Aid Recovery from Alcohol Abuse with a Nourishing Diet

(NaturalNews) Nearly everyone that abuses alcohol is malnourished. This leads to serious health risks. The good news is recovery and future health can be greatly enhanced with the right nutrition.

Nearly 14 million people in the United States abuse alcohol. That is 1 in every 13 adults. Cirrhosis of the liver resulting from alcohol abuse is among the 10 leading causes of death in the United States. Worldwide, 3.6% of cancer cases are alcohol related and that is a modest statistic.

95% of alcohol consumed must be metabolized in the liver. This process requires a lot of work and becomes a priority above other necessary functions.

Alcohol abuse can also lead to dehydration, anemia, osteoporosis, leaky gut syndrome, ulcers, pancreatitis, gallstones and cardiovascular disease. And it increases the risk of hypoglycemia, diabetes and neuropathy due to nerve damage.

Almost all alcoholic drinkers are malnourished and nutritional deficiency becomes serious. Alcohol robs the body of needed nutrients and interrupts vital functions. Many of the health problems that may occur are due to the depletion of needed minerals and vitamins. These may include calcium, potassium, magnesium, zinc, vitamin C and most of the B vitamins. With liver impairment absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K is also reduced. The body receives a lot of calories and little nutrition. Cells weaken from starvation and become prone to disease.

Alcohol is a simple sugar that is rapidly absorbed. It contains empty calories and coverts to fat. One beer has around the same instant caloric value of 10 teaspoons of white sugar.

It can be a dual addiction of both alcohol and sugar. It's the reason many newly recovering alcoholics find they have a craving for sweets. If sugar is avoided when drinking stops the cravings for the sugar will diminish in a few weeks and usually disappear altogether after several months. However, if sugar consumption continues, the fluctuating blood sugar levels can trigger cravings for alcohol.

Diet and supplement therapy can play a big role in physical recovery. The use of plenty of fluids, alkaline foods and additional vitamins and minerals eases the initial detox. Adding more vitamin C and a B complex along with some specific minerals such as calcium, magnesium and potassium can help to replenish the body of these depleted nutrients. The amino acid L-glutamine is also useful to reduce cravings.

The body will begin to eliminate the alcohol and other toxins and it will also begin breaking down some of the fat. Due to fluctuating blood sugar levels, some basic hypoglycemic protocols are suggested. This means avoiding sweets and refined foods. The more processed foods avoided the better.

The right foods can help to stabilize blood sugar and counter cravings. Protein and complex carbohydrates are needed. This would include a variety of vegetables and leafy greens with the addition of fruit, legumes, organic cheese, beans and whole grains such as brown rice, wild rice and quinoa. Some healthy fats to add (in modest amounts) can be olive oil, nuts, seeds, flaxseed and avocados. It's also important to get a lot of fluids. Drinking water throughout the day will help the process of moving alcohol and its by-products out of the body and aid in hydration.

A diet full of the nutrients can help to minimize some of the potential problems that can surface due to alcohol abuse. Following these suggestions can reduce cravings, aid in the physical recovery process and move you toward vibrant health.

By: Linda Carlson

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I found out that a close friend of one of my niece's died on Saturday in a car accident that involved a drunk driver. While reading about it I came across this video. I have never seen a commercial quite like it and believe that everyone should watch it, especially people who drink.

Eleny

Craft Your Own Lip Balm

Lip balm is truly one of the easiest and most inexpensive products to create. Not only is crafting your own surprisingly simple, you'll have full control over all of the ingredients and the satisfaction of knowing that you're putting pure, natural, and organic elements on your lips!

Three recipes are listed below, but feel free to experiment and create your own! See our guide at the end for tips on making your own recipes.

Mandarin Nutmeg Lip Balm

This sweet, citrusy, and warming lip balm has just a hint of spice. Made with Mandarin and Nutmeg essential oils, Mango Butter, Sunflower oil, and other botanical ingredients.

