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Tag: Immune System - Organic Lifestyle Magazine Tag: Immune System - Organic Lifestyle Magazine

How to Detoxify and Heal the Lymphatic System

We’ve all heard of the lymphatic system, but few understand how it works or why and how a properly working lymphatic system is vital to the body. The lymphatic system is a network of tissues and organs that transport lymph throughout the body. Its responsibilities include cleaning the cellular environment, returning proteins and excess tissue fluids to the blood, providing a pathway for the absorption of fats into the bloodstream, and the production and transportation of antibodies (white blood cells called lymphocytes) throughout the body to fight infection.

Our blood contains red blood cells that deliver oxygen around the body, white blood cells that fight infections, platelets that help you stop bleeding if you get a cut, and plasma.

Plasma is the liquid portion of blood. It’s a yellowish liquid in blood that suspends the red blood cells and carries nutrients and oxygen throughout the body. Plasma contains water, salt, enzymes, immunoglobulins (antibodies), hormones, clotting factors, and plasma proteins.

lymph-fluidInterstitial fluid, also known as tissue fluid, was plasma before it entered tissue. Interstitial fluid is a solution that bathes and surrounds the tissue cells.

Tissue fluid and blood are not the same, and not all of the contents of blood pass into tissue. Red blood cells, platelets, and some of the plasma proteins do not pass through capillaries. The resulting mixture that does get through is, in essence, blood plasma minus its clotting agents and some of its proteins.

Lymph was interstitial fluid before it became lymph.

Lymphatic Anatomy

Lymph CapillariesThe lymphatic system is made up of lymph capillaries, vessels, and nodes, the spleen, thymus, tonsils, Peyer’s Patches, and lymphocytes (white blood cells). Red bone marrow is also a part of the lymphatic system. We have hundreds of lymph nodes. Lymph nodes can be found all around the lungs and heart, in the gut, in the armpits and groin, and pretty much all over the body.

Blood pressure causes plasma liquid to leak into tissues, and this pressure causes excess fluid in those tissues to move into the lymph capillaries. As this fluid leaves the cells, it takes cellular waste products and used proteins with it. The lymphatic capillaries pick up approximately 20% of the fluid that was delivered to the interstitial space. The venous system picks up about 80% of the fluid in the interstitial space. The unique structure of the lymphatic capillaries permits interstitial fluid to flow into them but not out.

Blood pressure, temperature, activity of muscle and joints, diaphragmatic breathing, and pulsation of adjacent arteries all cause lymph to move up to the subclavian veins at the base of the neck. Valves and pressure keep lymph moving in the right direction. Along the way, the fluid is interrupted by lymph nodes that filter dust, cancer cells, pathogens, and other unwanted matter. Lymph nodes also produce lymphocytes (white blood cells). The spleen, tonsils, and red bone marrow help produce lymphocytes as well.

The spleen, which is about the size of our fist, is the largest lymphatic organ. It is similar in structure to a lymph node, but it filters blood, not lymph. The spleen contains two main types of tissue, white pulp and red pulp. White pulp is lymphatic tissue containing white blood cells – B and T cells. T cells attack pathogens (such as bacteria and viruses) while B cells make antibodies that fight infections.  Red pulp tissue removes old and damaged red blood cells and stores platelets. It also produces red blood cells in unborn babies and when certain diseases are present.

The thymus is both a lymphatic organ and an endocrine gland. The thymus plays a major role in immune system development, starting before birth. Unlike other organs, the thymus reaches its functional peak, and largest size, during childhood. After puberty the thymus reduces in size, replaced by fat.

Tonsils are a familiar lymphatic cluster. Their position, hanging from the mouth and pharynx, allows them to be the first line of defense against inhaled and swallowed foreign bodies and toxins.

The final goal of the lymphatic system is to recirculate lymph back into the plasma of the bloodstream. There are two specialized lymphatic structures at the end of the lymphatic system, called the lymph trunks and ducts. Lymph ducts empty lymph into one of the subclavian veins. There are two lymph ducts, the right lymphatic duct and the thoracic duct. The right drains lymph from the right upper limb, the right side of thorax, and the right halves of head and neck. The thoracic duct drains lymph into the circulatory system between the left subclavian and the left internal jugular veins.

