Mama's Home Remedies: Discover Time-Tested Secrets of Good Health and the Pleasures of Natural Living
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Lemons and oranges became popular in Russia as effective natural healers, used widely to treat catarrh of the larynx, to “knit” the bones, to treat rheumatism and scurvy, and to remove toxins from the stomach. 80 ^ Mama’s Home Remedies
Navigator James Cook brought large quantities of lemon juice to his ships for his sailors during long journeys. In 1795 a special law was mandated that sailors were to have a glass of this medicinal drink every day. The high percentages of vitamins C, A,
and B make citrus a real miracle food, an antiseptic healer, and a guardian of our health.
R 81. Make a tangerine infusion. Wash three or four tangerines, peel, and dry the skin. Combine the dried tangerine peel with ½ cup cold water in an enamel pot. Bring to a boil and add one tablespoon honey or sugar. Continue to boil for five minutes, then filter and take one tablespoon warm three to four times a day. This soothes symptoms of a cold, flu, bronchitis, or pneumonia.
R 82. Combine one cup milk, one tablespoon honey, one teaspoon butter, two eggs, and three to five drops vanil a extract. Boil milk in an enamel pot and cool. Mix honey and butter. Whip eggs, mix in a bowl with honey and butter, and slowly stir in the warm milk and vanil a extract. Drink one cup a
day for seven days. It wil soothe respiTangerine Trivia
ratory problems and cough.
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from Naples first
R 83. Boil ¾ cup milk and cool. Mix
brought tangerines to
two egg yolks with one tablespoon
sugar or honey and while stirring,
Europe. Tangerine in
constantly add the warm milk and
Russian has a musical
three drops vanil a extract. Take this
name, mandarin,
natural medicine for seven days. It
which came from the
provides relief from a cold, nasal
Chinese. These fruits
rhinitis, sore throat, bronchitis, and
were affordable only
pneumonia.
to the mandarins, the
Chinese feudal lords.
Stop Sneezes and Sniffles and chapter
Stifle a title
Cold @
@ 81
You can use all remedies with elder and rose hips when you have a flu. R 84. Potato vapors can bring relief. Boil five to six potato skins in a pot with 24 ounces water. When mixture is at a rol ing boil, remove from heat and inhale the steam. This simple procedure greatly relieves congestion and improves breathing.
R 85. To reduce fever, you can use linden flowers alone or in herbal compositions: Combine one teaspoon linden flowers, ½ teaspoon mul ein, ½ teaspoon elder with two cups boiling water in a glass jar. Steep for 10 minutes, filter, and drink ½ cup three times a day. You might want to stay home during this treatment because it promotes excessive perspiration.
R 86. Combine three to four tablespoons of lungwort with one quart of boiling water and steep overnight in a warm place. Reheat in the morning, filter, and take one tablespoon five or six times a day. This herb is soothing and relieves inflammation in the chest.
R 87. Combine two tablespoons elder flowers with one pint boiling water. The method of preparation is the same as in #85. Drink ½ cup three times a day. Drink hot for feverish and mucous conditions of the lungs or upper respiratory tract.
Elder is considered a universal treatment in people’s
medicine. From the seventeenth century it became a
popular remedy to reduce phlegm and encourage perspiration. Ripe elderberries are rich in vitamins, especially A and C, and were used widely in Europe in producing wines and medicinal syrups, which people took as preventive measures against winter colds and respiratory
ailments.
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R 88. Use oat straw medicine as febrifuge (fever reducer). Combine three tablespoons oat straw with one pint boiling water. The method of preparation is the same as in #85. Oat straw is an excel ent tonic for the whole system. It is used to treat physical and nervous fatigue and excessive stress. It is ideal for those people with weakened immune systems who suffer persistent colds.