1 Tablespoon Mango Butter
2 Tablespoons Sunflower Oil
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Beeswax
15 drops Mandarin Essential Oil
5 drops Nutmeg Essential Oil
A few drops of Vitamin E Oil (optional, but recommended)

Lip balm preparation: Coarsely chop the beeswax or use beeswax pastilles. Place beeswax, butter, and oils in a small pot or glass Pyrex measuring cup and gently heat in the top of a double boiler until the beeswax and butters have melted. Once melted, remove from the stovetop and add essential oils and Vitamin E Oil. Immediately pour the mixture into lip balm containers. You can purchase lip balm tubes and jars, or you can reuse glass or plastic containers. Allow to cool completely before placing caps onto the lip balm containers. Your lip balm is finished! You can now add labels, ribbons, twine, or any other decorative elements. Makes approximately 1.5 oz of lip balm, enough to fill 10 lip balm tubes, 6 of our 1/4 oz plastic jars, or 3 1/2 oz tins or plastic jars.

Learn more @ Mountain Rose Herb.

Natural remedies for a Cold and Flu

Herbs for Cold and Flu

Ah, winter. Yes, it's cold and flu season again and you're looking for some relief. Although colds and flus are caused by different types of viruses, both can leave you feeling tired, coughing, feverish, achy and foggy-headed.

You've probably discovered that conventional medicine has little to offer the bleary-eyed sufferer. Over-the-counter remedies such as aspirin, and even prescription drugs, only suppress symptoms; they don't cure the illness or make you well any faster. While antihistamines dry sinuses, they can also irritate your nose and throat and prolong the infection. As for antibiotics, including penicillin, they don't target viruses at all and should only be prescribed if a bacterial infection follows the cold or flu.

Simply suppressing symptoms can impair your body's natural ability to fend off disease. Symptoms tell you what's wrong and what to do about it. Headaches, sore muscles and feeling tired indicate that you need rest, and fever or indigestion is a sign to eat lightly.

Herbal treatments help your body heal itself and boost natural immunity. Your cold or flu probably won't disappear immediately, but chances are you will get well sooner and more completely. Then, when next winter rolls along, you may be less likely to pick up a cold. You'll find plenty of herbal cold and flu remedies in the health-food store, or follow my simple recipes to make your own. In either case, have these remedies on hand in your medicine cabinet so that when the next cold or flu strikes, you'll be prepared.

Antiviral herbs

Researchers have discovered that some herbs destroy viruses, and they're studying ways to turn these herbs into pharmaceuticals. But you needn't wait. Among the herbs that have already been found to inhibit viruses, including the flu, are Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) and Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus). Also packing an antiviral punch are Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis), Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis), Peppermint (Mentha piperita) and Tea Tree (Melaleuca alternifolia). All of these herbs also foil bacteria responsible for infections of the throat, lungs, sinuses, ears and eyes that often tag on the heels of a cold or flu. In addition, they relax coughing spasms, aid digestion, and lower a fever by encouraging circulation and sweating. Tannin compounds found in other herbs such as White Oak bark (Quercus alba) and Bayberry (Myrica cerifera) destroy flu and other types of viruses, so it's no wonder they are traditional cold and flu treatments. You can even eat your way to good health by seasoning your food with Garlic (Allium sativum), Thyme (Thymus vulgaris), Marjoram (Origanum majorana), Cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) and Black Pepper (Piper nigrum) to eradicate viral and bacterial infections. Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is not only antiviral, it also lowers fevers and reduces muscle soreness.

If you are looking for ways to make the medicine go down easier, mix cold and flu herbs with virus-fighting apple or grape juice. You can also make your own Ginger ale by adding sparkling bottled water to Ginger tea. Or, try Elderberry (Sambucus nigra), which is not only sold as a part of herbal formulas but as pleasant-tasting tonic juice. Researcher Madeleine Mumcuoglu first learned about Elderberries' long history of use as a flu remedy from her mentor, Jean Linderman, Ph.D., who found that the berries help prevent the flu virus from invading healthy cells. Flu sufferers in her study got better faster with Elderberry compared to drug medications.

Learn more @ Mountain Rose Herb.

