Author: naturalalternativespecialist

Many people, men and women alike have thick hair and as we get older we start to loose our hair, and ask, “Why is my hair falling out?” Some start to loose their hair at a very young age.

I knew a woman that lost all her hair completely and the doctor didn’t understand why. But that it had something to do with stressing out and that is why she had lost her hair.

I also had a niece and nephew that lost their hair and also was told it was because of stress.

When your hair falls out, like that, it is called Alopecia Areata. The hair starts falling out in circular clumps, which would be really scary if that happened with out understanding why, all of the sudden, leaving patches on your head of missing hair.

It can even affect the rest of your body, like eye brows, lashes, and other places on your body that has hair.

Some people don’t loose all their hair but the hair breaks off and grows back. For some, it grows back a lighter color than the rest of the hair or grows back thinner and white.

Why is my hair falling out?

There could be many reasons you are loosing your hair and it could be due to genetics, stress, smoking, pregnancy, medications, hair coloring or styling, or your diet.

If you go to a doctor, they will check by taking a few samples of hair and blood to see what is the cause of your problem.

Some natural ways of helping your hair to grow would be to make time once a day and massage your scalp. Use hair oils, they will stimulate hair growth, at the same time it helps you to relax and be stress free.

Aloe Vera has been used to stimulate the scalp. It helps with dandruff and helps unblock hair follicles that are blocked by oils. Washing your hair with Aloe shampoo a few times a week can keep your hair healthy.

Many of us use a hair dryer and curling iron every day. so that tends to do damage to your hair.

The next best thing to use would be Coconut Oil for your hair. Its best to massage it into you scalp and also you can use it on the rest of the hair. If your hair is dry leave it on over night if not leave in for one or two hours then wash your hair.

If you can handle the smell of Onion Juice in your hair for fifteen minutes and then wash. You will have hair in no time at all! Onion Juice has been found to help people that suffer from Alopecia Areata, it improves blood flow to hair. All you do is blend onion, squeeze juice thru cheese cloth and put on your scalp.

Rosemary and Cinnamon is also good to grow your hair, put four sticks of  Cinnamon in a pot of water and simmer for fifteen minutes and then add four sprigs of Rosemary. Simmer twenty minutes let cool. Spray all around your scalp and massage, let dry.

 

Every year you hear about someone taking a walk in the woods and enjoying nature, nothing wrong with that. But you should always be prepared for the unexpected. I’m not only talking food and water, but your first aid kit or know your herbs and they can help you survive. Always take something to keep you warm. Yes, it may be warm during the day but at night it may be colder depending on where you are. Matches in a waterproof container would come in handy.

But if you are not prepared here are some thing you can forage if lost during the cold.

Pine trees, many parts are edible, the needles of the pine tree can be boiled and made into a tea, the inner layer of the bark can also be eaten, also the young pine cone can be eaten. Even the young pine tree roots can be eaten. You can boil the root and peel off the first layer and they taste sweet. Pine trees are a great source of vitamin A, vitamin C beta-carotene.

Wild Garlic and Onions are everywhere in temperate regions they have a characteristic smell so you can tell they are Garlic and Onions.

Chickweed can be identified by its oval leaves with its pointed tip, and hairs along the stem that are white. This plant can be eaten raw. The other kind of chickweed is called mouse-ear chickweed. That one you need to boil to get the hair off the leaf, then you can eat it.

Burdock usually finds you before you find it, the little burs stick to your pants or boots as soon as you pass by it. You can make a tea with it, if the plant is young you can eat the root, but if it is old then it is very bitter tasting.

Rose Hips in the winter stick out like a sore thumb you can eat them raw or use them to make a tea, they have lots of vitamin C. In an empty winter landscape they are easy to see.

Velvet Shank Mushrooms have orange caps that make them easy to spot in a winter landscape, they grow from dead wood but prefer elm and oak trees best and usually grow in groups.

Nettles are a supper food, rich in proteins and vitamins, also have plenty of Iron. They make a great meal. Its best to wear gloves before picking.

Acorns are best picked up from the ground, meaning they are ripe and ready to eat. They are full of good fats that our body needs. You soak them in warm water before using them. You can make coffee or flour with them. To make acorn coffee you grind to a powder and boil the water then add the acorn powder, just like you would normally make coffee. To make flour, you do the same, grind into a flour.

