Natural Cure for Toothache and Bad Breath

Toothache results from the pressure upon a dental nerve at the tooth’s center. Bacteria trapped as plaque on the teeth react with sugar in the mouth and break down the calcium salts in the tooth’s substance. Chalky tartar around the base of the teeth causes numerous problems including bad breath (halitosis) bleeding gums, infection and dental loss.


Natural Cure

Reduce sugary foods to combat mouth acid and reduce decay. Chewing nuts, apples and raw vegetables cleanses and strengthens the teeth. Teeth also need calcium found in milk and its products, mineral water, green vegetables, nut, tinned salmon, sardines and other bony fish, calcium absorption into the bloodstream is aided by vitamin D made in the skin when exposed to sunlight and found in fish liver oil, mackerel, salmon and sardines.

A mouthwash made by infusing half and a handful of rose petals, blueberry leaves, violet petals and sage in a liter of water, used daily, eases gum inflammation and helps to protect and strengthen teeth.

One dose every 4-8 hours or 3-4 times per day: mercurius 6c tender, spongy gums which bleed easily, loose teeth and bad breath; chamomilla 6c for unbearable toothache, aggravated by cold air and warm food and drink and coffee at night; or coffea 6c for toothache aggravated by heat or hot food relieved by applying ice.


SOURCE: Home Remedies – A guide to symptoms and cures by Dr. Caroline Shreeve

Natural Cure for Mouth Ulcers

Common mouth ulcers are small, gray sores with an inflamed mucous membrane. They vary from size and are found on the gums, roof of the mouth, under the tongue and inside the lips and cheeks. They are triggered by infections, poor immunity, stress, and accidental damage from broken teeth.

The symptoms are; Small grey saucer-shaped sores, a surrounding red tender halo, pain on talking and eating. Large ulcers cause pain in the underlying muscle and enlarged lymph glands.

Natural Cure

Cabbage juice speeds the healing of the mouth and peptic ulcers. Sip 7-10 fl oz daily, freshly juiced with a handful of mint leaves for added healing and improved flavor. Hold each mouthful in contact with the ulcers for as long as you can before swallowing. Three major antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E work together to boost immunity and strengthen the mucous membranes. Beta-carotene from which the body manufactures vitamin A is found in brightly colored fruits.

Aloe vera can be used to make a mouthwash to combat sore mouth ulcers. Mixed the juice with boiled water and gargle.

Boil a handful of carrot leaves in 300 ml of water for 5 minutes, let it cool slightly and use as a gargle and mouthwash.

You can also dip a cotton bud in pure clove or tea tree oil and apply neat to ulcers several times a day. Add a single drop of essential oil of rose, clary sage, geranium or savory tumbler of tepid water and use as mouthwash.




SOURCE: Home Remedies – A guide to symptoms and cures by Dr. Caroline Shreeve

Health Benefits of Red Rice

The natural bran of this rice is not removed, which gives it high fiber content. It is also rich in vitamin B – thiamin, riboflavin and niacin. Red rice is popular in a diabetic diet because they have high proportion of complex carbohydrates and lower glycemic index than white rice. High fiber and high-carbohydrate foods like red rice have been shown to improve blood lipids, blood glucose and glycated hemoglobin (Hemoglobin A1C), a longer-term measure of blood sugar control.

Philippines and Its Herbal Medicine

Long before the introduction of modern medicines and western curative methods, herbal medicines had been widely used in the Philippines. The curative effects of the herbs were tested by the traditional healers on their patients on a trial-and-error basis. The knowledge and skills on the curative application of any given herbal medicine has been handed down fro generation to generation.

Apart from prescribing herbal medicines, the traditional healers were known to give psychological comfort and moral support to their patients. In the old days, they were respected and enjoyed high status. Through generations of selective process, the herbs that were known to be effective were kept alive. The ineffective ones were soon forgotten.

In the days when drugs from the West just started to be used in the Philippines, they were not only too expensive but also too scarce. The rural folks and the poor continued to rely on herbal medicines available in abundance locally. Western medical care has reached a very limited number of people, mostly in urban areas. As modern drugs were increasingly available, at much cheaper prices, the popularity of herbal medicines waned considerably and faces extinction. Traditional healers and the use of herbal medicines have begun to vanish along with the knowledge about curative applications. Herbal medicines have become legacy of the past and the number of users is fast dwindling.

