Alternative Medicine LifestyleAlternative Medicine Lifestyle

Natural Health and Wellness

Natural Healing

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Why an Apple a Day is Essential

apple

You have probably heard the phrase “an apple a day”, talking about how you should eat your normal amount of fruit servings each day. Apples are among the healthiest fruits you can consume as they are loaded with nutrients, but not just for weight loss and weight management. Here is what you should know about the health benefits of apples.

The Vitamins and Minerals of Apples

The reason why the term “an apple a day” exists is because of how good apples are for you. They are packed with essential vitamins and minerals that your body needs every day. Among them, include a large amount of antioxidants, which are going to help prevent illness and disease, protecting your body from free radicals. Apples are also a great source of vitamin C, vitamin B6, and vitamin K. You will get a lot of minerals in apples like magnesium, potassium, and fiber.

They Help With Weight Loss

If you are looking to lose weight, eating healthy is about 80% of the process, with 20% being due to exercise. When it comes to healthy eating, you want to go for a balance of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein. Apples are among the healthiest fruit you can eat, not just for all its nutrients, but because they can help aid in your weight loss efforts. Apples are very low in fat and calories, have moderate sugar, and can fill you up with the extra fiber. Try to add apples to your daily routine, whether you add them to your smoothie or enjoy apple slices with almond butter.

Your Digestive System is Improved

Many fruits, vegetables, and herbs can help improve your digestive system naturally, and apples are no exception. Thanks to the high fiber content in apples, they really help your digestive system overall. It can help with constipation or diarrhea, relieve stomach pains, and help with any nausea or gastric distress you tend to experience. Plus, you are going to get all those added nutrients alongside the digestion improvements with apples daily.

Apples can also help in many other areas, including with anemia. This is due to the high amount of iron in apples, which is hard to get sufficient amounts of in fruits and vegetables. If you aren’t a big meat eater, getting your iron from apples is a great option. Apples are also good for heart health.

 

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Essential Oil Scents for the Fall

Cinnamon

 

If you are a big fan of essential oils, fall is a great time to incorporate them more into your life. The following information not only provides individual oil scents that are perfect for this season, but some ideas for blending them together into unique scents that are perfect for this cozy time of year.

Individual Fall Scents

The first thing you should do if you want to start using fall scents is to figure out which essential oils are going to achieve this. You have two main options: go with individual scents or choose a blend. Manny of the popular essential oil companies mix blends for you, where they will smell like a forest, fall air, cinnamon, or pumpkin spice. However, if you don’t want to go this direction, you can instead use those individual scents. Here are some that are perfect for fall:

Cinnamon

Lemon

Sweet orange

Fir

Eucalyptus

Clove

Vanilla

Tea Tree

Rosemary

Peppermint

Pine

Frankincense

Bergamot

Fall Essential Oil Blends

Another thing you might want to do is use a blend. You can mix up your own blend depending on how you want the certain essential oil product to smell, or get a pre-made blend. This is a great time to start experimenting with different combinations until you figure out what works best. When making your own blends, the stronger scents like fir and eucalyptus should be used less, and the milder scents like orange and vanilla can be used more.

Here are some different scent combinations to achieve the essential oil blends you want:

Pumpkin Spice – For a pumpkin spice blend, try combing clove oil with nutmeg and cinnamon. This is a very basic blend of scents that tend to smell just like pumpkin spice.

Fall Air – For a blend that smells like those warm fall evening walks outdoors, try fir or eucalyptus with sweet orange and your choice of spices, like either nutmeg or clove.

Autumn Spice – Another spice combination is more heavily spiced with cinnamon, plus some sweetness added to the mix. This autumn spice can have cinnamon oil, along with clove, vanilla, and sweet orange or lemon.

Play around with the different essential oils until you come up with blends you love for the fall season. Use them with all your DIY products or just add the blend to a diffuser so that it smells just like fall in your home every day.

 

 

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Dandelion for Natural Healing

Dandelion for Natural Healing

If you are looking for ways to heal your body without using chemicals and prescription medications, then using healing herbs is a great place to start. These herbs have been used for centuries as the main source of medicine, long before prescription medications and chemists ever existed.

