How To Make Homeopathic Remedies Go Further

Natural Remedies

It is best to use fresh remedies which have been commercially prepared to approved standards and formulas, using sterile equipment.  But sometimes, when you have run out of a remedy, it can be extremely useful to ‘doctor up’ your existing remedy to make it go further, at least until you can purchase a new bottle of your liquid homeopathic remedy.

Here is how to do it:

The most important thing to remember is not to contaminate your original remedy in any way.  When you remove the dropper to add vodka to the remedy, make sure not to touch the inside of the dropper apparatus.  This is best done by having a sterilized spoon handy on the bench:  You can rest the inside of the dropper on the spoon which you have just dipped into boiling water, so that you can add the vodka to the remedy.

So – select your homeopathic remedy which needs reconstituting.  Use the same bottle which should have a little of the old remedy left in it.  Just a few drops will do.  Even if the bottle is empty, the remedy can be reconstituted again so long as the bottle has not been dry for too long and has not sat in the sun.

Do not wash out the bottle which had the old remedy in it.  Simply fill it up with vodka straight from the vodka bottle.  I keep vodka on hand for reconstituting remedies or making herbal potions, although I never drink the stuff these days. Be careful not to touch the dropper inside the bottle of homeopathic medicine, and do not rest it anywhere else except on the sterilized spoon you have ready.

Return the dropper to the remedy which now has the vodka added to it.  Put on the lid if it has one. Now succuss your remedy to release the active force within it.  This is done by shaking the remedy repetitively, accentuating the downbeat.  Succuss 100 times.

Your remedy is now ready for use.  Use as needed in exactly the same way as you did before reconstituting it.

Method Two:  The above method is the best one for reconstituting remedies, as there is least chance of contaminating the remedy, so long as the dropper is placed on a sterilized utensil, such as a spoon, and so long as you do not touch the inside of the dropper while you add the vodka.

However, it is possible to make up a fresh remedy by using some of the remedy from the original remedy.  If you do this, you must use a sterilized bottle and be sure not touch the inside part of the dropper.  Put the dropper on a sterilized spoon while you add the vodka to the new bottle.

Use one part of remedy to nine parts vodka, OR one part remedy to 99 parts vodka.  Succuss in the same way as above.

It is also possible to make up a remedy using tablets, but this is not the best method.  Tablets do not keep as well as a liquid remedy, and they do not have such an immediate effect as using a liquid remedy, so I avoid them if I can.

However, sometimes a tablet remedy is all that is available.  You could reconstitute the remedy by grinding up a few tablets using sterilized glass bowl and pestle, then using your sterilized spoon, ladle the powder into a sterilized bottle and dropper, add vodka, and success in the usual way.

I find tablets generally weaker in effect compared to liquid homeopathics.  They also need to be stored carefully, away from heat, damp and light, else they lose their potency very quickly.  So, the resulting reconstituted remedy using tablets might be a bit dubious in effect.

Liquid homeopathics, although more resiliant than tablet homeopathics, also should be kept in a cool, dark place.  They will last for years if they are looked after.

 

Comfrey Herbal Ointment Recipes For Burns Bites Bones And Skin

Natural Herbal Remedies

Comfrey is a powerful healer. It contains compounds and minerals, such as silica and allantoin, which greatly accelerate the healing process. It is one of the few herbs which is thought to contain Vitamin B12. (see Heinerman ‘Miracle Healing Herbs’)

The silica in Comfrey can promote hair growth,  and aid bone and teeth development.  Mineral-rich Comfrey has also been used in some natural treatments for cancer and other diseases.

Using Comfrey in salves can aid the healing of many skin troubles, such as cuts, scrapes, and bruises.  It may even be just the thing for uncomplicated cases of eczema due to allergic reaction to household cleaners and detergents.

Comfrey is not only good for the skin:  It can help to heal bone fractures as well, hence its well-known names, Knitbone, or Stitchwort. Comfrey has been used to help knit bones together since ancient times.

