Natural/holistic products with benefits?

Fun topic- as I'm always on

Fun topic- as I'm always on the hunt for more useful info since my ailments tend to the gastric in nature.

Ditto the Apple Cider Vinegar.

My 3 cents:

Had ulcer trouble in April. Gastro prescribed Prilosec & I refused it. I healed my stomach with GSE (grapefruit seed extract), DGL (licorice tablets) and aloe vera juice. Have had no issues whatsoever since and my diet consists of everything advised against for ulcers= the above apparently remedies the bacteria h pylori which causes them.

When occasional indigestion hits (from medication) the DGL tablets as well as aloe juice will knock it out for me better than anything.

Beets/flax oil/lemon juice + a tea made from flax seeds = gallbladder attack remedy. An accidental dairy episode at the tail-end of the holiday drinking fun sent mine into a painful fit last week. At first thought urgent care, but was scheduled to get on the party-bus Sunday for the Kraft Bowl in SF. Found this remedy online at gallbladderattack.com. So Saturday I ate a tablespoonful of fresh grated beet with flax oil once every hour, and sipped the tea. Pain completely gone by Sunday and I was able to partake in a gastric nightmare during the road-trip with no ill effect.

Gah, GSE tastes terrible!!

Gah, GSE tastes terrible!! :sick:

DMSO, don't know how natural

DMSO, don't know how natural it is (it's made from wood pulp) but it helped me with myTOFP.

 Great topic, Abide!  Another

Great topic, Abide! Another ditto on the apple cider vinegar con la madre. Also, I've been weaning myself from chondroitin/glucosamine sulfates with Udo's Oil 3-6-9 blend and gin-soaked golden raisins www.peoplespharmacy.com/2005/10/18/gin-soaked-raisins-for-arthrit/. Udo's is a blend of various oils (flax, sunflower, sesame, etc) and a few other goodies. I heard about the gin-soaked raisins driving to an early morning bike event on the People's Pharmacy program on NPR. I'm experiencing less pain in my joints and more mobility. Not just in the legs, which could be a response to bfr, but also in my hands.

Vinegar with the Madre is

Vinegar with the Madre is great!

Don't forget cinnamon and garlic, the two are great anti-inflammatories. I usually make my own cinnamon tea by boiling couple of sticks of cinnamon in a quart of water.

Ya, GSE tastes horrible

Ya, GSE tastes horrible unless you mix it with a few tablespoons of grapefruit juice. Beats taking antibiotics or Prilosec though!

I read somewhere that nightshades (tomatoes/potatoes/eggplant) can cause arthritic symptoms.

Another great anti-inflammatory is turmeric- can buy in capsule or I just add it to every soup I make.

Gin soaked rasins - crazy

Gin soaked rasins - crazy awesome, man!

Some things my hippie mummy taught me:

• Take valerian when you can't sleep or are stressed, it turns off the voices in your head and relaxes you.
• PURE lanolin is the ULTIMATE wind-burn cure (and sticky as hell!) Slather some on at night and your skin will be soft in the morning. However, it's impossible to get off and it won't wash out of your pillowcase, so use carefully.
• Charcoal tablets = stomach relief. It's a natural cleanser. Dogs & other animals eat charcoal when they have digestive fits. It's my version of TUMS.
• Cranberry juice has cured my uninary tract infection every time it flares up - I have it reoccuring. It's funny, I'll tote a bottle of the stuff around when I have bladder issues/pain.

That's all I got (for now)!

We must be very careful so

We must be very careful so as not to be fooled by the term "holistic".

There is a podiatrist that self describes his practice accordingly:

http://www.holisticpodiatry.com/
Check out his website...who WOULD'NT want to seek out care from a doc like that!Between the pleasing graphics, and obvious attention to alternative everything,why would any BFRunner go anywhere else? (other than our own Doctors of course) O.K., so we'll ignore what he has to say in his "cosmetic" section, where he offers surgical corrections for long or short toes in a private setting allowing the self conscous to seek treatment discreetly.But can we really be expected to turn a blind eye to this? Choosing to run on non-yielding surfaces without the protection afforded by proper running shoes can be harmful to the foot and ankle and cause even more problems downstream from compensation patterns," Can't be 100% sure the following is really attributed to him (read the article, see what you think), but: Because they can cause issues including tendinitis, plantar fasciitis, stress fractures, knee, hip and back problems, very few people should use barefoot running shoes. Granted, many of us here also believe that very few people should use (for lack of a better term)"barefoot running shoes" , but only because we feel that they would be better off barefoot. Here's where he just recently said all of this: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/99237/20110110/the-pros-and-cons-of-barefoot-running-shoes.htm Holistic is a term used by many advertisers in a grossly disengenous manner.I challenge Dr. Kornfeld to back up his claims of holistic practice as well as certain pathology related to "barefoot shoe" use with evidence.