Hospitals that have sprouted up in the provinces and later in the districts have in no small part contributed to dying art of traditional healing. Doctors trained in western medicine have arrived to introduce new concepts almost every corner of the country. Of course, modern medicine is a wonder compared to the use of herbs. After all, there is still no herbal medicine comparable to antibiotics, vaccines, anti-inflammation, and symptomatic drug.

Health Benefits of Watermelon

Watermelon is a popular fruit here in the Philippines, especially when summer, there’s no other summer fruit like the thirst quenching watermelon. Watermelon is said to be the summer fruit because it is on its best quality when harvested during the summer season.
Watermelons can be round, oblong, or even square, as seen in Japan, they have the square watermelons. These square watermelons are not genetically modified. The Japanese figured out how to grow a square watermelon. The technique is very simple; they insert the watermelons into square glass cases or square wood cases while the fruit is still growing on the vine, so when the watermelon is ready to harvest it’s on a square shape. There are also watermelons that have yellow flesh. I think the yellow flesh is much crunchier than the red-flesh watermelon.




Health Benefits of Watermelon

Watermelon is said to help quench the inflammation that contributes to conditions like colon cancer, asthma, diabetes, and arthritis. The health benefits of watermelon are really great. No matter how it is sliced, it is packed with some of the most important antioxidants found in nature.

It is an excellent source of vitamin C and a very good source of vitamin A. A cup of watermelon provides 24.3% of the daily value for vitamin C, and, through its beta-carotene, 11.1% of the DV for vitamin A. Watermelons are packed with some of the most important antioxidants in nature.

Watermelon is also a very concentrated source of the carotenoid, lycopene. Well known for being abundant in tomatoes and particularly well absorbed from cooked tomato products containing a little fat such as olive oil, lycopene is also present in high amounts in watermelon and mangoes. The antioxidant function of lycopene-its ability to help protect cells and other structures in the body from oxygen damage-has been linked in human research to prevention of heart disease. Protection of DNA (our genetic material) inside of white blood cells has also been shown to be an antioxidant role of lycopene.

Watermelon is rich in the B vitamins necessary for energy production. Our food ranking system also qualified watermelon as a very good source of vitamin B6 and a good source of vitamin B1, magnesium, and potassium. Part of this high ranking was due to the higher nutrient richness of watermelon. Because this food has higher water content and lower calorie content than many other fruits (a whole cup of watermelon contains only 48 calories), it delivers more nutrients per calorie-an outstanding health benefit!

One more reason to enjoy watermelon before summer ends: this sweet, crunchy, cooling fruit is exceptionally high in citrulline, an amino acid our bodies use to make another amino acid, arginine, which is used in the urea cycle to remove ammonia from the body, and by the cells lining our blood vessels to make nitric oxide. Nitric oxide not only relaxes blood vessels, lowering high blood pressure, it is the compound whose production is enhanced by Viagra to prevent erectile dysfunction. Arginine has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity in obese type 2 diabetic patients with insulin resistance.

Health Benefits of Yerba Buena

Yerba Beuna is a herb from the mint family. Its scientific name is Clinopodium Douglasii from the kingdom Plantae and takes the form of mat-forming perennial with elongated leaves and in summer, it bears small whitish or purplish flowers.

In Spanish speaking countries, the term “yerba buena” refers to the particular local species of mint. The term has been and is currently used to cover a number of aromatic mint relatives of the Clinopodium. The word Yerba Buena is Spanish for "good herb" and was the former name of the California city of San Francisco. All plants so named have medicinal properties and some have culinary value as teas or seasonings.

Yerba Buena has been known as a medicinal plant worldwide. Yerba Buena has been consumed for centuries as tea and herbal medicine as a pain reliever (analgesic). Today, this folk medicine's efficacy has been validated by scientific research. In the Philippines, Yerba Buena is one of the 10 herbs endorsed by the Department of Health (DOH) as an effective alternative medicine for aches and pains.

As an herbal medicine, a decoction (boil leaves then strain) of Yerba Buena is effective for minor ailments such as headaches, toothaches and joint pains. It can also relive stomach aches due to gas buildup and indigestion. The fresh and dried leaves can both be used for the decoction. And because Yerba Buena belongs to the mint family, soaking fresh leaves in a glass of water (30 to 45 minutes) makes for a good mouth wash for a clean, fresh smelling breath.

