Common ailments normally respond very well to the treatment with herbal remedies and fruit and vegetables. Using alternative means to treat your ailments is a common practice in all areas of the world, with the most popular forms of alternative medicine being Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Naturopathy, Yoga, Acupuncture, Acupressure, Magneto therapy, Shiatsu, Herbalism, Meditation, Aromatherapy, Bach Flower Remedies, Chromo therapy, Diet therapy, Hydropathy, and Reiki.
Here is a list of natural products (organically grown plants containing no chemicals is always recommended) that may be used cosmetically as well as for health and nutrition. The ailment is described in bold blue, and the treatment is followed in black. It is incredibly important to realize that going through a whole body detox to clear your issue and symptoms is often needed to truly feel your best. Consuming real, whole foods, high in raw fruit and vegetables, and removing all processed foods from your diet is the only way your body can truly heal.
Aching Joints (arthritis, joint pain, gout): stinging nettles (make into a tea – can also be used topically for painful joints after made into tea), cayenne pepper, grape juice, celery, comfrey, rosemary, St. John’s Wort
Aching Muscles: consume magnesium rich foods like spinach, swiss chard, squash and pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, cashews, sesame seeds and flax seeds. You can also rub apple cider vinegar on your muscle/cramp or use essential oils like basil, and marjoram.
Acidity: eat a high-alkaline diet rich in leafy greens and herbs. Cloves help with gastritis, and mint helps combat acidity and indigestion.
Acne: caused by bad diet, lots of processed foods – reduce amount of processed foods consumed and follow a whole foods, high raw lifestyle to help detox and regenerate the body. Tea tree oil helps combat acne since it is a strong antibacterial. Apply tea tree oil directly to your blemish in a little bit of carrier oil like jojoba oil.
Allergies (i.e., Hay Fever): make teas which help reduce allergen symptoms. Drink teas like nettle, and echinacea.
Alzheimer’s Disease: rosemary and high-antioxidant foods like berries to help strengthen neuronal connections in the brain.
Anti-inflammatory (arthritis, gout, inflammatory diseases): ginger, cayenne, and turmeric; these three foods combat the inflammatory response in the body. I like to juice these, about 4-5 inches per juice.
Anxiety: calm your nerves with chamomile and lavender. Practice breathing techniques, meditation & yoga.
Asthma: cayenne or lobelia. Decrease protein intake to 10% of your daily calories, and eliminate all milk and milk products. Eat organically grown fruits and vegetables and eat ginger and turmeric daily for anti-inflammatory relief.
Bad Breath: deodorizing herbs like parsley, dill, fennel and mint. Juice them, put them in smoothies, or salads.
Bloating: drink peppermint tea, or chew on some fennel seeds. Often caused by heavily processed foods and bad food combining (aka. eating sweet and acid fruits together).
Blood Pressure (high): basil and celery. Eliminate sodium from diet.
Blood Tonic: beets! They help re-build our blood cells and prevent anemia.
Boils: put a little bit of goldenseal or echinacea drops onto your boils to help them heal.
Broken Bones: eat lots of calcium rich plant foods like broccoli, leafy greens, bok choy and chia seeds. Get ample vitamin D from the sun (go sit out in the sun – use some coconut oil for a natural SPF).
Bronchitis: oregano oil, contains carvacrol which is a phenol anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory that eases chest congestion and eradicates disease. Take 5-10 drops of pure oregano oil in a bit of water twice per day until symptoms subside.
Bruises: arnica gel or aloe vera. Apply a cold press to your bruise and then apply these remedies after 10-15 minutes of cold pressing. Consume pineapple too! It contains bromelain which is a powerful anti-inflammatory.
Chills: ginger – helps stimulate digestive fires.
High Cholesterol: reduce animal products, and consume a high raw plant based diet. Eat lots of green foods like broccoli sprouts, chlorella, spirulina, sea vegetables, leafy greens and dark green vegetables (broccoli, bok choy, etc.)
Poor Circulation: cayenne pepper & ginger helps dilate blood vessels, which helps improve circulation.
Cold Hands: See poor circulation
Cold Sores: take L-lysine supplement, or use tea tree oil and garlic to kill the virus. Hold garlic on the cold sore, or use tea tree oil as a topical supplement.
Colds: eat lots of lemon, and drink plenty echinacea tea. Eat 1-2 cloves of garlic twice daily and drink 3-4 L water. Get lots of rest.
Poor Concentration: maca root and ginseng help improve concentration, as well as high-antioxidant foods like organic berries.
Congestion: cayenne pepper and ginger help open up sinus cavities.