R 89. Fil ¼ of a 12-ounce glass jar with Greater celandine and add boiling water to the top of the jar. Steep, cool, filter, and drink ½
cup. This tea can also be used as a gargle. During a flu it can help to restore a normal appetite and sound sleep. It acts as a sedative for the nervous system. Take for seven days 10-15 minutes before a meal and eat with one tablespoon of freshly grated carrots. Only with the heart can we see rightly; the essential
is invisible to the eye.
—Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900– 1944), French pilot and poet ƒ
It is not so much our friends’ help that helps us
as the confident knowledge that they will help us.
—Epicurus (341– 270 B.C.), Greek philosopher
ƒ
Stop Sneezes and Sniffles and Stifle a Cold @ 83
“Why, one can hear and see the grass growing!” thought Levin, noticing a wet, slate- colored leaf moving beside a blade of young grass.
—Leo Tolstoy (1828– 1910), Russian novelist, from Anna Karenina, 1877
ƒ
Even if something is left undone, everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn.
—Elizabeth Lawrence (b.1934), American writer
ƒ
Cheerfulness is the best promoter of health,
and is as friendly to the mind as to the body.
—Joseph Addison (1672– 1719), English writer and statesman ƒ
In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.
—Aristotle (384– 322 B.C.), Greek philosopher
ƒ
[Nature] is the one place where miracles not only happen, but happen all the time.
—Thomas Wolfe (1900– 1938), American novelist
ƒ
Can you live without a willow tree? Well, no, you can’t. The willow tree is you.
—John Steinbeck (1902– 1968), American writer
ƒ
Everything in nature acts in conformity with law.
—Immanuel Kant (1724–1804), German philosopher
84 ^ Mama’s Home Remedies
Chapter 5
A Sickness of the 21st Century
These people have learned not from books, but in the fields, in the wood, on the riverbank. Their teachers have been the birds themselves, when they sang to them, the sun when it left a glow of crimson behind it at setting, the very trees, and wild herbs.”
—Anton Chekhov (1860–1904), Russian playwright and story writer FACTS
Acccording to the latest information available from the American Lung Association, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), In the United States:
^ Allergies affect more than 50 million people.
^ Pollen allergy (hay fever or allergic rhinitis) affects nearly 10 percent of the people (26 million people), not including asthma.
^ Allergies are the sixth leading cause of chronic disease, costing the health-care system $18 billion annually.
^ Chronic sinusitis, most often caused by allergies and the most commonly reported disease, affects approximately 38 million people.
A Sickness of the 21st Century @ 85
^ Allergic drug reactions, commonly caused by antibiotics such as penicillin and cephalosporin, occur in 5 to 10 percent of all adverse drug reactions.
^ Eight percent of children six years old or younger experience food allergies. An estimated one to two percent of adults have food allergies.
^ A severe allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis occurs in 3.3
percent of the population as a result of insect stings. At least 40 deaths each year result from sting anaphylaxis.15
Allergies impact the way millions of people live in America. Here are some more interesting statis
tics regarding allergies in the United States: a) Peanut or tree nut allergies affect approximately three million Americans and cause the most severe food-induced allergic reactions.16
b) Nine million visits to office-based physicians in 2000 were attributed to allergic rhinitis.17
c) Seasonal allergic rhinitis, often referred to as “hay fever,” affects more than 35 million people in the U.S.18
We are prone to developing allergies when we are under stress or oversensitive. Researchers tell us repeatedly that certain smells, herbs, berries, oranges, and chemicals can provoke allergic reactions and disturb our normal sleep pattern.
Today allergies taunt us and disrupt our daily lives. Many people take allergy medications on a regular basis and, in fact, cannot live a normal life without them.
Austrian doctor Clemens von Piquet coined the term allergy in 1906. The first symptoms described by him stated that our body’s ability to identify and destroy any harmful organisms such as viruses or bacteria is essential to our survival. People are like most species living on the earth: We have developed our individual immune systems. These systems also target what are considered to be harmless, not dangerous, particles such as flower pollen, dust mite, dust in our homes, or peanuts, causing swelling, inflammation, itching, and, in extreme situations, death.
