Homeopathic Remedies

from Weston A. Price by Joette Calabrese

PAIN, SWELLING, SHOCK, & SPORTS INJURIES

Let’s begin with a remedy that is often thought of first, particularly when the pathology has a quick and abrupt start: Aconitum napellus. When it comes to the pain, swelling and shock of a sprained ankle and similar sports injuries, this is a rewarding first choice. It should be administered orally as soon as possible and from every few minutes for more severe injuries to once daily for minor ones. This method is the rule of thumb for the administration of homeopathic remedies in general.

ARNICA MONTANA FOR TRAUMA

The second most frequently used remedy for trauma is Arnica montana, particularly when it comes to injuries to the head such as in concussions. If the injury is serious, it should be administered on the way to the hospital every few minutes. It can be taken until the initial need for Aconitum has passed. Homeopathy is compatible with conventional medicine so one can feel confident using it simultaneously with other treatment methods to bring needed calm, pain relief and healing. In her book More Magic of the Minimum Dose, Dr. Dorothy Shepherd relates that in homeopathic hospitals throughout Europe and India, Arnica montana, when used in high enough potency, has relieved pain from injuries more effectively than morphine! And there are no side effects or addictions associated with homeopathic medicines. Arnica montana can also be used for dental work. It is powerful in its ability to address potential infection and anxiety and soften the shock and discomfort of surgery. Indeed, it can even reduce fear of dental work. Dr. Dorothy Shepherd, British homeopathic doctor and researcher states in her book, A Physician’s Posy, “It is advisable to take Arnica before going to the dentist to prevent shock and pain after an extraction. Hemorrhage is frequently much lessened by such preventative measures.”

LEDUM FOR INSECT STINGS

Ledum is the remedy of choice for most insect stings. Think of it also for accidents from punctures, stabs, even an injury from an embedded nail, as well as bites from cats, rats, dogs and horses. Meanwhile, be sure to get traditional medical care as well, since Ledum is not a substitute for professional care when the injury is serious. Having Ledum on hand however, is an opportunity to augment the body’s ability to begin healing, reduce swelling, minimize potential infection and bring about calm. 

HYPERICUM FOR NERVE INJURY

Hypericum is also used for injuries particularly if the pain involves nerve injury, and when pain is severe. Hypericum is a capital choice for tooth pain that originates in an inflamed nerve or after an extraction.

IPECAC FOR GASTRIC ISSUES

When considering gastric issues there are many remedies of equal value to Ipecac, yet Ipecac is the remedy you want on hand when vomiting is relentless and affords no relief after the episode. All homeopathic remedies must be chosen specifically for their symptoms and etiology. For example, Nux vomica is the premiere remedy for overdoing a good thing: the New Year’s Day hangover; the child who stays up late at a friend’s house after gorging on pizza and soda; or overindulgence from Halloween candy. Usually the sufferer is cold and has the feeling that if he could only vomit, he’d feel better. There may be irritability and bloating or diarrhea alternating with constipation. Food poisoning, regardless of the pathogen is often aided by Nux vomica, but the ultimate remedy for this malady isArsenicum album. This is particularly valuable for diarrhea that is exhausting accompanied by cold and restlessness and burning pains in the stomach or rectum.

CROTON TIGLIUM FOR POISON IVY

What about that wretched poison ivy that causes so much summer distress? Pack Croton tiglium in your backpack for when a poison ivy outbreak is blistering a great deal with inflammation and itching. It is particularly useful for when the outbreak is located on the scalp, near the eyes or on the genitals. If the eruption is of a burning nature that causes severe itching and is aggravated by the warmth of a bed, the night, and by scratching, consider Rhus tox. This powerful remedy is particularly interesting since it is made from poison ivy. For those with a propensity for these itchy outbreaks yearly, it can be used as a prophylactic before the season begins with a few doses each day for two days.