I guess you have to use your imagination when it comes to making food in the woods when you are lost, the food may not be what you are used to but at least you wont be hungry. And when they find you, you can share the food that mother nature has provided.

 

How many of you wake up and head for the coffee machine first thing in the morning and then get ready for your day? Me, me, me! I have to have my coffee, but there are days that my body is not responding and I drink more and I get the opposite effect.

Did you know that there are different herbs that make great coffee substitute, still taste great, and give you the energy you need to make it thru the day. Plus, you do not have to get the jitters that some people get drinking too much coffee.

Chicory is an herb that you can use as a coffee substitute. The benefits of using Chicory as your coffee include helping with inflammation, keeping your blood sugar levels in check, and essential when it comes to gut health. But if pregnant you should not drink Chicory.

Dandelion Root, when roasted and made like coffee taste similar, the good thing about Dandelion coffee is it has probiotics and helps reduce inflammation, great for your immune system, also helps your gastrointestinal tract to stay healthy and helps with circulation.

Chaga tea, this woody looking mushroom helps prevent ageing, improves your immune system just by drinking it in the morning, you feel energetic without the sluggish feeling at the end of the day. All this goodness by just boiling water. How awesome is that?

Cacao Nibs, you can buy them at a health food store. The flavor is rich and tasty. Enjoying a hot cup every morning makes for a great substitute for coffee. They are high in potassium, lowers risk of heart disease, lowers blood pressure and blood sugar levels, and also packed with Iron and Potassium.

Barley is one of the popular choses when it comes to picking a grain for a coffee substitute. I would have never thought of Barley as a coffee. But it helps reduce bloating, lowers blood sugars, and helps eliminate constipation.

All these coffee substitutes  that I mentioned all have great benefits that help the body to heal and give you the energy that you need to make it thru out the day.

These substitutes sound so much better then coffee. It could be that coffee has all the same benefits as the substitutes but our bodies have gotten so use to it, so it is good to mix it up and change our drink of choice. every once in a while.

Does it really matter as long as we get that boost of energy that we all need in the morning to get us motivated to start are day?

The one that really caught my eye was Barley, someone must have really been desperate for a cup of coffee to come up with that one, but with desperate times comes desperate measures.

From all this, I have learned that coffee has some real competition and I do believe there are more substitutes out there that we have not heard of yet but taste just as good and have many more health benefits that does a body good.

Coffee anyone?

 

I would like to tell you a true story about a friend of mine named Jack. He is a tall slender man, very active, loves going fishing, camping, hunting, and archery. He is always active keeping himself busy.

Doctor told him to exercise, eat healthy, take your meds. He followed the doctors instructions.

He enjoys his life and loves the woods and nature. But unfortunately it happened again. He had a heart attack and this was his third. I had  rushed to the hospital as soon as I heard the news.

When I got to the hospital, he was laying in bed, nurses checking his vitals, doctors coming in to check to see how he was doing, then turning around and leaveing without saying anything.

Then, one of the nurses came in and looked at his chart and said that’s the problem!

I asked, “What is the problem?”

Potassium and Magnesium Heart Attack

That is when she said that his body was lacking Potassium and Magnesium. Those two together are like flint (metaphorically speaking). They give the heart the spark that keeps the heart going and as we age our bodies run low and that is when our hearts start to have problems.

Now, as I sat there waiting quietly for hours, not knowing if my friend was going to live or die, doctors coming in and out of his room…

Not one of them ever said anything about Potassium or Magnesium.

I have had a heart attack also, and was never told of this by any of the doctors.

Why do the doctors keep this a secret?

If they truly wanted you to keep us healthy heart-wise, then just let us know.

But with this tidbit of information, we can move mountains.

You can save many lives, but it doesn’t mean you stop seeing your doctor.

It is always good to ask questions when it comes to your health.

Jack is doing really good, keeping busy as usual. Taking his Potassium and Magnesium, along with his vitamins, and he has been doing great.

I see him every once in a while, a group of us get together and do a little bit of competition of  archery, he is really good at it and loves to show off. But if you are good at something you might as well show it off.

If you are being woken up at night in terrible pain and its not your heart but your legs because of cramps have no fear Potassium and Magnesium well help with that, too, and you can kill two birds with one stone.

I guess the bad thing about aging is, our body does not replenish itself like it use to.

So now we have to give it that extra boost to make it work smoothe and not get knocked out of whack from something as simple as lack of a vitamins.