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Today approximately 90 percent of the world population has reactions to various irritants. Why does this happen in 90 percent of people and not in the other 10 percent of the world’s population? It happens because 90 percent of people don’t realize that their bodies accumulate toxins every day from air they breathe and from the food they eat.
What should we do? The answer is simple. All of us without any exceptions must consistently clean our bodies from these harmful substances poisoning our blood. Like you clean your house at least one time per week, you should clean your body every day using different natural “cleaners.” Start your day with a cup of hot water and a piece of lemon before breakfast to “rinse”
your blood vessels. Take burdock, 425 mg a day. Make hot peppermint or horsetail tea and add a piece of lemon. Eat baby carrots or drink carrot or birch juice. Enjoy eating melon and salads with grated red beets, almonds, and garlic or cabbage with carrots, apple, and onions. Make your own dressing for salads. It is very easy. Just mix ½ cup of first cold pressed extra virgin olive oil with ½
cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Allergies are so common that even the term allergy is frequently used informally in everyday speech. I have overheard people saying to each other,
“Oh, leave me alone! Stop it! You talk too much! I have become allergic to you.” One day perhaps these statements will be included in a dictionary of colloquial expressions.
When suffering from allergies, try the following unique folk remedy to cleanse your body internally. This method will help you build a strong defense against allergic irritants.
r 1. Cleansing Maid, Mama’s recipe. Cut two lemons into small cubes. Mince five to six cloves of fresh garlic. Place lemon and garlic into a one-quart jar. Add two tablespoons of honey and fill with boiling water. Let steep until cool and then refrigerate. It wil turn a golden amber color with a pleasant taste and lemon aroma. Take one tablespoon three times a day.
r 2. Make horsetail tea. This herb can be purchased in packages in a health-food store. Place one pack of horsetail tea in a cup and add boiling water to fil . Let steep for three to five minutes and drink warm. Drink once every day for 7 to 14 days. Take a twoweek break and repeat the treatment. A Sickness of the 21st Century @ 87
What is an allergy?
Swiss doctor H. C. A. Vogel wrote in his manual of traditional and complementary medicine that an allergy is a hypersensitivity to a certain kind or variety of different substances. A particular hypersensitivity, he contends, may cause such drastic reactions that it may seem as though the patient has been poisoned.
People with physical hypersensitivity to the environment in which they live are surrounded by allergens—chemical substances; microbes; and the products of their activity, food products, plant pollen, animal proteins, and fats. For instance, some people can become ill if they have ingested only a small amount of egg that is contained in the food they eat. Others eat beans or bread, pastry, or muffins made with wheat flour, or fruit salad with oranges, or any canned food and become critically ill.
Seafood restaurants today are very popular among people who are dieting or concerned with weight gain and cholesterol levels. However I know people who have become ill after eating crabs, lobster, and shellfish while maintaining a normal level of cholesterol. At least their belief that fish contains good cholesterol paid off, and I mean the fish, not shellfish.
Though sad to say, we can count on hundreds of different irritants today that provoke allergic reactions. The following are just some of many: Industrial: mineral oils, paints, turpentine, nickel, chrome, formalin, urea, and others. Reaction: skin disorders. Everyday chemicals: lacquers and synthetic colors, detergents and cleansing liquids, cosmetics: soaps, creams, powder, lipstick, eye makeup, hair colorings, shampoos, hair sprays, and nail colors.
Everyday animals: domestic animals (dogs, cats), wool clothing, feathers, usually the dander that penetrates our organism in the form of dust. Chemical and animal irritants usually give us respiratory sicknesses such as catarrh, sinus irritation, cough, rhinitis, and asthma (shortness of breath).
Medical: antibiotics, aspirin (salicylates), various medical drugs, artificial vitamins with preservatives.
