An Ounce of Prevention + Safe and Natural Cures

                                                                                                         
Homemade & Safe Remedies for the Whole Family

Z-Pak, one of the most popular and often-prescribed antibiotics in the US, can be deadly to individuals with heart disease.  According to ABC news,  A Vanderbilt University study found an increased risk of death from heart disease in the first five days of using a Z-Pak when compared to other common antibiotics or no antibiotics.  The danger is greater for people with heart arrhythmias (irregular heart beat) and those who have low blood levels of potassium and magnesium.

Evidently the  risk of sudden death is roughly 1 in 4,000.  That means that for every 200,000 people who take the antibiotic azithromycin, there could be 50 deaths!   That sounds like an awfully high risk to me considering the popularity of this drug.

I am not opposed to taking an antibiotic and have had to resort to them several times in the past 15 years or so, but there are serious side effects to consider, such as overgrowth of invasive yeast (candida albicans) in the digestive tract, antibiotic resistance, and destruction of the beneficial bacteria (intestinal flora) which bolster the immune system.

Considering the potential dangers, wouldn’t it be better to seek preventative measures and natural antibiotic/antiviral/antifungal sources?  Below are a few excellent ones that I have found to be very effective with my family.  And taking into account that there is not cure for the common cold (thougt to be viral in nature) these remedies help build up immunity and mitigate the symptoms when you do succumb.

Honey-Ginger-Lemon Jelly

The photo above and recipe made the rounds on Facebook this fall and is very similar to something I make.  Try to source out raw honey, which has not had the majority of its enzymes and healing properties destroyed by heating.

NOTE:  Raw honey rarely will be clear and easily poured like you see in the photo.  It usually has a crystallized appearance and is not transparent. 

Ingredients:
1 jar raw honey
2 medium lemons
1 2 inch chunk of ginger
2 teaspoons powdered cinnamon

Directions:
Wash the skins of the lemons thoroughly as you will be using the whole lemon.  Slice thinly, removing the seeds, and cut the rounds into smaller pieces.  Empty the honey into a bowl and mix in the lemon.  Peel and chop the ginger and add to bowl, mixing thoroughly.  Add the cinnamon and blend well.  Scoop all of this back into the jar (you may need a larger jar than you started with :- )
Place in the refrigerator.  After several days this will become more like a gel, but there’s no reason you can’t start using it immediately.

Preventative Care:  Take a tablespoon on a daily basis, either as is, or add to warm water to make a pleasant tea.  I sometimes add a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to the warm water as a great digestive aid and tummy soother.

Symptom Soother:  If you do have a cold or flu, drink this mixture with tea or warm water.  You will certainly feel better and the ingredients all have anti-inflammatory and healing properties which could cut down on the cycle.

An ounce (heaping tablespoon) of delicious-tasting prevention!

Here’s a video of Dr. LJ making a Pineapple-Ginger cold remedy for eHow.com

Oil of Oregano – Nature’s Antiobiotic

I was thrilled to see a recent article in the New York Times about how enlightened chicken farmers are using oregano plants and oil as a natural antibiotic instead of subjecting the birds (and the planet, in general) to the pharmaceutical-based ones.

Oil of oregano is a powerful home remedy; Having a few drops diluted in a half a glass of water is good preventative care and considered to be highly effective in overcoming pathogenic infections.  Whether you are seeking to avoid getting the flu like everyone around you or wanting to cut down dramatically on your symptoms, I strongly recommend having a bottle in your kitchen or medicine cabinet.  This very strong and volatile oil is also recommended for ridding the intestinal tract and mucus membranes of parasites and yeast infections.  It is very strong and would be hard to take “neat” so diluting in water or tea is recommended.

You can buy Oil of Oregano at health food stores or online.  One of my favorite sources of high quality, yet inexpensive is an ebay store called The Virgin Herb Depot.  Essential oils in general can be rather expensive, especially when you buy them from multi-level marketing companies, like Young Living Essential Oils, so it’s great to find them so much cheaper.  Virgin Herb Depot also carries a potent blend called “Thieves Oil”  — my absolutely MUST-HAVE home remedy.  (They appear to be out of it right now but I have an email out to them to find out when they are restocking and I will tell you more about this blend when I hear back from them.)

Oscillo-What?

This homeopathic remedy has quite the tongue-twister name:  Oscillococcinum  but the good news is that it has become so mainstream that you can find it in most drugstores, like CVS and Walgreen’s — even in WalMart!  The orange and yellow packaging is distinctive and has not changed in all the years I have been taking Oscillo.

I discovered it when I was traveling almost monthly from Southern California to Tokyo, where I gave monthly trainings to hypnotherapists.  Although I had gone over 8 years without getting the flu, the stress of monthly travel along with the recycled air and germs over 12 hours of flying lowered my immune defense to the point that I contracted the flu 4 times in a row, the last one turning into pneumonia.  Someone told me about this product and I began taking it when I was on the plane, however there is no hard evidence that this product works prophylactically.  In fact, there are a lot of detractors, even a lawsuit against Boiron, the manufacturer of Oscillo, that claim that the product is useless.  Homeopathy has been called a pseudo-science but that does not really deter me, as I am sure that conventional medicine and practitioners are often threatened by what they do not know or understand.  And guess what — NO SIDE EFFECTS!  (which is more than the pharmaceutical companies can say…)

The key to using Oscillo is to take it when the first onset of symptoms come on:  chills, body or headaches, fever.  It has worked for me and my family — literally stopping the flu or cold in its tracks and lessening the severity of its symptoms.

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