Animaniacs Be Careful What you Eat

Animaniacs Be Careful What you Eat
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Junk science alert: researchers declare alternative therapies dangerous to children based on scant evidence

(NaturalNews) The headline emblazoned across a new British Medical Journal (BMJ) press release proclaims this alarming warning: Complementary medicines can be dangerous for children! But when you look at the proof that's supposedly been found documenting life-threatening dangers of complementary and alternative therapies, guess what? It simply isn't there.

Here are the facts: Australian researchers have just published their findings in the BMJ's Archives of Disease in Childhood showing complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is inherently dangerous for youngsters. Their supposed evidence consists of this: a few poorly documented reports of CAM side effects that were turned in to the Australian Pediatric Surveillance Unit between 2001 and 2003.

During these years, only 46 instances of adverse events (ranging from side effects like constipation, allergic reactions, mouth ulcers, and vomiting to seizures and four deaths) associated with alternative and complementary therapies were reported. And out of these, there were only 39 questionnaires about treatments and symptoms that were completed by parents and/or doctors.

The reports included children from birth up to the age of 16. About 64% of the supposed CAM reactions were rated as severe, life threatening or fatal. That sounds like a huge number until you remember that out of all the youngsters treated with CAM in Australia (who probably number in the tens of millions), only 39 problems were documented over the course of several years for this study. What's more, less than half (44%) of the children's doctors were willing to say they thought their patients had been harmed by a failure to use conventional treatment in favor of CAM therapies.

In over three quarters of cases (77%), the adverse events were considered to be probably or definitely related to CAM. However, the terms "related" and "associated" used in the study imply links but do not mean there was a direct cause and effect between CAM treatments and the symptoms and outcomes. Yet, the Australian research team manages to squeeze this conclusion out of their scant facts: complementary therapies "...can even prove fatal, if substituted for conventional medicine."

One of the most tragic cases reported that the Australian researchers tried to blame on CAM involved the death of a 10 month old child who developed septic shock (a potentially lethal drop in blood pressure due to widespread infection in the blood). The Australian researchers stated this happened "after being treated with homeopathy and a restricted diet for chronic eczema". While the baby no doubt needed appropriate medical care to fight the out-of-control infection, it is common sense that the initial illness was most likely due to bacteria entering the bloodstream through skin which was raw from eczema. Yet the way the research article is written gives the impression that CAM itself was the primary culprit in the death.

Moreover, there is no mention in the article that mainstream conventional drugs might actually have played a role in the baby's death. A 2009 study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology by the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood found that when antibiotics are used in the first year of life, they cause an increased risk of eczema. Had the baby ever been treated with prescription meds before his parents turned to CAM? Could earlier mainstream treatments have played a role in the eczema and later death instead of (or in addition to) any alternative treatments? Unfortunately, these kinds of details are not revealed in the anti-CAM study.

While no one wants children to suffer due to inappropriate treatments administered by parents, alternative health practitioners or doctors, clearly a sample of less than four dozen cases of youngsters experiencing side effects from complementary therapies over the course of a few years and a study that doesn't compare side effects and fatal outcome rates of prescription drugs and other mainstream medical treatments to more natural approaches should not be considered the definitive statement on the supposed life-threatening dangers of CAM.

Perhaps the most obvious flaw in the Australian study is that while it reports the four possible CAM related deaths as a dire example of deadly consequences of alternative and complementary medicine, it totally ignores the fact that conventional Big Pharma drugs directly cause the deaths of over 100,000 people of all ages each year in the U.S. alone. In fact, pharmaceutical therapies are causing problems of catastrophic proportions -- one person dies every five minutes from mainstream medical drugs, not from CAM (http://www.naturalnews.com/024052_d...).

And children are often the most vulnerable victims. Hundreds of deaths of youngsters diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) who were put on powerful stimulants such as Ritalin have been reported to the FDA MedWatch program, for example. In 2006, the FDA finally administered strong warnings for some of these drugs as horrendous real side effects (including serious psychotic problems, heart attacks, and fatal heart arrhythmias) became obvious.

