The Gentle Chamomile Caress

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THAT GENTLE CHAMOMILE CARESS

Do your know that 40% of modern packaged medicines now used orthodox medicines are synthetic variants of plant constituents and several well-known “wonder drugs” such as digitalis and aspirin are in fact, extracted from traditional medicinal herbs?

Sad to say when you go into the process of extracting a single constituent and use it singly, it usually produces undesirable side-effects, because the inherent natural balance of the whole herb is displaced.

Many universities and other research establishment have confirmed the significance of traditional use of whole herbs. This is well worth noting for the orthodox doctors who are truly concerned with giving relief to their ailing patients. It is very unfortunate to see some highly educated doctors closed their eyes and turn their backs to the alternative healing methods that nature has been providing. All for the shallow reason that traditional healing practice are not conventional or accepted by the system they learned and practice. For the more broad minded ones, this opens an entirely new door to a wide field of medical alternative. This is for you.

At one time or another, we may have experienced intestinal gas pain or distention. These call for carminative herbs which settle digestion and increase absorption. They dispel mucus and water stagnating and clogging the gastrointestinal tract. Due to the presence of volatile oil, these aromatic herbs stimulates the gastrointestinal nerves (those that governs the stomach, small intestines and colon) to promote digestion and dispel accumulation of undigested food materials.

Carminative herbs like chamomile, act as stimulants which are particularly good for digestive weakness, owing to nervous upset, anxiety, and depression. These fragrant herbs dissolve blockages in the channels, thereby opening up the nervous system and relieving spasm and pain. They improved the general spirit and promote the basic energy flow of the body.

Most of these carminative herbs tend to be heating and are usually pungent in taste. A secondary group however is cooling and tends toward bitter taste. Typical of the cooling carminative herb is chamomile.

Used since the early Roman times, chamomile is a popular tea beverage with many therapeutic values. Roman chamomile and chamomile are the common names used for the plant Anthemis nobilis. The flowers and the whole herb used for curing certain disorders. Its bitter taste cleanses the blood and all tissues in general, and helps reduce tumors.

Chamomile is known for its sedative property. A report in a medical literature stated that 10 out of 12 subjects who were given German chamomile tea fell into deep sleep lasting one and half hours. This sleep approximately occurred 10 minutes after drinking the tea. It cures insomnia and anxiety being a gentle sedative, relaxing tonic for the digestive system.

It also helps relieve bilious, digestive headaches, congestion of the blood, and promotes menstruation. It is a herb that balances emotion. It sedates nerve pain and strengthens the eyes. You can put six drops of the chamomile oil for a warm and relaxing bath.

Facial neuralgia responds to a gentle massage with just a drop of neat oil. Massage one area at a time for a few minutes around the temples, the sinus areas, and around the nape of the neck.

A little fresh ginger prepared with chamomile makes a completely balanced beverage. Externally, it can be used as an eye wash or a poultice for nerve pains. For most medical purposes, its action is mild and serves as a harmonizing adjunct, although large doses can cause nausea and vomiting.

Costa Ricans, however, use German chamomile tea for dieting, claiming that the tea helps curb their appetite. It is likely that they are using large doses which can cause nausea. Those who develop allergic responses like sneezing, nasal congestion, wheezing, eczema from German chamomile should stop using it. Tincture of chamomile used as a sleeping aid is reported to cause diarrhea if overused.

So here we have another natural remedy. Remember that maxim “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”? With the current inflation or the virulence of modern diseases, however the exchange is more likely to be a ton. Preventive health care is the hallmark of Oriental traditional medical practices. This is a quote from the Internal medicine Classic which is something we can reflect on.

Wise physicians don't wait after diseases arise to treat them, but instead they treat them before they arise. They don't wait for the condition to run out of control. Administering medicine to diseases that are already established and treating conditions that are already out of control is likely digging a well after you're already dying of thirst or raising an army after you've been invaded by the enemy.

“Would such measures not be too late?”

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Juicy Mangoes, Anyone

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 JUICY MANGOES, ANYONE

With summer comes an abundance of luscious fruits and vegetables. In many places, colorful barrio fiestas invite people from around to partake of their annual bountiful harvests and their merry making. 

Do you remember an old folk song about being invited to Antipolo to bathe in the once clean and refreshing waters of Hinilugan Taktak,( a waterfall down the eastern side of Metro Manila), and there feast on suman ( a native food containing sweet sticky rice cooked wrapped with fresh coconut leaves) and mangoes?

