Natural Remedies

Natural Foods

                 Natural food means food that has not been processed and refined. The less food has been tainted by pesticides, genetic modification, additives and handling the better it is for the body's health and immune system. The essential phytonutrient content is stripped from many natural foods such as flour, grain foods, coffee, cocoa beans, sugar and salt in the refining process. Some of the essential minerals in salt are even extracted to be sold separately to industry where they bring in far more profits than if they were left in the salt as nature intended for human consumption. Most people are not aware of this underhanded practise or the need for these minerals in the human diet. Malnutrition is now one of the world's most prolific conditions affecting people mostly in developed countries who mainly consume processed and refined foods.

Many crops are grown in soils which have had the minerals (especially magnesium) leeched out of the soil due to intensive farming techniques and it is never replaced. Pesticides, fungicides and herbicides are then used to control crop productions which not only adversely affected wildlife, such as bees that have severely dropped in numbers world wide, but end up being consumed in small amounts by humans. These toxins can then have highly detrimental affects on human health after a period of years building up in the system especially the brain and liver causing many conditions and diseases that would never have occurred otherwise.

All food begins to lose its nutritional value the minute it is cut off from its life source and the skin is cut. Therefore the fresher you can consume it the more nutritional value you are getting. It is a fast paced world we live in today and advantage has been taken of this situation by many of the large profit driven corporate food and drug manufacturing companies who cut costs by using cheap ingredients and additives which are unhealthy and some even carcinogenic to the human body.

"Our ancestors did thousands of years of research for us, testing natural food on humans (not animals) and they knew what worked, yet much of this has been forgotten and replaced by the use of science, machinery and chemicals. There have been some fantastic breakthroughs in science like vaccines which force the body to naturally create its own defence but more needs to be done to research natural foods without funding being based upon how much profit can be made from the product being tested."

It is obvious that the human body is an amazing machine if treated right and fed good natural fuel containing all it needs to do its job. Finding out how to do this right is very difficult. If people became more educated about what they consume, they could make their own informed decisions and not be hoodwinked by clever advertising and often misleading marketing ploys.

Experimenting with human health by forcing high potency ingestions of chemical extractions is dangerous and pointless especially when eating the complete balanced natural foods works already. This is done with medication so it may be packaged and sold separately in vast quantities worldwide not because it is a healthier alternative or miracle cure. If food can be grown easily at home it is ignored by the food industry because they can make no profit from it. Many of the natural plants that contain amazing medicinal properties can be grown easily and consumed as a simple tea without expensive extraction processes. The body takes what it needs and expels the rest.

Most people nowadays do not possess the correct balance of friendly bacteria in their intestines to enable their body to manufacture the necessary amino acids and absorb the correct nutrients for all the vital processes that take place in the human body to work at their best. Especially if they are also primarily consuming processed high sugar and salt laden foods, with most of the vital fibre, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients stripped out and the food additives which upset the natural balance of bacteria, block nutrient absorption and add to the toxic overload.

To truly benefit from the nutritious content of food only organic, non processed, natural and fresh produce should be consumed and cooked in healthy ways such as steaming vegetables, (can be done in a microwave) grilling & poaching. If oils must be used choose rapeseed, olive, rice bran or nut oils.

Juicing raw vegetables and fruits is a great way to consume all the nutrients which are lost during cooking and can treat many conditions and diseases if the right fruits and vegetables are chosen.

Sprouting for a Micro Diet is also highly beneficial to all human adverse conditions and diseases because it provides a condensed form of high nutrition and if added to the daily diet can provide all the body needs to stay healthy and fit and fight off diseases.

Brine pickling keeps vegetables for up to a year and is far healthier than vinegar pickling because it provides additional; probiotic friendly bacteria that the intestines needs.

Consume a wide variety of vegetables, fruit, legumes, whole grains, plant,  seed and nut oils, seeds, nuts, dried fruits, herbs and spices, oily fish and plenty of fibre. Cut down on meat, cut out sugar, coffee. white flour and all processed and refined foods.

Why Choose Organic Produce?

Modern farming methods leach magnesium, chromium and many other essential minerals from the soil and currently, it isn’t standard practice to replace them so today’s food contains less magnesium as well as many other important minerals than it did 50 years ago. Unless this problem is addressed and farming methods altered, the magnesium content of our food will continue to deplete. Going organic is one way of counter-balancing this problem.

Organic food contains far more vitamins and minerals than non organic produce. For instance, organic spinach contains 96mg of magnesium, but an equal quantity of non organic spinach contains only 47.5mg. Magnesium is instrumental in digesting protein and converting it into energy. Our protein portions, especially in the West, tend to be excessive so as a result, the body uses up its magnesium reserves digesting the extra. Eating less meat and dairy and more nuts, beans, fish, fruit, whole grains, herbs, spices and vegetables will help fend off the degenerative diseases that a lack of magnesium can cause. As a general guide, the protein portion of each meal should never be larger than the clenched fist of the person eating it. The same applies to children.

Hopefully, this website will help you to make an informed decision on what you should consume to keep your body healthy and what may be lacking or should be avoided or may help you recover from various illnesses. Be creative and try adding healthy ingredients to your normal recipes in small amounts. Replace unhealthy options like white flour with wholemeal flour and sugar with pure honey and butter with sesame or extra virgin olive oil. Add a pinch of turmeric and other spices to sauces, sandwiches, soups and stews. Use yoghurt instead of cream. You will find that many healthy options taste even better and will feel good knowing that you are looking after your body and your health.