Benefits & Treatment of :
• Arthritis
• Head aches
• Tooth aches
• Mouth wash
• Relief of intestinal gas
• Stomach aches
• Indigestion
• Drink as tea for general good health.

Banaba Health Benefits and Side Effects

Banaba herb has been known as an herbal medicine in the Philippines. It is also known as Queen’s flower and Crepe Myrtle in India. Banaba has been used to cure diabetes in Ayurvedic medicine for a long time in India. In the Philippines, it is widely used as an herbal medicine to control blood sugar level and treatment for diabetes.

Recent studies, medical research, and laboratory tests showed that the active ingredient of this herbal plant is the corosolic acid which is a potent compound that has insulin like effect that lowers glucose in the body. Corosolic acid also showed some improvements on controlling the blood sugar of type 2 diabetics. Aside from this benefit, banaba contains high concentrations of dietary fiber and minerals such as zinc and magnesium, fights obesity, helps regulate blood pressure, aids digestive system, ease urination and it is also good for the kidneys.

At this point it is difficult to predict the blood sugar response to a banaba supplement and it is difficult to know what dosage works best and how often to take a banaba supplement or how it interacts with other supplements used for blood sugar control. There have been no findings of any negative effects when taking banaba extract, however, caution is advised against taking banaba with any diabetic drug or any other drug. It is also not known how a banaba supplement would interact with oral medicines used in diabetes and how it would interact with insulin. If you are a type II diabetic, discuss with your doctor regarding the use of a banaba supplement to see if this herbal supplement is appropriate for your particular condition.

HEALTH ALERT: SWINE FLU INFLUENZA VIRUS (SIV)

Swine Flu is a virus for which there is no vaccine, no threat to your family and there are undoubtedly tens of thousands of harmless undiagnosed cases throughout the world. The news stories are probably taking a hundred questionable respiratory deaths in Mexico and guessing.

There actually is a very, very small chance that this virus could cause severe illness and whenever this occurs hospitalization and even fatalities are reported. The likelihood of a pandemic is miniscule, but newspapers, government agencies and the manufacturers of pharmaceuticals do their best work and make their biggest sales when people are scared.

The usual boring admonitions apply: wash your hands, stay well-rested and well-hydrated. It would be better if you use alcohol-based hand sanitizers after you wash your hands or when you’re out in public to prevent this infection.

People who work with swine are at increased risk of this virus because it is more of an airborne, you cannot get SIV from eating pork. The symptoms of the swine flu from human to human are much like that of seasonal flu. Common symptoms include fever, lethargy, lack of appetite and coughing, while runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea have also been reported. It is believed to be spread between humans through coughing or sneezing of infected people and touching something with the virus on it and then touching their own nose or mouth. Swine flu cannot be spread by pork products, since the virus is not transmitted through food, as stated before, this is airborne. Although it is an airborne virus, people here in the Philippines are so cautious with eating pork.



Critical Alert: The Swine Flu Pandemic – Fact or Fiction? (AA)

Food Cravings – Mind Matter or Health Issue?

Almost all of us have our own food cravings but according to studies, women tend to crave more than men. This is because women’s food cravings have something to do with their hormones. There are some factors we need to understand why we crave for high-sugar and fatty foods. These things are important to know and figure out because if you crave for foods that are high in fats and sugar, you may have some complications regarding your health. Eating a lot of high sugar foods can cause diabetes and can be an issue if you are having weight problems. So eating the right food and eating in moderation is the way to living a healthy life.

What causes food cravings?

Most doctors and dietitians agreed that food cravings stem from a complex combination of emotional, hormonal and biochemical factors. One of the greatest factors for cravings is blood sugar imbalance. Emotional and hormonal imbalance also contributes to food cravings.

Blood Sugar Imbalance

A major trigger for food cravings is low blood sugar. This is typically caused by lack of food as a result of going too long between meals/snacks, or following very low calorie diets.

According to some studies, people with cravings often have an underlying blood sugar imbalance in which their blood sugar levels are altered because they eat too much of the wrong type of carbohydrates. These fluctuations in sugar level can cause cravings, water retention, mood swings and excessive thirst.