If you don’t, I’m sure the taste of these delicious, juicy, and sweet mangoes won’t escapr your memories.  Many visiting balikbayans(locals who work or residents overseas) usually crave for fresh mangoes to indulge in it is in season, or content themselves with the dried ones.

It is said the said that amongst most well-liked fruits in the tropics, mango is appreciated as “the king of sour fruits.” In fact, young mango leaves are used to decorate in the Vedic culture. Its dried twigs are used to ignite sacred fires.

Mangoes were first found in India where it is cultivated for thousand of years. In the Vedic scriptures, many references were made about this fruit. In the Srimad Bhagavatam,

it is stated that one of the heavenly planets, on the lower slopes of Mandara Mountain, there is a giant mango tree that is 8,800 miles as high bearing mangoes as big as  mountain peaks, yet with tiny seed, and as sweet as nectar, falling from the tree for the enjoyment of the denizens of heaven. When the fruits fall, they break, and their sweet fragrant juice flows and becomes increasingly fragrant as it mix with other scents. That juice cascades from the mountains like waterfalls and becomes a river. Parvati, the wife of Lord Siva, and her personal maid servants bathe in that river and their bodies become that it perfumes the entire atmosphere 80 miles around. In 327 BC, Alexander the Great and his army were said to be the first European to taste the mango fruit from India. Historians had theorized that the mango was first taken to Malaya and other East Asian countries by Indians in the fifth century BC and to the East African coast by Persians about 10^th century AD.

Food Value

Mangoes are used in its various stages of development. Starch is predominantly found in unripe mango, which actually disappears and gets converted into glucose, sucrose, and maltose as it ripens. Green mango is rich source of pectin which decreases after the seed becomes formed. The sour taste of the unripe mango is due to the oxalic, citric, malic, and succinic acids.

As compared to other fruits, mango is an excellent source of Vitamin A, and some varieties of   mangoes are very high in Vitamin C. the ascorbic content differs greatly from one mango to the next, and Vitamin B1 and B2, although its concentration differs with the variety specifically during its maturity and environmental conditions.

Sugar is the main components of the nourishing juicy ripe mango. Half of a mango (about three ounces) has 66 calories as compared to a half papaya which has 34 calories. Besides a trace of citric acid, the ripe fruits have tartaric and malic acids. The body uses these acids to maintain the alkali reserve of the body.

According to the USDA Agricultural Handbook, for 100 grams of edible portion, the calorie value is 66. its other food value is as follows: Moisture – 81%, Protein - .7 gm., Fat - .4 gm., Potassium – 189 mg., Thiamin - .05 mg., Fiber – 7%, Carbohydrates – 14 mg., Phosphorous – 13 mg., Iron – 1.3%, Sodium – 7 mg., Vitamin C – 35 mg., Riboflavin – 05 mg., Niacin – 1.4 mg.

Health Benefits

In Indian specialty stores, you will find green mangoes preserved in oil and salted solutions which are very good appetizers. However, those extremely sour, spicy, and hot should be avoided by those with arthritis, rheumatism, sinusitis, soar throat, and hyperacidity. The health benefits stated here are based on the ancient healing science of Ayurvedas.

The ripe mango is anti-scorbutic, it increases urine flow, acts as laxative, is fattening, and maybe an astringent. It tones up the heart muscles, improves complexion, and stimulates appetite.

In Ayurvedas, mango increases the seven body nutrients: food juice, blood, flesh, fat, bone marrow, and semen. The fruit is beneficial in liver disorders; lose of weight, and other physical disturbances.

The unripe mango protects men from the result of hot scorching winds. An effective remedy for heat stroke is a drink prepared from cooking unripe mango in hot ashes and mixing the pith with sugar and water. As a thirst quencher, raw mango eaten with salt prevents the excessive loss of salt and iron due to excessive sweating during summer.

Green mango is beneficial in the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders. Eating one or two small tender mangoes in which the seed is not fully formed with salt or honey is found to be good for diarrhea, dysentery, piles, morning sickness, chronic dyspepsia, indigestion, and constipation.

Unripe mangoes benefit the liver and cure its diseases. The acids contained in the green mango increases the secretion of bile and act as intestinal antiseptics. When you eat green mango with honey and pepper daily, it cures food putrefaction (a condition when bacteria decomposes the protein in our body), urticaria, and jaundice. It tones and keeps the liver healthy.