Lymphatic trunks are large lymph vessels that made up of the convergence of many efferent lymph vessels. There are five sets of lymph trunks.

  • Jugular lymph trunks located in the neck
  • Subclavian lymph trunks located beneath the clavicle
  • Bronchomediastinal lymph trunks located in the chest
  • Lumbar lymph trunks drain lymph fluid from the legs, pelvic region, and kidneys
  • Intestinal lymph trunk receives chyle (lymph mixed with fats) from the intestines, and receives lymph from the stomach, pancreas, spleen, and the liver.

Lymphatic trunks drain lymph fluid into the lymph ducts, the final part of the lymphatic system.

For more on lymphatic system anatomy and function:

The Gastrointestinal Lymphatic System

After filtration by the lymph nodes, efferent lymphatic vessels take lymph to the end of the lymphatic system to recirculate lymph back into the plasma of the bloodstream. The intestinal lymphatic system serves vital functions in the regulation of tissue fluid homeostasis (keeping tissue properly hydrated), immune surveillance, and transportation of fats and other nutrients into plasma.

When the gut’s not healthy, the body is not healthy. A sluggish and toxic gut will slow the lymph’s ability to provide clean, infection-free blood, and fats will not as easily be absorbed and assimilated, causing weight gain and poor cellular health that can lead to an array of problems from diabetes to cancer.

Diseases and Disorders of the Lymphatic System

The lymphatic system removes infections and other toxins from the blood. A sick body is a toxic and infected (or soon to be infected) body. Arguably, most every chronic disease and every infection is indicative of an overwhelmed lymphatic system. When the system is overwhelmed, the body is overwhelmed. With any chronic illness, getting well includes improving lymphatic function.
Oedema, Edema

  • Edema, or Oedema – Swelling that results when tissues cannot drain fluid into the lymphatic system quickly enough – see image above.
  • Lymphedema – Caused by a blockage in the lymphatic system, part of the immune and circulatory systems. Lymphedema is most commonly caused by lymph node removal or damage due to cancer treatment.
  • Elephantiasis – Medically known as lymphatic filariasis, a condition characterized by enlargement of an area of the body, typically the limbs. It looks like a severe case of edema, and it is.
  • Glandular fever – A type of viral infection that mostly affects young adults. Symptoms include tender lymph nodes.
  • Hodgkin’s disease – A type of cancer of the lymphatic system.
  • Tonsillitis – Infection of the tonsils in the throat.
  • Lymphadenopathy – Occurs when the lymph nodes swell due to infections. Viral infections like measles, rubella, glandular fever, and HIV may also cause lymphadenopathy of the lymph nodes.
  • Lymphadenitis – Inflammation of the lymph nodes usually caused due to infections.
  • Filariasis – An infection of the lymphatic channels by a worm or parasite.
  • Splenomegaly – Swelling of the spleen due to a viral infection like infectious mononucleosis.
All lymphatic disorders equate to a slow moving, less efficient lymphatic system. This immediately leads to toxic blood and tissue with cancerous and otherwise sickly cells that should have been filtered out.

Symptoms of a Sluggish Lymphatic System

Humans have twice as much lymph fluid in the body as blood. Unlike the circulatory system, the lymphatic system does not have a pump. In order to move, lymph relies on blood pressure and the relaxation and the contraction of the muscles and joints. Your lymphatic system can easily become stagnant, especially when it becomes overwhelmed with toxic debris. The combination of a toxic lifestyle and lethargy is a recipe for chronic disease.

All things in nature have a natural progression. When this progression is inhibited, health deteriorates. Think of a river. A healthy river runs clean and clear compared to stagnant water. Imagine them clogged and the resulting backup. Picture an engine and car oil, and you can equate our lymphatic system to an oil filter. Imagine how sluggish and constrictive the engine would be if the oil wasn’t constantly filtered. Sluggish lymph fluid is a breeding ground for infection.