 I took a two year course in

I took a two year course in home herbals.

Personal experience includes the following but much more.

Ulcer - drink 1/2 cabbage juiced each day for two weeks - take 1 lg tbls of turmeric in water with lemon juice and stevia about a half hour before meals. I told the gastroenterologist and he said, "well, natural is good". No little purple pills for me. this happened again about 5 yrs later and worked yet again.

My sister in law had GERD ( gastro esophageal reflux disease ) I suggested taking the turmeric 1/2 hr before meals - she did this and now only needs it occasionally!

MRSA - took 8 drops of Oil of Oregano ( make sure you get good quality ) in a tsp of water followed by a glass of water.

4 x a day for 10 days. I had a huge, nasty, hot, raised what I believe about 90% was MRSA on my abdomen. The Doc gave me a script for a wide spectrum antibiotic. I had read the day before a research paper from the UK about Oil of Oregano killing MRSA so I took that instead. It worked.

Skin rash - Emu oil and /or cold pressed organic coconut oil. I love the coconut oil! Buy it by the gallon from Rawfoodworld.com

I make my own colloidal silver and have used it with Oil of Oregano when I have felt flu like symptoms coming on. If I do get sick it doesn't last long at all.

Blood root tincture or just Organic Apple Cider Vinegar cured my husband's toe nail fungus.

I have removed warts, skin tags and moles with blood root tincture. How you do this is tricky. Take some of the powdered bloodroot and make a paste ( it doesn't take but a spoonful so don't make too much) . Put a TINY bit directly on whatever it is and add a drop of the tincture to get it wet. Make sure it is minimal on any skin that you are not trying to affect. Cover with a small bandaide. Do this once or twice a day until it falls off. Now, the caveat is that the skin around it can get itchy so sometimes I have used a think cream or if you have lanolin or something protective to put around the problem part do so.

But this has worked for us!

Joints - tumeric with lemon juice and stevia - MSM powder and my newest discovery is serrapeptase which must be taken on an empty stomach but is good for joints, cholesterol, inflamation and much more.

We use the above mentioned coconut oil for all of our cooking except occasionally cold pressed organic olive oil for salads but not for cooking. I mix the coconut oil half and half with organic butter. It is so good . I also mix the coconut oil half and half with organic peanut butter. Because of the MCT content of coconut oil a few spoonfuls a day are supposed to be wonderful for the mind. The following site documents a physicians success in helping her husband do much better with Alzheimers by just taking coconut oil.

http://www.coconutketones.com/whatifcure.pdf

Coconut oil contains mostly Medium chain fatty acids which are amazingly good for you. There is a marvelous site

http://www.westonaprice.org/know-your-fats/526-skinny-on-fats.html

In our state it is legal to buy raw milk straight from the farm. So silly that it can't be sold in stores. My kids grew up on raw milk from a neighbors farm and are just fine and healthy! The article about explains all about the good fats that are messed up by pasturization etc.

I use coconut oil mixed with emu oil for a sunscreen instead of the stuff with all the yuk in it.

Niacin for cholesterol, too and it helps me with Raynauds.

Also, for those of you , like me, with Restless Leg Syndrome, if you live in a state that has legal medical marijuana; one or two tokes works very quickly! It is not legal in NYS, however, I do take dronabinol ( generic pill form of synthetic THC) with one other medicine at night only ( laugh ). It takes about 1 1/2 hrs for the pill form to kick in.

It is an antispasmodic and anti inflammatory. It also takes away the side effect of nausea, I don't have the nasty muscle contractions, sleep better and keeps the mirapex from needing augmentation. For me anyway.

Organic apple cider vinegar with the mother _YES - good for so much - even GERD!

These are just a few of the natural things we do. Thank you Abide for starting this thread! So many helpful ideas here for sure.

