Mama's Home Remedies: Discover Time-Tested Secrets of Good Health and the Pleasures of Natural Living

by Svetlana Konnikova

  During these years they accumulated a rich experience in healing people from different diseases. They were a team of courageous and noble people whom I observed and from whom I learned. I listened to their long conversations about natural healing and alternative medicine and their humorous stories with unabated attention. I was 12 when I began to keep a journal in which I wrote my observations and collected valuable information that I gleaned from Mama and her friends.

  They told me that whenever they began to work with any patient, they would recite to them this ancient parable:

  There are three of us: me, you, and a disease. If you, my patient, will be on the side of illness, I will not overcome you as a doctor. If you will be on my side, together we will conquer your illness. Rose Hips Tea Party @ 3

  Mama’s and her friends’ practice was evidence that this psychological approach worked. It was motivation for the people to fight their illnesses. It was a clear direction to health and life. The “girls” gathered these miraculous remedies from centuries of wisdom and expertise including their own mothers, grandmothers, and Mother Nature. They combined the natural method of physical therapy with electro-physiology. They prescribed well-known antibiotics and other drugs, but their first attempt to heal a patient was always with the sole use of herbal remedies.

  Tea was considered to be an essential part of l’ art de vivre. They sat down to tea many times—the same party around the same table on our patio, overlooking Grandma’s multicolored garden with an array of flowers that greeted them with sweet and pungent aromas while the strains of Tchaikovsky’s “Waltz of the Flowers” filled the air.

 

  4 ^ Mama’s Home Remedies

  To live happily is an inward power of the soul.

  —Marcus Aurelius (A.D. 161-180), Roman emperor

  Mama’s Philosophy for Your Motivation

  ^ Life is a beautiful gift given to al of us. We should use it properly.

  ^ Be kind and try to do something good for somebody right now. Don’t delay because we will not pass the same way again.

  ^ Be an attentive listener and motivator if family members or your friends share their ultimate secrets, goals, and dreams with you. Never put them down. The consequences can be unpredictable.

  ^ Be positive and constructive. Be straightforward and encouraging. As a result, something great can come out of it.

  ^ Look at the sunny side of everything in your life and be optimistic. Your optimism will become reality.

  ^ Make your life an example of health, happiness, and prosperity. This will give you an opportunity to become a knowledgeable advisor and expert.

  ^ Be generous. Share your rich experience with those who would like to take advantage of it.

  ^ Be really responsible for your life and follow your heart. Rose Hips Tea Party @ 5

  ^ Our life is a gift twice: once for ourselves and once for others.

  ^ Our life is a mirror in which we can see good and bad. Our health is a shield—physical and mental. Our physical health has an influence on our spiritual life, but our spiritual power gives us the discipline required to maintain our health.

  ^ Our health and our well-being rest in our hands.

  ^ Think only of the best and build your long and happy life, based on the laws of Nature.

  ^ Chase your goals and perform good deeds.

  ^ Be strong and have the guts to say “No” when you feel that something is not right. The world will not change to suit your preferences.

  ^ Be a very good sport to your family and friends. Love, inspire, amuse, and believe in them. It is mutual. You’ll get the same treatment back.

  ^ Consider every day as a small life and each day as full and perfect.

  ^ Be confident that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. Be strong against fear.

  ^ Be noble and mighty against jealousy and anger.

  ^ Help others in need of your help, and just do it!

  ^ To live a long, healthy, and happy life is an art— l’ art de vivre. 6 ^ Mama’s Home Remedies

  Chapter 2

  “Even the Badger Knows . . .”

  Nature is to be found in her entirety nowhere more than in her smallest creatures.

  —Pliny the Elder (A.D. 23-79), Roman scholar

  FACTS:

  More than one-third of U.S. citizens use natural medicine today. The government has suggested that more and more people became interested in herbs, meditation, yoga, and other forms of alternative medicine because they don’t see positive results very often with conventional care. One of the largest U.S. studies conducted on alternative medicine found that over ⅓ of American adults practiced some type of alternative medicine in 2002. The report was based on information from 31,044 interviews with adults age 18 or older.