Another case in point: over 300 people, including children, die in the U.S. from penicillin allergies each year. But there is no available data showing that 300 people are dying in the U.S. or Australia from CAM allergic reactions.

The new study also doesn't cite other Australian research presented by University of Sydney researchers at a conference of the International Pharmaceutical Federation earlier this year showing that children are being put at serious risk from the use of widely-available medicines for fever, coughs and colds. That study showed a far bigger problem with cough and cold medicines than with CAM therapies -- 48 per cent of calls in 2008 to the New South Wales Poisons Information Centre, which receives all out of hours calls from around Australia, concerned accidental overdose in children in from mainstream over-the-counter medicines, with 15 per cent of the kids so ill they had to be admitted to hospitals.

"CAM use has the potential to cause significant morbidity and fatal adverse outcomes," the authors of the latest study, from the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, concluded.

But the truth is, there's much more hard evidence that there are far more common and better documented dangers to kids than any CAM therapies. For example, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) warned earlier this year that every five days, a child in the U.S. chokes to death while eating hot dogs, candies and marshmallows; even more die after swallowing toys and balloons.

By: S. L. Baker

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Health Benefits of Cayenne Pepper

What are the health benefits of cayenne pepper? How do cayenne peppers help you, if at all, with your weight loss diet regime?

The purported health benefits of cayenne are almost too unbelieveable, but its reputation keeps growing among medical researchers as well as alternative health afficionados and deservedly so. It can do everything from kill cancer cells in the prostate, lungs, and pancreas to immediately stop a heart attack within 30 seconds.

Let's get into some of the specifics of cayenne pepper benefits. Cayenne pepper (or cayanne pepper as it's sometimes spelled as) increases metabolism by immediately influencing the venous structure. It is nothing short of amazing with its effects on the circulatory system as it feeds the vital elements into the cell structure of capillaries, veins, arteries and helps adjust blood pressure to normal levels.

Yes, cayenne pepper for high blood pressure is certainly one of its core uses, but cayenne cleans the arteries as well, helping to rid the body of the bad LDL cholesterol and triglycerides. Considering that heart disease is the number one killer in America, this is significant.

Cayenne is also great for the stomach and the intestinal tract. It stimulates the peristaltic motion of the intestines and aids in assimilation and elimination. When taken internally, it warms the body and has even been used by some herbalist doctors to help heal and rebuild flesh due to frostbite.

Notwithstanding its hot taste, paradoxically it is actually superb for rebuilding the tissue in the stomach, facilitating healing with stomach and intestinal ulcers. Cayenne pepper for ulcers is not something most would have considered but I can testify to that remarkability capability of cayenne.

Cayenne Pepper and Heart Health

Yes, the effect of cayenne pepper on your body is dramatic, even literally instant and no more so than with the heart. Cayenne pepper's benefits is one of the things that brought you to this article so now let’s discuss the phenomenal healing properties of cayenne pepper with the human heart.

Dr. John Christopher, the famed natural herbalist, was persecuted relentlessly by the government for his practice of herbal medicine all the while assisting patients in curing heart disease, cancer, tuberculosis, infertility, rheumatism, leukemia, and every other incurable under the sun.

One of his greatest stories in his long career was how he could instantly stop a heart attack if he could get the patient to drink a glass of warm cayenne water. He said, "A teaspoon of cayenne should bring the patient out of the heart attack."

Learn more here.

Health Benefits of Honey and Cinnamon

It is found that a mixture of Honey and Cinnamon cures most of the diseases. Honey is produced in most of the countries of the world. Ayurvedic as well as Yunani medicine have been using honey as a vital medicine for centuries. Scientists of today also accept honey as a very effective medicine for all kinds of diseases. Honey can be used without any side effects for any kind of diseases. Today's science says that even though honey is sweet, if taken in the right dosage as a medicine, it does not harm diabetic patients.

Weekly World News, a magazine in Canada, on its issue dated 17 January, 1995 has given the following list of diseases that can be cured by Honey and Cinnamon as researched by western scientists.