Stagnant lymph interferes with every system of the body. Because lymph cleanses nearly every cell in the body, symptoms of chronic lymph blockage are diverse. While most people prefer to identify one specific cause of a disease, there are rarely fewer than three and can often be hundreds. The point is, if the body is unhealthy, the lymph is unhealthy, too. If the body is sick, the lymph is sick, too.

Symptoms of lymphatic congestion include:

  • Rings get tight on fingers
  • Skin is puffy, showing edema
  • Soreness, stiffness, achiness in the mornings
  • Arthritis
  • Lethargic, drained, sluggishness
  • Bloating, water retention
  • Itchy skin
  • Bad skin (dryness, acne, premature aging, etc.)
  • Breast swelling or soreness with hormonal cycles
  • Brain fog
  • Cold hands and feet
  • Chronic headaches and/or migraines
  • Cellulite
  • Cancer
  • Diabetes
  • Chronic inflammation

Every one of these health concerns can be linked to other diseases as well, but any disease leads to a taxed lymphatic system, and a healthy lymphatic system is necessary to eliminate any disease.

How to Restore the Lymphatic System to Optimum Health

Doctors in Europe and in the Far East recognize the importance of lymphatic function and how it supports detoxification and every other system in the body, including the immune, digestive, and nervous systems. Natural practitioners know that poor lymph health underlies most health conditions from poor skin to cancer. By contrast, conventional practitioners in America don’t even consider the lymphatic system until a lymph deficiency shows up such as a swollen lymph node, cancer developing in a lymph gland, or obvious signs of lymph blockage. And of course, when something does go seriously wrong with the lymphatic system, western conventional doctors typically say the ailment is incurable. This is not true.

Be Careful What You Put On Your Skin

When the lymphatic system becomes sluggish it will “off-gas” through the skin. When unnatural fibers (like nylon or polyester) are worn and when chemical creams and soaps are applied to the skin, toxin release through the skin is inhibited. Much of the toxic load that should have been eliminated is re-absorbed along with some of the new toxins from the chemically laden clothes and skin products. This creates a backlog of needed detoxification.

A tight fitting bra and underwire bras will impede normal lymphatic flow. Make sure bras fit properly, and avoid underwires. Go braless whenever possible.

Wear natural fibers, and don’t put toxic chemicals on your skin. Almost every skin care product in the skincare isles is toxic. Most “all natural” moisturizer creams, and soaps are also toxic. With few exceptions (like essential oils), when it comes to skin care products, if you can’t eat it, don’t put on your skin. This also includes sunblock, deodorant, and laundry detergents.

Speaking of deodorants, they need to be all natural. Conventional deodorants, especially antiperspirants, inhibit lymph detoxification. On a side note, it’s no wonder, understanding how the body works, that antiperspirants do in fact lead to breast cancer. We need to sweat, and that sweat leads to an ecosystem of flora on the skin that can promote good health or bad health. Check out How To Make Your Own Natural Deodorant at Home. 

The same needs be said about toothpaste and mouthwash. Lose the toxic stuff. Check out Heal Cavities, Gum Disease, Naturally with Organic Oral Care – Toothpaste Recipes Included.

Holistic Organ Health

Your body is a collection of organs that ideally work in harmony with one other. The lymphatic system keeps organs healthy, but an unhealthy organ, or many unhealthy organs, will overload the lymphatic system. Most people with a slow lymphatic system have a leaky gut. In fact, most people with any health problems have a gut that is overly permeable, allowing undigested particles, and toxins to enter the blood and lymph. See Best Supplements To Kill Candida and Everything Else You Ever Wanted To Know About Fungal Infections for more on gut health.

The first step for almost anyone experiencing health problems should be to balance gut flora. If your body is toxic, your gut is toxic, and the microbes in there are not going to be your friends. As previously mentioned, the intestinal trunk receives the lymph from the stomach, intestine, pancreas, spleen, and liver. None of these organs will be well if the digestive system is in turmoil.

