts as a tonic and stimulant as well.1

I was in my early teens before I discovered that most people considered the dandelion a weed. All I remember is being rousted out of bed extra early on Sunday mornings to collect dandelion leaves in the park, before the sun dried the dew from the leaves. “Only pick the leaves without flowers,” my Godmother would remind us. Dandelion was invariably the main ingredient in the salad for Sunday night dinner.

(more…)

Apple Cider Vinegar; It Will Cure What Ails You


By Luella May

So many health products for sale! So much money to be spent! Yet, in your kitchen, you may have just what you need to give you optimum health. Apple Cider Vinegar and Honey. It is important to note that they must both be organic and raw. The modern types that you buy in the grocery store will not work, as all the healing elements have been removed. Did you know that this little combination will take care of a variety of health problems? I will give my disclaimer now. If you are ill or have a chronic condition, don’t stop taking your medication abruptly. Take the apple cider vinegar tablets together with your medication and notice how much better you feel. There are various ways to do this. You may mix two teaspoons of apple cider vinegar, together with two teaspoons of honey in a glass of water and drink this three times a day. Some people love it and say that it is quite a refreshing drink. I do not share that opinion, so I opt to take the tablets. Whichever route you decide to take, remember, they must be organic. Do not get the watered down commercial brand.

I first discovered an advertisement about apple cider vinegar and its health benefits, not even a month after I lost my mother. I had cared for her for four years and it had worn me down emotionally and physically. Where once upon a time I came first and she sacrificed for me, life had done a backward flip and now she came first and I sacrificed for her. Therefore, many of my health concerns went unattended. No, I would not advise anyone to sacrifice in this way, but when faced with the position of full time caregiver, this is so very easy to do. You tend to forget about yourself, fully intending to take care of yourself later . . . and later . . . . and later . . . . .By the time mother died, I had asthma, for which I was taking a variety of inhalers, sinus headaches, Osteoarthritis, so bad in my hips that it was extremely difficult to go up two steps. I have always been wary of prescription medicine, so I never asked for the latest miracle pills on the market. After several of them being taken off the shelves, I am most glad that I didn’t.

(more…)

Oral Chelation Therapy


By Jason Montag

Chelation therapy has always been a major topic of debate and now there is an added problem. Oral chelation therapy has taken the chelation therapy procedure to a whole new level and replacing the injected EDTA with a pill form of EDTA. Some of the same people that arenot supporters of chelation therapy are also not believer in oral chelation therapy. The difference is that there are some supporters of traditional chelation therapy that do not buy into the oral chelation therapy idea. Actually these same people have some theories of why oral chelation therapy is actually harmful to the human body. We will go into the basics of their argument for you to use as a basis for your further investigation.

Scientists say that the human body only absorbs five percent of the EDTA that is taken orally leaving about ninety five percent of the EDTA in the body. The huge amount of EDTA consumed form oral chelation therapy can stick around and mix with the undigested food and continue to absorb the nutrients from the food like copper, zinc and chromium. The more the EDTA absorbs the less the body has access to absorb. The lack of these nutrients can lead to a body’s deficiency and lead to further problems. This can be a compelling argument against oral chelation therapy still many people and doctors are believers.

(more…)

What is Alternative Medicine


By Zach Thompson

What is alternative medicine? This is a term used to describe the different forms of medicine other than conventional methods. Alternative medicine includes a wide variety of medical practices including non-European (non-Western) medical practices and will include some new approaches to medicine. There is also a term called complementary medicine. This is a combination of conventional medicine coupled with alternative medicine.

With increasing research and new findings in medicine there is a universal rise in the Western nations of alternative medicine. In the Eastern part of the world, namely the Orient, some forms of alternative medicine has been practiced for many centuries. Part of this trend in the West may be due to the growth of medical education among people and the increased amount of travel to different regions. More literature is now available on this subject and medical societies specializing in different forms of alternative medicine are available.

(more…)

Turning Off An Allergic Reaction


By Jane Thurnell-Read

Wouldn’t it be good to have a safe, non-drug technique that you could use to minimise allergic reactions? Well, there is one. It was devised by Dr Jimmy Scott, the originator of health kinesiology, a complementary therapy.

It’s a simple way to turn off an allergic reaction by tapping acupuncture points. The sooner you start doing this after experiencing symptoms, the more effectively it works. One of the good things about this procedure is that it doesn’t matter if you don’t know what the offending substance is.

