The Healing Properties of Calendula

by Louise Mclean

Calendula Officinalis is a bright yellow or orange flower and comes from the daisy family, commonly called pot marigold and grows from one to three foot high (30-90 cm).  Marigold is an attractive and fairly easy annual plant to grow, which withstands the cold well, blooming in spring to autumn. 

Over the past week or so we have experienced freezing cold weather and I have noticed my skin, especially my hands, feel extremely dry, like sandpaper.  Nothing I put on them seems to really alleviate the discomfort but I remembered Calendula cream is good and very healing, so I put some on today and found it worked!  I had previously tried the wonderfully rich castor oil but even that didn't help as much as the Calendula cream in this instance, which is better designed for chapped hands.

In fact Calendula, which is made from Marigold flowers, is extremely good for cuts and abrasions.  If you have a cut that is bleeding, it is specifically good for stemming the blood flow and fast healing.  It is good for open wounds, parts that will not heal, ulcers, etc.  It can also be used on superficial scalds and burns.

The other contender for fast healing is Lavender Aromatherapy Oil.  If you have a seriously bad cut, you can simply run a basin or bucket of warm water, add a few drops of lavender oil and place the part of your body with the cut into it for at least 10 minutes.  You will be amazed that the cut will almost totally have healed up overnight!  What is so good about this is that lavender is antiseptic, so no need to use anything nasty that will sting your cut to clean it, the lavender water will do this AND completely soothe any pain from the cut, as lavender is calming and soothing.

Now Calendula is also antiseptic, so the cream can be immediately applied to any cut, to clean and stem the flow of blood.  It also has antibacterial, antifungal and anti-inflammatory properties.

Another very important use for Calendula is for breastfeeding women!  Very often with a first baby, women find their nipples become extremely sore from the baby sucking.  All you need to do in between feeds, is put the Calendula cream on them for fast healing.  Remember it is antiseptic, so safe for the baby, if they get a little on their mouths.  In addition, it is excellent for nappy rash.

The Calendula homeopathic remedy in a 30c or 200c can be taken for tears to muscles or ligaments, commonly known as lacerations.

A very important use is to apply the cream on sunburnt skin to help heal it but I personally prefer the Bach Flower Rescue Remedy Cream for sunburn.  We used it to great effect on our holiday last summer, when one of us was seriously badly burnt!  It completely healed after three applications and took away all the pain, as well as averting any peeling of the skin!

Someone I know had a chemical skin peel face treatment and afterwards her skin certainly peeled in a rather dramatic way but applying calendula cream repeatedly, soon healed her face up quickly!

In addition to using Calendula cream, there is also the homeopathic pill form. This is good to take as well, if you have a badly bleeding cut.  The homeopathy remedy pill sucked and taken internally sometimes works better than the cream, as you can choose the potency 6c, 30c or 200c, depending how serious the wound is.  

I have used it after tooth extraction to stop the bleeding.  You might have to apply the cream quite a few times to a cut but if you take the homeopathic Calendula pill, it works much more quickly and effectively.

Incidentally, the homeopathic remedy Calendula 30c should be taken for those with cervical cancer, as it heals the wart virus and the raw soreness of the vagina that accompanies this condition.  Indeed the homeopathic Calendula is used as an intercurrent remedy for cancer.

All in all Calendula cream (and the homeopathic Calendula remedy) are things I would definitely always keep in my first aid kit and the cream is definitely helping my dry hands in this freezing weather at the moment!

Boost Your Overall Health with Fulvic Acid Minerals

by Louise Mclean

Nowadays, as we know, our food does not contain as many vitamins and minerals as it did 60 years ago, when all food was organic and grown in a much more natural way and in healthier soil.

A study conducted by the United Nations Rio Earth Summit revealed that the mineral levels in agricultural soils have fallen by 85% in the USA during the last century.

It seems to me that nearly all our fruit and vegetables have been genetically modified in some way, though why scientists think they can improve on Mother Nature, I don't know.  

