I'm one of those people who doesn't like to use chemicals if it can be avoided. If I get a headache, I'll stretch, drink some water, eat something if I'm hungry, and rest; only if it doesn't go away after that will I take a painkiller. I'm also one of those people who's nervous about the rise of "superbugs," the egregious advertising from the pharmaceutical industry, and the fact that so many people seem to resort to a pill before trying anything natural.
With that in mind, I've been thinking about several areas wherein artificial remedies are heavily advertised, but natural remedies work (and are proven to do so).
Home remedies for common ailments:
1. A deep, broad, or dirty cut or scrape on a finger or toe: first, of course, wash it with soap and water. Then soak it in a cup or dish of hot (as hot as you can stand) lemon & ginger tea with honey. Lemon, ginger, and honey are all natural antiseptics. For a cut or scrape on a flat body surface, you can apply a poultice of the tea; get a piece of cloth thoroughly damp, apply it to the cut/scrape repeatedly until the tea has cooled. Rinse, let dry, bandage, and sleep.
2. Mild upset stomach: drink a cup of warm lemon & ginger tea with honey. This may be enough to wash out the bug that is causing you trouble. If not, it can't possibly hurt you. If you are to the point of vomiting, drink lukewarm water and try to eat a Saltine or two between episodes. Dehydration - not the actual infectious agent - is what kills thousands of children worldwide who still die from gastrointestinal infections. On the less-drastic domestic front, dehydration will make you feel worse and will delay your recovery, no matter what is wrong with you. Saltines will provide easily-digested simple carbohydrates and, of course, salt; which will help your body retain some of the water even if you vomit subsequently.
3. Low-back pain: in men, lower-back pain is often a symptom of stress. (Women seem to manifest stress more in upper-back/neck pain and headaches.) But for everyone, low-back pain is just as likely to be a symptom of weak abs and overly-tight hip flexors. The hip flexors, aka the quads, are the massive muscles at the front of the thigh. These rarely get stretched properly unless a person is engaged in a thoughtful flexibility practice. As I've discussed elsewhere, the hip flexors are constantly flexed, not extended, due to our largely sedentary lifestyle. If you can always see your knees, it is time to start sending them back behind you. Stretch away from the front of your body. Ask a trainer, a yoga teacher, a physical therapist, but try to restore your body's natural range of motion. You could save yourself unnecessary surgery, but almost certainly you will save yourself from ingesting a lot of chemical painkillers. For weak abs, obviously a few exercises are called for, but the easiest thing to do is to practice sitting up and standing really straight.
4. Depression: this is a problem for an awful lot of people. I've been through it myself. There are several drugs that are heavily advertised, and indeed antidepressants have documented benefits for certain clinically-depressed people. And by that I mean the people who can't get out of bed in the morning, who hurt all over from nothing but the pain in their minds, who want to kill themselves. Those people need a doctor. For those of us who just have the blues, the simplest answer is: get outside. Walk in the sun every day. Move around a little more than you usually do. Walk in a park and do nothing but observe. Look at people, at plants, at clouds as they pass by. Really look at them and think about them. Drink plenty of water, reduce your caffeine intake, stop drinking alcohol, cut out processed foods. Get back to nature in every way you can think of, because animals in nature don't get depressed. Animals in zoos do.
5. Constipation: I've saved the best for last! Let's face it, our culture doesn't like to talk about poop, but apparently poop issues are really pervasive! And funny or embarrassing though the subject may be, constipation is your body's quite serious warning that all is not well. Several very nasty diseases can follow on chronic constipation, and it is something to take seriously as a lifestyle issue.
The first thing to do is drink more water. Replace all artificial beverages with water. The only exception is a hot cup of some kind of infusion right before the time you'd be most comfortable doing a poop. Culturally, it seems this is something people want to get out of the way in the morning. So drink a hot cup of tea or coffee in the morning. But as soon as you get up, drink a cup of water. Then do some vigorous exercise for ten minutes: go out and walk fast for ten minutes, or do some jumping jacks and squats, or dance salsa - just move a lot more than you're used to. Then have your hot drink.
The second thing to do is eat more fibrous natural foods. Switch from processed cereal to All-Bran or 100% Bran Flakes or Total or - best of all - natural oatmeal. Take two pieces of fruit with you to work every day, and eat them both. Add greens to your lunchtime sub, every vegetable they can put on it for you. Substitute beans for meat in your dinner a few times a week. Order a Caesar salad with your pizza, and eat the salad first. (A slice of pizza is your reward.) And keep some Beano on hand, because yeah, fiber will make you toot. But it will also help you poop.
The third thing is, don't just sit there. If you've been on the throne for five minutes and nothing's happening, it's time to get up and do something else. Just as you shouldn't stay in bed if you can't get to sleep after half an hour: you don't want to train your body that this is where nothing happens. Go when you get the urge, don't go just because "it's the right time." If the bathroom is your sanctuary where you read (a lot of men seem to do this), try to come up with a better solution for your private time. It should not be news to your family that you need a little "you " time to be quiet and decompress.
The fourth thing to do is to walk whenever you can. All the usual tips apply: park at the far end of the lot when you go to the grocery store. Walk up stairs. Walk around the block during your lunch hour. The more you move your body, the better your body will ... move.
Good luck!
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