Due to its high Vitamin C content, green mango increases the elasticity of the blood vessels and helps the formation of new blood cells. It helps in the absorption of iron and prevents bleeding tendencies. It increases the body’s resistance to tuberculosis, anemia, cholera, and dysentery.

Being high in Vitamin A, the ripe mango can treat night blindness as well as other eye disorders like refractive errors, dryness of the eyes, softening the cornea, itching, and burning of the eyes.

For those who wish to gain weight, try the mango-milk cure. Mango is eaten first, then milk is drank after that. For rapid weight gain, one must consume four to five liters of milk with these four kilos of mangoes.

The tender leaves of mango are helpful for those with diabetes. The fresh must be soaked overnight in water and squeeze the juice out before filtering it in the morning. This infused water is taken every morning for those with early diabetes. An alternative to infused water is the drying up of leaves, which are powdered and preserved. Half a teaspoon of this powder is to be taken twice a day. The mango bark treats diphtheria and other throat diseases. Its poultice is locally applied and gargled. The gargle is prepared by mixing 10 ml. of water. The sap of the tree when the fruit is picked relives a scorpion bite and bee sting. That sap can be collected and bottled.

P.S. Precautions

Excessive eating of unripe mangoes causes throat irritation, indigestion, dysentery, and abdominal colic. Don’t eat more than one or two a day. Drinking water immediately after eating green mangoes coagulates the sap and makes it an irritant. The sap must be either squeezed or the skin peeled before eating green mango as it may cause mouth, throat, and gastrointestinal irritations.

Children who excessively eat mangoes suffer from skin rushes or prickly heat. Also, mangoes contain the same substance as poison ivy in their peels, leaves, and sap. Some people are very allergic to them. Allergic reactions vary from skin rashes to throat swelling, causing difficulty of breathing.

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Fenugreek: Not Just An Aphrodisiac

FENUGREEK: NOT JUST AN APHRODISIAC

Ancient Egyptians and Hippocrates are known to have used this culinary spice found in many typical Indian and Middle Eastern food.

Women in harems are said to be made to eat its roasted seeds to make them symmetrically beautiful, whereas harem lords ate them as aphrodisiac.

This exotic spice is fenugreek or trigonella foenum-graecom, which means “Greek hay”, introduced to China via the southern province; the Chinese call it hu-la-pa, in the Far Eastern and Mediterranean countries, cattle is fed wit herb, and seeds are mixed with hay to improve the animals’ health and act as animal sex conditioner.

The Chinese have used fenugreek as medicine since the Tang Dynasty. The spice is highly regarded as tonic to the reproductive system. It has the reputation of having a generative effect on the sex organs. Hydrocele, a condition in which fluid collects in the sac around the testicles, is said to be cured by taking the tea of powdered fenugreek seeds.

The demulcent and carminative properties of fenugreek relieve stomach gas and intestines. To cure these conditions, simply sprinkle the powdered fenugreek seed over your food, or make tea out of it. Add one teaspoonful of the seeds in one cup of boiling water. Cover the cup and allow the mixture to stand for 15 minutes, then strain. This cup of tea is taken three times a day.

A person who suffered from peptic ulcer feel pains every time he ate raw fruits, fruit juices, and coffee was advice by a Chinese herbalist to drink a cup of tea made from fenugreek seeds before each meal. After three weeks of drinking the said tea, he no longer suffered from stomach distress. He continued this for several weeks more until he could eat those “forbidden foods” without experiencing excruciating pains.

What does fenugreeks have which causes some sex rejuvenation? The seeds contain an aromatic oil rich in Vitamin A and D and similar composition as cod liver oil. Vitamin A and its connection with sperm count has been confirmed by many experiments on laboratory animals. For instance, a group of scientist in Denmark conducted some experiments with boars that were fed a diet low in Vitamin A. The animals’ sperm count dropped. Then daily injections of Vitamin A, varying from between 6,000 to 8,000 units restored the boars’ normal sperm count.

Fenugreek also contains trim thymine, which contributes to its sex rejuvenating property. This chemical naturally acts on frogs’ sex hormone causing them to prepare for matting. Fenugreek also contains protein and the substance trigonela, which prevents nutritional deficiencies.

