It’s Entirely Natural - Articles

Are you are suffering from symptoms of the common cold? You may be experiencing head and nasal congestion, sore throat, coughing, headache, sneezing and watery eyes, How to cure it? In most cases, the only ‘cure’ is to tell you that you will just have to wait it out. There are better ways to treat a cold, and this article can help you learn some alternative ways to do so.

I am here to tell you otherwise. The common cold is an infection of the upper respiratory system caused by a virus. Contrary to what you may have been told, cold weather does not cause colds, although most are caught in fall and winter seasons. While the cold doesn’t cause a ‘cold,’ the viruses that cause them thrive in cold weather and low humidity.

Americans spend more than one billion dollars every year on nonprescription medicines for coughs and colds. These products provide temporary relief and in no way address the root of the problem. What can you do about the symptoms of the common cold? There are some easy and effective holistic treatments that do alleviate symptoms.

If you are unfamiliar with reflexology, this will help you to understand how it works, and how it can help you cure your cold. Reflexology is the practice of applying pressure in a strategic manner to areas of the feet and hands, and even the face and ears.

Reflexologists see the hands and feet as an open door to the bodies systems. Each section of the feet and hands correlate to a specific organ. By stimulating nerves on specific areas of the feet and hands, you can stimulate blood flow and eliminate toxin buildup in the corresponding organs and systems of the body. And because reflexology works to put the body in a state of well-being, it is beneficial to every system in the body.

Although reflexologists cannot diagnose or claim to cure a sickness or disease, their results speak for themselves. In fact, celebrities pay an arm and a leg for just a few minutes of reflexology. Not only because it is a beneficial tool for relaxation and stress relief, but it is also an effective tool for improving circulation, relieving pain, and as an immune and nervous system stimulator. In fact, many people with illnesses such as allergies; chronic sinus problems and frequent colds; acid reflux; migraines; PMS; menopause; insomnia; fertility problems and even arthritis have been helped tremendously by reflexology treatments.

As far as cold symptoms are concerned, you can alleviate symptoms by working specific areas of the feet. In doing so, mucus and will drain from the nose and sinuses. It will also break up congestion in the chest and eliminate waste material. Furthermore, facial reflexology, developed by the Vietnamese, can also alleviate the same symptoms, and in some cases even quicker than foot therapy.

If you suffer from frequent colds and flu symptoms, you owe it to yourself to seek the expertise of a trained reflexologist. When you get to the root of the problem, you will recover much quicker than if you simply mask the problem. Once you try reflexology, chances are you will be hooked when you witness the affects for yourself.

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Scott Meyers is a staff writer for It’s Entirely Natural, a resource for helping you achieve a naturally healthy body, mind, and spirit. You may contact our writers through the web site. Follow this link for more information on Reflexology.

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Tags: blood flow, cold, Fertility, headache, Menopause, Reflexology, stress

People have been relieving pain for thousands of years before modern pharmaceuticals came along. Many are moving away from pharmaceuticals today, seeking more natural ways of treating pain. Drugs certainly have their place, but the herbal remedies can be helpful, with fewer side effects, and less expensive as well.

This article will discuss the types of herbal remedies that have been used since time immemorial, and which are in use today, and can be recommended as an alternative to drug treatment

The white willow tree grows in many places throughout the world, including Europe, North America, and Asia. The tree contains a substance within its bark that is known as salicin, which is the substance in aspirin (known as acetosalicylic acid). Many use the bark of the white willow tree as a type of natural pain reliever. It is useful for treating pain as well as inflammation, two of the main desirable properties that aspirin also accomplishes, but at the same time, it lacks the side effects that may occur from taking aspirin. Whereas aspirin affects your blood platelets, thinning the blood, the bark of the white willow tree does not. At the same time, it doesn’t cause stomach bleeding the way that aspirin can.