On planning your homeopathy kit, it is best to buy it already organized in a neat box from a reputable pharmacy. The price is substantially less per bottle and the pharmacy’s expertise aids in choosing the most useful remedies. There are several kit sizes available. Purchase the most extensive kit you can afford. Since the remedies, if handled properly, will last indefinitely, the kit becomes an investment of long term benefits. Hylands (www.Hylands.com) carries a kit that is well organized and economical. Consider taking a teleseminar in first aid homeopathy and purchasing a how-to book or CD. The more fleshed out your understanding of this vital discipline, the more able you’ll be to depend on its effectiveness. So the next time you hear children chant, smile and think: “I’m ready for an emergency. I have my homeopathy kit.”

Paleo v. Weston A. Price Diet

Fascinating interview. Sally Fallon Morrell explains that if you take a lot of Vitamin D (presumably D3) supplements that it depletes your Vitamin A stores. You want your Vitamin A, so don't over do it with Vitamin D3.

A lot of exercise will deplete Vitamin A.  Lean meats, Vitamin D supplements, lots of exercise, and no sources of Vitamin A in the diet.  If you take a lot of A it will deplete Vitamin D.

Loren Cardain? 

Lean meats deplete Vitamin A.

The last thing that ancient people would eat was lean meat.  They wanted the older animals--buffalo or caribou--for the build-up of fat along the spine.  These older animals would produce about 80 lbs of fat. The first thing they would do is eat the fatty organs--the brain, the liver, the tongue, and marrow, which is 90% fat.  

Lean meats were storage foods, like jerky.  Fat was poured into a bag to saturate the lean meats.

People on paleo are getting some gout because they need fats.  

Natural sources of Vitamin D?  Fats, organ meats, blood, egg yolks, fish live oils (A & D in balance). This is  Too much D without the A and K can lead to calcification of the arteries and heart disease.  

Fish oils are bad because they can go rancid easily.  Lots of polyunsaturated.  They are boiled at 230° for hours.  

Vitamin A, DHA, and EPA will be protected.  The liver is used to ferment inside the shark's stomach.  The oil from the liver of the fish is prized for its fertility capability.  Fermentation allows you to get the oil out of the cells without chemicals or without heat.

Anti-liver campaign for 40 or 60 years.  WWII pregnant women were encouraged to eat liver. Vitamin content in organ meats is 10 to 1000 times that which you'd find in muscle meats.

The best organ meats are poultry because of the nice balance of A, D, & K. Most nutritious parts of the animal.  The best are chicken, duck, goose, and turkey liver because of the nice balance of A, D, & K.  

Vitamin K, natto, soy food from Japan.

Natto

Goose liver, duck liver, and emu oil are high in vitamin K.  Hard cheese is a good source of K.  Cheese is a wonderful food for Westerners.  

Grains?  Prepare them with a fermentation process and the vitamin content goes way up.

African diet is low in protein.  But high in A, D, & K.  Lots of fermented beverages.  Really sour beverages.  Because they're fermented--a great source of K and B.  Grains are best when fermented. Eat them fermented.

Can't let the wisdom of ancient cultures die.  Human beings have eaten everything.  Throughout the world.  We like to say

Dairy--raw, full fat, pastured.  

Fermenting grains.  Oatmeal.  The night before put oatmeal in warm water with something acidic--a tablespoon of lemon, or vinegar, and leave it on the counter overnight.  Next day, cook it with salt and that oatmeal will give you a lot of energy. [PS, as of this edit (5/31/2024) I no longer eat any grains.]  Once the grains are soaked you will not have any allergic reaction to them.

Genuine sourdough, not sourdough that just adds vinegar to make it sour.  Genuine sourdough means no allergic reactions.  

Make your own bone broth.  Every culture made use of the bones--broth or ground it up.  The glycine balances the myethene in meat.  It makes it easier to deal with stress and creates mental balance.  Great for the gut to heal.  Save up bones or buy them.  Put them in the slow cooker, a splash of vinegar, and that's it.  Sauces and gravies.  Bone-based sauces make food taste delicious.  

Unrefined salt is preferred.  Even table salt is okay.  Make sure you get 1.5 tablespoons of salt.  