Keep your self safe and still see your doctors and always ask questions when it comes to your health. We still know our own bodies and if we listen carefully it could be telling you what is going on before it happens.

 

How many of us today have problems with vision? Its one of those things that can be fixed by laser surgery or not. There are many ways that doctors say they can try to help with your vision. I have macular degeneration and they wanted me to have a needle stuck in my eye once a month for 6 months. I went the first month and never went back again. The pain OMG!

They don’t guarantee that works, but they say that it slows down the process of loosing your sight.

Then I remembered my uncle going through the same thing at the veteran hospital and the pain he went through and he said it was making his eyes worse.

Then I remembered another friend and she had done the same thing and she lost her sight in that eye they kept sticking a needle into. Her pain never went away.

I remembered too late, and had the procedure done. Just one time is all it took to not continue. But I do get pain in that eye once in a while, ever since I let them stick that needle in my eye.

There are better ways to help your vision and a needle is not one of them.

As our problems come upon us with age, here we are having to make choices that we  are not sure will work for us, “There has to be a way.” There is!

But in order for this to happen, we need to take it very seriously. Using the natural way is best but it well take time to reverse what has happened. Just like it took time to get you to the way you are now.

Gingko Biloba, has antioxidants that improve blood flow to the retina and protects nerve cells.

Coleus which contains forskolin, reduces fluid production in the eye.

Eyebright hastens recovery of conjunctivitis. More of a folk remedy comes in tea form, used on the eyes.

When taking supplements make sure you are taking the right amount for your age.

As we get older, we tend to need more than someone younger.

I found this on Google, its called Natural Eye Care and it has an index to eye conditions it is very interesting. You can read of the conditions you are having, describes from what age it could of started and why. It also shows you what kind of vitamins and supplements help the the eyes with blood flow. And it that’s not enough, you will also find out about what food may help to keep your vision as clear as possible.

It also says to keep in touch with your eye doctor so that he can check and see how your vision is.

Your eye sight is very important, and to be able to see and enjoy the beauty of life you need to take your eye care very seriously.

I know its not easy, I struggle to eat the right food and take my supplements sometimes. And now with the new technology, looking into our computers, phones, laptops, that is not helping our eyes but making it worse.

I’m always talking about how healthy and good herbs are, but I have not mentioned how delicious they are when making pies. I know how good they are in teas but never really thought of pies. I guess we learn as we go, well that is me.

I have a friend that makes the best pies and that is why I said I never thought of pies. I used to love to bake cakes or muffins or sometimes apple pie but that was about it.

My first husband didn’t like sweets so I didn’t bake much. Second husband could cook but didn’t like sweets that much either. My two boys loved it when I would bake a cake, but when I took a cake decorating class and had to make lots of cakes they got burned out on cake.

So I stopped baking all together, mainly because I was gaining all the weight from tasting my cakes.

Now that I explained that, lets get to fruit and herb pies.

I have never really put any thought into what makes up the tastiness of pies until I tasted my friends pie.

I have bought pies at grocery stores, in a bakery or a frozen pie you bake at home yourself. But once you make your own homemade pie, its like, what was I thinking? Throwing my money away on junk pies when I could be feasting on these more healthier pies with no added preservatives, made with love and full of flavor.

I had to stop and think very carefully about what would taste good with the following herb combinations, like sage or Rosemary. But also how much herb to use, so it does not taste like soap or a stew. Note you are safer adding less than more when it comes to your herbal spices.

Always taste before you add it to the pie crust.

Depending on what you are making, if making berries five to six cups is used.

As for the herb you well use one teaspoon  or one tablespoon depending on the herb you use.

Some herbs may be more over powering then others, so taste it as you go.

It is easier to add than to take some out once its mixed.

You can also mix a bit of the fresh herbs in the pie crust. Make sure you chop them up fine and mix in the flour and continue to make the crust.

Before you add the herb to the fruit it is best to make a small sample and wait twenty minutes and then taste. If it tastes good, then continue. If it doesn’t, then you saved the rest of the ingredients for another herb.

I did this in the beginning, so I wouldn’t feel bad if it tasted like soap or mouth wash. At least it wouldn’t be a total loss and I would be the only one who tasted the failed pie.

Nothing worse then seeing the faces of people eating your pie and wanting to spit it out quick before they gag.

 

I know we are still in winter and the plants are dormant, the trees are bare, the wind is blowing, it’s either raining or snowing and the last thing you may be thinking about is Summer. But now would be the time to daydream about it.