The diet for a healthy lymphatic system and a healthy human body includes far more fresh, raw vegetables than anything else. This how a healthy diet should look with the most often consumed foods listed first:

  • Raw, fresh vegetables and herbs
  • Raw fresh fruit
  • Cooked vegetables
  • Nuts, seeds, and legumes (all properly soaked, sprouted, etc.)
  • Brown rice, amaranth, quinoa, millet, oats
  • Meat

Obviously, meat is optional. Most of us do not get enough water. Clean water is imperative for lymphatic health, too.

Fungal Supplement Stack – Knock Out Yeast, Candida, Mold, Fungus

If you have a sluggish lymphatic system you’ve got Candida. In fact, that’s probably one of the main causes. The first three should be plenty for most people, but for really prominent fungal issues or for impatient people with a bigger budget I’d recommend all of these:

Lymphatic Detox

While there are supplements that help, a healthy body will not be achieved without the right diet. The right diet is the foundation of an effective detox. Check out Detox Cheap and Easy Without Fasting – Recipes Included for a recipe for salads and for a cranberry lemonade that will radically improve the body’s elimination of toxins. Salads, when made right, provide a plethora of synergistic nutrition that rebuilds the body while pulling out toxins (for instance, many vegetables and herbs chelate heavy metals). The cranberry lemonade, made with unsweetened cranberry juice and stevia, will help flush and detoxify the liver and kidneys, allowing the lymph to move much more freely.

Avoid all refined, processed foods. Cook and prepare all food at home. Do not eat out until all symptoms are gone and health is restored. At home, eat salads, cranberry lemonade, and fresh fruit. Make stir-frys for dinner.

Avoid vaccines, at least until the lymphatic system is running smoothly. Regardless of your vaccine stance, vaccines are toxic and they slow lymph.

The same is true for GMOs. GMOs harm healthy gut flora, and they need to be avoided. For more on vaccines and GMOs, check out People Against…

Foods That Support the Lymphatic System

Water, while not a food, is vital to life. A lack of water inhibits lymph from flowing smoothly.

Cranberries emulsify fat, which helps break down excess fat so the lymphatic vessels can carry it away. Cranberry also helps the kidneys, which helps with overall hydration. Avoid cranberry juice that has any added ingredients, and try to get some fresh, whole cranberries to juice whenever possible.

Leafy greens are cleansing. Chlorophyll, the green nutrient that captures sunlight, has powerful cleansing properties and beneficial effects on the blood and thus on lymph fluid as well. Look for dark greens like kale, spinach, wheat grass, barley grass, turnip greens, dandelion leaves, broccoli, and mustard greens.

Garlic boosts immune function, chelates heavy metals and some other toxins, and kills harmful microbes. Anything that boosts immune function will take a load off of the lymphatic system.

Ginger reduces inflammation, and like garlic, ginger is also antimicrobial.

Turmeric is related to ginger. It also helps reduce inflammation, thins the blood, improves circulation, and is a well known and very effective cancer fighter.

Fresh produce has many different benefits for the lymphatic system and the whole body, but enzymes are critical to good health. More enzymes in the diet means more enzymes are available to the body to break down food and fibrin, which allows for easier flow of blood and lymph.

Lymphatic Supplemental Support

Systemic enzymes help to restore lymphatic transport capacity and break down undesired excess proteins that contribute to swelling and inflammation. Systemic enzymes also remove debris throughout the body that slow down circulation.

Oregano oil supports digestion and the immune system. Oregano oil is absorbed directly into the lymphatic system from the digestive tract. The powerful antioxidants and antimicrobial properties can help clear up the intestinal lymph capillaries. Oregano oil also contains terpenes that dissolve fatty sludge in the lymph system and in the gall bladder.

Burdock is a powerful multi-system detoxifier that supports the liver, kidneys, digestion, and the lymphatic and endocrine systems. According to the University of Michigan Health System, burdock a blood and lymph purifier.

