Natural remedies

by onacruse 27 Replies latest social physical

• 

  exwitless

  I agree with Hortensia. Herbs and vitamins are medicines, just as much as aspirin or prescriptions. Here's my beef with "natural" remedies. The use of the term "all natural" is a buzz word. All natural doesn't mean "all safe" or "completely effective". Arsenic is all natural, but we don't tout it as a remedy. Why? Because it has deadly side effects.

  My point is that when "natural" or "herbal" remedies are a consideration, it's our natural tendency to assume that they can't harm us, because they are from nature. They can have serious side effects, not to mention that they can interact with each other in a dangerous way.

  Another "beef" I have with herbal remedies is that they're not regulated by the FDA. The strength can vary greatly from one brand to another, as well as the filler ingredients. This is why someone can take one brand of an herbal with no problems, then buy another brand of the "identical" herbal and have side effects or a reaction to it. I believe herbals and supplements can be OK, but I certainly would be extremely cautious of the combinations and dosages of them. As a nurse, I often see herbals and supplements as a complicating factor in figuring out why patients complain of certain symptoms, or why their prescription medications may not be working as expected.
• 

  Frannie Banannie

  Craig, I take 3 Lecithin caps a day to clean the cholesterol from my arteries and keep 'em clean.

  I also take 4 cinnamon caps if I feel a cold or flu symptoms coming on. The cinnamon kills it.

  I use E oil for clearing up fungal infections, especially on nail beds. It works. I've used it on my patients and as the nail bed grows out, the E oil is applied daily and the new nail growing in is healthy.

  When I had Candida, I used Planetary Formulas, Candida Digest for a couple of months and it cleared it up completely.

  Other than these things, I only take potassium and folic acid to keep my energy up when it's lagging, Excedrin for headaches and Benadryl for allergies. They all work pretty good for me.

  Frannie
• 

  What-A-Coincidence

  CureZone.com
  Educating instead of Medicating

  "The quality of one's life depends on the quality of attention. Whatever you
  pay attention to will grow more important in your life. There is no limit to
  the kinds of changes that awareness can produce."
  
  -- Deepak Chopra

  "The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it." -- Chinese Proverb.
  
  "Those who do not have enough time for good health, will not have good health for enough time" -- Paul Bragg
• 

  Stealth453

  I have been taking virgin coconut oil for about 6 months now. 3 times a day. My bp is normal (high bp for years), my cholesterol levels are normal (high again for years), and to date I have lost more than 70 pounds.
• 

  OUTLAW

  Onacruse..Bud,I managed health and fitness shops for years..It`s my exprience that someone who is fit,can pretty much do anything that would destroy a normal persons body.Thats the sad truth..LOL!!..Herbs and supplements do have thier place and I am a firm believer in them.....After a bad situation in the wilderness I lost some of my memory..I regained that funtion,after only a few months of using "GinkoBiloba".....If you are fit,use supplements and herbs with thought and purpose..You will enjoy a healthier exsistance than most ...OUTLAW
• 

  BrentR

  I find it completely rediculous that people are advising us to read up on the side affects and interactions of herbs. Yes it is good advice but I would add that it is far more important to read about the synthetic prescriptions that doctors sell to you for the pharmecuetical industry.

  I am always amazed that people will blindly take a prescription(s) without ever reading the whole laundry list of interactions and side affects. I have experienced some terrible side affects from prescription meds but as of yet not one from vitamin, mineral or herbal supplements.

  BTW, Stephen Barrett of Quackwatch has been sued many times for slander and false accusations. He claims to be an expert on many different subjects that he knows little or nothing about. When he gets hauled into court he loses quit often. He works out of his basement and slams anything that is not traditional western medicine. He is worse then a quack himself in my book.

  http://www.healthfreedomlaw.com/
• 

  Farkel

  Craig,

  :Alpha-lipoic acid, Cinnamon, Ginseng, Gotu kola, and Uva ursi: Metabolism boosters/diuretics, to help me lose a bit of weight (my BMI is about 27)

  Diet. It has less syllables than that other crap. Keep your pizza consumption down to less than two 18" ones per day, if possible. This would only be a drastic measure if your immediate health was jeapordized.

  : Dandelion, L-methionine and Milk Thistle: Liver cleansers

  Drink lots of water. Best liver cleanser there is. Make sure you don't get the water from a misquito-breeding pond.

  :Garlic: Blood cholesterol (last check was 140, with an HDL of 55)

  Latest studies I've read (Scientific American) says it doesn't work, and it gives you bad breath, to boot. But those Scientists may be just sick of having bad breath. I don't know.

  :Ginko: My brain

  Anything could help in THAT department! :) No opinion. Try eating a brick. Certain parts ARE edible

  : Grape seed, Quercetin, Q-10: General antioxidants

  Try Clorox bleach. It is a major antioxidant. Do this only in moderation and consult your health quack before trying this treatment.

  :Melatonin, St. John's Wort and 5-HTP: Seratonin support

  Try a lobster. Might be some seratonin in there. If not, you will have a great meal. Can't hurt. (except if you are the lobster)

  :Saw palmetto and Selenium: Prostate support

  I wouldn't try anything that has a "saw" in it. Especially when it comes to the prostrate area. Just drink lots of water and pee during the day. Then drink some more and pee some more. Otherwise, some doctor with this huge FINGER is going to mess you up!

  :Now, don't be saying that I just need to go out and get myself one of those "scooters"! LOLOL

  No. You need a walker!

  : However, I'd be interested in any comments y'all might have about the "supplement" approach to healthier living.

  I made all this stuff up.

  Cheers!

  Farkel
• 

  Mulan

  I learned a good lesson a long time ago. Someone was selling bee pollen, and my friend asked if it was "good for allergies." The person selling the bee pollen said, "oh yes, it is very good for allergies!" So my friend, who has a lot of allergies to flowers and pollen, took a big dose of bee pollen. Collapsed with anaphylactic shock not long after. fortunately he was with people who had the sense to call paramedics. Some folks I know would have done polarity or something in that emergency.

  Didn't they tell your friend how to use Bee Pollen. It is wonderful for allergies, but you have to start s l o w l y..............some experts even suggest taking a razor blade and cutting each granule in two, at first. You work up very, very gradually to about 1/4 tsp. at a time.

  I know lots of people who have allergies to pollens and flowers, who use Bee Pollen with great success. One of my sons had very severe asthma, and had a terrible time every spring, and using Bee Pollen got him off of prescriptions for the asthma.
• 

  onlycurious

  I have been interested in natural healing for a while. I don't know a lot but try different things. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't.

  Modern medicine often masks the problems. (I'm not talking about antibiotics here)

  Natural remedies apparently erase and re-write.

  My daughter is taking Aloe Vera juice and enzymes for stomach problems. So far so good.
• 

  MsMcDucket

  Herbal advocates like to point out that about half of today's medicines were derived from plants. (Digitalis, for example, was originally derived from leaves of the foxglove plant.) This statement is true but misleading. Drug products contain specified amounts of active ingredients. Herbs in their natural state can vary greatly from batch to batch and often contain chemicals that cause side effects but provide no benefit.

  A lot of people say that about pot too! On the serious side, lots of illegal and legal drugs come from plants. Not all of them are good for you. If you don't have hypertension for instance, why take a herbal med or legal med for it?

  Are you treating something? Or making something worse? From the herbs that you mentioned, it sounded like you were taking uppers and downers! I was kind of thinking to myself is he going to kill himself by getting Serotonin Syndrome. . .?

  Be careful with that stuff!