There is a long list of herbs that can heal many ailments, from pains like headaches and stomachaches, to improving your digestion and helping with serious medical conditions. One of the top herbs to add to your natural health routine is dandelion.

What is Dandelion?

Dandelion or dandelion root is a medicinal herb with many amazing benefits, though you might know of it more as a weed. It can be considered a weed when it grows in your backyard or local fields, but some types of dandelion is filled with nutrients and medicinal qualities.

You can get dandelion in any field outdoors, but the problem is that they might have pesticides or other chemicals based on who grew them. This is why it is best to get the dandelion from an herbalist or health store, where you know it was grown organically without any chemicals.

Nutrients in Dandelion

Dandelion is an excellent source of beta-carotene, which you might know as vitamin A. It also provides the following:

Potassium
Fiber
Protein
Zinc
Calcium
Vitamin C
Iron
Phosphorous

 

Ways to use Dandelion for Natural Healing

 

  1. It Helps with Bone Health

The first health benefit of using dandelion greens as a holistic remedy is by improving your bone health. There are different ways to use dandelion, whether you consume the greens or use dandelion root, but this is where you will consume the actual greens.

Dandelion has a lot of essential nutrients, as discussed previously, including a lot of calcium. In a cup of dandelion greens, you get approximately 10 percent of the calcium you need in a day. This helps with your bone health, as well as the vitamin K content of dandelion, which further helps to protect you against osteoporosis.

  1. Improve Your Digestion

If you have been having digestive issues lately, such as bloating, gas, or bowel changes, then you might be in need of a natural laxative. That is where dandelion comes in. Again, you can use the dandelion greens to consume in a tea or even a salad or soup, and get the nutrients in dandelion that will help with your digestive system.

Dandelion can have a mild laxative effect. This can help move things along more naturally without having to take something else. If you don’t want to use the dandelion greens in your salads, try getting dandelion root tea as it will work in a similar way.

  1. Get Help Managing Diabetes

Diabetes is a serious medical condition that you should never take lightly. While you should not attempt to replace conventional medical treatments for diabetes with a natural approach, it is still good to supplement those treatments for better management of the condition.

Try Dandelion Juice

One of the options available to you is to make some dandelion juice. This is one of the lesser knows ways to use dandelion greens and root, but can work really well for you. Dandelion can help to stimulate production of insulin, which can help to lower your blood sugar level for helping with your diabetes.

When you make juice with dandelion greens, it is going to be on the bitter side, so you might want to add some other sweeter ingredients for improved taste. Just be careful not to use too many sugar-laden fruits in the juice as that might have the opposite effect.

Try adding more greens to the juice until you are happy with the taste, or low-sugar fruits like berries.

Another option is simply to make your favorite green juice and add in some dandelion greens for added nutrients, which not only helps with diabetes but a lot of other ailments as well.

  1. Reduce Your Blood Pressure

We already know high blood pressure is known as the “silent killer”. This is because there are not usually any signs or symptoms of having high blood pressure, also called hypertension, but it can have disastrous consequences. People who leave this untreated are at a much higher risk for heart disease and stroke, which can be fatal.

Lowering your blood pressure may require taking a medication, changing your diet, getting more exercise, and trying some natural remedies like using dandelion. Dandelion juice can be used for this as well as helping with your diabetes condition. It helps to work as a diuretic, along with reducing your cholesterol thanks to the fiber content.

There is also potassium in dandelion which can work to counteract with too much sodium in your diet.

  1. Improve Liver and Kidney Function

Another way that the natural diuretic qualities of dandelion can benefit your health is by helping to detox your body and cleanse your liver and kidneys. When you detox these vital organs, you are clearing out any waste left behind, including an excess amount of salt or water.

If you have too much waste in your kidneys, it can lead to a lot of issues with your body’s urinary system. You need to detox your organs in order to get rid of any toxins in your kidney. It can also help perform a similar function with your liver, including getting rid of those toxins and helping to get more electrolytes in your body.

  1. Using Dandelion for Women’s Health

There are some unique health benefits for women who start using natural herbs like dandelion greens and root.  The nutrients in this herb can help with your bone health and preventing osteoporosis, which is a big risk for women especially, but that’s not the only benefit for females.

It can also help to reduce your risk of other things that plague women, such as mastitis of the breasts, urinary tract infections, and hormonal imbalances.