Comfrey salves or compounds might also be found useful in cases of arthritis, when the joints have become inflamed and sore.

This first home made remedy uses Comfrey, Plantain, Calendula, Rosemary and Lavender as its base herbs.  If you can find some Yarrow flowers to dry, then you could use those as well.

All these herbs have antiseptic qualities, and when they are used together, they become very effective indeed.

The second recipe uses just three herbs and no beeswax.

You need to find some of the old traditional type of Comfrey if you want your ointment to have the maximum healing benefits.  Traditional Comfrey, Symphytum officinale, contains allantoin, which is a cell-proliferant.  Modern types of Comfrey have been bred to eliminate  allantoin, and some are  self-sterile.  These hybridized plants do not have such good healing effects as the old-fashioned Symphytum officinale, with its allantoin and high potassium phosphorous content.

Merrilyn’s new book is available on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.ca/Cancer-And-Good-Health-Notebook-ebook/dp/B01DHMH6DG

Recipe Number One

Comfrey Salve Or Ointment

Make sure all your herbs are dried before using.  If they are used fresh, your resulting ointment will not keep so well.

You will need:

Two and a half cups of olive oil

1 tablespoonful of dried lavender flowers

1 tablespoonful of dried yarrow flowers

1 tablespoonful of dried calendula or marigold flowers.

1 tablespoonful of dried self-heal flowers and leaf.  This is optional, but worth putting in if you have it.  Leave out if you cannot find any to use. This is a wee purple flower which grows in lawns and around the garden. Self-heal is also known as prunella vulgaris.

2 tablespoonfuls of dried plaintain leaf.  Use the smaller leafed variety of plaintain which grows in lawns, known as ribbed plaintain.

2 tablespoonsful of dried comfrey leaf

2 tablespoonsful of dried rosemary leaf

3/4 cup of beeswax, to add at the very end of the process, after the herbs have been infused in the oil.

Method: Put all your herbs into a screwtop jar, big enough to hold the oil.  Use a little more oil if necessary, enough to cover the herbs completely.

Infuse in a warm sunny spot for 21 days, shaking a little every day.

After 21 days is up, drain off the oil. Put your infused oil into the top of a double boiler.  Alternatively, you could use a bowl sitting over a slightly smaller size saucepan, with boiling water in the lower saucepan.

Heat up the oil in the double boiler for 10 minutes.

Now add the beeswax to the hot oil.  Stir until the beeswax has thoroughly dissolved.  Take off the bowl which now has the melted beeswax in it.   Whip all together thoroughly, stirring as the mixture cools. Pour into sterile jars.  Wait until the salve mixture has cooled down completely, then screw on the lids.

Store in a cool place.

Recipe Number Two

Comfrey And Honey Compound

Mix 1/2  a cup of olive oil with an equal amount of raw honey.

Into this mix three tablespoons of powdered comfrey herb,  two tablespoons of powdered calendula flowers and one tablespoonful of either dried self-heal or plaintain leaf.  You could use both these if you have them.

Put into an airtight jar and use as needed for sore joints, and skin abrasions.

Store in a cool place.

How Poisonous Is Comfrey And How Can I Use It?

Natural Remedy

Have you ever heard of anybody who has been poisoned, either from eating Comfrey, or from drinking Comfrey tea?  I haven’t at least not with the common garden variety known as Symphytum officinalis.

It is possible that some Comfreys should be avoided. Dr Vogel mentions in his book ‘The Nature Doctor’ that there are 20 varieties of Comfrey, and that the wild Comfrey which grows across Europe should be taken only in small amounts because of its action on the central nervous system.

However, Dr Vogel feels so strongly about the herb, he says that Comfrey should be ‘lifted from obscurity and used more widely’, ‘because of its excellent medicinal effects.’