Fenugreek seeds are the best remedy for furuncles, tumors, and swelling. The putrefied matter is extracted without pain. A poultice of the seed powder is used for skin irritations, gouty pains, neuralgia, and sciatica. Those who suffer from tuberculosis and are in convalescence from illness can benefit from fenugreek decoction. A decoction is prepared by simmering 10 grams of fenugreek seeds in one liter of water for 30 minutes. This releases its medicinal properties. Strain the decoction for use. This same decoction is good for gargles, for diphtheria, throat inflammation, and mouth ulcers. Drink two cups per day.

An irritated bladder is soothed by fenugreek. Those who are harassed by the “night rising” problem or getting up frequently at night to urinate can put to a stop to the distressful condition with fenugreek medications.

Consumption of fenugreek seeds also helps clear mucus congestion. Experimental results show that its seeds can improve sugar control in the body. Incidentally, fenugreek seeds are also used to flavor imitation maple syrups. The powdered form of fenugreek seeds can also be used in soaps, broths, and vegetable or fruit juices.

Health food stores sell fenugreek in its tablet form. For ailments cured by this spice, take eight to 10 tablets a day. People today can derive much from the ways of the ancient, in this case, the fenugreek way.

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A Secret Fountain of Youth - Gotu Kola

A SECRET FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH – GOTU KOLA

“A hundred, oh Mothers, are your natures and a thousand are your growths. May you of a hundred powers make whole what has been hurt. Where the herbs are gathered together like a thing is an assembly there the doctor is called a sage, who destroys evil, and averts diseases.” – Hymn to the Plants, Rig Veda X, 97

God has arranged nature so perfectly to nourish and supply us with abundant energy, as well as nurture us when we have some illness. That pharmacy is within everyone’s access. We need only to become aware of its use for us.

Indeed, herbal medicine has been used for so many years. It’s a pity, though, that with this whole wave towards industrialization, the preservation of the green forest is giving way to its formidable counterpart, the concrete jungle.

However, more and more people are increasingly concerned of the ecological boomerang that would whack us should we remain stubbornly insensitive and tolerate the callous exploitation of our environment.

Yet, nature has always been here assisting and providing us with much needed energy for our existence in this world. Today, a look at the health food stores fascinates some with great array of available herbal medicines; if only most of us could appreciate their value.

However, some people will have certain hesitations using herbal medicines. What if a herb were misuse? Don’t worry; the result of it is relatively minor. Generally, the body eliminates the residue of the herb from our system in a day or so, unlikely the difficulty the body encounters when a synthetic drug or extracted concentrate is misused. The liver may be unable to fully eliminate a drug from the tissues and cells of the body because it has not figured out how to neutralize it either for assimilation or elimination.

Consider this energy giver which is available in health food stores: Gotu Kola or Man t’ien rhsing in Chinese. The plant is grown in Himalayas and other Asian countries, including the Philippines. Known as the brahmi of herbs, yogis take this as food when they are meditating for a long time. This wonder plant helps balance the right and the left brain hemisphere.

Gotu Kola is one of the most important rejuvenating herbs that is good for the nerves and the brain cells. Do you know that this herb increases ones intelligence and memory and decreases senility and aging? Our immune system and adrenals are cleansed and strengthened with the use of Gotu Kola. At the same time, it has the reputation of being an effective blood purifier.

This energizer treats chronic skin diseases like, leprosy, syphilis, eczema, psoriasis, as well as cancer, intermittent and periodic fevers, wounds, arthritis, stuttering, and hemorrhoids. Chinese traditional medicines consider this plant to be a “fountain of youth”, meaning longevity is increased.

With all the amazing powers Gotu Kola possesses, now we had another option within reach to be naturally healthy. I also hope that we don’t begin to be too enthusiastic gulping down Gotu Kola tablets in our attempts to race with time just so that we get to this so-called “fountain of youth” before old age gets to us.

Moderation is a precaution always worth having in mind. For in reality, we can only try to do as much as utilize whatever natural remedies there are but eventually, we resign to the inevitable course of the tide of Time.

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Hops: Herbal Stress Relief

HOPS: HERBAL STRESS RELIEF

With a dynamic city life comes an abundance of pressures and stress. Abnormal habits becomes quite normal in an effort to cope with the city's fast-paced lifestyle. Slowly, people find themselves drifting away from natural laws. Gulping down a tranquilizer or a sleeping pill for nervousness, insomnia, and stress becomes a cultivated habit, much like the taking of vitamins. Unlike vitamins however, these drugs do more harm than the distressed person realizes.

