Mama's Home Remedies: Discover Time-Tested Secrets of Good Health and the Pleasures of Natural Livin Svetlana Konnikova (life books to read txt) 📖

capsules) of ground valerian root to a bath. This is an excel ent remedy for nervousness, sleeplessness, headaches, stomach pains, and spasms of the uterus. r 47. Valerian root in 470–500 mg capsules is effective for easing symptoms of pneumonia, migraine, and scarlet fever. Take two to three capsules three to four times daily with eight ounces of water or three to four capsules 30 minutes before bedtime. r 48. Mince two tablespoons of valerian root and place in a mug. Add one glass of cold water. Let steep for six to eight hours. Filter. Take one tablespoon three times daily as a sedative or

Caution:

for insomnia.

It is known that St. John’s Wort takes

Valerian enhances the

action of sleep-inducing

its name from the Knights of St. John

drugs. Avoid it if taking

of Jerusalem, who used this plant to

this type of medication.

treat wounds of the injured on Crusade

Take Valerian for only two

battlefields. In Russia, St. John’s Wort is

to three weeks without

called a healer of 99 diseases. It is used

a break as continual use

extensively in many herbal concoctions

may lead to palpitations

because of its ability to soothe a wide

and headaches.

range of ailments, such as inflammaDon’t confuse Valerian tions and injuries, jaundice, hysteria,

( Valeriana officinalis) with

depression, anxiety, and irritability, espered “American” valerian cially during menopause. Some plants, such

( Centranthus rubber), a

as raspberries, lose their effectiveness in dried

garden plant, which has

form, but St. John’s Wort is an effective healer

no medicinal properties.

in fresh or dried form.

142 ^ Mama’s Home Remedies

r 49. Place one tablespoon of St. John’s Wort in a mug. Add boiling water. Leave to infuse for 15 minutes. Filter and drink three tablespoons three times a day for anxiety, emotional upsets, and nervous tension.

Elecampane was one of the most important herbs to the Romans and Greeks. By the nineteenth century it was widely used for stubborn coughs and congestion, colds, bronchitis, neuralgia, and skin problems. In Russia elecampane root is called the “nine powers herb.” It is used as a tonic for weakness following colds and to treat headaches provoked by upper respiratory problems. r 50. Slice thinly a smal elecampane root. Boil one teaspoon for 15

minutes in one cup water. Cool, filter, and drink three tablespoons three times daily. r 51. Place one tablespoon dried elder flowers in eight ounces boiling water and steep for 20 minutes. Filter and add one teaspoon honey. Drink two ounces three or four times daily 15 minutes before eating. This tea is best prepared fresh each time you use it. r 52. If you suffer from chronic headaches that occur monthly or weekly, try this simple remedy: Juice a potato and drink two ounces two to three times daily.

r 53. When you are overtired, your “head is swimming,” and you feel giddy from exhaustion, try this: Mix 1½ tablespoons hawthorn berries with 1½ tablespoons hawthorn flowers. Add 24 ounces boiling water and steep for two hours in a warm place. Filter and take one tablespoon three times daily 30 minutes before eating. r 54. Ginseng helps fight fatigue and headache. Cut one tablespoon ginseng root into smal pieces and place in a mug with four ounces Port wine or cognac. Let steep five to seven days. Take 15

drops twice daily.

Clever Remedies to Outsmart Headaches @ 143

Vegetables were extremely important as “food therapy” while I was grow- ing up in southeastern Europe. Every evening our family dinner began with a large porcelain bowl brimming with seasonal vegetables from our own garden. In summer, bright red tomatoes and white and green onions would always find their way to the salad bowl to be dressed with olive oil, sunflower oil, or sometimes sour cream. After the salad bowl was placed on the table and just before the family would gather for dinner, Grandma added the freshly harvested dill that I had previously gathered from a large patch in the garden. This simple daily ritual helped to maintain the freshness and aroma of the dill. Grandma’s fresh-baked and fragrant rye bread was always nearby.

We rarely ate meat. Instead our menu sometimes consisted of stuffed cab- bage (golubtsi), zucchini, green and red bell peppers, mashed potatoes, beans and eggplant, homemade fruit drinks and fresh fruits, herbal teas, or compotes.

Here are some natural vegetable remedies for headaches.

r 55. Apply fresh, raw cabbage leaves to the forehead for 10-15 minutes. r 56. Eat a bowl of fresh strawberries.

r 57. Add boiling water to one tablespoon sweet clover flowers in a mug. Steep for 30 minutes. Filter and drink four ounces three times daily. r 58. In a bowl add one pint of boiling water to one tablespoon oregano. Cover bowl with a plate and thick towel and steep for 30 minutes. Sweeten with honey, filter, and drink 4–16 ounces (depending on the severity of the headache) three times a day. Pregnant women should not use this remedy.

r 59. In Russia the herb lemon balm is caled melissa, lemon balm, or lemon mint. Place 1½ tablespoons of lemon balm in a mug with boiling water. Cover with a thick towel and steep for 30 minutes. 144 ^ Mama’s Home Remedies

Filter and drink one to two tablespoons five or six times daily. Lemon balm is a natural sedative that treats headache, sleeplessness, stress, heart pains, palpitation (tachycardia), anemia, colic,

“swimming head,” and inflamed bowels.

r 60.