UNUSUAL REMEDIES

Pfaffia ( Amaranthaceae ). This herb is grown in Central and Southern America and is known as Brazilian Ginseng. The roots have been used by natives as a cure all, but more widely as a tonic aphrodisiac.


Pfaffia has been used internally for stress, chronic fatigue,debility, poor appetite, Epstein-Barr disease, glandular fever, infertility, impotence, menstrual and menopausal problems, diabetes, pancreas dysfunctions, ulcers, rheumatism, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, nervous disorders, chronic degenerative disease, and various kinds of cancer. Also to improve resistance to infection and increase stamina.


Extracts are added to food supplements and herbal tonics.

The Day of Atonement: This One is for You, Dad

Tonight begins the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. It is the most important holiday of the year and really should be identified as a holy-day. The focus of this period is entirely on your relationship with God, the Divinity, the Spirit, and on asking forgiveness for the ways in which you let Him/Her down, and yourself. It is a time of inner contemplation. And whether you believe in a Higher Power, or in the need to ask forgiveness, it's pretty powerful to have one day to devote to thinking about who you are in connection to the Bigness that surrounds us all.

My father is in the hospital, in the ICU. He's 85. He might pull through this as he has the past five incidents that required hospitalization. But he might be at he point where the fabric is so frayed that every insertion of the needle to repair it just causes more damage.

I'll be thinking of him tonight. And of my relationship with him over the past 50 plus years. His basic goodness was the DNA for my model of the universe. I hope the universe returns him to his family. And I pray the universe carries him gently, always.

I love you, Dad

TOP THREE NATURAL HEALERS.

I did some research into herbal healing and found the top three natural healers can all be grown in your garden. They are used in alternative health as healers for a number of conditions.

1. Chamomile. The flowers from chamomile can be used in a tea and are calming and soothing and especially beneficial to the nerves and digestion. It is also very good for skin irritaions.

2. Rosemary. Rosemary helps memory and concentration, improves mood and sweetens breath.

3. Lavender. This herb can calm and relax, eases pain, and is an antiseptic for cuts and bruises.

I have grown all three herbs in my garden and use them on myself and family for all the above medicinal reasons.

Do you need help?

Do you need help with a health related problem?. Can I help with an alternative health remedy?. I am not a qualified person in relation to holistic cures but I do however have a wealth of information on this subject, and my aim is to help people who have any illness or disease

You can contact me here at Natural cures or at curesforyou on twitter

I look forward to hearing from you.

The very best of health to all of you.

Grand Rounds at Residency Notes

This is the 6th anniversary of Grand Rounds, Colin Son at Residency Notes has put together a great collection of health care posts.

While you're at it, Six Until Me is hosting Patients for a Moment, a collection of posts contributed by patients. Have a read.

And the Pain Carnival is up too.

Acupressure point to boost the immune system

Try this exercise every day, It strengthens the kidneys and the immune system, and boosts vitality.

The location of this acupressure point is on the lower back two finger widths on either side of the spine, approximately level with the waist. So that is in the centre of the back.

Fold your hands into the shape of a fist. Now bring your hands behind your back and using the knuckle of the hands use a rolling action around either side of the spine.

Try not to press too hard, do this for about one minute, once each day.

45,000 Deaths a Year Linked to Lack of Health Insurance

45 to 50 million Americans are uninsured. That's a big number and hard to get one's mind around it. A recent study from Harvard Medical School turns this number into a tragic and sadly logical reality:

45,000 people die each year in the US because of lack of health insurance coverage.

I usually don't blog about health policy, but this study was so stunning, I had to write about it. Not only does lack of health insurance contribute to 45000 individual deaths, but one has to wonder -- as a result of this tragedy, how many couples and families are destroyed?

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Here's an excerpt from an article in the New York Times by Reed Abelson:

"Researchers from Harvard Medical School say the lack of coverage can be tied to about 45,000 deaths a year in the United States — a toll that is greater than the number of people who die each year from kidney disease.

“If you extend coverage, you can save lives,” said Dr. Steffie Woolhandler, a professor of medicine at Harvard who is one of the study’s authors. The research is being published in the December issue of the American Journal of Public Health and was posted online Thursday.

The Harvard study found that people without health insurance had a 40 percent higher risk of death than those with private health insurance — as a result of being unable to obtain necessary medical care. The risk appears to have increased since 1993, when a similar study found the risk of death was 25 percent greater for the uninsured.

The increase in risk, according to the study, is likely to be a result of at least two factors. One is the greater difficulty the uninsured have today in finding care, as public hospitals have closed or cut back on services. The other is improvements in medical care for insured people with treatable chronic conditions like high blood pressure.

“As health care for the insured gets better, the gap between the insured and uninsured widens,” Dr. Woolhandler said.

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Here's a link to the actual report:
Health Insurance and Mortality in US Adults