Have you ever been to someone’s house that has a beautiful yard and garden? As you are enjoying the warmth of the sun, drinking a nice tall glass of tea, relaxing and watching nature all around you; bees are going from one blossom to the next, giving each one their full attention. Then you see the butterflies are flowing by softly with no effort, looking happy with their wings moving gently in a soft breeze.

You hear the singing of the birds sitting in a bird bath enjoying their bath time. Seeing a humming bird pass by you like he’s late for a date only to land on a beautiful Purple Reign with her beautiful head of clusters of flowers.

Having a variety of plants in your garden brings many birds that love to eat the flower seeds but they also find nice, fat little bugs to eat so they don’t destroy your plant.

There is so much action that goes on around the plants when it comes to bugs because some are good and some are bad. We want to make sure that we kill the right pest and not the good ones.

That is why we need to study the plant life to know which ones protect your plants and keep the bugs away naturally. Having a variety of different plants helps.

Did you know that there are plants that bugs hate the taste and smell of, and avoid these plants like the plague!

There are many, but I may write another article on how awesome plants are.

Did you know that basil repels flies and mosquitos.

Chrysanthemums repel roaches, ants, and lice.

Cilantro repels spider mites (little spider mites that kill your plant).

Mexican Marigold repels insects and rabbits.

Narcissus repels different kinds of molds.

Russian Sage repels wasps.

Spearmint repels ants, moths, and rodents.

These are just a few of the things that our plants do.

All are herbs that not only help with healing our body, but also help to repel flying bugs, crawling rodents, and annoying insects.

And to turn around and call them weeds is so wrong.

Unlike us, they are put on earth for a reason and that is to give this planet a helping hand in every inch of land.

The plants help to clean the air we breathe and many people with breathing problems. It would be worse if the air was not filtered at all.

So, enjoy the beauty of your garden, enjoy the song of the birds, enjoy the butterflies, and most of all take the time to smell the flowers, enjoy the colors, and enjoy life.

As I said in the beginning, its still winter and I know for a while you had Summer visions dancing in your head LOL, because I did too. 🙂

 

How many of us have that embarrassing foot, or nail fungus among us? When I was younger, I got a really bad case of smelly feet. I didn’t know how to get rid of it, and some one suggested bleach which helped.

1/3 cup of bleach to 2 gallons of warm water, let your feet soak for an hour, then rinse. Repeat, if necessary.

But when it comes to nail fungus well that is more difficult to get rid of.

First, you need to soak your feet in water, put water in a tub that is as hot as your feet can endure ,and let your feet soak.

You can use warm water, but if your nails are thick it will take longer to soften.

Add tea tree oil to the water and just relax and waite until your nails feel soft.

That is when you can clean under your nail a lot easier and trim them so they don’t start flying around the room like bullets as you cut them.

Once you have trimmed them. We can start a treatment of many different home remedies. And as I always say make sure you let your doctor know or herbal specialist know the herbs you would like to try.

Vicks vapor rub is in most homes. Once your feet are dried, use Vicks on your nail’s top side and under your nail, if possible.

Once every day, over and under the nail till gone. And if you want softer feet you can use it to smooth dry feet. Vicks vapor rub is actually very refreshing after a long day of standing on your feet.

Another good fungus remedy is snakeroot extract which is an herb. It heals your fungus in three months, that is an herb you should ask a well educated herbalist about. Use with caution.

The next one is tea tree oil. Tea tree oil can be put directly on the nail, and the tea tree oil will absorb into the nail. Use twice daily.

Vinegar can also help by soaking your feet in two parts warm water and two parts vinegar.

We all remember Listerine. It still supports the treatment of healing toe fungus by soaking your feet in it for at least twenty minutes. It is made with eucalyptus, thymol, menthol that have antifungal and antibacterial properties.

Garlic is really good for fungus-toes and it has two ways to take it. First one, you crush it and spread it on your toes or crush a lot and play squishy-garlic with your toes which ever is more fun. Or take garlic capsules.

Black tea is a way to help get rid of toe fungus by soaking them in tea in a tub.

Epsom Salt, is very good for fighting fungus of the nails and feet it is very beneficial.

But the best way to care for your feet is to protect them. That means, when you go to a pool or hotel room, always wear foot coverings, even if you are in the shower.

Prevention is the best medicine, because once you have nail fungus its hard to get rid of it!

