Natural Remedies
Harvard Medical School has just published a paper in the science journal ‘Cell’ on 20th May, 2015 which indicates the Chinese herb ‘Thunder God Vine’ could be very promising for curing obesity.
Radio New Zealand gave us a report on the new findings today, Saturday 23 May, 2015, just before 1PM.
With the numbers of obesity growing throughout the world now – over a third of the population is supposed to come under the obese category – the need to find a non-toxic and effective remedy for weight loss is becoming urgent.
A selection of herbal remedies, known to be helpful in weight loss, were used in the recent Harvard studies: The one which came top of the list for its effectiveness was the Thunder God Vine. It has the remarkable capacity to slow down the appetite because of a compound called Leptin.
Leptin warns the brain that you have had enough to eat. People who are deficient in Leptin eat too much because they still feel hungry, even after eating a full meal.
This ancient herb, which is native to China, Korea and Japan, has been used in Chinese medicine for centuries.
Research on mice at Harvard has proved that Leptin in the Thunder God Vine reduced appetite, causing weight loss. A reduced food intake resulted in a 45% weight loss over several weeks of taking the herb each day.
And there have been no toxic effects observed in the use of the herb.
The Leptin within the Thunder God Vine looks to be very promising for curing obesity: It has the capacity to awaken the appetite centre in the brain, so that instead of ignoring those signals to stop eating, when you already have a full tummy, the brain will have the right response. With the help of Leptin from the Thunder God, you should feel full after a meal, and not want to overeat.
Of course, the herb will not be enough on its own in maintaining a healthy body. Adequate exercise must be taken.
Food choices should still be sensible ones, with sugary foods, wheat flour breads and cakes all omitted from the diet Yeast products should be avoided too.
It is really best to avoid dairy foods as well, and use soya milk instead of dairy milk. Remember that the pastures where dairy cows graze have been sprayed with many chemicals, and these chemicals get absorbed in concentration in the cow’s milk. Some of these chemicals can cause cancer and other health problems, such as obesity and depression. See the paragraph on herbicides and pesticides below.
Another negative aspect of dairy milk is that it is spoilt for human consumption by pasteurization. Pasteurized milk is difficult to digest properly, and many people have a problem with it. Dairy milk, and especially pasteurized dairy milk, causes mucous to form in the intestines, and this milk makes a home for intestinal parasites, or worms.
If the milk is not digested properly, then it causes bloating in the bowel, which causes the stomach to swell. Wheat products can do the same thing. Wheat bread is especially bad when it is made with yeast, as the yeast tends to continue fermenting in the intestines.
Food additives in the way of colourings, preservatives and flavourings, are a must to avoid. Many of these chemicals have very damaging effects on the health, as well as the appetite.
Another thing to be careful to avoid is herbicides and pesticides, as these can interfere with the body and brain functions in many ways which are damaging to health. The glyphosphate weedkiller such as RoundUp is very bad, and I believe that the world-wide use of this is one major cause of obesity. It damages the natural intestinal flora, killing off the beneficial bacteria and increasing others, such as candida albicans, which causes yeast infections.
Basically, RoundUp and many other agricultural chemicals alter the balance of organisms in the bowel. When candida gets out of control, it means you do not digest your food properly, your immune system is weakened, and you are likely to fall sick. Deficiencies in nutrients can arise, which can lead you to be continually hungry.
When these chemicals are sprayed continually around your environment, then you really are in trouble.
The other thing that some of these herbicides and pesticides do is alter the hormonal secretions: The pineal and pituitary glands, I find, are noticeably affected. These centres seem to become inflamed and disconnected from the brain after exposure to weed-killer such as glyphosphate-containing RoundUp. These important energy centres can get out of control, doing their own thing regardless of what the body needs. The disturbances in their normal functioning can cause a feeling of alienation from the world, as well as depression and appetite disturbances.
Last, but not least, meditation and yoga can help enormously to de-stress the body and brain. Yoga Nidra, an ancient practice of relaxation, is a wonderful technique which can relax the brain, allowing you to reprogramme yourself, devoid of the emotional clutter which prevents you from really enjoying your life.
Natural Remedies
Culpeper says of Sage that it ’causes the hair to become black’.
Garden sage has many therapeutic uses.
In the garden, its flowers provide medicine and nectar for the bees, as well as a herbal tonic to the neighbouring plants.
It is well-known as an aid to oral hygiene. It has strong antiseptic qualities and is supposed to whiten tooth enamel.
Sage is still used today in some tooth-pastes. It is reputedly one effective remedy for bleeding gums, and improving gum health: The crushed fresh leaves are massaged several times a day onto the gums and teeth.
The tea is gargled to relieve sore throats, colds and flu, and ulcers in the mouth.
It can be effective to reduce fevers, and has been used in the past for thyphoid fever. (see ‘Herbal Remedies and Homeopathy’ published by Geddes and Grosset.)
It is a valuable nerve medicine, and is a useful stomach remedy for improving a weak appetite.
Natural Herbal Hair Dye and Tonic: Sage can help restore healthy hair and improve the colour.
Strong sage tea encourages hair growth and darkens the hair, if it is used on a regular basis. Many herbalists describe it in their writings: see John Heinerman’s ‘Encyclopedia of Fruits Vegetables and Herbs’.
Rosemary is another wonderful herb which can help hair growth, but it does not have such a darkening effect on the hair, as sage does.
Recipe For Sage Hair Dye: Here is a simple, natural hair dye and tonic which you can try. It is perfectly safe to use, as it does not contain any harmful additives such as you might find in commercial dyes for darkening the hair.
Take two cups of fresh sage leaves and put into a stainless steel saucepan.
Add one cup of dry black tea leaves
Add half a cup of cider vinegar and eight cups of water.
Simmer very gently, with no lid, for one hour on a very low heat. You should have around half the original quantity of liquid left at the end of an hour. If you need to add a little more water, make sure you do so well before you finish simmering the brew. If you add more water at the end of the simmering, then your mixture will not keep so well.
Take off the heat after an hour of simmering. Set aside to cool.
Once your sage mixture has cooled properly, strain it off.
To the liquid remaining add the same amount of vodka.
Put into a bottle with a screw-top lid and store in a cool place.
Massage around a tablespoonful of the sage infusion into the hair each day. Use more or less, depending on how much hair you need to cover.
Massage the sage tonic well into the roots of the hair as well, so that it feeds the scalp and hair follicles. Massaging the scalp with the sage tonic will help the hair to grow again.
The oils in the sage leaves will put a natural shine to the hair.
Once the hair is sufficiently darkened, which may take several weeks, you can reduce the amount of applications each week. Once or twice a week may be enough to maintain the darker colour.
Sage is really very good for the hair in so many ways.
Alternative Sage Tonic Without Alcohol: You could make up your sage tea without the alcohol if you wish. Only, remember that your mixture will not keep for longer than a week, and it must be kept in the fridge. You could make up a lesser amount, enough to last a week, and then make up a fresh brew of tea for the following week.
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