Blog #63 Healing Natural Remedies-All we need is Right Here!
My mother was raised in a home where nutrition and organic foods were a way of life. Her mother was raised on a farm and they used many natural remedies and herbs for healing whatever ailed them.
My mother’s dad, my Grandfather Lester was a cook in WWI; and they were all gassed one morning and he ran through where everyone was sleeping and alerted everyone to put on their mask, but he didn’t put his mask on until after sounding the alarm and then later got Tuberculous from it. So it was very important for him to eat as healthy as possible. They had a big vegetable garden and fruit trees and berries. So my mother taught us, healthy eating of fruits and vegetables and natural remedies she had learned from her mother growing up.
When I was about 13, my mother a had an emergency surgery and she became very sick and had no energy and was going to doctor after doctor for almost four years trying to find answers, until we figured out what was going on with her.
Doing a hands on healing with my mother one day and placing my hands on her stomach, I could see clairvoyantly that there were little bright blue circles in little pockets of puss all over her gut. She was tired all the time as her body was trying to fight this infection. Her doctors did all kinds of tests and found nothing and just told her it was all in her mind. It was so frustrating and it was destroying her health-physically, mentally and emotionally that they did not believe her that something was very wrong.
A few days after the healing that I did for her, a little bump appeared on her stomach. She then made an appointment with the doctor that had done the surgery four years before; when he came in and started to examine her (I was in the room as well). My mother said to
the doctor: “My daughter sees undissolved sutures in my gut!” and the doctor said “Oh don’t be ridiculous!” Then he put in a little probe in the bump and pulled out a bright blue suture perfectly tied, and the doctor was so shocked that he turned as white as his lab coat and couldn’t say a thing and left the room.
My mother ended up having two clean up surgeries because of the sutures not dissolving and so much infection. The new surgeon said to her, “If you hadn’t been eating super healthy and taking supplements, you would have probably died from the infection two years ago”. Thank goodness she had so much experience with healthy eating and holistic doctors and healing remedies that helped her to recover.
I recently read this wonderful article by nutritional health coach Lizzie King:
From cough- and cold-soothing syrups to anti-itch body creams, nutritional health coach Lizzie King shares a collection of her tried-and-tested natural remedies to help combat the rigors of modern living.
Our world is glittering with natural ingredients. Botanicals have been used for millennia as remedies without damaging side effects for us or our planet, but in recent times they have been overlooked in favor of commercial, convenient and synthetic products, and so the health of our ecosystem and its biodiversity have been impacted.
Originally created for me and my family to thrive in optimal health, these are the ways I’ve found that we can enlist the natural world to help—a holistic approach from the inside out and the outside in. From tonics that aid sleep to balms for anxiety, from syrups for avoiding seasonal allergies or coping with a sick bug to fizzing bath bombs, from edible face masks to lick able kitchen sprays, they have proven their efficacy time and time again.
I hope you fall in love with making them, eating them, healing from them and giving them to others.
ELDERBERRY SYRUP
Elderberries were my first-ever foray into plucking ingredients from the hedgerows to bubble up for my family’s health. The elderberry has always been prized for its antiviral and antimicrobial properties—so much so that there was a global shortage recently.
I had been pouring the sticky elderberry derivative into my children for years when I realized I could make a better version at home with more fresh antioxidants. The dark color provides precious anthocyanins, is where all the antiviral properties lie.
This eventually led to my Be Well remedy, but this purple goodness is where it all started. Spoon it out in winter and notice how the cough and cold season just doesn’t hit you in the same way.
Makes about 1 Liter
Ingredients
· 1 cup elderberries, rinsed (or 2 elderberry and Echinacea tea bags)
· 1 in. gingerroot, peeled and thinly sliced
· 1 tsp ground cinnamon
· pinch of ground cloves
· zest and juice of ½ orange
· 3 cups boiling water
· juice of ½ lemon
· ¼ cup raw honey
Method
1. Put the elderberries (or the teabags) in a small saucepan and add the ginger, cinnamon, cloves and orange zest.
2. Pour over the water, then place over a low heat and simmer gently for 20–30 minutes, until reduced to roughly half the volume.
3. Leave to cool slightly, and then stir in the orange and lemon juices and the honey.
4. Strain and pour into a glass jar or bottle.
Storage: Store in the jar in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.
Dose: 2 teaspoons per child per day for children aged one to two; 1 tablespoon per child per day for children over two; 1 tablespoon three or four times a day for adults.
Note: Honey is not suitable for children under one year.