  Researchers believe that results of the study point to the fact that more people are using alternative medicine and an increasing number of people have turned to natural products like herbs, fruits, vegetables, or enzymes to help treat chronic or recurring pain.

  Experts suggest that people should not neglect conventional medicine in those cases where it has been proven to help certain conditions. They also recommend consulting a doctor before practicing alternative medicine. Experts express concern about the number of people turning to alternative medicine because they felt they were no longer able to pay the costs of conventional care. Experts also caution people to be careful before they use a natural product and

  “Even the Badger Knows…” @ 7

  not assume that it is automatically safe to consume only because it is natural. The study cited an example that 6.6 percent of people in the study used the supplement kava kava, which has been linked to liver disease. The study found that 62 percent of the participants used some form of complimentary or alternative medicine over the past year for a specific medical condition:

  ^ 43 percent prayed for their own health

  ^ 24 percent were prayed for by others

  ^ 19 percent used herbs, other natural and botanical products, and enzymes

  ^ 12 percent practiced deep breathing exercises

  ^ 10 percent participated in group prayer for their own health

  ^ 8 percent used meditation

  ^ 8 percent sought chiropractic care

  ^ 5 percent practiced yoga

  ^ 5 percent used massage

  ^ 4 percent implemented diet-based therapies

  Research showed that there was a higher tendency for women to use complementary and alternative medicine than men. Twenty-eight percent of the participants felt that conventional treatment would not help them.1

  I

  can stil hear Mama’s refrain whenever she administered one of her wonderful, healing herbs to me or to my sister. “Even the badger knows that Mother Nature is the best healer,” she would say with a knowing smile. Our friends and family used this phrase frequently. It was popular among “the girls,” Mama’s friends, and, in turn, their children grew fond of it and used it as wel . Thus, the saying along with an understanding of the use of healing herbs became like a fine, gold chain connecting friends and family together in pursuit of natural, herbal remedies for prevention of and the treatment of il nesses.

  We first encountered the phrase in a lyrical story, “The Badger’s Nose,”

  written by the Russian writer Konstantin Paustovsky in 1935. I can hardly 8 ^ Mama’s Home Remedies

  believe that this brilliant writer wrote this piece during Stalin’s rule, a period filled with fear and repression. Fortunately he was not punished and sent to Stalin’s prison camps as were many other people who chose to express, rather than repress, their views. Perhaps it lies in the fact that Paustovsky focused his writings on beautiful, short stories about Nature, animals, trees, and his profound love for our planet.

  His story takes us back to our natural roots and explains how the bold and wise badger used his instincts to survive by foraging for just the right

  “medicine” from Nature’s green
pharmacy.

  I first heard Mama’s version of this story when I was a child. When I had my own children, I too adapted the story to my own words, so I told them my version and they understood what it means to be in harmony with Nature and all she provides. They admired how the small and clever badger successfully treated and healed his wounds by using natural resources. It became my children’s favorite and they requested it time and again. Each time the story is told by someone new, the words are bound to change, but the moral remains crystal clear. Trust in Nature to be healed.

  You wil be able to read my variation of Paustovsky’s classic story of delicate psychological insight that speaks of a smal animal that we, depending on where we live, can sometimes see in our own backyards, in the forthcoming book, The Badger’s Nose.

  The badger knows that Mother Nature is the best healer. Thus, if you love Nature, you can easily explore her green pharmacy. Look in your kitchen cupboard for yellow onion, garlic, cabbage, or ginger.

  ^ Rub the highly antiseptic cloves of garlic (peeled and cut open) on acne pustules and other infected pimples.

  ^ Crush garlic and apply to stubborn corns to draw them out. Fold a bandage into three layers with the garlic in between and roll over the finger or toe.

  ^ Cut one slice of yel ow onion and put it on insect stings—you’ll get rapid relief.