With a hormonal imbalance, it might sound minor, but can cause things like anxiety and depression, chronic fatigue, unexplained weight gain, hair loss, and much more. It is best to treat it in the most natural way possible.

You can try dandelion in its different forms when using it as a female to help stave off these conditions and ailments. This might include drinking dandelion juice, adding the greens to a salad or smoothie, or having some dandelion tea.

  1. Dandelion Can Aid You in Weight Loss

Dandelion can also assist you if you are having trouble losing weight. It can’t be used on its own for weight loss, but as a way to help with weight loss along with your diet and exercise efforts as well.  Primarily it helps by being used as a diuretic. This helps to get rid of excess water you might be holding onto, that not only can add on the pounds, but cause bloating as well. It can also help to reduce fat absorption in your body and break down fa in your pancreas.  By adding one simple type of dandelion to your diet, like a juice or tea, you are getting a multitude of health benefits all at the same time.

  1. Lower Your Cholesterol

Not only will dandelion help to lower your blood pressure naturally, but it can also help to balance out your cholesterol levels. It can lower your bad cholesterol (LDL), while helping to encourage higher good cholesterol (HDL).

While some forms of cholesterol is a good thing for your body, too much of the LDL cholesterol can lead to a higher risk of heart disease, just like having high blood pressure. If your doctor finds that you have high cholesterol, you want to lower it in the most natural way possible.

Studies have shown that both dandelion roots and leaves can help to balance out your cholesterol levels, thanks to the many nutrients they contain. This is done by protecting against atherosclerosis, which is how the low-density lipoproteins get into your blood.

  1. Reduce Inflammation

Dandelion is a great way to reduce inflammation in your body, which as you know not only happens with your joints and skin, but inside your body as well. Inflammation often goes unseen, but can cause a lot of different side effects.  If you have a condition like arthritis, the inflammation causes pain and discomfort, which often requires medications to lessen it. However, you can also try natural remedies like dandelion.

  1. Treat Your Skin and Acne Issues

Dandelion can help with natural healing and holistic care is by treating various skin and acne issues. As you know, managing good skincare can get tricky, especially if you have conditions like rosacea or eczema.  It requires finding the right skincare routine and products, trying to go as natural as possible, and knowing when and how to manage flare-ups. The more natural you can go, the better off your skin will be.

You can either consume dandelion greens or root tea to help provide nutrients that help with your skin, or make a salve that is applied directly to the problem areas.

 

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Reflexology – The Zone Therapy

Reflexology – The Zone TherapyReflexology, or zone therapy, is a form of alternative medicine that focuses on applying pressure to the feet and hands with certain finger, thumb, and hand techniques. While this may seem similar to massage, the practice uses no lotions or oils.

The Connection of Body Parts and Our Health

Interestingly, there is no consensus among reflexologists on how reflexology works. However, they all agree that certain areas on the feet and hands are connected to other specific parts of the body, and that by manipulating the pressure on these areas can improve one’s health through their qi, or life force.

Reflexology has been a practice in multiple cultures throughout the world for many years. Archeological evidence has found ancient reflexology systems in countries such as China, Egypt, and Japan.

Reflexology was introduced to the United States by doctors William H. Fitzgerald and Edwin Bowers in 1913. Their methods were updated in the 1940s by nurse and physiotherapist Eunice D. Ingham, who claimed that the hands and feet were both incredibly sensitive, mapping the whole body into “reflexes” on the feet.

Many reflexologists today still use Ingham’s methods for their treatments.

A Central Life Force

Several alternative medicinal practices believe in a central life force. Acupuncture and acupressure, like reflexology, believe that by manipulating the life force in certain parts of your body, you can strengthen or heal related physiological processes. For example, the big toes connect to the head (or the brain) and the ball of the foot connects to the lungs.

Reflexology and Your feet

Reflexologists use foot charts as a guide when applying pressure to a patient’s feet, using rubber balls, rubber bands, and even sticks of wood to assist them with their treatment. Through the application of pressure on these certain parts of the feet, not only is general circulation improved, but the area which that part of the foot is connected to regains normalized functions.

