Tag: strengthen immune system

Vinegar as a Treatment for Athlete’s Foot

Athlete’s Foot Home Remedy

Athlete’s foot is a fungal infection which many people find difficult to get rid of.

Apple Cider Vinegar can be helpful in curing athlete’s foot. Of course, any type of vinegar will work, but it is better to use apple cider vinegar because of the nutrient value in apple cider vinegar.

Apple cider vinegar words well as a mild fungicide, and is effective in treating athlete’s foot in many cases.

Apple Cider Vinegar is an Acidity-Alkalinity Regulator:

As well as killing bacteria and inhibiting fungal infections, apple cider vinegar has the effect of restoring the natural pH level, that is, the acidity versus alkalinity ratio, to normal after using soap.  Soap and shampoos are very alkaline, and alkalinity also favours the growth of unhelpful organisms such as the athlete’s foot fungus.  So using vinegar after bathing with soap helps to deter athlete’s foot.

Real Apple cider vinegar is the best type of vinegar to use, as this is made with apples which have a healing effect on the physical body.  If you don’t have apple cider vinegar, ordinary malt vinegar will do.

Athlete’s foot likes moist, warm conditions, so keeping your shoes on all the time is not the best thing to get rid of your athlete’s foot.  Taking your shoes off at every opportunity, walking barefeet along clean grass, or along the beach, will benefit the health of your feet.

Dry the Feet Carefully after bathing.  Any moisture will prevent the healing of the athlete’s foot condition.

Other helpful suggestions for athlete’s foot might be:

Drink Herbal Teas  made with dandelion root, echinacea, nettles, burdock and peppermint.  Any combination of these herbal teas will strengthen your immune system if you use these regularly instead of standard tea or coffee.

Tea Tree Oil ,  Melissa Officinalis, can often clear up athlete’s foot.  You can still use your vinegar treatment after showering or washing with soap.  Just apply a dab or two to the affected area before putting on your shoes.  Apply another dab or two to the affected areas several times during the day.

You can also use the oils of lavender, thyme, marjoram, or even eucalyptus to treat athlete’s foot and  help prevent infection.

Once you have cured the athlete’s foot, keep using a  herbal oil such as those mentioned above, and keep using  the vinegar treatment after bathing.  This will  help prevent reinfection.

The Candida Diet is helpful in treating many cases of athlete’s foot.  Candida, or yeast infection, can causre conditions such as athlete’s foot and types of eczema.  Basically, avoid sugar, dairy products except for butter and ghee, wheat and products which contain any wheat,  and all fermented foods until you are better. 

Number One things to avoid with candida:  You must exclude any  bread,  alcohol,  vinegars, sauces, or anything which has sugar or yeast in them. 

Secondly, avoid all foods which are sweetened.

Thirdly, avoid dairy milk, cheese and yoghurt until you are better.  Also avoid soy milk, as this is sweetened and has yeasts in it because of the drawn out process used to make it.  Avoid soy proteins such as tempeh and tofu, as these are fermented foods.  Whole, or ground soy beans are ok. See my post on the candida diet for more suggestions.

Low Vitamin D Levels

Vitamin D Deficiency:

We are all aware these days that low Vitamin D levels will affect the growth of bone and teeth tissue, hair and nails. If you are young, then you need adequate Vitamin D and Calcium so that your bones will grow properly, and your teeth will be strong.  If you are old, then you need Vitamin D,  plus Calcium, so that your bones do  not become  fragile and brittle: Strong bones are less likely to fracture.

Deficiency of Vitamin D is now thought to be a factor in many conditions of ill health and disease.  Recent studies, as well as older studies, have related Vitamin D deficiency to specific maladies of the health.

In New Zealand, the recommended daily allowance of Vitamin D  is between 200-600IU, and the recommended amount of calcium between 1100 mg amd 2500 mg daily.  Many people fall short of even these minimum requirements.  Deficiency of Vitamin D and Calcium over a period of time can have serious consequences.

Low Vitamin D levels have been found in people with congestive heart failure.  This is not to be confused with an actual heart attack:  heart failure is when the heart is simply not doing a good enough job of pumping that blood through the body.  Symptoms that your heart may be underactive are slightly swollen legs and difficult breathing, or getting puffed easily when taking light exercise.