  ^ Lie down and apply washed fresh cabbage leaves as a plaster to the forehead and temples for 15 minutes to soothe a burn or bruise or to relieve headaches.

  “Even the Badger Knows…” @ 9

  ^ Chew a piece of crystallized ginger or eat ginger candy or cookies to prevent travel sickness such as nausea and vomiting during long journeys in a car or boat. Go with your children to the national parks, forests, meadows, lakes, wetlands, and swamps. You will discover a whole new world there. Ask questions!

  Healthy curiosity brings its own rewards.

  In a countryside emergency you can apply yarrow leaves to wounds and nosebleeds. Lie down for 15–20 minutes or wrap a bandage or cheesecloth around your wound. With nosebleeds you must lie down for 10–15 minutes at least. Do the same with crushed daisies and it will help you with bruises and sprains. Fresh leaves of shepherd’s purse, Self-Heal, or wild geranium will stop bleeding. Use the same method with the bandage or cheesecloth or lie down until the bleeding stops.

  It has been always a mystery how animals follow their instincts and recognize the healing properties of plants, especially those which can treat their wounds, burns, scratches, and bites of other stronger animals. Guess what? They never had doctors or pil s, like we do. However they also want to survive on the planet Earth, so Mother Nature gave al Earth’s inhabitants her generous gifts—plants, herbs, trees, and flowers. She planted them everywhere—in gardens, forests, meadows, glades, fields, swamps, and marshes. She created the world’s most amazing huge green hospital where remedies for health problems are 100 percent natural and grow right under your feet so people and animals can use them any time and heal themselves. I don’t know many people who have enough knowledge to take advantage of this free “hospital,” but the animals know for sure what to do and how to take care of themselves. They know which “green medicines” are safe and which are poisonous. They have amazing instincts for survival, much better than people have. The explanation is quite simple: they are born and live in a wild environment and must rely on themselves.

  From our story you will learn how the badger treated his nose, badly burned in boiling hot oil, with the mold from the decomposed stump of a pine tree.

  We too have the ability to explore Nature’s green pharmacy and learn how to be healthier and happier. Good luck to you on the road to explore a new you!

  10 ^ Mama’s Home Remedies

  Natural medicine recognizes the healing properties of plants, minerals, and different stones. However, for centuries scientists and doctors ignored unusual treatments employed by so-cal ed “ignorant” healers. These remedies include mold and spider’s web or gossamer. Most doctors and scientists discounted them. In the meantime “women from the crowd” (midwives) treated inflammation with these natural antiseptics—just as our little hero, the badger, did. What is this miraculous mold from the decomposed stump of a pine tree?

  You’ll be disappointed if you expect to see something beautiful. This green mold looks very unattractive. It was called “an awful green mold or mud,” even by some bright scientists. For years it was considered to be harmful and even infectious and useless and it was scorned by good doctors. Many years ago a physician in Russia was shocked to see that his patient had used an awful green mold as a substitute for a medicinal ointment.

  “Look, this is only one step away from gangrene!” he exclaimed indignantly. But after inspecting the patient’s wound, he had to admit that the wound had healed. The doctor was greatly surprised and said, “I don’t get it! This is either mysticism or a smart witch did a great job.”

  He added. “You are really lucky, sir. Are you aware of that? Your body is perfectly healthy, and you have successfully overcome this pathogenic infection—even under the harmful influence of this green mud. You could have contracted a life-threatening blood poisoning or sepsis.”

  This sort of prejudice has prevailed for many years. An awful green mold or mud was scorned by doctors even long after Sir Alexander Fleming, a British bacteriologist, discovered the antibiotic qualities of the lysozyme in 1922 and the mold fungus penicillin in 1928. Lysozyme is an enzyme present in human body tissues and it is lethal to certain bacteria. This discovery at first prepared the way for antibiotics.