Wild indigo stimulates the glandular and lymphatic systems. This herb is an antimicrobial immune system modulator and lymphagogue that helps regulate immune and inflammatory responses.

Licorice root is one of the most broad-spectrum natural detoxifying agents known to herbalists. It has been said to gently rid the body of over 1,000 known toxins.

Goldenseal and astragalus are excellent lymphatic system and blood cleansers that also boost the immune system.

Echinacea alleviates congestion and swelling in the body, and it boosts the immune system. Echinacea will ward off bacterial, fungal, and viral infections. Echinacea helps strengthen certain kinds of cells in the lymph nodes called macrophages, which are responsible for getting the toxins out of the lymph.

Aloe vera is a natural cleansing food that encourages, supports, and increases lymphatic circulation.

Prickly ash bark is a traditional Native American remedy that boosts lymphatic function, stimulates digestion, and promotes joint health.

Red clover, cleavers, manjistha, bupleurum, rehmannia, and stillingia root are popular herbs for lymph stimulation and detoxification.

Other Ways to Stimulate the Lymphatic System

Get upside down. Bounce and jostle. Just move!
inversion-table

Inversion Table

An inversion table is a padded table that allows one to invert upside down while strapped in by the feet. This decompresses joints and stimulates the lymphatic and circulatory system.

Lymphatic Massage

We all love a good massage, and a massage will help with the lymphatic system. But, a lymphatic massage specifically targets the flow of lymph in the body. With rhythmic circular movements at just the right pressure to stimulate the lymph, this kind of massage can encourage lymph movement. Lymphatic massage, when done correctly, has been proven to push up to 78% of stagnant lymph back into circulation, which mobilizes toxins for clearance, lessening the burden on the body.

Dry Brushing

Dry skin brushing is a technique commonly utilized in Ayurveda for assisting in lymphatic flow. The procedure uses a dry brush with coarse bristles to brush the skin gently towards the heart. This stimulates the sweat glands, opens up skin pores, and helps remove dead skin cells as it stimulates the movement of lymph and blood in underlying organs and tissues.

Exercise

Rebounding is the practice of jumping on a trampoline for ten to thirty minutes. This stimulates the circulation of blood and lymph throughout the body. Numerous studies have proven its efficacy, and some believe there are many other benefits as well.

Other bouncing exercises like jumping rope, jumping jacks, and dance stimulate like rebounding. A hard surface makes for a better bounce to the system, but a trampoline is better for those who need to start with exercises that are more gentle.

Squats massage and stimulate internal organs and bodily systems. Humans were meant to squat and run regularly. Our body works better when we do.

Yoga increases the flow of the lymph. Inverted positions, stretching and contracting the core, and other positions involving stretching are all very beneficial to the lymphatic system.

Running and jogging get the lymph moving. Sweating and breathing heavily also improve lymph condition. Be sure to breathe properly!

How To Eliminate Chronic Illness and Heal Lymph

Here are three articles I put together on diet. This is indicative of how my family eats every single day.

We start off with cranberry lemonade and a huge salad every morning. For lunch, we sometimes do a smoothie or we snack on some nuts and/or fruit or we just finish our massive 11-cup salads. For dinner, we always cook from scratch, which takes preperation and time, but it gets easier. Rice and beans, quinoa, lentils, millet, oatmeal, and amaranth are common staples for our cooked meals. We add lots of raw vegetables and herbs to our dinners as well, for instance, the rice and beans go great with chopped tomatoes and avocado, diced onions and garlic, and shredded turmeric and ginger. Eat raw herbs and cooked herbs together for maximum health benefits.

This is truly a lifestyle, not a diet, and it’s one we live every day. You may not need to go to this extreme to rid your body of disease, but I find that most who are dealing with chronic illness need to take it this far, at least for a few months.