Knowing that, it’s clear to see why many people choose to take white willow tree bark in order to treat their pain. Studies have been conducted weighing the efficiency of white willow tree bark against that of aspirin, and they have shown that it is indeed a potent alternative to the more modern product. The studies even found that the bark was more successful at alleviating pain than aspirin. Separate studies have also shown that the bark can be a godsend for patients with osteoarthritis, as it was shown to help increase joint function.

Yucca is another type of herb that many people with chronic pain conditions such as osteoarthritis often take. It purifies the blood, and it works as an anti-inflammatory. In addition, like willow bark, yucca acts as a pain reliever. There are plenty of other herbs and plants that can offer relief from inflammation; amongst them include Devil’s claw, turmeric, ginger, and glucosamine sulfate. All of these types of herbs can be found at a local health food store. These herbs can be less expensive than over the counter drugs as well.

St. John’s Wort has been used for hundreds of years in European medicine in order to treat depression. It has been shown in clinical studies to be as effective as Prozac and other modern serotropin-inhibiting compounds. St. John’s Wort has been prescribed in Germany and France for post-partum depression, and requires a prescription in those countries.

Some illnesses require modern drugs for treatment. Herbal remedies play an important role for some types of illnesses, however. You may want to consider stocking up on herbal remedies for everyday colds, flue and immune disorders. Their natural incgredients may help reduce side effects while providing the same or better palliative benefits than modern drugs.

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Scott Meyers is a staff writer for It’s Entirely Natural, a resource for helping you achieve a naturally healthy body, mind, and spirit. You may contact our writers through the web site. Follow this link for more information on Herbal Remedies.

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Tags: cold, Depression, Herbal Remedies, inflammation, osteoarthritis, white willow, willow bark, yucca

The borage flower (Borago officinalis) is well known for its lovely blue color. The flowers have been used since Elizabethan times for both decoration and for their healing qualities.

Recent research has shown that the plant may actually stimulate the adrenal glands, encouraging the production of adrenaline, that famous ‘fight or flight’ hormone that is responsible for getting our bodies prepared to do battle. Herbalists describe the borage flower as cold, moist, and slightly sweet. The leaves and flowers are known to contain saponins, tannins, mucilage, vitamin C, potassium and calcium. The seeds of the borage plant are known to contain essential fatty acids, including y-linolenic acids and cis-linoleic acids. These fatty acids are nutritional, and are the components of soap.

The fresh blue flowers of the borage plant have been traditionally used to decorate salads and other foods, and the flowers were also used to make syrups that were used to treat coughs and colds. The leaves of the borage plant have been more of a mainstay in herbal medicine.

The leaves of the plant are described as fleshy and coarse, and they have been traditionally used to treat stress or to counter the effects of steroid therapy. The leaves can also be used dry in a variety of herbal remedies. For instance, the dry leaves of the borage plant can be used to treat dry, lingering raspy coughs. They can also be used to stimulate milk flow for nursing mothers. The leaves of the borage plant can also be used to treat the early feverish stages of whooping cough or pleurisy. Traditional herbalists recommend that the borage plant leaves be harvested throughout the growing season.

The seeds from the borage plant are also used in traditional herbal medicine. The oil extracted from the borage plant seeds are often used as an alternative to the popular evening primrose oil. This oil is often used to treat problems associated with menstrual disorders. It also has a beneficial effect on rheumatic disorders. The oil extracted from the borage plant seeds is considered to be soothing and healing; it is also recommended for use externally, where it can be applied to treat eczema. Borage oil is now commonly available commercially in capsule form.

The leaves of the borage plant can be infused and taken as a hot tea to treat lung disorders and feverish colds. Mothers who are lactating can combine this infusion with fennel to stimulate milk flow. The leaves of the borage plant can also be pulped to create a fresh juice. Naturopaths and herbalists recommend 10 ml of juice three times a day to treat grief, anxiety or depression. The leaves of the borage plant can also be diluted into equal parts water to create a lotion to treat dry skin or rashes. Capsules of borage oil can be taken daily as a supplement to treat skin problems such as acne and eczema. They may also be taken to help treat the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.

