Tag Archives: Natural Cures

Raw Girl’s Guide to Avoiding Medical Injections…Part One

Natural Cures

This past week, I’ve been nursing whiplash from my recent car accident. Not so fun. But I had an amazing treatment this week that I promise to tell you about in more detail called Raindrop Therapy. This involves massage with pure essential oils, and realignment of the spine.  In addition to the treatment, the practitioner who performed the therapy gave me a gallon of Kangen water (highly alkaline water) to drink and to help flush out toxins and relieve inflammation. To make a long story short, it worked wonders! Literally, THE next day I did not need to take pain killers. It was amazing and I plan on doing it again this week. 

Now on the subject of my recent doctor’s visit… I really am so over it people!!! Not that doctors are not useful–because they are–especially in cases of major trauma.  But I must say it really is very unnerving that what they primarily do is prescribe or inject some sort of remedy for any ailment you may have, which in turn may of course cause additional ailments in the long run.

The doctor checked my range of motion in my neck and for pain spots in my back, and then recommended physical therapy–as I thought would happen. Then a series of things happened that I was not expecting. One, he asked what meds I was taking, I explained I was prescribed a higher dose of Ibuprofen (which I had switched out for natural pill sources because I hate aspirin–but I didn’t tell him that), and he immediately frowned and shook his head with disbelief and muttered “No, muscle relaxer?”  I told him no. He immediately went on to say he would prescribe a much higher dose pain-killer and muscle relaxer. He said worst case scenario if those didn’t stop the pain they could always INJECT me with steroids in my neck. WHAT? REALLY?? I just sat there trying not to give him the crazy eye, and then just for the heck of it I asked if he thought that the essential oil massage I was planning for the next day would help. He smirked, and said, “What the heck, I guess it couldn’t hurt?” And then he whisked off to send the order for my prescriptions to the pharmacy.

SIGH. I got in the car after being coaxed into buying these meds by concerned family members, and read over the ingredients and side effects. Both of them said things like may cause dizziness, nausea, constipation, and pretty much the whole gamut of other uncomfortable things that sounded pretty much like synonyms for DEATH to me. In addition, I did not know what any of the ingredients were–although I knew of course they were all chemical based. Right then and there I decided I was not taking those drugs. I immediately called a holistic doctor and asked his advice ( I will share what he said with you all shortly in another post) which saved me, and then later in the week I stuck to my plan and got my Raindrop Therapy. At least now, I have confidence that by the end of the month I will be feeling much stronger and as a bonus, I won’t have to worry about the side effects of some crazy blood-thinning meds that may do me a great deal harm in the long run. -XoXo Raw Girl

Natural Remedies: Vitamin B1 Wards Off Mosquito & Insect Bites!

B1

I despise mosquitoes.  I really do abhor them with the Shakespearean like fire of a thousand suns, but they LOVE me, and even more so, they love sucking my blood. The last time I was in Jamaica I made the mistake of taking a little stroll on the beach on a late night and woke up to almost golf ball sized bites all over my legs. Needless to say, I was on bed rest for the remainder of my vacay thanks to that unexpected mosquito make-out session. This has been going on, for as long as I can remember, and I’ve always been afraid of international travel because I am sure I would be the first one with malaria, and then in my head I imagine people shaking their heads at my funeral saying: “She was a nice girl, with so much potential…too bad she just couldn’t shake those mosquitoes.” Not a cool way to go out. 