Hormonal Imbalance

An enormous percentage of women crave sugar, carbohydrates, or alcohol. In most cases, these food cravings are not true eating disorders, but instead are signs of hormonal imbalance caused by a lack of healthy nutrition.
The fact that the strongest food cravings occur in the week prior to menstruation, or during pregnancy, suggests that hormonal swings have an influence on this type of urge to eat. Also, it's interesting that men - who typically are less affected by hormone imbalance than women - tend to develop fewer cravings.

Emotional Imbalance

Stress, depression, and boredom are the most common triggers for food cravings. In severe cases, cravings can lead to binge eating, an eating disorder which consists of episodes on uncontrollable overeating and can be followed by compensatory behavior in which the person purge what he/she ate.
If your emotional issues remain unaddressed, your food craving will remain constant. If your emotional issues change, so will your food cravings. The only parallel between both the constant and the changing food cravings is this: There is some underlying emotional issue crying out for your attention.

“The bottom line is this: As unpleasant as it is to face a negative emotion, the alternative is even more unpleasant. Everyone gets angry, upset, or jealous at some time — there's no question about it. Sometimes life circumstances or our personal choices make it tough to stay centered in peace of mind. In fact, the only question about these emotions is whether we choose to deal with them now or later.” - Doreen Virtue, Ph.D.

Food cravings mean that the body has its signals mixed up. When we are exhausted or blue, we have low blood sugar and/or low serotonin, and the body signals the brain that it needs a pick-me-up. This signal causes a sugar craving or carbohydrate craving.

How to suppress food cravings?

1. Don’t skip meals. If you skip meals your blood sugar level will fall too low, which causes food cravings and binge eating.
2. Too much sugar and too much salt can make the cravings worse.
3. Reduce the intake of drinks that acts as stimulants like coffee, tea, and caffeinated soft drinks. These drinks can cause fluctuations in blood sugar. Drinking a lot of water can help.
4. Avoid artificial sweeteners.
5. Reduce your intake of processed foods that are high in additives.
6. Exercise can help to curb your food cravings. Due to the influence of mood on our eating habits, especially cravings, it is vital to take regular physical exercise on most days. Exercise significantly improves mood by releasing chemicals into the bloodstream, and will definitely help you to control your urge to eat.

Milk Tea – Healthy or Not Healthy?

Last Friday my boyfriend and I went to the mall and while roaming around, we got hungry. We’ve came across this Japanese kinda resto or something. It’s called Bubble tea. My boyfriend wants to eat sashimi and sushi and I’d like to eat some pizza. Fortunately, they’ve got pizza! Booyah!

I was so amazed that they have pizza along with their nice Japanese foods. And they have so many tea flavors. I really love the hot Japanese Green Milk Tea. That was so awesome. I’ve bought 1 hot Japanese green milk tea while we’re there eating pizza. Then before got home, I bought another one. I was addicted to that beverage. I also tried their Royal milk tea. It was really good and the tapioca pearls are so good. I wish they have more branches so I can buy their delicious beverage every day.

I was thinking that milk tea is a very healthy drink because you have the milk and also the tea. Milk has so many health benefits as well as tea. So I read more about milk tea and found out that milk counteracts the health benefits of tea. There are some researches saying that milk cancels the health benefits of drinking tea.

If you are looking for the health benefits of drinking tea here they are:
1. Tea contains antioxidants that protect your body from aging and toxins
2. Tea contains less caffeine than coffee, so if drinking coffee gives you the jitters, you may want to switch to tea
3. Tea may reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke.
4. Tea can protect you against cancer. Tea contains polyphenols which have cancer-fighting effects.
5. Tea is calorie free unless you add sweeteners or milk
6. Tea increases your metabolism
7. Tea may reduce the risk of high blood pressure

“The beneficial effects of drinking black tea are completely prevented by the addition of milk, said Dr Verena Stangl, a cardiologist at the hospital.

“If you want to drink tea to have the beneficial health effects you has to drink it without milk. That is clearly shown by our experiments,” she told Reuters.

“Since milk appears to modify the biological activities of tea ingredients, it is likely that the anti-tumor effects of tea could be affected as well,” said Stangl.

The study revealed that a type of protein found in milk called caseins decrease the amount of heart healthy compounds known as catechins that are found in tea.

So I think it’s better to drink green tea or black tea alone.