Coughs: help soothe your throat with lemon and raw honey.
Cramps: rub some peppermint oil on your abdomen (dilute with carrier oil like jojoba), and my favourite, use a hot water bottle. Ginger tea also helps stop cramps and pain.
Diarrhea: eat more foods high in fiber like fruit and vegetables, and make sure to eat them raw to ensure you get live enzymes and pre-biotics to help ensure healthy gut flora.
Diuretic: celery and watermelon act as great diuretics.
Drug Addiction: plant medicines like ayahuasca have helped numerous individuals get over their drug addictions – do your research, use google. You will likely need to travel to peru if you want to see a true shamanic master healer.
Dry Skin: often a cause of a dehydrated diet. Eat hydrating foods like fruit and vegetables, and get rid of processed foods. In the mean time, rub coconut oil or jojoba oil on your skin.
Ear Infection: Make a warm mixture of salt water (1 tsp. salt to 1 cup water) and put in your ear 4 times a day until healed.
Exhaustion: sleep! Get to bed regularly and get rid of stimulating foods which disrupt our sleep patterns (caffeine for instance).
Fluid Retention: see diuretics.
Gastric Ulcer: eat cabbage! Probiotics in cabbage and the high fiber content are great for healing ulcers of all types.
Headaches: drink 1 litre of water and your headache will likely disappear. If not, try eating some cayenne pepper which will dilate blood vessels and release tension in the head.
Heartburn: Drink 1-4 oz. aloe vera juice.
Itchy Skin: use soothing essential oils like peppermint and lavender.
Jaundice: cleanse your liver and kidneys with dandelion leaves, and dandelion root.
Kidney & Liver Problems: cleanse with dandelion, beet root and herbs (parsley, cilantro, watercress, fennel, arugula)
Menstrual Problems: Chaste berry, and sweet potatoes help regulate hormones.
Nausea (morning sickness, motion sickness): include plenty of ginger in your diet! 4-5 inches in a healing green juice will leave you feeling amazing.
Nosebleeds: this might sound crazy but individuals with nosebleeds who have snorted cayenne pepper have found that this cauterized the blood vessels in their nose, stopping the bleed and permanently stopping future nosebleeds! It hurts and stings during the actual snorting but if you want a quick and easy way out, this is the way to do it. Otherwise, use a cold compress on your nose to help tighten blood vessels and slow blood flow.
Osteoporosis: get rid of dairy and animal products which contain acidic protein that is neutralized in the body by alkaline minerals like calcium which is leached from the bones. Eat calcium rich plant foods like broccoli, chia seeds, kale, bok choy and leafy greens.
Overactive Thyroid: get rid of gluten – it increases the autoimmune attack on your thyroid. Eat foods rich in antioxidant molecule Glutathione which boosts your body’s ability to modulate and regulate the immune system, dampen autoimmune flare-ups, and protect and heal thyroid tissue. These foods include asparagus, broccoli, peaches, avocado, spinach, garlic, squash, grapefruit, and raw eggs.
Parasites: parasites hate chlorophyll (what makes plants green). Eat lots of green leafy herbs and vegetables.
Psoriasis: eliminate all dairy and animal products from your diet. Eat whole, fresh raw fruit and vegetables. Get rid of chemical-containing household products and body creams. Soothe the skin with coconut oil (slather it on your skin).
Rashes: coconut oil is a great way to get rid of rashes. It is an anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial. Slather it over rash area. Also use aloe vera which is cooling and soothes the skin.
Relaxation: chamomile tea helps relax the mind & body.
Scalp Problems: put olive oil in your hair, until evenly coated. Wrap in warm towel and let your hair and scalp soak up the oil. Rinse with warm water and shampoo your hair with a chemical-free, natural shampoo like Dr. Bronner’s.
Scars: rosehip seed oil or vitamin E oil are great at diminishing appearance of scars. Rosehip seed oil actually repairs damaged skin. Put these oils on 3 times a day, for a month or two, and watch your scars disappear!
Sore Gums: chew on some cloves throughout the day.
Sore Throat: ease sore throat pain with ginger tea and echinacea tea.
Sprains: rub peppermint oil on top of area that is sprained.
Stomach Aches: ginger and peppermint tea help ease an upset stomach.
Varicose Veins: caused by poor circulation. Eat things like cayenne peppers and ginger to help stimulate blood flow.
Warming the body: ginger – helps stimulate digestive fires.
Wounds: tea tree oil and oregano oil are great at healing wounds due to their anti-bacterial and anti-septic properties.