Vitamin D supplements, or cholecalciferol, taken with extra calcium, was found to help many people suffering from congestive heart failure.  Dr Shaun Holt and Iona MacDonald discuss these results in their book “Natural Remedies that Really Work’. This is published by Craig Cotton Publishing, Nelson, New Zealand, 2008 and 2010.

This author also relates low Vitamin D levels, with low calcium, to the occurence of type 2 diabetes.  He quotes the research which suggests that people with glucose intolerance are less likely to develop diabetes type 2 if their Vitamin D and Calcium levels are increased.

Dr Holt recommends more exposure to natural sunlight and increasing the intake of Vitamin D rich foods, which include  the oily fish such as mackerel, sardines, and salmon, and fish liver, egg yolk and meat.

In a study of children who had Type 1 diabetes mellitus, it was found that 76% had inadequate levels of Vitamin D. Adequate Vitamin D is important for growing children, not just because it helps to build strong bones and teeth hair and nails, but because it strengthens the immune system so that there is more resistance to diseases like type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Dr Holt suggests 400IU of Vitamin D be given to at risk children, unless their intake is adequate through diet and plenty of sunlight. Note:  Of course this must be done under the guidance of a health professional. Too much Vitamin D can cause toxicity in the body, which can damage the liver and other organs, so one must be careful with the dose.

Low Vitamin D levels have also been associated with osteoarthritis, rheumatic disorders, hyperesthesia, SAD, or Seasonal Affective Disorder, migraines and some sleeping disorders.

Fermentation of Garlic

How to Ferment Garlic and Enhance its Health Giving Properties.

Recipe for Fermented Garlic. This is a recipe from my book which came out in the 1980’s, entitled  ‘The No Cancer Notebook’. I was given this recipe by Walter Last when I began a detoxifying programme with his guidance  in about 1977.  My health had been very bad, as was that of my elder child, since being aerial sprayed with the chemical 245T, or Agent Orange, in 1975.  My unborn child suffered because of this spraying episode which had contaminated our drinking water, our house,  and our whole environment. She died three months  after birth.

Walter Last’s  detox methods and strict diet, which included this fermented garlic, helped me to restore our health again over time.

Fermented garlic is supposed to be easier to digest than fresh garlic.  The nutrients are made more potent by the fermenting process:   enzymes are created during fermentation which assist the digestive function.

Fermentation of garlic provides your digestive system with plenty of healthy acidophilus bacteria, which benefit the functioning of the digestive system, and help to keep the unhealthy bacteria like candida albicans and other nasties from proliferating in your intestines.

Here is what the  eating of  Fermented Garlic might do for you:

  • Garlic helps to lower ‘bad’ cholesterol in the blood.
  • It helps to lower blood pressure.
  • It helps to dissolve calcium deposits in the blood.
  • It strengthens your immune system.
  • Garlic helps to prevent against cancer.
    Garlic     also helps to prevent other disease, like arthritis, gout,  and rheumatism.
  • It can help prevent diseases like epidemic encephelomyelitis
  • It provides you with important zinc.
  • It helps to heal wounds.  The fermented garlic mixture can be applied as a poultice to wounds. The poultice needs to be replaced every 4-5 hours with a fresh application.
  • It has been used to counteract snake venom and other poisonous bites.  (But best to head for a hospital unless you are in the wilderness)
  • Fermented garlic gives you increased  B vitamins,  Vitamin C, magnesium, potassium, phosporous,  and sulphur.
  • Fermented garlic gives you digestive enzymes which help you process your food better.
  • Fermented garlic gives you acidophilus.

Note:  If you have a chronic candida infection, then it is best to wait until you have cleared this a little before  you begin to take your fermented garlic.

This recipe  makes garlic palatable even to the most sensitive of tastes.  The added honey enhances the vitamin and mineral content, and also sweetens the garlic so that children are not averse to taking it.

Recipe for Fermented Garlic

  • In your blender put 1-2 cups of garlic.
  • Add half  to one  cup of apple cider vinegar depending on how much garlic you are using.
  • Add half to one cup of good honey.
  • Add some sea salt.

Blend all ingredients together.  Put the garlic-honey mixture into a screw top jar with the lid loosely screwed on to let any gas out. Put the jar in the sun for a couple of weeks.  After that, store the jar in a cool dry place with the lid screwed down firmly.

Use some fermented garlic every day. This is more beneficial to the health than eating raw garlic.