Reflexology Benefits, Includes Helping Cancer Patients

Several studies conducted by the National Cancer Institute and the National Institutes of Health claim reflexology can reduce pain and psychological systems, which include anxiety and depression, and can even enhance relaxation and sleep, help with headaches, and complement cancer treatment.

Other studies show that people who suffer from cancer can benefit from receiving reflexology as a complementary, alternative medicine, because the practice seems to aid in palliative care.

Reflexology additionally helps individuals who suffer from plantar fasciitis, ankle injuries, and other foot-related conditions. Reflexologists and massage therapists use Swedish massage and sports massage techniques on the feet, calves, and thighs. The practice can be applied after a workout, a run, or a long walk, to help you cool down and relax your muscles.

Certified Reflexologists – They Are Trained To Help

The American Commission for Accreditation of Reflexology Education and Training (ACARET) controls the standards for education that is required for reflexology.

The American Reflexology Certification Board (ARCB) utilizes a three-part examination process that makes sure the practitioner has met all of the standards that have been set by the board.

In order to be certified as a reflexologist, one must complete a minimum of 110 hands-on training hours. So if you use this alternative treatment and find a qualified reflexologist you’ll know you’re in good hands!

 

 

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Acupuncture for Health and Healing

Acupuncture for Health and HealingAcupuncture is recognized as an incredible healing method. Many people hate being on the receiving end of a needle, however, acupuncture is a needle treatment that has taken the world by storm, and being used even by people who hate needles.

Acupuncture is similar to acupressure. The ancient Chinese healing practice began to grow in popularity in the late 20th century in the United States, as well as Western Europe, Canada and other westernized nations.

Acupuncture is also receiving recognition from the traditional medical community because the healing and benefits are more often than not, profound and undisputed.

Acupuncture helps to create the same clearing of blocked meridians as acupressure. However, in this case, small needles are inserted to very specific depths at your meridian points, with the hopes that this will clear your energy channels, whose blockage has led to some type of health condition.

Ancient Medicine Works in Modern Times

Acupuncture is an alternative therapy that involves sticking thin needles into pressure points on the body. While it doesn’t necessarily “cure” diseases, it does help a person heal, through energy manipulation.

A key component in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), acupuncture is most commonly used for pain relief, although it is also effective for treating various other conditions, such as lower back pain, shoulder stiffness, knee pain, and other musculoskeletal problems.

It has even been shown to effectively treat symptoms of depression, nausea and vomiting, arthritis, headaches and insomnia. The conditions which are treatable with this ancient Eastern healing practice are virtually limitless.

Other people use acupuncture to help them quit addictions, such as smoking. This has proved successful for many patients.

Yin and Yang and The Qi Life Force

Traditional acupuncture holds the belief that the universe and the body are like yin and yang, two opposing forces of nature that, when in balance, create harmony (when the universe and the body are in balance, the body is healthy). There is also the belief that a life force, known as qi, circulates throughout the body in lines called meridians through the body’s primary organs.

When these energy channels are “blocked”, or when pain and discomfort start to plague a certain area of the body, thin, stainless steel needles are used to relieve the pressure, unblocking the channels and letting the qi flow freely through the body once more.

This ancient healing method has been shown to increase energy and improve sleep and digestion. Acupuncture can also improve the functions of the nervous, endocrine and immune, cardiovascular, and digestive systems, and thus improving one’s overall sense of being.

Acupuncture Sessions

According to the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, otherwise known as the Mayo Clinic, a typical acupuncture session involves lying completely still while approximately 5 to 20 needles are inserted into the specific points of the body.

They are usually left there for about 2 to 20 minutes with the application of either heat, pressure, or laser light. It is not unpleasant and most patients feel relaxed throughout their acupuncture session.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has stated that “promising results have emerged” regarding using acupuncture to treat nausea and other chemotherapy side-effects.

They speak of acupuncture as an effective treatment for pain associated with dental procedures, and suggest it may have uses for treating addiction (as mentioned above), carpal tunnel syndrome, low back pain and other health conditions.

Accordingly, acupuncture is consistently being adopted as an alternative but complementary practice by traditional, conventional doctors and caregivers.

As with many alternative healing practices, the modern medical community stops short of endorsing acupuncture for healing. Although there have been undoubted and recorded cases of amazing healing from acupuncture over thousands of years.