Finding The Natural Way To Cure What Ails You

Maybe Granny wasn’t off her rocker when she made you gargle a gallon of saltwater at the sign of a sniffle. Home remedies were cheap and to the point. But times have changed. Last year, Americans spent about $20 billion on over-the-counter remedies (up from $10 billion in 1990) and a whopping $161 billion on prescription drugs (way up from $40 billion a decade ago). The verdict is out on all the effects medicines have on us but the verdict is in on the effects on the environment and it’s rough. The drugs that we take are not entirely absorbed by our bodies, and are excreted and passed into waste and surface water (over 100 pharmaceuticals have been found in our water). Add to this the huge amount of pollution created to make the drugs in the first place and you’ve got a highly toxic industry. So next time you sniff or get an ache or pain, think of Granny and mix up your own medicine – it can’t hurt to try.

Those hot summer nights keeping you up? Skip sleeping pills that can make you feel groggy and wonder if you were abducted by aliens – try a few natural things first. Relax before bedtime; maybe take a bath or drink some warm milk and make sure your bedroom is plenty dark. Try this mild tea recipe made with valerian, an herb prized for centuries as an excellent tranquilizer and also known to help with migraines, anxiety, indigestion, ulcers and minor injuries– gimme some of that!

Chamomile Sleepytime Tea
1 cup water
1 ounce chamomile
1 ounce valerian
1 ounce mint

Bring water to a boil; remove from heat and add herbs. Allow tea to steep for 3-5 minutes.

Wanna be your own pharmacist? Check out some of these remedy reads:

1001 Natural Remedies by Laurel Vukovic
A Homeopathic Handbook of Natural Remedies by Laura Josephson
The Herbal Home Remedy Book: Simple Recipes For Tinctures, Teas, Salves, Tonics and Syrups by Joyce A. Wardell