In my experience, the traditional, untampered with, heritage comfrey plant which we grew in the Hokianga was edible and an incredible healer of wounds, skin troubles, bronchitis and many other complaints.  But recently (October 2017) I ate some comfrey from a plant which was shop-bought.  This was definitely not intended to be consumed.  It caused a mild stomach ache for several days.  Modern genetically modified comfrey has also been bred so that it lacks the wonderful healing properties of original comfrey, namely, allantoin, which is a cell-proliferant, and silica, a natural healer of cells and a promoter of healthy bones, teeth, hair, skin and nails.

Nature provides us with a cocktail of wonderful compounds in traditional Comfrey which work together in a synergistic way to heal all manner of diseases, so long as the herb is used sensibly and with respect.

To my knowledge, no case has EVER been reported to our national poisons centre.  Because no-one has ever ‘mis-used’ Comfrey to a disastrous effect.

I believe the hype about Comfrey is really to stop us from using this herb as an alternative to pharmaceutical preparations.  Some of Comfrey’s healing components have been isolated by pharmaceutical companies, who are profitting from Comfrey’s healing agents, whilst discouraging the use of natural Comfrey herb.

Interesting to note that a ‘Soil and Health’ article from around 2000-2006 stated that the newer varieties of Comfrey lack that invaluable ingredient, allantoin, which is a cell-proliferant.  They are also apparently much lower in silica than traditional types of Comfrey.  This is probably the reason why traditional Comfrey was banned in NZ and Australia for a time – it is high in silica and allantoin, which both can help prevent and heal degenerative diseases such as cancer, and also bowel problems such as colitis and irritable bowel syndrome.  My belief is that ‘research’ determined that a new type of Comfrey be developed which was not going to compete with modern day pharmaceutical drugs in any way.  Modern hybridized Comfrey is virtually useless as a healing commodity in my opinion.

I would put traditional Comfrey at the top of the list of healing herbs.  An invaluable healing herb, Comfrey has been used for centuries, if not thousands of years, as a healing agent, both for external and internal uses.

It is high in silica, mucilage, potassium, phosphorous, nitrogen, and other nutrients, including germanium, cobalt, and allantoin which is a cell-proliferant. This last, as well as the rich silica levels, give it the capacity to repair damaged cells very quickly.

Comfrey tea used externally as a hair rinse, and as a tea taken internally, say one cup a day, will help hair growth.

Traditional Comfrey was known as ‘Knitbone’, or ‘Stitchwort’, whose names attest to its ability in healing broken bones.  It is also renowned for its healing effect on wounds, burns and cancer.

The germanium and cobalt in Comfrey are thought to be of especial help in treating cancer.

The mucilage in Comfrey, plus its other healing agents, can help in cases of bowel diseases such as stomach ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome and ulcerative colitis.

John Heinerman quotes a Soviet Medical Journal, ‘Vutreshi Bolesti’, June, 1981 which reported that Comfrey and Calendula tea, in equal quantities, was effective in curing 90% of 170 hospital patients who had severe gastrointestinal ulcers.  Two cups of the Comfrey-Calendula tea was taken twice a day until healed. (see p.112, Heinerman’s Encyclopedia of Fruits Vegetables and Herbs, Parker Publishing Company, New York, 1988)

Dr Vogel is another herbalist who recommends Comfrey for treating inflammations of the stomach and intestinal walls.  He uses a mucilaginous tincture, made from Comfrey, which he calls ‘Symphosan’.  He has also used this remedy successfully for treating inflammation of the nerves.

Yet, for all the history on the herb and the wonderful successes people have had with it, sometime around the 1990’s Comfrey was declared to be a toxic weed which needed eradicating from our gardens.  It was banned in New Zealand and Australia around then, and the only people allowed to grow it were the registered herbalists.

I remember the wee article in the paper, which said that Comfrey had caused cancer in pigs. On the strength of this example, Comfrey was then banned for household use.

What did they do to get this result – of using Comfrey to cause cancer in pigs?  Feed pigs a steady diet of Comfrey, and nothing else, until they had developed cancer?