(more…)

The Myth of Magnetic Healing


By Eric Cho

Magnetic therapy or magnotherapy is an alternative medicine that cures certain medical disorders by exposing the body to magnetic fields. Although mainstream medical science pooh-poohs the claims made by magnotherapy and have stamped it as a pseudoscience, ardent proponents say that magnet therapy works in a non-invasive way to cure many painful conditions, primarily back disorders, arthritis and joint aches. Magnetic fields from permanent magnets are said to speed up the healing process of the body and relieve pains.

As people started looking for more and more cost-effective and holistic healing practices, a simple yet effective technique was found to be practiced in Germany, Japan and Israel. The principle behind this therapy is fairly simple. The powerful magnetic fields of a magnet stimulate the magnetic fields in the human body thus improving circulation and promoting healing. This paves the way to general good health.

(more…)

Modern Medicine Fails


By Michael Russell

In our western communities, statistics have been offered which account for one person in four dying of cancer and one in four of heart disease. If these figures are accurate, the other half of our population is left to account for all the kidney failures, contagious diseases, arthritis, respiratory problems and other innumerable diseases suffered by so many. To this, we must add the deaths from accidents and now the horrifying forecasts that another one in four of the total population is anticipated to suffer from mental diseases of various kinds. Statistics may present us with certain facts about our society, but it is the human side of the equation that affects us most potently.

To avoid becoming another statistic, we are forced to think about what present day medicine can do to help us. Or perhaps we should ask if modern methods themselves are part of the cause of our problems? In our medical system there is an enormous amount of drug medication. Surgical operations are so heavily in demand that patients have to wait their turn. Pathology is a roaring business and doctor’s waiting rooms are never empty. There is a great deal of activity, tests and treatments going on and no doubt much relief of pain but there seems to be little cure of serious illnesses. The wonderful treatments and surgical skills used in repairing damaged bodies after accidents and severe burns, deserves optimum appreciation in these special spheres of expertise, which are very successful. However, in spite of these and other areas of treatments offering temporary help, modern medicine cannot cure the most common diseases such as cancer, arthritis, asthma and heart disease that still plague us. ‘Cure’ in this case means that the condition is treated and gets better and better, until no further symptoms occur.

(more…)

Introduction to Ayurvedic Medicine


By Michael Russell

If you’re familiar with the terms “pitta” and “vata”, then chances are you’ve been acquainted with one of the most ancient medical practices of Asia. Ayurveda (pronounced eye-your-VAY-da) has just began to break through mainstream Western medical consciousness as more and more people have began to look for drug-free and natural remedies to cure their ailments and spirits.

Ayurveda is the natural system of medicine that has been traditionally practiced in India for more than 5,000 years. It is a Sanskrit word that literally translated means “the science of life” and “science of longevity”. Ayurveda is the health care system that was slowly and steadily developed by traditional seers and natural scientists through centuries of meditation, observation, discussion and experiments. These Ayurvedic teachings were then orally passed on from teacher to student until the sixth century BC, where detailed Sanskrit texts were finally written. It is said that even the ancient Greek, Roman, Egyptian,

(more…)

Home Remedy For Cold Sores


By Andrew Bicknell

If you suffer from cold sores regularly then you are familiar with the discomfort and painful blisters an outbreak brings. Finding a home remedy for your cold sores is of the utmost importance when you become aware that an outbreak is going. The signs of an outbreak usually begin with a tingling sensation on your lip. Then you begin to feel the small hard spot that accompanies the tingling and you know in a day or two you will have a painful, ugly, oozing blister on your lip for a good week or more.

A cold sore is normally caused by the herpes simplex 1 virus, although they can be caused by the herpes simplex 2 virus which is more commonly associated with genital herpes. You can get cold sores from someone infected with the virus who has an active blister. You can also get it by sharing eating utensils, towels, drinking glasses, or anything elsethat may have come in contact with an infected lesion.

(more…)

Health Benefits of Green Tea


By Michael Russell

Historical evidence suggests that tea leaves boiled in water were consumed as far back as 5,000 years ago in India and China. These two countries were the earliest users of tea. Tea also plays a very important part in social rituals of Japan. In Asian countries tea has long played an important cultural role.

Tea is derived from leaves of a plant called Camellia sinensis. The plant is grown in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. There are three types of tea – Green, black and oolong. All of these are derived from Camellia sinensis, the difference lying in the way the leaves are processed. Green tea is prepared from leaves that are not fermented; oolong tea is prepared from partially fermented leaves, while black tea leaves are fully fermented. Green and oolong tea are mostly consumed in Asian countries like China, Japan, India and Thailand, while black tea is preferred in United States.

(more…)