Carbohydrates?  A small amount is fine.  May need them for thyroid health. 

Paleo has very little calcium from plant foods.  She needed braces.  Her parents grew up on cod liver oil.  

Bone brother builds cartilage and collagen framework.  

Caffeine 

Sally Fallon Morrell writes that . . .

caffeine stresses the adrenal glands, which can weaken the corresponding muscle groups on the same neurological circuit. Caffeine can weaken the psoas muscle, also called the hip flexor. In addition, by revving up our fight or flight response, caffeine drains our healing Qi energy stores. If caffeine does not stimulate you, it’s a sign that your stress-handling system is already exhausted and is now in the danger zone. “I find that once I get my patients off caffeine for a month or more,” says Kan, “they regain the ability to produce the proper neurochemicals in response to caffeine. In other words, they start feeling jittery again (adrenaline rush) whenever they consume caffeine.” Interestingly, caffeine is the most common cross-reactor to gluten.

Lori Lipinski writes that . . .  

Caffeine stimulates the adrenal glands, leading eventually to adrenal exhaustion and symptoms like fatigue, lack of physical endurance and stamina, impaired ability to deal with stress, depressed immune system, allergic reactions, weight gain, low blood pressure, dizziness and lightheadedness or blacking out when standing up. Caffeine also stimulates the liver to release more sugar in the blood stream and further stresses the body’s delicate sugar-regulating mechanism. Besides creating major hormonal imbalances in the body, caffeine also impairs calcium absorption. This is a major concern for children who consume a lot of soft drinks while their bones are still developing.

Sally Fallon Morrell & Dr. Mary Enig write that . . . 

When people indulge in caffeine at toxic levels, the amount found in two to three cups of coffee or more, they can experience anxiety, headaches, dehydration, tremors, heart palpitations and nausea. The problem of caffeine overload is particularly harmful to still-developing teenagers and people with heart conditions. More than half the calls made to poison control centers regarding caffeine over indulgence were made on behalf of young people under the age of nineteen. Regular sodas also contain caffeine—a visit to Starbucks, a soft drink, an energy drink, a bar of chocolate can all add up to a life-threatening jolt to the adrenal glands and a trip to the emergency room.

Sylvia Onusic writes that . . . 

The average American drinks over twentysix gallons of coffee a year. Coffee contains caffeine and over three hundred other chemicals. Cola drinks also contain caffeine along with a large dose of sugar or aspartame. Caffeine is addictive, increasing homocysteine, dopamine, cortisol, energy metabolism and norephinephrine, while reducing the blood flow in the brain and decreasing serotonin levels.⁷⁵

Caffeine causes insulin spikes and increased blood sugar in diabetics or prediabetics. Caffeine will cause a small rise in blood sugar after meals. It causes urinary excretion of calcium, magnesium and potassium and thus affects brain metabolism. Caffeine is a stimulant and a diuretic. At high doses it can worsen anxiety and trigger mania or psychosis, confusion, headache, seeing flashes, psychomotor agitation and depression. 

Tom Cowan writes that . . . 

Since the adrenal glands, specifically the adrenal cortex (the outer portion of the adrenal gland), produce protective cardiotonics, an important strategy in protecting yourself against heart attack is to strengthen the ability of this important gland to work properly.

Avoid stimulants such as caffeine and related substances in coffee, tea and chocolate. Caffeine causes the adrenal medulla (the inner part of the adrenal gland) to produce adrenaline. In response, the adrenal cortex must produce a host of corticoid hormones that bring the body back into homeostasis. Repeated jolts of caffeine can lead to adrenal burnout, a situation in which the adrenal cortex is unable to produce the myriad of protective and healing substance for the body, including the cardiotonics.

Tim Boyd writes that . . . 