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Scott Meyers is a staff writer for It’s Entirely Natural, a resource for helping you achieve a naturally healthy body, mind, and spirit. You may contact our writers through the web site. Follow this link for more information on Herbal Remedies.

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Tags: anxiety, borage plant, cold, Depression, Herbal Remedies, rheumatic disorders, stress

Goldenseal, Latin name Hydrastis canadensis, is one of the most popular herbs used in herbal remedies today. Goldenseal has traditionally operated as a traditional healing herb of Native Americans, but it has entered the European herbal cabinet with of late.

Traditionally, the Cherokee used goldenseal as an herbal treatment for indigestion, local inflammations, and to improve appetite. The Iroquois used Goldenseal to treat heart problems, liver disorders, whooping cough and to treat fevers.

Goldenseal reached European shores by 1760. During the nineteenth century, Goldenseal had become a popular favorite with practitioners of the Eclectic and Thomsonian schools of medicine. In 1926, Goldenseal was included in the list of United States medicinal ingredients in the Pharmacopoeia.

The character of Goldenseal has alternately been described as bitter, dry, astringent, and cold. The plants constituents are described as resins, volatile oils, and alkaloids. Herbalists traditionally describe the actions of Goldenseal as astringent, a digestive and bile stimulant, a tonic, and a laxative. Goldenseal has also been used to reduce phlegm, to heal gastric mucous membranes, and to raise blood pressure.

The part of the Goldenseal plant that is most commonly used is the rhizome. The rhizome is traditionally harvested in the fall, and it is the main ingredient in many herbal remedies. Many traditional herbalists recommend the rhizome of the Goldenseal plant as an excellent drying and mucus-reducing remedy that works well for the gastric, upper respiratory tract. It is also used for the vaginal mucous membranes. The rhizome of the Goldenseal plant is also used to treat conditions involving the spastic colon (mucous colitis), nasal inflammations, and ear infections.

In essence, Goldenseal is very much an herbal remedy for ear, nose and throat problems. But it has many other applications as well. The Goldenseal plant is often used as an herbal remedy to treat gynecological problems. It can help reduce the severity of menopausal symptoms, and it has been known to ease the pain associated with premenstrual symptoms, especially symptoms linked to stagnation. The rhizome of the Goldenseal plant can often be found in commercial herbal remedies as a tonic.

Even though Goldenseal has proven itself to be a very effective healing herb, there are some cautions you use take when ingesting herbal remedies that feature Goldenseal as one of its main ingredients. For instance, Goldenseal is well known as a powerful uterine stimulant, so its use should be avoided women who are pregnant. Goldenseal is also well known as a hypertensive, so it should be avoided in known cases of high blood pressure.

Also, you should not use herbal remedies containing Goldenseal for an ear infection if you know that there is a risk that an eardrum is perforated. Another caveat: avoid ingesting fresh Goldenseal plant. Eating fresh Golden seal plant has been known to cause ulceration of the mucous membranes. It is a very potent plant. Also, if you suffer from digestive complaints, many herbalists recommend that you take barberry for these types of complaints because Goldenseal has recently become endangered in the wild.

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Scott Meyers is a staff writer for It’s Entirely Natural, a resource for helping you achieve a naturally healthy body, mind, and spirit. You may contact our writers through the web site. Follow this link for more information on Herbal Remedies.

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Tags: Anger, blood pressure, cold, goldenseal, Herbal Remedies

The yarrow plant is one of the most highly valued plants for treating the common cold and influenza.

