Natural Remedies: Apple Cider Vinegar and Castor Oil

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I love home remedies! I just started a couple new ones. Health is so important to me and if there is a natural way to accomplish something then I’d rather go that route. I love the way eating healthy and taking good care of myself makes me feel. In addition to eating healthy I love any natural cure or adding healthy foods and supplements to further improve my health.

This is what I’m up to now:

I’m drinking apple cider vinegar before every meal. I mix 3 tsp ACV with some water in a small glass and drink it quickly. Man is it potent! You can also add it to juice so it’s easier to swallow.

ACV has been used since ancient times to alleviate ailments. I just love using food as medicine like the ancients.

*When you buy it make sure it’s organic, unfiltered, and has “Mother” (which is the active culture) in it.

ACV has many health benefits:

  • It detoxes your body and balances your body’s pH and strengthens your immune system.
  • It helps balance cholesterol.
  • Helps with allergies.
  • Improves digestion.
  • Helps with arthritis.
  • Prevents bladder infections and stones.
  • Helps with weight loss by increasing your metabolism.
  • Adds shine and volume and eliminates dandruff for healthier hair. Mix 1 part ACV with 10 parts water in the shower and pour over damp hair. Let it sit for a couple minutes. This cleans your hair and you probably won’t even need to use conditioner!
  • Balances the pH of your skin and can lighten spots and help with acne. Use 1 part ACV and 2 parts water then dab on skin with a cotton ball.

In addition to all these health benefits, ACV can also be used as a house-hold cleaner instead of nasty chemicals.

I’m using Castor oil for pain and healing. I put it on my neck because for two days I had intense pain from twisting wrong or something. My husband massaged (he’s such a sweet man:)) a good amount into my neck and shoulders and the next day the pain was reduced greatly. I’m also using the castor oil on my ovarian cyst 3 nights a week by soaking a cotton cloth in the oil and putting it on my lower belly, then putting heat on top and letting it soak in for 2 hours. It penetrates deeper than any other oil. It’s supposed to relieve pain, reduce inflammation, promote healing, and break up the mucus.

Castor oil was also used in ancient times.

More ways to use castor oil:

  • It breaks up scar tissue.
  • Reduces inflammation.
  • Detoxifies the body.
  • Boosts circulation.
  • It helps with skin infections and other ailments of the skin like ringworm and acne.
  • Relieve constipation.
  • Helps with muscle aches and pains.
  • It boosts the immune system and increases lymphocytes.
  • Shrinks hemorrhoids.
  • Regrows hair, thickens eyelashes and brows.
  • Prevents wrinkles.
  • Makes hair healthier and shiny.
  • Removes warts and moles and age spots.

Next I’ll be using baking soda and fresh ginger for more health benefits. I’ll let you know how that goes!

Whole Being: Exercise to Heal

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Bottom line: your body needs exercise. You just gotta do it.

Exercising changes your whole view on life. It changes the way you see things, the way you interact with people, how you deal with situations. It’s all because of how you feel when you bring exercise into your life. It brings you confidence. You feel good about your body. You feel healthier and lighter and freer. You have no idea how great you could actually feel when bring in exercise is part of life.

It’s important to get at least 30 minutes of exercise every day. And make sure it’s exercise that you enjoy so you are happier and more inclined to keep up with it. Doing exercise that you enjoy makes you more likely to do it and you are adding fun to your life instead of just another unenjoyable task added to the list.

Get creative and make it your own, something that is all you and that you truly enjoy. Even make exercising a game and commit to it for 30 days or mark a big colorful X on a calendar so you can see how well you are doing which will motivate you more. Mix it up too. Variety is good so if you feel bored with a certain exercise then mix it up. Also, grab a friend. Make sure it’s a friend that you each motivate each other and not drag one another down.