If you were to feed pigs a steady diet of either potatoes or carrots,  to the exclusion of all other food, I think you would find a terrible thing happening to your pigs.  They would get very sick.

Potatoes have a naturally occuring poison in them called Solanum, which intensifies once the potatoes start to go green.  Potatoes which have begun to go green are potentially very harmful to the liver. But have potatoes ever been banned because people might ‘mis-use’ them?  No.

If potatoes are eaten before their skin goes green, and you sensibly combine them with other foods in your meal, then you will not get sick from eating them.

People have poisoned themselves from eating only carrots, so I have read.  The carotene content in carrots is a healthful thing for the eyes, and the general health, but in overdoses, it can be extremely damaging to the liver and the kidneys.  If you eat carrots for a long time, to the exclusion of all other foods, then you will undoubtedly become ill with some disease.

It is true that some of the constituents of Comfrey could have the potential for trouble, if you were to eat too much of it.  So – how many people, I wonder, would ever want to eat copious amounts of Comfrey?  People generally use it as a tea, rather than as a vegetable, although I sometimes used a leaf or two in with the silver beet when my children were young.  This never made us sick.

When copious amounts of the raw herb is fed to animals over a period of time, no doubt the allantoin present in Comfrey could produce some ill effects, such as cancer.  But we do not ever use Comfrey to the excusion of other herbs or foods, just as we do not eat only potatoes, or carrots, for months on end. So this risk of cancer from Comfrey is almost non-existent in human experience.

In recent years, Comfrey has reappeared in our plant shops.  But these are hybridized plants, devoid of the wonderful healing agent allantoin which is found in old-fashioned Comfrey.  The hybridized versions are also likely to contain lesser amounts of silica, and not so nutrient-rich as the traditional sort.

So for best healing results, stick to the traditional type of Comfrey, Comfrey officinalis.

Newer post on genetically modified Comfrey:

Shop-Bought Comfrey Is Ruined Medicinally, And Is Inedible

Apple And Cheese Muffin Recipe With Or Without Wheat Flour

Recipe For High-Protein Tasty Muffins.

This is a wonderful recipe which I have adapted from a basic muffin recipe to include grated apple with cheese.  You can make it either with Gluten free flour, or use plain wheat flour.

It is a recipe you can rely on for muffins which have a high protein content and which are full of flavour, with a light texture.

Apple and Cheese Muffins are an ideal thing to make for those ‘bring a plate’ occasions, or to give to people in need of a little TLC.  I have been making them for my elderly neighbour who needs building up.

You can use white self-raising flour in this recipe, if you are not allergic to it.  The negative effects of white flour can be offset by the raw apple and onion, as well as the generous amounts of good-quality protein. Sometimes this combination is OK with people who have only a mild senstitivity to wheat flour.  Or you could use a gluten-free flour if you wish.

You can use white self-raising flour in this recipe, if you are not allergic to it.  The negative effects of white flour can be offset by the high fibre content of the raw apple and onion, as well as the generous amounts of good-quality protein. The phytochemicals found in the skin of the apple, as well as the pectin, can help weak stomachs to digest the gluten in wheat flour, if the sensitivity to wheat is but a mild one.

People with coeliac diseases, or extreme sensitivity to wheat, should use the gluten-free option.

Gluten Free Flour Option: I suggest a combination of one cup of soya,  3/4 cup each of rice flour, arrowroot or tapioca flour, and  fine yellow cornmeal as a substitute for the  two and a half cups of wheat flour.  Using gluten free flours increases the already high protein content of these cheese muffins.

Ingredients and Method for Making Apple-Cheese Muffins: 

First, turn on the oven to 180 C.  Prepare your muffin tins by oiling them or buttering them thoroughly.

Grate two cups of cheese into a dish.  Gruyere gives a great flavour, but Cheddar is also good.

In a separate mixing bowl, put two and a half cups of Self Raising flour, or three cups of the gluten free combination described above.  Use two teaspoons of baking powder if you use the gluten free flour.