The salads are the most important part of this protocol. More than supplements, more than anything save getting enough water, the salads are imperative. Eat lots of it. Make sure they are diverse with at least 15 different vegetables and herbs. If you could see what packing your gut with salad does to your ecosystem under a microscope, you’d understand why I’m so passionate about them. There is nothing more beneficially life-changing than developing a salad habit when the salads are big and diverse and homemade. They do more than any supplement or any other food to clean the intestinal walls of filth and develop a beneficial gut ecosystem.

The cranberry lemonade helps keep the kidneys and liver working optimally. These organs typically get sluggish quickly when lots of Candida are killed. If salads are #1, this cranberry lemonade is #2, and supplements are a distant #3.

For those with very serious gut issues, legumes and grains will be a no-no for the first few weeks at least, but when enough salad has been consumed, the gut should be able to reap many benefits from cooked foods like the dinner meals aforementioned.

Sweet fruit should be severely limited, and for the very ill, avoided until the gut is working better. Grapefruit, cranberry, avocado, lime, and lemon do not fall under this category.

Juicing with fruits is not much better than refined sugar, so don’t make the common mistake of thinking a fresh-juice fast is going to get you well.

Now that diet is covered, here’s the supplement part:

SF722 – 5 capsules three times a day, once on an empty stomach, the other two times with or without food. SF722 kills yeast, and if you have a slow lymphatic system you have Candida!

Abzorb – take two capsules with harder to digest meals, and also take two on an empty stomach twice a day, like early morning and late night. When taken on an empty stomach the Abzorb acts as a systemic enzyme and a probitoic. When taken with food it helps digest food. Both are great.

For anyone on a tight budget I recommend putting the money to food, and if affordable, add Abzorb and SF722. That’s enough with the right diet to eliminate fungal overgrowth in almost everyone. There are some who work or live in environments that constitute more environmental stressors on the body, and therefore need a lot more help. There are also many living in areas of the country where the healthy food selection at the local grocery store is sparse. I recommend more supplements and growing your own food in such a case. And I recommend growing your own food for a hundred other reasons as well.

If you’re someone who needs more supplementation or, like me, you just tend to prefer overkill, here’s a step-by-step protocol that includes all of the previously recommended supplements, and a bit more to address Candida die off and healthy defecation.

Each day has two supplement routines that are repeated. Each supplement routine has an objective.

Clean and Gut Populate with Good Guys:

If your lymphatic system is toxic so is your gut. In fact, that’s where the toxins are most likely coming from.

On an empty stomach

Antimicrobials, Kill the Bad Guys:

Usually with food

Also, take absorb with any food that is difficult to digest.

Protocol

6am – Clean and Populate With Good Guys

Start with Abzorb and a big glass of cranberry lemonade and the

9am – Antimicrobials, Kill the Bad Guys

Salad time! The MycoPhyto Complex company recommends to take on an empty stomach, but I like it with salads and smoothies too.

12pm – Antimicrobials, Kill the Bad Guys

Homemade Smoothie Time! If you’re extremely ill you may need to wait on the smoothies and just double up on the salads for the first week, but I’ve found that many people who were suffering from a plethora of ailments and having trouble recovering responded very well to pineapple smoothies. Pineapple smoothies (made with fresh pineapple), like the ones I have recipes for in the above link, pack a massive amount of enzymes and can help break down a lot of junk in the gut, while delivering large amounts of nutrition. But, smoothies have plenty of sugar, so it’s a good time to repeat the supplements from 9am.

Use pineapple, coconut water, water, cranberry juice, or if you can withstand some sugar try granny smith apple juice, but don’t use sweet fruit juices for smoothies.

3pm -Week 1 – Antimicrobials, Kill the Bad Guys

3pm -Week 2 – Populate With Good Guys

6pm – Antimicrobials, Kill the Bad Guys

Dinner time! Everything from scratch, nothing pre-made in any way, all whole food ingredients.

9pm – Populate With Good Guys

Finish of the night with probiotic support and leave them alone for the night to do their thing.