Sorry this is long but I hope some of my personal experience and some reading I have done may be helpful to someone else.

Peanut

 Wow, thank you for taking

Wow, thank you for taking the time to construct such a lengthy and informative post, Peanut!

Cider vinegar is supposed to

Cider vinegar is supposed to be good for hypertension.

Cider vinegar (2T in 2c warm water) rinsed through your hair after shampooing before conditioning will remove buildup, clarify and restore ph balance to your hair.

Witch hazel for itchy bug bites

yogurt turmeric face wash...the turmeric is antioxidant and skin brightening (no your face wont turn orange), yogurt has anti-bacterial/anti-fungal fighting properties and helps dissolve the dead skin cells sluffed off of your face.

I've heard charcoal is great for tummy upsets, have never tried it

honey is a great humectant...add it to a bath to help your skin retain moisture, add it to your conditioner to help restore and hold moisture in your hair

honey is good for scratchy dry cough

tea...good stuff all around, nuff said. www.ivillage.com/top-10-health-benefits-drinking-tea/4-a-108301

tea tree oil...good for dandruff and for warding off lice

let's not forget chia as an omega 3 boost (those that are readily converted to dha...for brain power), magnesium, calcium and zinc. Anti-inflammatory and hydration and electrolye restoration.

Cocoa...very high in antioxidants, the dark stuff is best. I sneak a little baking cocoa in whenever I can

ditto to the cinnamon...also high in antioxidants

and garlic as a natural antibiotic http://www.garlic-central.com/antibiotic.html

That's all I've got off the top of my head, I'm sure there's more somewhere in the depths of my brain.

oh! how could I forget..baking soda, as an odor removal (sprinkle some on your shoes, or in your laundry)

olive oil as a skin moisturizer

cabbage leaves to help engorgement (breastfeeding Moms) or to dry up milk supply in weaning Moms

 Zumba oh yeah about the

Zumba

oh yeah about the chia - nice thing is that you don't have to grind them and when you do, they don't go rancid like flax. I put them in water and let them expand and use them in all kinds of food. Ground, they make a nice healthy thickener.

And of course there is the cocoa - hot dam - we buy 85% and have some every day!!!!!

Yes - on the baking soda, too. What a great thing - cleanses the tub and sink and toilet so nicely without the grit and if I mix in a tiny bit of essential oil - nice!

This is great, what one forgets, the other remembers. Way cool!

Sure wish I could eat more garlic though. And I have to be really careful using DMSO because both of them get into my system and I - well,.... I stink - so badly that we had patients at work complaining about me !!!!!!!!!!!!! So I just really can't - YIKES

I love Emu oil! It's the only

I love Emu oil! It's the only thing I use on my face as a moisturizer; also great on the soles of my feet. Nice to know about the other benefits of turmeric, Peanut. I'm really intrigued by the oil of oregano.

Tea tree oil I use on skin rashes, ear irritations and on my toes to kill the fungus. I just learned about it for the scalp and possibly preventing hair loss.

I swish with hydrogen peroxide before brushing teeth and swear it contributes to their whiteness in spite of considerable black coffee and red wine consumption.

twinkletoes wrote:I swish

twinkletoes said:

I swish with hydrogen peroxide before brushing teeth and swear it contributes to their whiteness in spite of considerable black coffee and red wine consumption.

Click to expand...

It better! No real surprise there, professional whitening by a dentist relies on either carbamide peroxide or hydrogen peroxide,

depending on which oxidant he/she prefers.

Not really holistic by any stretch of the definition, unless it means DIY vs paying a premium for the professionaly administered dose.

Seriously, holistic does have a meaning. Holistic medicine would allow for teeth to be naturally discolored with time rather than resort to powerful oxidants like hydrogen or carbamide peroxide which do result in some micro pitting of the tooth surface, not to mention other soft tissue damage.

Barefoot running IS in accordance with the principles of holistic medicine. The "WHOLE" body and mind is taken into consideration, and the use of shoes and rigid orthotic inserts are shunned in part because the detremental effects on the rest of the body are well documented.

Home remedies whether they work or not are not neccesarily holistic.

I still want to know how Dr. Kornfeld considers lengthening or shortening of "unsightly" toes in accordance with his claims of a holistic practice.