The plant’s Latin name is Achillea millefolium, which is derived from the famous Greek hero Achilles. It is believed that the plant was used during the Trojan wars, where it was used to treat war wounds. Yarrow also has a curious folk name: “nosebleed.” This folk nickname is a testimony to its traditional use as a first aid herb. Yarrow has been used in the past as an emergency styptic to stop bleeding. These days, yarrow is mostly used to treat colds and flu’s, but it is also used to treat problems with the circulatory, digestive and urinary system. You can usually find yarrow growing in meadows.

Most traditional herbalists describe yarrow as alternately dry, sweet, astringent and sometimes slightly bitter in taste. The constituents of the yarrow plant included salicylic acid, volatile oils (including proazulenes), isovalerianic acid, flavonoids, sterols, tannins, bitters, asparagin, and coumarins. The action of the plant is described astringent, relaxing, a promoter of sweat, a blood vessel relaxant, febrifuge, and restorative for the menstrual system. The essential oil of yarrow is described as anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, and antiallergenic.

Several parts of the yarrow plant are used to create herbal remedies. These include the plant’s stems parts, its leaves, its essential oil, and its flowers. The leaves of the plant are believed to contain properties that encourage clotting. The leaves are also used fresh as an herbal remedy to combat nose bleeding. However, if yarrow leaves are used to treat nosebleeds, they must not be inserted into the nostril directly as this can make a nosebleed worse. The leaves of the yarrow plant can be harvested throughout the growing season.

The essential oils of the yarrow plant are also used to make herbal remedies. The oils are extracted from the yarrow plant by steam distillation of the flowers. The essential oils of the plant are generally used as an anti-inflammatory or in chest rubs that can be applied when a person is suffering from a cold or influenza. Extracts from the yarrow plant have been used to make an effective mosquito repellent.

The flowers of the yarrow plant can also be used to make herbal remedies. For instance, the flowers have been shown to be rich in chemicals that can be converted by steam into antiallergenic compounds. These chemicals can be used to treat various allergic problems, including mucus problems and hay fever. Traditional herbalists harvest the flower during the summer and fall.

There are many applications for the yarrow plant. Its flowers can be used to infuse and drink as a hot tea that helps treat common ailments of the upper respiratory system, including excessive phlegm. The aerial parts of the yarrow plant can also be used to reduce fevers when it is prepared in a hot tea. You can also use yarrow in a chest rub to treat chest colds, influenza, or to relieve severe congestion.

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Scott Meyers is a staff writer for It’s Entirely Natural, a resource for helping you achieve a naturally healthy body, mind, and spirit. You may contact our writers through the web site. Follow this link for more information on Herbal Remedies.

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Tags: cold, flavonoids, Herbal Remedies, influenza, yarrow plant

We can say that the Echinacea flower is listed among the best known and most efficient herbal remedies of our days. It has been used by Native Americans for curing such physical problems as colds, fevers, snakebites or even stubborn wounds.

Echinacea was adopted by the settlers from the natives and became well known to them as cold and influenza medication. Moreover, it became quite popular with the Eclectics of the 19th century. During the last decades, Echinacea became widely spread and well known as a plant that possesses certain efficient antiviral, antifungal and antiseptic properties.

This plant has been used even in AIDS medicines. Even though the most commonly cultivated flower is purple E purpurea, E angustifolia is thought to possess stronger curing virtues and gets used more often by the herbalists and naturopaths.

The character of Echinacea has alternately been described as cool, dry, and strongly pungent. Its main ingredients consist of volatile oils, glycosides, antibiotic polyacetylenes, amides, and inulin. Herbal practitioners value Echinacea for its antibiotic, immune stimulant, antiallergenic, and lymphatic refreshing virtues.

Besides the aerial parts of the Echinacea plant that can be used in herbal tonics, its roots can be used as well. Echinacea roots are usually used for making anti infection or inflammation tinctures and powders. In traditional herbal medicine, Echinacea is commonly used for treating such severe medical problems as kidney infections or for less grave conditions, such as influenza, respiratory infections, etc. Moreover, Echinacea flowers can be used for producing quite efficient capsule antibiotics.

