Billy’s much better now. There’s no longer blood in his urine. The apple cider vinegar seems to have helped dissolve the crystals blocking his urinary tract. It took at least two weeks of constantly mixing apple cider vinegar into small amounts of his cat food which we had to feed him through a syringe, but at least it worked. Numerous, expensive visits to the vet didn’t solve the problem and he hated taking antibiotics and other medicine anyway.

He’s a lot like me. I hate taking medicine. I caught the bug which was making its rounds during the recent holiday season and it got me bad. My throat was so sore and painful that sometimes it felt like I had daggers down my throat. The coughing was relentless and particularly nasty at night. My nose leaked like a tap. My poor hubby was down with the same bug too, as was my mother-in-law. She even lost her voice. She took all kinds of medicine but, one month later, she’s still feeling poorly.

This time around, I decided not to take any medicine at all, not even cough syrup. Instead, I brewed pots of Momordica Grosvenor fruit, an antioxidant and immune system booster which has been popular with the Chinese for centuries. You can find it in Chinese medicine shops and groceries, where it is usually better known as “lo han guo”. Momordica is popularly used to treat respiratory ailments like cough, cold, influenza and bronchitis.

The fruit can be purchased whole and dried in its shell, or in boxes of compressed cubes, ready to dissolve in hot water. Momordica can also be found in some health supplements, such as Neways Authentic Hawaiian Noni Juice. It’s naturally sweet, so it makes a good, healthy sweetener. It’s often combined with other natural ingredients like chrysanthemum and barley to make a healthy, soothing tea.

Momordica looks like a green lime, only it has a hard shell. When dried, the shell is dark brown in color. The fruit pulp within the shell has lots of seeds. To make a pot of momordica or ‘lo han kuo’ tea, simply crack the shell like an egg, discard the shell, roughly break up the dried pulp with seeds (just peel it apart with your fingers) and put that in a teapot. Pour in boiling water and leave to infuse for at least 15 minutes. The longer you leave it, the richer the flavor. As you drink the tea, you can top up the teapot with more hot water, until the momordica tea begins to taste weak. Discard once you reach that point.

I drank a pot of momordica or ‘lo han kuo’ tea almost daily, alternating with home-made barley water every other day. That really flushed the toxins out of my body and soothed my throat and respiratory system. My husband and I recovered much faster than my mother-in-law, and without the use of medicine too, although I admit to taking my Neways health supplements daily (Revenol for antioxidants, Maximol Solutions for multivitamins and trace minerals, and VMM to boost my immune system). Try this next time the bug gets you!

Posted: January 21st, 2010 under Alternative Remedies, Antioxidants, Healing Foods, Immune System Health.
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Chemotherapy for cancer can cause all kinds of side-effects, nausea and vomiting being amongst the most common. There are various ways to minimize these problems, such as by eating several small meals throughout the day rather than attempt to tackle two or three big meals. Eating before one feels hungry is also highly recommended. Nibbling on dry crackers, dry cereal and toast helps as well.

Ginger has traditionally been used by many cultures to treat nausea, and it has been observed that it significantly relieves nausea in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Recently, I shared my recipe for a natural anti-cancer ‘tea’ which uses ingredients like ginger and turmeric. I have found that it also helps to counteract nausea. Here’s the link to the recipe. Ideally, start consuming it daily at least a day before you begin chemotherapy.

Posted: December 7th, 2009 under Alternative Remedies, Cancer, Healing Foods, Recipes.
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Aloes are desert lilies which have been used around the world for more than 3,500 years. Aloe Vera – Latin for “true aloe” – is the most widely-used of more than 200 varieties of this plant. It has long, thick-skinned spiked leaves which are full of a clear gel-like substance. Reputed to aid in the healing process, and protect and moisturize, aloe vera is used today in many products, including cosmetics, skin lotions and moisturizers, sunscreen creams and burn gels.

Aloe vera plant

Reference to aloe is found in many ancient works like the Bible. One of the first documented users of aloe vera was Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, who lived from 68 to 30 B.C. She is said to have used the gel on her skin as protection from the sun, and to keep her skin youthful.

To extract the aloe vera’s healing gel, simply break or cut off a piece of the aloe vera plant. Some liquid will run out and this can be applied topically. The part of the leaf remaining on the plant will ‘heal’ itself by forming a seal on the cut or broken area, so don’t worry about killing your plant. You can also peel off the tough green skin, including the thorns, and fillet, chop, crush or blend the firm gel-like substance within to use for topical applications, either on its own or mixed with other healing ingredients.

Aloe Vera is a cellular regenerator with anti-bacterial and anti-fungal effects. The gel has been used to heal skin which has been damaged, like first-degree burns. Other uses include soothing sunburn, treating eczema and acne, shrinking warts, lessening the painful effects of shingles, and reducing the symptoms of psoriasis. And, of course, softening and moisturizing dry and rough skin.

Aloe vera gel

The healing properties of aloe vera come from the 18 amino acids it contains. It also has eight enzymes, including Bradykinase which helps to reduce excessive inflammation when aloe vera gel is applied to the skin topically, thereby reducing pain. Other enzymes help digest dead tissues in wounds. Salicylic Acid, an aspirin-like compound, also helps in pain relief. It possesses anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties.

Glycosides called Saponins form about 3% of the gel in the aloe vera plant. They are soapy substances which provide cleansing and antiseptic activity, and act as anti-microbials against bacteria, viruses, fungi and yeasts.

Lignin, a cellulose-based substance, is another component of aloe vera which acts as a carrier for other elements of this plant. It carries the aloe vera’s soothing properties to damaged skin areas where it strips toxic materials, increases the blood circulation to the area and flushes dead tissue away. Lignin is also keratolytic, meaning it destroys and softens hard skin.

Aloe vera can also be taken orally, but this is another subject for another day. Next, look out for my post on how to use aloe vera in a healing salve for wounds and sores, including cancer tumors which have come to the surface.

Posted: December 2nd, 2009 under Alternative Remedies, Healing Foods, Wound Healing.
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