For the Blender.  Prepare in another bowl:

One medium-sized apple, grated with the skin still on.

One small onion, skinned and chopped up.

One handful of freshly picked greens from the garden:  A few sprigs of parsley, thyme, and a few leaves of rocket make a tasty combination. If you don’t have any of these, you could simply use a couple of leaves of spinach.

Four large free range eggs, or five if you are using smaller bantams’ eggs.  I am fortunate enough to be able to buy free-range bantam eggs in the town where I live. They are wonderfully nutrient-rich eggs to use in baking.

One cup of water.  Use the same size cup you measured out the flour and cheese with.

2teaspoons of curry powder.

Method:  Put the flour into a mixing bowl.  Tip over the grated cheese and fold gently into flour.

Next, put the grated apple, onion pieces, eggs, curry powder, chopped greens, and the cup of water into your blender.  Blend up for one minute.

Pour the egg and greens mixture from the blender into the centre of the flour and cheese mixture.

Fold all together carefully.  Be careful not to over-mix.

Using a large serving spoon, drop enough of the mixture into each of the greased muffin tins.  Aim at filling them at least halfway, or three quarters of the way up, allowing some room for the muffins to rise.

These muffins are ‘sure to rise’:  Aside from the baking powder, they have a good quantity of beaten eggs which aid with the process of rising.

Bake in a relatively hot oven for around 20 minutes, or until brown and their delicious cheesy smell tells you that they are done.

Depending on the oven, you might need to start the cooking off at 200 C, cook for 10 minutes, and then turn the oven down to 150 C for a remaining 5-10 minutes.  I have an oven door which is not sealed properly when closed, so this is the routine I need to follow for making muffins if they are to be cooked nicely.

Causes of Cancer Article In NZ Listener 2015 Has Major Omissions

Cancer Is A Political Disease, as Doctor Samuel Epstein famously wrote.

This article about cancer, which featured in this week’s NZ Listener,  May 16-22, 2015, was yet another gloss-over of the real, underlying causes of most cancers.

Remember that book by Samuel B. Epstein, ‘The Politics Of Cancer’?  Epstein’s concerns in the 1970,s or early ’80’s are as relevant today as they were then.

One thing the Listener article had right:  Just because you carry a gene which might increase your chances of getting cancer, carrying the gene does not mean that you need to succumb to the disease.  Most cancers can be prevented through eating the right foods, and living a healthy lifestyle which incorporates regular exercise. You do not need to run out and get a breast cut off to avoid getting cancer, like some well-known film stars have done.

However, if the vegetables, fruit and meat you are buying are devoid of all the main nutrients they are supposed to carry, because of artificial fertilizers ruining natural fertility of the soil, and they are contaminated by the use of various agricultural poisons used in producing them, then diet may not help much in preventing cancer.  For diet to prevent or cure cancer, then it is imperative that a clean, organic source of food be found.

Point One On The Omissions In Listener Article: It failed to mention that the widespread poisoning of the planet by agrichemical giants is the main cause of cancer.  If we don’t get poisoned through agriculture, then the local council might do it for us: Governments and councils all over the world support these companies by allowing these poisons on our parks, in nature reserves, and around our towns on the pavements.

Point Two: It also declined to mention that poverty, or inequal distribution of the world’s wealth, is another major cause of obesity, which in turn goes hand in hand with higher cancer risk, as well as heart disease and diabetes.  This is because vegetables and fresh fruit are expensive, whereas take-away foods such as McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried, are relatively cheap, which is why many poorer families rely on these second-rate choices.  Apart from the obvious high-fat in takeaway foods, they contain high levels of genetically-modified items, such as corn, which are contaminated with glyphosphate and other agrichemicals.

On point one: No matter how good the food you eat, chances are it has been exposed to quantities of glyphosphate poison, found in RoundUp, as well as many other contaminants.