Some examples of exercises:

-Workout at the gym (machines, weights)
-Classes at the gym
-Yoga/Pilates
-Martial Arts
-Play outside- Frisbee/Catch/Hide n Seek
-Jump Rope
-Ride a bike
-Play a sport
-Walk/Jog/Run
-Walk/Jog/Run on the beach
-Hiking
-Swimming
-Yard work
-Walk the dog
-Workout Video
-Dancing (I prefer freestyle:))

For me, I like variety so I do 10 minutes of this workout or Yoga right before breakfast then before lunch I do about 25 minutes on the Elliptical and then some stretching or light spot exercises before dinner. For me, I find if the workout lasts too long or is too boring than I will make any excuse not to do it. So I found that breaking the workouts up and adding variety makes it fun for me.

It may be hard to keep up the routine at first but you will thank yourself over and over again for it. Keep in mind what you will get out of it. What is your vision for exercising? Do you just want overall health and wellbeing? Reduce stress? Pain relief? Lose weight? Whatever it may be, you have to know it at all times, especially when the “lazy” kicks in. You have to be able to push through it.

Exercising relieves stress and helps your body get rid of toxins. If you’ve got some extra stress in your life then that’s a great reason to exercise because that stress needs to be released.

Exercising relieves pain and makes you a healthier being, physically and mentally.

To live a balanced and fulfilled life, exercise and eating healthy are major factors. It’s ok to start slow but you have to start. Choose the exercise that’s right for you and make it a habit. When you know what works for you and what doesn’t, you’ll be more likely to keep up with your routine. Once you conquer your fear/laziness/hatred/whatever for exercise then you’ll be wondering what other goals and dreams you can accomplish!

Whole Being: Heal Yourself with Food

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Amazing things happen when you use food as medicine, healthy food that is. Eating healthy can heal almost any disease. When we eat unhealthy or processed foods, we throw our body off balance, and that’s one of the causes of disease. Eating unhealthy foods causes so many ailments that could be prevented if we just fill our bodies with whole and healthy food. When we eat healthy we have more energy, we feel lighter, we have less pain, our whole body is more balanced including our minds, stress levels go down, and we have wholeness and well-being.

How to eat healthy:

-Eat mostly whole, unprocessed or minimally processed foods like fruits, veggies, seeds, nuts, and grains. Processed foods are anything that has been changed from its natural state such as candy, chips, soda, flour, pasta, hotdogs, and sugar. Sometimes foods that are processed are good like, freezing veggies helps preserve vitamins and freshness.

-Whatever you eat make it organic as often as possible. Chemicals like pesticides aren’t used when growing organic foods so you spare yourself the extra toxins that cause harm to your body. Plus, your body has to work hard to get rid of them.

-Avoid added sugar. Cutting down on cakes and cookies is a big part of it but sugar also hides in many other things you eat and drink. When you buy packaged foods like pasta sauce make sure you check the ingredients as well as how much sugar is added. Also, try not to add extra sugar to drinks and food like coffee, tea, or oatmeal.

-Limit sodium intake. Make sure whatever packaged foods you eat don’t contain insane amounts of sodium (including all the other harmful ingredients that could be lurking inside). Packaged foods like canned soup and potato chips contain lots of salt. So if you have to buy something packed, choose the lower sodium option. For example, when I buy broth I choose the “no salt added” option.

-Eat only good fats. Good fats are the kinds that come from plants like nuts, seeds, avocado, and olives. Bad fats come from animal products, and are also found in foods such as candy, crackers, and unhealthy snacks that are made with partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.

-Take your vitamins.

-Drink water. You can also drink tea and fresh juice to get the amount of water your body needs (but be careful with fruit juices as they have lots of sugar). Soda and sugary drinks don’t count. Water helps flush out toxins and keeps your body hydrated and working properly.

When we treat our body right we get so many things in return. Eating healthier makes you feel better about yourself and about your life in general. Eating better will give you a whole new outlook on life and you’ll see things more positively when you don’t have the unhealthy chemicals weighing you down. So feed your body right and start eating foods that help you create the whole and balanced life that you want.

In future posts I’ll share even more ways to live a healthy and whole life.