HEART DISEASES: Make a paste of honey and cinnamon powder, apply on bread, chappati, or other bread, instead of jelly and jam and eat it regularly for breakfast. It reduces the cholesterol in the arteries and saves the patient from heart attack. Also those who already had an attack, if they do this process daily, they are kept miles away from the next attack.

Regular use of the above process relieves loss of breath and strengthens the heartbeat. In America and Canada, various nursing homes have treated patients successfully and have found that as age the arteries and veins lose their flexibility and get clogged; honey and cinnamon revitalizes the arteries and veins.

INSECT BITES: Take one part honey to two parts of lukewarm water and add a small teaspoon of cinnamon powder, make a paste and massage it on the itching part of the body slowly. It is noticed that the pain recedes within a minute or two.

ARTHRITIS: Arthritis patients may take daily, morning and night, one cup of hot water with two spoons of honey and one small teaspoon of cinnamon powder. If taken regularly even chronic arthritis can be cured.

In a recent research conducted at the Copenhagen University, it was found that when the doctors treated their patients with a mixture of one tablespoon Honey and half teaspoon Cinnamon powder before breakfast, they found that within a week out of the 200 people so treated practically 73 patients were totally relieved of pain and within a month, mostly all the patients who could not walk or move around because of arthritis started walking without pain.

HAIR LOSS: Those suffering from hair loss or baldness, may apply a paste of hot olive oil, one tablespoon of honey, one teaspoon of cinnamon powder before bath and keep it for approx. 15 min. and then wash the hair. It was found to be effective even if kept on for 5 minutes.

BLADDER INFECTIONS: Take two tablespoons of cinnamon powder and one teaspoon of honey in a glass of lukewarm water and drink it. It destroys the germs in the bladder.

TOOTHACHE: Make a paste of one teaspoon of cinnamon powder and five teaspoons of honey and apply on the aching tooth. This may be applied 3 times a day till the tooth stops aching.

CHOLESTEROL: Two tablespoons of honey and three teaspoons of Cinnamon Powder
mixed in 16 ounces of tea water, given to a cholesterol patient, was found to
reduce the level of cholesterol in the blood by 10% within 2 hours. As mentioned for arthritic patients, if taken 3 times a day, any Chronic cholesterol is cured. As per information received in the said journal, pure honey taken with food daily relieves complaints of cholesterol.

COLDS: Those suffering from common or severe colds should take one tablespoon lukewarm honey with 1/4 spoon cinnamon powder daily for 3 days. This process will cure most chronic cough, cold and clear the sinuses.

INFERTILITY: Yunani and Ayurvedic Medicine have been using honey for thousands of years to strengthen the semen of men. If impotent men regularly take two tablespoon of honey before going to sleep, their problem will be solved.

In China, Japan and Far-East countries, women, who do not conceive and need to strengthen the uterus, have been taking cinnamon powder for centuries. Women who
cannot conceive may take a pinch of cinnamon powder in half teaspoon of honey
and apply it on the gums frequently throughout the day, so that it slowly mixes with the saliva and enters the body.

A couple in Maryland, USA, had no children for 14 years and had lost hope of having a child of their own. When told about this process, husband and wife started taking honey and cinnamon as stated above; the wife conceived after a few months and had twins at full term.

UPSET STOMACH: Honey taken with cinnamon powder cures stomachache and also clears stomach ulcers from the root.

GAS: According to the studies done in India & Japan, it is revealed that if honey is taken with cinnamon powder the stomach is relieved of gas.

IMMUNE SYSTEM: Daily use of honey and cinnamon powder strengthens the immune system and protects the body from bacteria and viral attacks. Scientists have found that honey has various vitamins and iron in large amounts. Constant use of honey strengthens the white blood corpuscles to fight bacteria and viral diseases.

INDIGESTION: Cinnamon powder sprinkled on two tablespoons of honey taken before food, relieves acidity and digests the heaviest of meals.

INFLUENZA: A scientist in Spain has proved that honey contains a natural ingredient, which kills the influenza germs and saves the patient from flu.

Read the full article here.