CHARCOAL SICK BUG TONIC
Used in Chinese and Ayurveda medicine for thousands of years because of its powerful ability to draw toxins and chemicals out of the body, charcoal has been used to treat accidental poisoning in the West for a long time, too.
When I first mixed this up, I was hoping for a miracle, and I got one: a bout of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea stopped in its tracks.
Makes about: 1¼ cups
Ingredients
· 1 tsp mint leaves
· 1¼ cups boiling water
· 1 tsp activated charcoal (use the capsules and pull apart)
Method
1. Put the mint leaves in a mug and pour over the boiling water.
2. Leave to cool, then strain out the leaves and stir in the activated charcoal. Sip slowly as needed.
Storage: Make fresh as required.
Dose: Use no more than once a day.
Note: It can bind to regular medication, like the contraceptive pill, and other nutrients, so daily use is not advised.
COLD RECOVERY TURMERIC, GINGER AND LEMON INFUSION
This tonic can be kept in the freezer in ice-cube trays so that when you need it, you can just add one to hot water and go, with none of the prep.
Turmeric is an intense, orange-colored root that Ayurveda has prized for its powerful healing properties for centuries. Recent studies have confirmed its protective and antiviral properties. Along with ginger, vitamin C–rich citrus and throat-soothing honey, this is a fiercely combative combination that helps me through coughs, colds and flu.
Makes 6–13 doses
Ingredients
· 3 in. turmeric root, peeled
· 3 in. ginger root, peeled
· 1 lemon, peeled
· 1 orange, peeled
· hot water
· raw honey to taste
· grind of black pepper
Method
1. In a juicer, juice together the turmeric, ginger, lemon and orange to yield about 1 cup of juice.
2. To use it immediately, put 1–2 tablespoons of the juice in a cup and add an equal amount of hot water, stirring in honey to taste and adding a grind of pepper.
3. To save it for later, pour the juice into ice-cube trays and freeze, then pop the cubes into a freezer bag (it’ll take up less space). Each frozen cube equals one dose. To administer a dose, thaw and add the hot water, honey and pepper.
Storage: Freeze for up to 12 months.
Dose: Repeat two to four times a day as needed.
Note: Honey is not suitable for children under one year.
MAGNESIUM HEADACHE TONIC
Tension headaches and migraines are one of the most common reasons for a visit to the doctor, and I see the debilitation they can cause.
While the simplest respite can be found in a large glass of water, there are longer-term lifestyle tweaks that might help individuals—for example, reducing stress levels and caffeine intake.
Magnesium has been shown to alleviate the tension and constriction that can cause headaches, and this magnesium-rich drink was designed to bring relief.
Makes about 2 cups
Ingredients
· juice of 2 grapefruits
· 1 handful of spinach leaves (frozen works too)
· 2 Tbsp. pumpkin seeds
· handful of ice cubes
Method
1. Blend all ingredients together in a high-speed blender for 2–3 minutes.
2. Drink immediately.
Storage: Make fresh as required.
Dose: Use daily as needed.
Tip: Migraine relief can be found by creating a stronger magnesium tonic. Gently mix 2 tablespoons of magnesium citrate with warm water, being careful that the mixture does not fizz out of the glass. Drink immediately and rest.
ECZEMA HAND AND BODY CREAM
Rough, red hands caused by harsh soaps or raw eczema patches can be hard to combat without resorting to brutal, skin-thinning hydrocortisone treatments. Oats are an emollient and also soothe any itching.
Makes about: 14 oz.
Ingredients
1⅔ cups oatmeal
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup coconut oil
5 drops rosemary essential oil (or 1 sprig of rosemary, finely chopped)
Method
1. Put the oats (and rosemary, if using fresh) into a powerful blender and grind to a powder.
2. Add the olive oil and coconut oil and pulse until warmed up and thinning.
3. Add the rosemary oil and blend until combined.
4. Pour into a jar with a lid and let it cool until solid. Use on any dry skin, eczema or itchy patches.
Storage: Stays fresh for 3–6 months.
Dose: Use as required.
Restore: Ancient Remedies from the Modern Kitchen by Lizzie King (Welbeck Publishing, 2023)
Shared from OC Breast Wellness E Newsletter
Having tried many of these remedies through the years, the results have been amazing! Many of these are the ones my Grandmother used to use and there are many more.
We are all blessed with such incredible abundance that is all right here to help us to have full awareness to heal to wholeness certainty knowingness and limitless havingness.
Happy Healing & Wholeness!
Photo of healing roots and fruits and honey…