The World Health Organization has recently announced that glyphosphate, an active component in RoundUp weedkiller, ‘probably causes cancer’.

Agrichemical giants have argued for a long time that ‘there is no proof that poisons such as glyphosphate are harmful’, and they have aggressively suppressed information which might alert people as to their health risk.  At last, WHO have come out with an albeit half-hearted attack on glyphosphate and Monsanto’s RoundUp.

The world-wide push for countries to sign the TPPA trade agreement is going to weaken the power of governments further:  It will effectively eradicate our right to free speech, as these chemical giants will rule under USA law, which currently gives them the right to sue if we harm their sales.  This means anybody claiming that these poisons harm your health will be sued, just to shut them up.

The end result of this corruption is that our food will continue to be contaminated by the major seed and herbicide-pesticide manufacturers, and will probably become even more toxic with their increased powers, once they have shut down free speech and any adversaries of their ethics.

Monsanto have been using ‘RoundUp Ready’ seeds for a long time now.  Being so-called ‘Round-Up Ready’ means that the plant has been developed to resist glyphosphate poison.  But it also means that the food, which has come from genetically modified seeds so that it can withstand glyphosphate weed-killer, will be highly contaminated with this poison.  The plant may survive the glyphosphate weedkiller, but it absorbs the poison, and then we ingest it.

75% or more of the world’s corn and soybeans are now thought to be genetically modified seeds which are so-called ‘RoundUp-Ready’, which means they can withstand liberal use of glyphosphate-containing RoundUp poison.

So, so sad to see John Campbell leaving TV3 and his programme ‘Campbell Live’.  This is a political move, as John is the only journalist who deals honestly and helpfully on all manner of political, social and environmental issues, and I bet the National government is overjoyed he has been pushed out. Now we have no one to defend the poor, or the environment, or to keep the politicians honest.

My guess is that, more than anything, TV3 has come under pressure from the government, who  wanted John Campbell quietened down on the serious worries we all have to do with our government and their secret negotiations to sign the TPPA with America, our government’s dubious spy agency, and other things, such as unaffordable housing in Auckland and rocketing house prices.

It has nothing to do with Campbell’s  ratings.  I believe these have been trumped down in the same way that National’s ratings are trumped up – to suit the government.  John Campbell is probably the most loved TV personality ever, and his ratings are still much higher than those of other important programmes run by TV3, or any other station.

A friend of mine told me angrily this week that policital issues should be kept separate from health ones, and that I am wrong to include both.  Funny – I pulled all the obvious political stuff from my health site when it was being hacked regularly, around the time just prior to the election three years ago.

I guessed that the reason was political, and that the National lot were to blame.  My son discovered that the site had definitely been hacked, and that an ad for ‘viagra for sale’ had been  inserted within my articles, along with other examples of sabotage.  One sure way to get your site ruined in its ratings is by sticking ads like this onto it.

Then, just two weeks before this last election, someone invited a response from me, in a comment that they made on my site.  So, for the first time in around three years, I mentioned the National government, whom I had criticized earlier.  I said that my site had been hacked because of my views on the current government, which I consider to be their obliviousness to the urgencies of social issues such as housing, and jobs, their lack of concern for the environment, and their greedy desire to sell off every part of our country for quick profit.

Within an hour of writing this, my whole site was totally blocked.  I was effectively silenced, not able to answer comments, not able to agree with the arguments put forward by Nicki Hager, that the National government had serious bloggers out there to undermine the other parties.  Now I knew how serious this movement to protect the status quo really was – that they have the power to  stop any protesters or dissenters, by de-activating their sites.  And I couldn’t write about it, because my site was down.

The site wasn’t able to be restored until two days AFTER the election, because the ‘WordPress’ help-desk was conveniently shut until then.  Well – Great to see all this stuff printed in ‘The Listener’ on diet, and what foods to eat for keeping healthy and avoiding cancer.  But we, who have long held serious doubts on the belief systems of the medical establishment, knew all this a long, long time ago.