Natural Herbal Beauty

BLOOD CLEANSER

Include the following in the diet: fresh chicory, chives, crab-apple, grapes, fresh green mustard, nettles (make a standard brew tea and add to soups and stews), sow’s thistle, parsley, pumpkin and radish.

BLOOD PRESSURE

Take care to eat fresh green salads daily.

For high blood pressure include in the diet: barley, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chives, cucumbers, endive, garlic, guavas, onions, oranges, parsley, peaches, pears, sweet peppers, purslane, pineapple, spinach, squash, strawberries, tomatoes, yarrow and cayenne pepper. (more…)

Hawthorn Crataegus oxycantha

Description: a common deciduous shrub or small tree, often used in hedging, with deeply lobed obovate leaves and pink or white scented flowers in late spring. Dark red oval fruits form in early autumn and are usually eaten by birds.

Parts used: flowering tops, collected in spring, and berries, collected when ripe in autumn

Actions: antispasmodic, astringent, heart tonic and restorative, normalises blood pressure, peripheral vasodilator, sedative (more…)

Today, thanks to modern science, we generally regard the heart simply as a powerful muscle to pump blood around the body. Traditional medicine has a rather different view: to the Chinese the heart controls the life process, co-ordinates the activities of all the other organs and manages mental activities and consciousness. It stores Shen — a sense of appropriateness and right behaviour — so that what we term mental illness is often seen in Chinese medicine as due to disharmonies in the heart upsetting Shen.

Ayurvedic medicine puts the heart in a similar central role: it is the dwelling place of the atman — the divine self or spirit of immortal life — controlling consciousness and affected by spiritual weakness. Western Ayurvedic experts like David Frawley argue that the high level of heart disease in Western society is due to our over-preoccupation with personal achievement and material wealth — we die of “spiritual starvation”, causing a broken heart. (more…)

What do blood disorders, wounds, and arthritis all have in common? They are all linked to the health of the blood and the circulatory system. And they are all conditions that have a history of good herbal remedies behind them.

All the body’s cells must be supplied with nutrients and oxygen constantly. The blood carries oxygen through the circulatory system. A good diet is important to keep the blood built up and to ensure that there is no deficiency of necessary minerals and vitamins.

These vitamins and minerals help keep the blood healthy, so it can do its job. One of its jobs is to clot when there’s a wound. Wounds depend on the clotting ability of the blood to stop bleeding. (more…)

BLOOD PRESSURE TREATMENT: Cayenne pepper is very good for lowering blood pressure. You will see results when next you have your pressure read. It is good for the whole system and is a great stimulant.

Add 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper to 1 cup of hot water. Drink once daily. Another way to take it is to fill #00 capsules with cayenne pepper and take 2 capsules twice daily.

HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE TREATMENT: Take 1000 mg of calcium daily for 8 weeks. This should reduce high blood pressure substantially.

HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE: Mix equal parts of chamomile, mint, and tag alder. Make as follows: Simmer 1 ounce of the herb mixture in 1 pint of water for 20 minutes. Strain and drink tepid. Drink 1 /2 cup 3 times daily. (more…)

Herbal remedies may be taken in capsule form as well as by teas or tinctures. Often, capsules are more convenient to take during the day while we are at work, or while away from home for an extended length of time. There are many reasons that you would want to take capsules instead of a tea or tincture. If the treatment you are seeking is long term, such as for high blood pressure, then you would definitely want to try the capsules.

You can purchase the empty gelatin capsules at your local health food store or druggist’s. There are many different sizes of capsules, but you probably would use the #00 capsules the most. (more…)

Worldwide, more people take tea than any other beverage, except water. Green tea is one of the sipping teas, so ancient its use as a refreshing drink dates back 5,000 years. If your primary interest is in the simple drinking of green tea for the pleasure it offers, please refer to Traditional Sipping Teas. It’s true that green tea is traditionally taken as a beverage, not as a medicinal tea, but times are changing.

Today, green tea is heralded as highly beneficial. The latest research shows that drinking green tea not only wards off heart disease, lowers the incidence of stroke, reduces the risk of cancer, brings down high blood pressure, and combats cold and flu symptoms, it even fights dental decay and bad breath. (more…)

Mahuang is an effective decongestant and bronchodilator with marked anti-inflammatory properties. It’s also a good expectorant. As such, it is traditionally used as a treatment for asthma, bronchitis, allergies, sinusitis, and the common cold. Mahuang is also a mild diuretic and fever reducer that has proven very valuable against hypotension (low blood pressure). Of particular interest to many is this herb’s ability to suppress the appetite, stimulate metabolism, and bring about substantial weight loss. (more…)

Licorice is highly beneficial to the entire gastrointestinal tract. It fights nausea, helps sweeten a sour stomach, cleanses the colon, supports the liver, and is the herbalist’s treatment of choice for colitis, diverticulosis, and gastritis. Licorice is a noted expectorant and anti-inflammatory that helps liquify mucus, making it valuable against colds, sore throats, bronchitis, sinus and lung congestion. It is considered helpful in cases of PMS, allergies, hypoglycemia, stress, and muscular and skeletal spasms. Licorice has even proven effective against herpes simplex when used topically. (more…)