  Later Fleming made a great discovery with penicillin and scientifically proved its valuable antibiotic qualities. Then penicillin was developed as a therapeutic drug by Lord Howard Walter Florey and Sir Ernst Boris Chain. All three scientists received the 1945 Nobel Prize in Medicine for their discovery of penicillin and its curative effect in various infectious diseases. Penicillin saved the lives of millions of World War II soldiers. After the war penicillin continued to be a successful healer of pneumonia, wounds, inflammation, and a wide spectrum of other sicknesses, and it brought back to health thousands of men, women, and children everywhere in the world.

  “Even the Badger Knows…” @ 11

  However natural “antibiotics” had been known to folk healers, midwives, and “witches” for centuries.

  Be smart! Start your own green clinic right in your house. Probably you already have in your house a good stocked “apothecary” with dried herbs and herbal teas. Now you can add something new and useful to that pharmacy. Begin by buying aloe ( Aloe vera) in a small pot. You can easily find it in a supermarket for about two dollars. Learn how to cherish this noble plant, whose motherland (or origin) is tropical Africa. Aloe vera was known to the Greeks and Romans, who used the gel for wounds. They carefully sliced it along the center of a leaf and peeled back the edges. Then using the blunt edge of a knife, they scraped the gel from the leaf.

  Keep your potted aloe plant on the windowsill in the kitchen. Now if someone gets burned while in your house, you can help them with your plant. Prepare your first remedy in natural medicine by making aloe gel. It’s easy and it takes only a few minutes. To soothe minor burns, scalds, or sunburn, cut off a fresh leaf from an Aloe vera plant. Split the leaf open and apply the thick gel to the affected area immediately. Since the safety of such treatment has never been questioned, this is a therapy you can offer to your family or friends as well as a treatment for dry skin, insect bites, and fungal infections. And this is not all you can do. You can offer inhalation too. Use the gel in a steam inhalant for bronchial congestion. Bring to a boil three cups of water. Soak one Aloe vera leaf in the water for five minutes. The water will absorb the medicinal qualities of this plant. Then place your face over the boiling concoction, cover your head with a towel, and breathe in the steam. Use the Greeks’ and Romans’ method of preparation of aloe gel by carefully slicing the leaf along its center and peeling the edges. Then with the blu
nt edge of a knife, scrap the gel from the leaf. Put the gel into a pot with boiling water. If you find this method too complicated, just use the first one mentioned above because it is really easier to do. Split the aloe open. A thick gel will appear in the center of a leaf. Put a whole split leaf in a pot with boiling water. Let it steep for five minutes. Then cover your head with a towel and breathe as long as you can to relieve you bronchial or nasal congestion.

  Do you know that extracts of aloe leaves were used once in some countries on children’s fingers to stop nail-biting!?

  Ancient Egyptians treated various inflammatory diseases with mold from barley grain. We now refer to this particular type of mold as tetracycline, an antibiotic with a wide spectrum of action. 12 ^ Mama’s Home Remedies

  When I was suffering with a bout of pneumonia, my doctor prescribed for me several different antibiotics because none

  in particular had an effect on me. My body was

  Just a precaution:

  immune and refused to absorb the initial chemical treatments he had prescribed, and not until Use one leaf Aloe vera

  I was given tetracycline did my body respond

  for the beginning of your

  and use it to heal the pneumonia.

  practice of providing

  Certain molds have proved their healing

  first aid. High doses of

  properties, but many other natural substancthe leaves can cause es used in green medicine are not recognized

  by the medical community. Why? I believe

  vomiting! Use young

  one reason is that there has not been enough

  leaves. They are safer.

  research conducted on them to earn the faith

  Aloe leaves taste very

  of the masses, so understandably skepticism

  bitter, so don’t try

  prevails.

  to take a bite.

  In ancient times people knew and understood the medicinal qualities of thousands of plants, trees, flowers, and stones—more so than we do now. Today these substances appear to most to be “exotic” or “preposterous” cures. And do you know why? Because modern doctors don’t know much about them, and today’s scientists are preoccupied with complicated “computer-led” researches in modern, sterile clean laboratories, where miraculous compounds are created daily. These compounds are the lucrative symbols of a powerful and very wealthy pharmaceutical industry.