Henry David Thoreau, a naturalist and philosopher, made a very keen and accurate observation when he wrote; “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation”. Although Thoreau lived over a hundred years ago, his observation still hold true today. The only difference is that man's desperation is no longer silent. Tension, anxiety, and conflicting demands are the heating pads on which everyone is buckled. From domestic strains, traffic jams, flash floods, uncertain weather, fear of unemployment and the inevitable rise of prices to fierce competition in business, the list of tension builders and stress-givers seems endless.

Who could escape the hustle and bustle and the barrage of noises plaguing our ears? Beeping horns shrieking sirens, screeching brakes, or the jolting tremors of a street driller, are inevitable sources of unbearable headaches. In an experiment, daily exposure of rats to such nuisances caused them to become sterile; with continued exposure, some rats eventually died of heart seizure. Even with the so called high threshold for stress and pain, noise pollutions still has adverse effects on human being.

Unique Approach

Traditional Chinese medicine has its own unique approach to stress, tension, and insomnia. It uses herbal remedies which are harmless, non-additive, and non-habit forming. Aside from herbal cures, Chines medicines recommends a shift from junk foods to a more sensible, wholesome, and well balance diet. Moreover the old folks' nagging advise of eating a heavy meal a few minutes before sleeping always hold true. Stress and discomfort will haunt us in our nightmares. The Chinese also warn insomniacs to cut down on salt diet.

One Chines herbal cure for coping with stressful living is hops, a plant which found in China, Japan, comes and other countries. Also called Lu-t'sao and Lai-mei-t'sao, this herb is found in many Chinese drugstores in Chinatown. Hops is also known as Le-t'sao because of the plants prickly stems, which is much like the rose's. The active ingredients of hops is a glandular powder called lupulin. It contains a volatile oil giving this plant a fragrant odor.

Hops used to treat insomnia , nervous irritability, headaches due to nervousness, neuritis, indigestion, and poor appetite. It comes in many forms like teas, poultice, fomentation and hop pillows.

The effectiveness of hop pillows has been attested to by King George III in 1787 and the Prince of Wales in 1879. pillows are simply stuffed with dried plant and its strong aroma gives soothing, calming effect on the person who rest on it. To prevent from rustling, a small amount of glycerin with water is sprayed on the dried plant for a bit moisture. Some though, spray the hops with a little alcohol to bring out its soporific properties.

To make a hop pillow, a muslin bag is filled loosely with the dried plant and then tied securely. You can attach the bag to your regular pillow. The hops should be replaced every month.

As a tea, it is prepared in a cover container with one ounce of hops to one pint of boiling water.

Simmer this for two to three minutes . Turn off the flame and allow to stand for five minutes and strain.

For nervous irritability and insomnia, one cupful of tea is sipped three times a day and once before going to sleep.

For headaches due to nervousness, one cupful is drank slowly every two hours until the pain is relieved.

This tea is also good for the stomach, relieving indigestion and promoting appetite. Since tea made of hops is quite bitter, you can sweeten it with honey.

For pain in other parts of the body that is not muscular but comes from the nerves, a quick relief comes from the use of a hop poultice or fomentation. It cures rheumatism or inflammation of any part of the body which affect the nerves, as well as sciatica, facial neuralgia, and neuritis in the arms.

When the sciatic nerve or any of its branches are affected, you will experience a creeping pain from the buttocks down to the thigh to the knee and foot. When the arm is affected the pain is felt from the back of the neck and to the top of the shoulder down to the arm and to the wrist or finger.

Facial neuralgia is having severe pains usually on one side of the face. If the pain is in the face, the hop poultice or fomentation is applied in front of the ear or the lower part of the back of the head.

If the pain is in the buttocks and leg, the poultice or fomentation is applied approximately three inches from the base of the spine.

When the pain is felt on the shoulders, arm, or fingers the poultice or fomentation is applied to the upper part of the spine in line with the collar bone. These are bulls-eye treatment.

The hop poultice is prepared like a bean wherein a handful or more of hops is wrapped in a muslin bag. After trying it up, this bag is steeped in hot water for a few minutes. Then it is applied on the prescribed area and covered with a dried towel. A second poultice bag should be on hand for a second application. This continued until the relief is felt.

The hop fomentation prepared with four ounces of hops boiled in two quarts of boiling water. This is simmered and strained. A towel is dip into this concoction, wrung out and applied on the

prescribed area. Continue the procedure until relief is obtained.

Aren't these easy ways of curing disorders brought by stressful living?

@ronthoughts - thanks to Marilitz thoughts!

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