Natural Health and Herbal Remedies Blog – information on herbal medicine

The freshly pulped leaves of lady’s mantle help wounds to heal quickly when applied externally. If you sustain a scratch or a cut while walking or hiking in the mountains, there are plenty of effective remedies all around. A few flowers of St John’s wort rubbed between the fingers and placed on the cut (or crushed arnica root), with pulped lady’s mantle bound on top, will make an inexpensive curative dressing. A word of caution is needed here: pick the plants only where they are clean and never from the wayside or near an alpine dairy.

Formerly, good ointments used to be made from the fresh leaves of lady’s mantle and also its root. These ointments and creams were used to dress wounds and treat mild ruptures. A tea made with lady’s mantle will also stop children’s diarrhoea without any side effects.

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Lactic fermentation has been used for centuries in China, Korea and Japan. In those countries it is employed to prepare medicinal herbs and to change vegetables into hearty condiments and what are known as kimchi, spicy pickled dishes similar to sauerkraut. Although the lactic fermentation of various vegetables has the great advantage of activating a plant’s beneficial properties, this method of preparing food has not yet found the popularity it deserves. The remedial effects of plants used in the treatment and prevention of diabetes, arthritis, rheumatism and cancer could be even more beneficial if they were prepared in this way. That is why Molkosan and vegetable juices should not be regarded merely as food, but also as remedies. It appears that the importance of preparations containing lactic acid will increase as radiation levels increase in our modern environment.

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Non-greasy creams based on something other than plant mucilage generally contain ingredients that block the pores. The skin suffers and loses its smoothness if the treatment continues for some time. Oiling the skin, especially after a bath and washing with soap, is to be recommended, since soap removes the natural oil produced by the sebaceous glands. A good oil that stimulates the skin is indispensable in winter and whenever engaging in water sports.

It is imperative that the perfumes added to skin oils and creams be only from natural essential oils. Perfumes derived from chemicals can harm the skin. Also remember that the skin derives no benefit whatsoever from being covered with thick layers of all kinds of cosmetics. Healthy skin only needs a little help when greater demands are put on it through exposure to the sun, water, cold and wind. The wisdom expressed in the saying ‘You can have too much of a good thing’ applies to the care of your skin and cosmetics too.

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There are a number of plants that I have come to know for their efficacy in combatting viral diseases: garlic, horseradish, bear’s garlic (ramsons), butterbur (Petasites), lichen-acid-containing Usnea, and Echinacea, the purple coneflower. I can vouch for the good results achieved with patients with viral infections who had taken these natural remedies, in addition to adopting a sensible and healthy life-style.

It would be worthwhile if doctors were to try these plants when treating their patients. Echinacea, in particular, contributed to keeping myself and my friends free from malaria in the tropics, and should therefore be included in any treatment given to those suffering the dreadful viral disease AIDS. Instead of sitting around waiting for the end to come, an experiment could be made involving a complete change of life-style and the indicated plant remedies. It may be that a cure is possible.

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While the world’s medical specialists argue about the causes of cancer, more and more victims die every year. Some researchers try to blame a virus for its development, considering the disease to be a localised one affecting certain groups of cells. Others are just as bold in defending their view that cancer is a disease affecting the whole organism.

It is possible that viruses do play some part in the disease, but the researchers who believe that cancer is a disease that affects the whole body may be closer to the truth than the others. The view that cancer is a disease brought about by civilisation finds strong support through the investigation of conditions in less developed parts of the world, where cancer is comparatively unknown. According to my observations, cancer has more than one cause, it is the culmination of a combination of many causes, in other words, it is a complex disease.

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