They can't and the quality and taste of our fruit and vegetables has dramatically decreased.  In addition, most fruit and vegetables have been radiated to extend their shelf life before being put in the shops.

For example, if you pick a fruit or vegetable from the garden to eat, it has all of its lifeforce in it, whereas radiated produce is essentially dead.

Hence, now more than ever, people are supplementing their diet with vitamins and minerals.  It is very important to take a very high quality brand and avoid supermarket own brand vitamins!  I would recommend Dr. Joseph Mercola's vitamins as being one of the very best and he makes vitamins for men and women.  You can buy them at his Mercola Market.

In addition, if you also buy Fulvic Minerals, which are in liquid form, you can boost your health even further.  A few drops in water are taken daily or nightly with meals.

There are so many trace minerals which are essential for our complete health, which are almost impossible to get from our food nowadays.  Supplements typically do not contain more than 40 minerals and are often derived from sources that are less absorbable by the body. However at least 70 minerals are all found in Fulvic Minerals.

Fulvic Acid occurs naturally in all soils and contains the healing and protective qualities from all the plants and other species that have grown in that earth. It is made up of minerals derived from ancient organic plants. It contains rare earth trace minerals, amino acids, phytonutrients and other powerful elements.  

It is believed to defend the body against serious illness, fight inflammation, enhance antioxidant activity and boost immunity.  One of the best products is made by Ancient Purity and this was in fact its first product in 2008. 

When our bodies don't get the minerals they need to rebuild, they can start breaking down and Professor Linus Pauling, who won a Nobel Prize for his work on Vitamin C, said that he believed every illness can be traced to a deficiency of minerals.

There is another very good Fulvic Acid product made by Touchstone Essentials, which is slightly more expensive. It is a combination of fulvic acid from a remote peat bog in Canada, trace minerals from North Atlantic seaweed and natural zeolite Clinoptilolite. The zeolite binds to heavy metals and other environmental toxins, supporting detox and gut health.

These products are both from UK websites but Touchstone Essentials can be bought in the USA and Ancient Purity delivers worldwide.

Further reading on the Ancient Purity site.

The Many Benefits of Castor Oil

 

Castor oil is currently very much in vogue for natural health enthusiasts, who have found lots of ways to use it, though it has actually been around for decades. 

It was originally found in North and East Africa as well as the Middle East but also grows in other parts of the world including the United States.  The oil is extracted from the castor bean, which is the seed of the Ricinus Communis plant and it is rich in omega-6, omega-9 and vitamin E.

Castor oil was well known in the past as a natural laxative and also for nappy rash in the form of zinc and castor oil cream.

Nowadays, people are using it as a treatment for their hair, face and in a poultice for all manner of conditions.

Those who suffer from hair loss can benefit greatly from rubbing it into their scalps, putting on a shower cap and sleeping with it overnight.  It is said to increase hair growth, moisturise a dry scalp and help reduce dandruff due to its antifungal and antibacterial properties. It will make your hair look rich and glossy and washes out well.

Castor oil is a very rich, thick oil and is wonderful for very dry, wrinkled skin.  Using it daily and nightly can help erase wrinkles and give a much more youthful bloom to the skin.  In addition, it will slowly clear stretch marks from pregnancy. It works well for people with very dry skin and contains ricinoleic acid, which is a monounsaturated fatty acid.

Due to its anti-inflammatory properties, castor oil can also benefit people with acne, as well as puffiness of the face and under the eyes.

I have mixed organic castor oil and organic coconut oil together and use this combination as a daily skin and hand cream.  I can confirm that for me, castor oil really does erase wrinkles and make my skin feel great.

Many people nowadays are using castor oil in a poultice or compress overnight around their abdomen, as it is said to stimulate lymphatic flow and liver function, help reduce menstrual issues and support gallbladder health.  

You can rub it on swollen and inflamed joints too before you go to bed, which will ease pain.  Some people put castor oil in their belly buttons overnight and swear that it helps their overall digestion!

Castor oil packs are available to buy online and there is numerous information on the subject to read there.  I would recommend buying an organic castor oil.