7 Natural Home Remedies

Home remedies like herbal infusions, decoctions, tinctures and essential oils are natural medicines that everyone should have at home.

One of the most important advantages of a home remedy lies in its capability to cure the cause and not just the consequence of a disease. If taken regularly, herbs and other home remedies will constantly protect your body and defend it against different attacks and damages, by improving your immune system and reinforcing your health.

You must remember though, that they do not always have instant effects like pills. Home remedies will often give you an immediate relief, but in some cases you need to be constant and give them time to work.

Now, let’s take a look at a few of the basic herbal home remedies that will help us cure and alleviate some of the most common problems and disturbances in a natural way.

1. Remedies to Cleanse the Liver and Have Healthy Skin

One of the major prerequisites for good health and beautiful skin is to help our liver work better, because it is one of the primary toxin filters in our body. Excess accumulation of certain toxins and waste products may cause different diseases and skin disturbances and weaken our immune system. Therefore, it is a good habit to regularly cleanse your body and strengthen your liver when you feel it isn’t functioning as well as it should.

Excellent home remedies for liver are made with depurative herbs like milk thistle (contains silymarin, a powerful antioxidant), dandelion, burdock, artichoke, chicory, rosemary, coleus, licorice and curcuma. These plants can be combined with diuretic properties of ortosiphon, asparagus and centella. Ask a qualified herbalist to prepare a herbal blend that suits your particular problem and drink it every morning on an empty stomach, as well as 15 minutes before each meal, for at least a month.

For acne, dermatitis and other skin impurities take 30 drops of burdock root tincture 3 times a day, for 2 or 3 months. It is one of the most efficient herbs for cleaning pores and clearing up your skin, while detoxifying liver.

2. Herbs That Strengthen Your Heart

Amaranth and other herbs, which contain calcium, such as nettle, alfalfa, watercress, licorice, thyme or pigweed are efficient in preventing heart attack and reducing the risk of coronary heart disease.

Plants that reduce cholesterol and lower blood pressure are ginger, yarrow, cat’s claw, angelica, garlic and onion. Purslane contains omega-3s, bilberry reinforces arteries, ginkgo improves circulation, while hawthorn, due to its many uses, is known as one of the most important heart protecting herbs. Willow contains salicin, which is the herbal predecessor of aspirin that can significantly reduce the risk of heart attack by impeding the thrombus formation and preventing blood clots.

3. How to Beat Colds and Flu

garlic on rough chopping board

There are many ways to cure cold and flu symptoms and as many plants that can help us. To strengthen your immune system take herbal tinctures or teas made with echinacea, camellia sinensis (green tea), golden seal and astragalus. To disinfect your respiratory tract try thyme, red onion and Pelargonium sidoides and to relieve cough take ivy leaves, licorice and horehound. Excellent herbs for nasal congestion and sinuses are peppermint, horseradish and eucalyptus. To reduce fever and favor sweating drink teas made with natural aspirins containing salicin, such as white willow, black elder, meadowsweet, ginger, catnip and boneset.

4. Get Rid of a Headache

To relive head and neck pain, use lavender, devil’s claw, feverfew, lemon balm and peppermint. They are available in tincture form and are taken orally, or as essential oils that you can massage into your forehead, temples and the base of the neck. And don’t forget the cayenne pepper balm that kill migraines!

5. Stomach Aches and Nausea Remedies

Herbs to use in treating stomachaches and nausea depend very much on the cause and on the type of nausea and abdominal pain you have and therefore you should always inform yourself before using them. However, excellent natural remedies for stomach problems are ginger, lemon, peppermint, lemon balm, Florence fennel, parsley, licorice, marshmallow and many others. Make teas or pour a few drops of an essential oil (only those for oral use) into a glass of water and sip.

6. Ways to Defeat Vaginal Infections Forever

One of the oldest remedies for treating vaginitis, which will certainly not win an award for its fragrance, is garlic. You can either make suppositories by peeling a garlic clove, wrapping it in a piece of gauze and tying it off with unwaxed dental floss or use tampons that you will dip into the yogurt to which you have previously added a few drops of garlic juice. To increase the vaginal PH and fight bacteria, dissolve 1 teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate in ½ liter of warm water and wash the vaginal area every day. Excellent essential oils and extracts for curing vaginal infections are:

  • tea tree oil (a very efficient antimycotic and good for treating candida albicans);
  • propolis (a natural antibiotic);
  • lavender (anti-inflammatory and antibacterial);
  • calendula (anti-inflammatory and antiviral);

7. Types of Herbal Home Remedies

Herbal remedies include herbal infusions, tablets, decoctions, tinctures and essential oils.

  • Essential oils are generally extracted through steam distillation of roots, leaves and woods. Other methods are cold press extraction, absolute extraction (with solvents) and carbon dioxide extraction. Some oils can be taken orally, while others are for external use only.
  • Infusions (leaves, flowers, flowering tops) are made by pouring boiling water over dried or fresh herbs, covering the tea pot and letting the mixture stand for 15min to 1 hour to allow the release of active ingredients.
  • Decoctions (roots, stem and barks) are obtained by pouring cold water over herbs, bringing the mixture to a boiling point over a low fire and letting it simmer for 10-30 minutes.
  • Tinctures are concentrated herbal extracts, made by steeping fresh or dried herbs in pure alcohol. To be taken orally.

Be careful and inform yourself before using any herbal preparation. Herbs may interact with each other or with other medications and produce unwanted effects.

I hope this post will encourage you to start using more natural and home remedies instead of over the counter medications. If you already have experience with herbal preparations and treatments, please share your recipes and ideas with us.

About the author

Jessica

Jessica is a translator who has lived for many years in Asia and South America. She now lives and works in Europe, while preparing her new journeys. She enjoys traveling, meeting new people, exploring different cultures and foods, and being in love.

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