 

Do you remember when you were young, the fun you had running fast, jumping non-stop, rolling down the hill, riding your bike, skating, falling down, and getting up to do it all again! Those were the fun days you thought would never end, but they did. What happened? Life, is what happened.

Years have passed, and we got older. We don’t play or go outside, unless you have to walk the dog, get the mail, take out the trash, or mow the lawn.

Then, if that is not enough, technology comes into our lives and now, we move even less.

Now, we are in a complete standstill because of being quarantined, we have to stay in our homes.

Everyone wants to come outside and still be unsocial because all people do is look at their phones even when they are visiting family or friends? That does not make any since to me.

We have become ostriches in America. We are so busy looking down that we are not looking at what is happing around us.

We are so distracted, we don’t even see how they make our food. “They” are killing us slowly, but not only us but our animals, too. They are stripping the soil of its nutrients that help us sustain our bodies.

Our bodies in turn are trying to do the best they can to keep going. The food we eat does not give us the sufficient nutrients that we need to fight off the illness and the diseases that we are starting to see each day.

Our children are getting the brunt of it, because by the mothers that are having children and not having the nutrients only weakens each generation.

We are not as strong as our ancestors  use to be.

We need to make a change and take our food growing into our own hands.

I’m sure making some of these changes would improve one’s body, like arthritis. Many men and women have this panful disease and for some it is so crippling. Many people can not walk, or lose the use of their hands to do self care.

Ginger

Ginger is known to help with arthritis. Use it to flavor your meals, it is very good for inflammation in the joints.

Green Tea

Green Tea is very good to drink and use also in your meals it helps with inflammation also and Ginger and Green Tea are both full of antioxidants.

Tumeric

Turmeric is a very flavorful powder used in many meals. The main ingredient in turmeric is curcumin, which has anti-inflammatory properties.

Banana

Bananas help with joint pain because of the potassium and magnesium. That is good to know.

Blueberries

Blueberries are also vey good for you. Full of antioxidants that are very good to you and help protect you from inflammation.

Healthy Fats

Let us not forget our foods that are high in healthy fats like salmon, avocado, walnuts, almonds, and olive oil.

Water

Most important: Water

Make sure you drink plenty of it.

There are so many foods and herbs for you to choose from to help your body heal itself.

You just need to find the right combination that works for you.

I use to have a friend that had long eye lashes. She was blessed with the kind of eye lashes that were long and curled naturally, and she would trim them short because they grew too long and bothered her. She said she hated them for that reason.

That girl was blessed and didn’t even realize it. Many women today spend thousand and thousands of dollars a day to have the kind of eyelashes that make you look beautiful. They say the eyes are the windows to the soul, nothing wrong with a little bit of luscious lashes for adorning curtains.

I would love thicker, longer lashes, and I did the false eye lashes and loved it, but the sad thing is they don’t last long,. and the money it takes to keep up the farce can be expensive.

But there can be many reasons that your eye lashes are short. One could be, that you rub your eyes a lot. I do that all the time, even when I used false eye lashes. Talk about throwing money away. But rubbing your eyes all the time you might be pulling some out by the root, or breaking them which makes them short and small.

Before I start to tell you how you can grow your eye lashes, please let your eye doctor know that you want to try it, and if it is right for you. Just be cautious about what you try.

I would also like to say that stress in our bodies does put a lot of strain on us, and when stressed, the body sends the blood flow were needed, so it does not always go to our hair. So, if possible try not to get stressed out.

I have seen men and women go bald over the stress they get in life. I know it is easier said than done.

I have used Rosemary and Cinnamon on my hair for years and it does work. I just never thought of trying it on my lashes.

But I did see how it made my hair grow within a few weeks.

To make your lash growth formula, put water in a pot and add cinnamon. I usually put in four sticks, and let simmer for fifteen minutes, then add fresh Rosemary, about four sprigs, and let it simmer twenty minutes, then let it cool off.

I put the mixture into a container for easy pouring and keep it in a cool place for storage.

You can put it in a spray bottle and spray your hair instead of wetting it down with water.

Green tea is also very good for our hair. That is a very popular tea of choice and helps reduce stress.

Nettle Leaf is also high on collagen and minerals that help support hair growth.

There are so many more herbals that can help you reduce stress in your body, and at the same time help you with hair growth. Not only for the hair on your head, but also for the lashes and eye brows.

You just have to pick the right one for you.