Lots of people think that we are taking too many pharmaceutical products and it certainly is true that we are taking more than we ever have done before in history. Our generation has forgotten lots of the natural solutions that our grandparents (or even further back) took for normal
On the other hand, lots of the pharmaceutical remedies on the market are manufactured from natural items such as plants, but are more highly concentrated. A pharmacist also has access to plants from other continents and can mix plant extracts to improve the efficacy of the final product.
Despite all that, many people still feel that we have gone too far and ought to attempt to redress the balance at least a little. I live in Thailand now and a day does not pass when my wife says something like: ‘Old people eat this for medicine. Old style cure for bad blood’ – or good heart or beautiful skin.
I have no medical training so I am not authorized to say whether these old style treatments are any good or not, but I have collected a few them in this article out of interest and if you find them interesting too, you can do some more research yourself.
You can buy most of these ingredients and get more info from health food shops and if you like the effects, you could try to grow them in your backyard.
Zinc or at least products containing zinc are thought to cure colds. Zinc is easily obtained from quality chocolate, watermelon seeds and sesame seeds, so next time you fancy a snack, try these instead.
Cranberries are famous for helping sort out urinary tract infections (UTI’s). Women suffer more from UTI’s than men, but it would be worth keeping a bag or dried cranberries in the cupboard or a litre of unsweetened cranberry juice in the fridge.
Aloe Vera is commonly known to cure skin issues and dried aloe vera is said to make a tea that lowers blood pressure. If the climate is right, everybody should have a plant or two in the backyard.
Garlic is known to help purify the blood and cut down on the danger of heart disease. I know lots of people who eat two or three raw small, hazelnut-sized bulbs of garlic a day.
St. John’s Wort is thought to cure depression, although you would have to research how the plant is prepared.
Citrus fruits such as oranges, lemons, limes and grapefruit are good for curing the common cold, something that the pharmaceutical industry admits by making nearly all of its cold cures taste of lemon.
White vinegar will cure feet soaked in it of foot rot, toe fungus, athletes’ foot and the like.
Cinnamon is an old, traditional remedy for high blood pressure and is easy to take on cakes and puddings. Cinnamon tea is delicious as well.
Grape seeds are said to be a cure for prostate problems, although not prostate cancer.
Ginger tea is an ancient aid to digestion and banishes flatulence.
The list goes on and it just;y takes a little research to find more time-honoured solutions.
Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on a number of topics, but is now involved with natural cures for prostate cancer. If you want to know more go to What is the Treatment for Prostate Cancer?