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GROW YOUR OWN

Growing your own herbs and vegetables is a great way to ensure they are organic, not genetically modified or sprayed with pesticides and taste like they used to years ago, before profits from mass production became more important to the producers than our health. If gardening is not your thing, why not grow some in pots? Some can be grown on a windowsill for supplies the whole year round.

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MEDICINAL REMEDIES

Why spend a fortune on over-the-counter drugs when you can transform food into first aid with far cheaper common grocery ingredients. Teas, soups, tinctures, gargles, baths, compresses, juices, steam treatments, massage oils, medicinal honeys and syrups can all be easily made at the kitchen table. Stock your kitchen cupboards with vinegar, tea tree oil, aloe vera, honey, turmeric, cayenne pepper, coconut, lemon and garlic as all contain excellent antiseptic properties but do no harm to the environment unlike man made chemically based products. For instance, skin ailments (even some skin cancers) can be healed by a slice of raw garlic held onto the affected area for a few minutes.

HOW SOME HERBAL REMEDIES ARE MADE

1) Infusions (teas)

Infusions are a simple way of extracting the active principles of herbs through the action of hot water. The preparation of infusions is similar to way we prepare tea. This method is used to extract the volatile components of the dried or green aerial parts of herbs and plants like flowers and leaves. Infusions may use single herbs or a blend of herbs, vegetables, fruits and spices and are drunk hot or cold. Certainly this is the most common and cheap method of extracting the medicinal compounds of herbs.

2) Decoctions

Roots, barks and fruits being thicker and less permeable than the aerial parts of medicinal plants, do not liberate their active principles by simple infusion. It is necessary to simmer these parts in boiling water in order to extract their medicinal constituents. The material should be cut or broken into small pieces. In order to avoid loosing volatile constituents, use a lid over the simmering pan. After cooling down and separating the solid from the liquid, decoctions can be taken hot or cold.

3) Tinctures

Most of the volatile components of medicinal plants and herbs are soluble in alcohol. By immersing dried or fresh parts of plants in alcohol, the active principles are easily extracted at concentrations that exceed those that can be achieved by infusion or decoction. Highly concentrate solutions that will last for one to two years are a convenient way to store and use medicinal plants constituents. Ideally tinctures should be made using pure ethyl alcohol distilled from cereals. However, since this product is not available to the public, good Vodka with 45-35% alcohol can be used. The extraction is fairly quick. A 50% mixture of herbs and alcohol kept in a tightly closed jar will hold a tincture ready for use at the prescribed dosage. Never use methyl alcohol, metholated spirits, isopropyl alcohol or any other kind of unknown spirit to make tinctures.

4) Syrups

With some rare exceptions, like peppermint that is a familiar flavouring agent in tooth paste and chewing gum, infused or decocted herbs are not palatable, specially for children. In order to disguise their taste, infusion and decoctions can be mixed with honey. These syrups combine the soothing action of these solvents to the medicinal properties of the infusions and decoctions resulting in additional benefits specially for treating cough and sore throats.

5) Infused Oils

Pure vegetable oils like sunflower, almond and olive oil are easily found at grocer stores. They have the property of dissolving the active, fat-soluble active principles of medicinal plants and herbs. This process is called infusion and can be carried out at room temperature or higher. Infusion is a slower process than alcohol extraction but has the advantage of resulting in an oil based solution of medicinal constituents that can easily be used to make creams and ointments. Hot infusion is recommended for the harder parts of the plants while cold infusion is more suitable for flowers and leaves.

6) Essential Oils

Essential oils are the volatile oily components of aromatic plants, trees and grasses. They are found in tiny glands located in the flowers (neroli), leaves (eucalyptus), roots (calamus), wood (sandal) and resins (frankincense). Essential oils are extracted by four main methods: steam distillation, expression, solvent extraction and efleurage. In the first method the oil is extracted by the action of hot steam and then selectively condensed with water from which it is separated. In the second method the oil is extracted by pressure or centrifugation. In the third method the oil is dissolved in a volatile solvent that when evaporated leaves a heavily natural wax substance called concrete. When separated from the wax, the resulting liquid is called an absolute, the most concentrated from of aroma available. Efleurage is a longer process involving the dissolution of the oils in animal fat and its separation using alcohol. Although essential oils main usage is in cosmetics and perfumery, many of them do have proved therapeutic properties and are not suitable for pregnant women.

7) Ointments

Ointments are prepared like hot infused oils, the difference being that herbs are simmered in waxes or fats containing no water. After separating the simmered herbs by squeezing and cooling, the result is a solid mixture of the wax or fat with the medicinal constituents of the plant. Petroleum jelly, soft paraffin wax and bees wax are some common bases used. Ointments form a oily barrier on the surface of injuries and carry the active principles to the affected area.

8) Creams

Creams are mixtures of oils or fats with water. Since water and oils are not miscible, it is necessary to add an emulsifying agent that avoids their separation. Creams are therefore stable emulsions of oils or fats. Medicinal properties are added to creams when they use or are made with tinctures, infusions, oil infusions, essential oils or decoctions. Creams are permeable allowing the skin to breathe and sweat. Their water content and some additional hydrophobic agent like Glycerine promotes the hydration and cooling of the skin.

Posted in: Natural Remedies