Herbal medicine has found many virtues of the Echinacea plant. People have learned to make Echinacea concoctions, which can considerably intensify the healing process of patients with infections or flues. Patients with influenza, chills or other infection conditions are recommended to take 5 ml doses of Echinacea tincture once every few hours.

The Echinacea plant works well in combination with other herbal remedies, such as buchu and couch grass. Applied together with these plants it can show great results in curing various chronic conditions, such as kidney infection. Mixed with cleavers Echinacea can be use for curing and treating of mononucleosis. This plant is even capable of aiding out people with food poisoning and snakebite conditions.

The patients with wounds can greatly benefit from applying Echinacea flower essences to their injuries by washing their wounds with these essences several times a day. The plant can be used as well for sore throat gurgling. If powdered, it can be applied on the infected or injured skin. It has been efficiently used by patients with weeping boils, infected eczema, and other skin infections.

Most patients take Echinacea plant medicines in a form of capsules, as it is recommended by herbalists and naturopaths. This cure can be taken by patients with acute infections, colds, influenza, urinary tract infections, and kidney infections up to 3 times a day by capsule.

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Scott Meyers is a staff writer for It’s Entirely Natural, a resource for helping you achieve a naturally healthy body, mind, and spirit. You may contact our writers through the web site. Follow this link for more information on Herbal Remedies.

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Tags: cold, echinacea, glycosides, Herbal Remedies, influenza

Unfortunately, no matter how well you take care of yourself, you still inevitably come down with a cold or the flu. Even if you do all the right things such as eating a nutritious diet, exercising on a regular and getting plenty of sleep, illness can still get you.

If you do catch a cold you are always told to make up a pot of chicken soup. Studies have proven that chicken soup is indeed effective at fighting the physical aches and pains of the common cold. Bear in mind, however, you should eat small quantities of chicken soup, but as often as possible, to reap the beneficial results for your health.

It has been shown that chicken soup works to break up the congestion in the nose by thwarting the flow of the secretions from the nose. The white blood cells that come out in droves due to a sore throat and a head cold can be inhibited by chicken soup, which decreases the inflammation in the head as well as the creation of phlegm.

There is an amino acid in chicken, which is known as cysteine, and this is released when the soup is added to broth to make a soup. Once the cysteine is released in the making of the soup it becomes very much like a popular drug called acetylcysteine that is prescribed by physicians to patients who are suffering from bronchititis.

The mucus in the lungs is thinned out and this helps to release much of the congestion and the cough. The vapors from the hot chicken soup are one of the best antidotes for “cleaning house” when it comes to the common cold. Hot, spicy foods are excellent for kick starting the immune system and flushing out impurities so add some items such as onions, garlic, cayenne pepper or even jalapeno peppers to your chicken soup to facilitate faster healing.

Another excellent food remedy for congestion is garlic. At the very first sign of a cold starting consume several cloves of fresh garlic as it can help to encourage your immune system to get into gear and it helps to rid the body of congestion. Garlic is a very powerful food that has within it a special substance that is excellent at killing a virus known as the human rhino virus, which is to blame for many head colds as well as parainfluenza 3, which is a virus that causes a person to become sick with the flu. But the benefits of garlic when a person is sick do not end there. Garlic helps to encourage watery fluids building up in the lungs, throat and mouth to leave the body as soon as possible. The mucus that is characteristic of a cold is thinned out thanks to the presence of garlic and it is gotten rid of as swiftly as possible. Garlic also has the ability to fight inflammation, which makes it an excellent food to have on hand all of the time.

There is no cure for the common cold or flu but doing the right things can help to minimize it’s uncomfortable effects.

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Scott Meyers is a staff writer for It’s Entirely Natural, a resource for helping you achieve a naturally healthy body, mind, and spirit. You may contact our writers through the web site. Follow this link for more informaton on Food Cures.

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Tags: chicken soup, cold, Food Cures, garlic