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Food products: eggs, shellfish, beef, cow’s milk, honey, wheat and rye bread, canned foods, citrus fruits (oranges), blueberries, strawberries, nuts, mushrooms, tomatoes, chocolate, artificial colors or flavors, preservatives, chemical solvents, starch, gluten, yeast. Peanut or tree allergies affect approximately three million Americans a year and cause the most severe food-induced allergic reactions. Any food can turn from a nourishing friend into an allergen/invader. Usually food allergies appear with a break in the order of the normal functions of the stomach/digestive system. Symptoms can include vomiting, diarrhea, and fever. Floral: flowers, trees, blossoming herbs and grass pollen, essential oils of some plants such as primulas (primrose), tropical plants, hay dust, fungi, daffodils and tiger lilies (which are fragrant in the evening), rhubarb and roses (thorns), and floral smells. Ailments: allergy cold (catarrh, sinus); conjunctivitis; blurry, tearful eyes.
Service machines: home, car and office air conditioners. Although air conditioners provide us with coolness in hot weather, we get processed air instead of the fresh air we need to ventilate our lungs and respiratory system and to supply oxygen to our brain cells. Ailments: allergy cold (catarrh or sinus), sore throat, swollen glands, irritated eyes, common tiredness, head congestion, headache, and asthma.
Natural: sunlight, warmth, hot, or cold could be irritants too, especial y in tropical climates. These irritants “sponsor” our body in forming certain substances that become al ergens. Ailments: al ergy cold, blurry eyes, fatigue, loss of energy, “hot head,” headache, skin rash, loss of appetite, and a bitter taste in the mouth. Street, house, and bookshelf dust: Ailments: asthma and all under Natural.
Smoking: at least 80 different chemicals and metals. Ailments: all of the above.
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What factors lead to developing an allergy?
General disorders of normal functions include:
^ immune system, which fights an uninvited invader by producing irritation, mucus, and inflammation in our body
^ respiratory system
^ nervous system
^ endocrine system
^ circulatory system
^ liver dysfunction, a body “sponge,” processing blood
^ dysfunction of adrenal glands
^ traumas of the head and brain
^ negative emotions
^ irritation
^ stress
^ smoking
^ inappropriate diet
^ inappropriate food
^ inappropriate life style
^ a lack of walking and other exercise
^ a shortage of sound sleep
What are allergy ailments?
^ allergic arthritis, stiffness in bones, and joint paint; constant urinary infections, cystitis; gynecological problems (yeast infections)
^ respiratory: bronchial asthma, asthmatic fit, allergy cold (catarrh, sinus), nasal mucus, sneezing, allergic rhinitis, sore throat
^ conjunctivitis (irritated, blurry, tearful eyes)
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^ hay fever, skin rashes, eczema, blisters
^ digestive upsets (diarrhea or constipation), gastric pains
^ stress, short-term memory loss, fatigue, loss of energy and appetite In The Complete Medicinal Herbal 19 British author and herbalist Penelope Ody writes, “A healthy system copes with al ergens, but if there is tension, infection, or fatigue, the arrival of an al ergen tips the balance and an al ergic response occurs in the form of hay fever, skin rashes or gastric upsets.”
Our immune system is a strong shield, guarding us from uninvited guests—irritants like inflammation, mucus, and phlegm. If we do not treat the symptoms in time, they will continue to penetrate our body and our immune system may become drastically weakened. Allergies are clever invaders. They sometimes hide under a pretty mask that creates a nice image that everything is fine for a while. Then they hit with an ugly, persistent sinus irritation; sore, irritated eyes; urinary infections; arthritic pains; and digestive upsets. What are common symptoms of allergy?
Al ergy symptoms can appear in hundreds of different forms. What to look for?
^ “Nettle rash.” Blisters and bumps appear on your skin, resembling a burn and maybe the scald of nettle.
^ Allergic catarrh (cold). Aspirated human and animal hair or bird feathers (pillows, wool, and mattresses) can result in the swelling of the mucous membranes of the nose and eyes.