King of Blood Purifiers

Echinacea stimulates the immune response very effectively. It increase the body's ability to resist infections and stimulate the production of white blood cells. It also improves lymphatic filtration and drainage and helps to remove toxins from the blood. It is considered one of the best blood cleansers and called king of the blood purifiers. It is good for the prostate gland. It is used for persistent coughing and helps to relieve the symptoms.

I have used it now and then and found that it helps one to recover quite quickly from flu and cough problems.

Hair care

Here are some tips for your hair care. Just head to the kitchen to get your tresses sorted out naturally.

Dandruff - mix a few drops of rosemary with two tablespoons of olive oil and rub well into the scalp before bed. Shampoo and rinse out thoroughly in the morning.

Limp Hair - Mix two eggs in a blender with 50ml mineral water and 15ml of cider vinegar or lemon juice. Blend for 30 seconds at low speed. Massage well into the scalp and rinse with lukewarm water.

Fragrant tresses - For lovely herbal-scented locks, crush a few dried bay leaves with a rolling pin and mix with a handful of dried chamomile flowers and a handful of rosemary. Place in a large jug and fill with 1 litre of boiling water. Strain after 2-3 minutes and mix in 5 ml of liquid soap or gentle shampoo. Apply to the hair, massage well and rinse thoroughly.

Popular Fixes

There are several other alternative medicines that have therapeutic value and hence are hugely popular. Some of them are:

Aromatherapy - This form of therapy involves tech use of essential oils during a massage. They can also be used in the bath, inhaled, dabbed on pulse points, used as compresses and occasionally but only under proper direction, ingested.

Reflexology - Or zone therapy as it is commonly called, is a form specialized foot massage which concentrates on specific areas on the soles of the feet. These areas or zones are though to be connected to the major organ systems of tech body. Stimulating and kneading these points is believed to enable therapists to detect an treat several conditions and ailments afflicting the body as a whole.

Hydrotherapy - Spa treatment or "taking the waters" is probably one of the oldest and the most natural forms of therapy. Form showering and sea-bathing to sitting in a warm bath or dipping at a warm natal spring, water stimulates blood flow, relaxes muscles, eases pain and invigorates tech system. Hydrotherapy is the use of water for special treatments sand with modern technology, the techniques may include steam baths, jacuzzi, aerated pools, fine shower sprays or sit baths.

There can be no disputing the fact that alternative medicines are definitely here to stay. Some of these alternative methods of treatment have their origins much earlier than that of allopathic medicine and have withstood the test of time. What remains to be seen is the extent to which alternative medicine is accepted as available alternative around the world and how fast the shift will take.

Ayurvedic Medicine

Ayurveda is an intricate system of healing that originated in India more than 6,000 years ago. There is historical evidence of Ayurveda in the ancient books of wisdom known as tech Vedas. It has become increasingly popular in the West as awareness grows and its benefits have become known.

The term Ayurveda is derived from two Sanskrit words. Ayur, meaning "life" and Veda meaning "knowledge" or "study of". Ayurveda is thus more than just a medical system, it is the science of life. The basis of Ayurvedic medicine is to achieve an equilibrium with one's true self by using the inherent principles of nature. The three basic forces (tridoshas) are:

• Vata (like the wind), this force controls movement and the nervous system.
• Pitta (like the sun), is the source of energy and controls bio-chemical and digestive proceses.
• Kapha (like the moon), controls cell growth and tissue development.

Ayurveda believes that we are all made up of unique proportions of vata, pitta and kapha. The ratios of the doshas vary in each individual and because of this. Ayurveda sees each person as a special mixture that accounts for our diversity. When any of the doshas accumulate, Ayurveda will suggest specific lifestyle and nutritional guidelines to assist the individual in reducing the dosha that has become excessive. There may also be some herbal supplements prescribed to hasten the healing process.

Ayurvedic physicians believe disease can arise because of physical causes (infections and tissue degeneration, etc), mental causes (depression, prolonged anger, etc) accidental causes (blows, cuts,stings, etc) and natural causes (old age, wrong dietary approach, etc). These physicians examine the history of the patient, paying special attention to diet, the tongue , breathing and sleeping pattern and emotional and mental state of mind.

Naturopathy

Consciously or unconsciously, this form of therapy has been practised in some form or other since time immemorial. Bathing a sprain or fasting when unwell is a form of naturopathy. It has had its famous proponents throughout the ages, including the ancient Greek physician hippocrates whose principal axiom was "First do no harm".

Naturopathy as a system of healing was first develop in the 19th century by a German therapist, Vincent Preissnitz. n the 1890s, American Benedict Lust was successfully treated by these methods under the care of an Austrian priest called Sebastian Kneipp and subsequently established a school of taining in teh US for it.

Naturopathy or "nature cure" is both a way of life and a concept of healing by employing various natural means of treating human infirmities and diseases. Though eclectic in scope, the philosophy guiding the practice of naturophaty is clearly defined as helping the body heal itself in the least invasive, most fundamentally curative manner possible.

A naturopathic cure follows this kind of programme:

• Elimination of "evil habits" or the "weed of life" such as overeating , alcoholic drinks, drugs, the use of tea, coffee and cocoa that contain poisons, meat eating, improper hours of living, waste of vital forces. lowered vitality, worry, etc.
• Corrective habits such as correct breathing, correct exercise, right mental attitude, etc, are inculcated.
• New principles of living are instilled through proper fasting, selection of food, hydropathy, light and air baths, mud baths, osteopathy, electropathy, helicopathy, etc.

Naturopaths believe that illnesses arise as a result of an unhealthy lifestyle and poor posture. Restoring the body to a natural state by natural means allows the body to recover.

Acupuncture

The first record of acupuncture is found in the 4,700-year-old Huang Di Nei Jing (The yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine), claimed to be the oldest medical textbook in the world. it is said to be written based on theories by Shen Nung, the father of Chinese medicine.

Shen Nung theorized that the body has an energy running throughout it. This energy force is kn own as the qi (roughly pronounced, "chee"). The qi consists of all essential life activities which include the emotional, spiritual, mental and the physical aspects of life. A person's health is influenced by the flow of qi in the body, in combination with the universal forces of yin and yang.

Yin energy (reflecting the feminine side) is said to be "soft", "dark", "cold" and "dry". In a healthy person, yin and yang energies flow throughout the body and are in constant flux ever changing to produce balance and harmony. If the flow of qi is insufficient, unbalanced or interrupted, yin and yang become unbalanced and illness may occur.

The qi flows through 12 main channels or meridians and two accessory channels. All along the meridians through which the qi flows, there are acupuncture points where the qi can be stimulated and the flow corrected. So an acupuncturist will, after making his assessment, place needles along the selected points in order to correct any imbalances in tech flow of energy that has been detected.

Chiropractic

Chiropractic grew out of the dissatisfaction with the traditional approach of western medicine towards the problems presented by patients. David Daniel Palmer, the founder of chiropractic at the end of the 19th century, was disillusioned wight he use of modern medicine to adequately treat musculo-skeletal disorders.

Chiropractic is a branch of the healing arts. As a science, it is based on the premise that good health depends in part upon a normal functioning nervous system. When body structures such as cells and organs are functioning normally, a state of health or normal physiology is said to exist. However, when the body's physiology is abnormal, a diseased state begins.

Chiropractic teaches art within the body there are well-established "survival mechanisms" designed to maintain a state of good health. Nerve pressure or nerve reflex can cause a disturbance to the delicate body functions that result in an increased susceptibility to disease. Chiropractic seeks to alleviate the irritation to the spinal nerves by re-establishing normal spinal mobility.