[Jason] Christoff goes into some detail on one chemical which most people are addicted to. Healthy plants do not suffer greatly from insects because they have a natural insecticide. Coffee plants have this. It is called caffeine. It may not kill anybody immediately but continuous accumulated exposure will cause problems eventually. Human metabolism and energy increase the same way with caffeine as with any low level poison in the system. This raises a few questions which he didn’t address. If all healthy plants have some form of natural insecticide, what are the implications for a healthy diet? Not all plants have the same effect on human metabolism as coffee so is there something else affecting us besides the insecticide component of caffeine? My curiosity is not completely satisfied here but it is an interesting point.

Julia Indichova writes that . . . 

Here is another equally troubling invitation: “Drink coffee. . . and alcohol in moderation. . .we didn’t see any effects on fertility at moderate levels of caffeine intake, which is the equivalent of three to four cups of coffee a day.” The interested reader will indeed find a number of sources documenting the adverse effects of caffeine, including higher miscarriage rates (Bolumar et al.,1997, 145(4):324-34), increased blood pressure, excessive urinary excretion of magnesium, potassium and calcium (essential nutrients for maintaining a healthy pregnancy), to name a few. And if none of these findings were convincing, when attempting to create a most welcoming environment for new life, wouldn’t it make more sense to abstain from ingesting a substance that leads to physical dependency serious enough to result in withdrawal symptoms?

Weston A. Price Foundation Administrator writes that . . . 

There has been recent interest in coffee and dark chocolate as “exemplary foods” for their antioxidant content. Dr. Weil wrote an article in Time Magazine advocating the consumption of seven or eight cups of coffee for everyone. There is a fundamental flaw in this reasoning. Yes, they do indeed provide antioxidants, but this benefit is overwhelmed in chocolate by the added sugar (the chocolate bean is bitter and it is the addition of sugar that provides its characteristic taste and makes it addictive) and the caffeine in coffee. For this reason, they are not the best sources of antioxidants.

Caffeine excites brain cells to function and consumes cellular energy, thus giving a false impression of “more energy.” This consumption of cellular energy often occurs in a person whose cells are already struggling to meet energy demands. I have seen hundreds of patients for whom these commodities are the cause of their symptoms. Of course, it depends on the individual sensitivity. I saw a polysymptomatic woman who drank two cups of coffee a day. I asked her to stop. She said, “That is absurd, my husband drinks seven cups and he is fine.” I said, “Well, you will never know unless you try it,” and she did. During the next forty-eight hours an extremely severe headache kept her in bed. The headache cleared and after that her symptoms disappeared. I admit that this was unusual but since we never know the individual biology, how many people suffer without anyone suggesting the possibility? I have seen hundreds of patients with PMS and 90 percent were addicted to chocolate and coffee. With withdrawal of the offending substances and the addition of a few vitamins, the PMS invariably disappeared.

CNSF cleans out your brain.

Obamacare Destroys Competition in Business


from Amazon . . . 

The Affordable Care Act will have a dangerous effect on the American economy. That may sound like a political stance, but it’s actually a simple financial fact borne out by economic forecasts.  In Side Effects and Complications, preeminent labor economist Casey B. Mulligan brings to light the dire economic realities that have been lost in the ideological debate over the ACA, and he offers an eye-opening and accessible look at the costs that American citizens will pay because of it.

Looking specifically at the labor market, Mulligan reveals how the costs of health care under the ACA actually create implicit taxes on individuals, as the increased costs to employers will be passed on to their employees. Mulligan shows how, as a result, millions of workers will find themselves in a situation in which full-time work, adjusted for the expense of health care, will actually pay less than part-time work or even not working at all. Analyzing the incentives—or lack thereof—for people to earn more by working more, Mulligan offers projections on how many hours people will work and how productively they will work, as well as how much they will spend in general. Using the powerful tools of economic forecasting, he then illustrates the detrimental consequences this will have on overall unemployment in the next several years.
 
Drawing on extensive knowledge of the labor market and the economic theories at its foundation, Side Effects and Complications offers a crucial wake-up call about the risks posed by the ACA for the economy. Plainly laying out the true costs of the ACA, Mulligan’s grounded and thorough predictions are something that workers and policy makers cannot afford to ignore.