Fast forward to last week: as much as I had a blast planting with my mother on Memorial Day in her garden, I wish that fond memories were all that I took with me. The next day I saw about five huge bites on my legs! Sulking and trying not to scratch, I made a run to one of my regular health food stores to find some sort of remedy.  A friend who is a homeopath recommended tea tree oil or Arnica so I immediately went on a hunt in the isle with oils and creams. The saleswoman always friendly and eager to assist approached and asked what was wrong. I had to stop myself from whining as I gave her a slightly dramatic sob-story about my whole life being plagued by mosquitoes, and how I was going to die from malaria, unless I found something GANGSTA to make it stop immediately. She gave me a pat on the back and  told me first to breathe, and that everything would be okay I wasn’t going to die,  I just needed Vitamin B1! I had never heard this before, so I stopped thinking about how bad I wanted to itch my leg and became more attentive. She asked if I had a lot of sugar in my diet. I told her I don’t eat anything with refined sugar, but I do get sugar from fruit. Oh okay, she nodded her head and continued on, “Well honey they are attracted to the sugar in your blood, and you need B1 to repel them, which you can get in nutritional yeast, some soy products (I don’t do soy), brewers yeast, etc.” Then she told me about several other customers with the same exact problem, who completely ended their mosquito drama just by consuming nutritional yeast or a great deal of garlic in pill form, and bugs would not come near them! 

I decided that I would pass on having a garlic smell seeping from my pores on a hot summer day and opted to buy a bag full of nutritional yeast which I have been consuming regularly.  It basically acts as an internal mosquito repellant, which to me seems much better than having to tote around a giant can of bug repellant to all social occasions that involve the open air. Thus far, everything has been A-Okay, no bug bites since then, but the ultimate test would be to hang out near a body of water on a late night and see if I emerge bite-free. For now, I’m not game to be the guinea pig in my own mosquito experiment, I’m just content to know that I may have stumbled upon something long-term that will save me from a lifetime of itching while walking. If you’ve got the buggy blues, or know someone who does, check out the tips below to transition into bug bite-free living. -XoXo Raw Girl

What is Vitamin B1?

Vitamin B1 a.k.a. Thiamine, is a water-soluble vitamin that is a part of the B-complex vitamin family. This important vitamin assists the body in converting blood sugars to glucose and breaking down carbs, proteins, and fats. In addition it supports proper functioning of the heart, maintains the bodies energy supplies, and helps coordinate activities of the muscles and nerves. If one was severely Vitamin B1 deficient this wold lead to a rare condition called Beri Beri, which is characterized by fatigue, degeneration of the muscle tissues, and some forms of psychosis. Alcohol consumption apparently inhibits the absorption of vitamin B1, so excessive drinking could lead to B1 deficiencies.

Signs of B1 Deficiency:

Loss of apetite, fatigue, depression, mental problems, muscle atrophy, memory loss, and rapid heart beat

Some Food Sources of B1:

Nutritional yeast, brewers yeast, sunflower seeds, wheat germ, asparagus, romaine lettuce, mushrooms, spinach,*Maca Powder (this is going to be the next supplement I buy–not only is this ancient Incan super food packed with a range of nutrition, I noticed it has B1–so I can get a nutritional boost and scare mosquitos away in one fell swoop)  Other thing mosquitoes don’t like: Garlic. If your okay with a little garlic breath, buy garlic capsules and consume recommended dosage or incorporate garlic cloves into one of your daily meals.

The Bg Free Livin’ Plan

To ward off the buggies, consume a serving size (something like 2 Tablespoons) of Nutritional yeast each day (can sprinkle in food, add to smoothies etc.), or take garlic capsules,  along with incorporating some Vitamin B1 rich foods for up to 3 weeks until mosquito make out sessions are less frequent. Continue intake ongoing as needed to maintain your bug-free lifestyle.

Natural Cures: Dermatomyositis

alternative medicine

It continues to astound me every day how many people in our world have terminal diseases or are sick to the point of debilitation. Part of the power of raw foods and incorporating the vegan lifestyle is taking charge of your own health. We cannot continue to be slaves to a medical system that mostly slaps us with prescriptions to stop our discomforts without allowing our bodies to truly heal.

This new segment will feature links to articles that focus on a range of ailments and diseases and highlight natural ways to cure them. I was inspired to start this because I meet people or have friends/relatives/colleagues with severe conditions and wanted to somehow help by providing information that they can use to support their medical care through lifestyle change. Please pass the information on if you know anyone with these conditions. Here’s to everyone getting sick and tired of BEING sick and tired! -XoXo Raw Girl

Click Below to Read the Full Article on Dermatomyositis: http://naturalmedicine.suite101.com/article.cfm/natural-remedies-for-dermatomyositis