Three More Supplements to Consider – Die-0ff, Heavy metal Detox, & Bowel Movements

If Candida die-off is a concern be sure to drink plenty of cranberry lemonade and I also recommend adding Total Nutrition Formula and the Intestinal Detox. Here’s a recipe to make your own Total Nutrition. This way you’ll get bentonite clay, charcoal, chlorella, spirulina, and more, which are all great for mitigating the die-off effects of a Candida detox, and they also chelate heavy metals.

You can take the Total Nutrition Formula with the smoothie or sprinkle it on the salad (or choke it down with water), and take the Intestinal Detox anytime throughout the day as directed.

If you’re not defecating easily and at least twice daily, I also highly recommend the Intestinal Cleanse. It kills parasites and moves the bowels better than anything else on the market that I know of, by far. I recommend taking it with the antimicrobials.

Conclusion

To help clear out a sluggish lymphatic system, get more exercise, get a good massage, eat more produce and drink lots of cranberry lemonade. For chronic illness, a holistic approach that involves fitness, diet, and supplementation is in order.

Sometimes people seem to be doing everything else right, but their bodies won’t get healthy until they start moving. For a clogged lymphatic system, exercise may be critical to get things moving freely. For most other health issues, exercise is more of an option, one with benefits but not totally necessary. If you find your lymph system to be sluggish, you need exercise. Squats, yoga, and running help detoxify the body and get lymph flowing better. Running is particularly good for the lymphatic system. We were built to run, and don’t let any doctor tell you differently. Check out Running Without Knee Pain. Both sprinting and jogging have a host of positive benefits to lymph.

The following recommended products, if used as instructed with a proper diet, will clear the lymphatic system, strengthen the immune system, and help alleviate almost all other health issues, given enough time. The supplements are listed in order of most likely to be most important. While the time varies from person to person, most feel a huge sense of rejuvenation within 3 to 10 days on this protocol.

Recommended Products:
Related Reading:
Sources:


The Amazing Benefits of Stinging Nettles, with Recipes

If I told you there was a plant that offered an amazing range of nutrients, eased allergy suffering, reduced inflammation, treated arthritis, healed rashes, cured anemia, and improved energy, you would want to know about it, right? Stinging nettles (Urtica dioica) are a superfood, super-medicine, and all around superstar of the plant world.

Nettles have a long history, appearing in the writings of the ancient Greeks, ancient Egyptians, and Roman armies. Their fibers were found in artifacts from the Bronze age and early indigenous American cultures. Nettles are found growing all over the world and in forests and fields near you. They are readily available as a bulk herb and supplement at health food stores. You can incorporate nettles in your diet by creating amazing culinary delights or by steeping them as a tea when you just feel like you need some super powers. There is a lot that you should know about nettles.

Nettles – the Super-Green Superfood!

Nettles pack a powerful punch of nutritional value, making them an excellent superfood and tonic. They contain high levels of iron, calcium, vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin K, potassium, magnesium, and more chlorophyll than almost any other plant. They have been used throughout history to restore energy to the sick and stimulate sluggish metabolic and lymphatic systems in the spring.

When consumed as a broth, tea, or even a traditional beer, nettles are an age-old cure for scurvy, anemia, low energy, and general depletion from illness or fever. Nettle tea can be extremely useful as a mother’s helper to bolster prenatal nutrition and to increase milk production for breastfeeding. The high nutrient content, combined with all the other positive benefits, makes nettles a worthy daily health supplement. Whether this is in the form of a capsule, tincture, or fresh herb, it’s a good way to ensure you are taking care of yourself.

Nettles as All Around Medicine

Stinging nettle is one of those plants I like to call “Nature’s medicine chest.” It addresses such a wide variety of ailments both internally and topically, that it is always worth having on hand. Aside from the more prevalent treatments for arthritis and allergies, nettles act as an anti-inflammatory agent, addressing a variety of related conditions from sore muscles to gastrointestinal discomfort. The diuretic properties of nettles make them a useful treatment for urinary tract infections, issues with the bladder and kidneys, and enlarged prostate (BPH) for men. A reliable women’s health herb throughout the entire reproductive

Nettles alleviate a variety of issues encountered during menstruation, pregnancy, the postpartum period, and menopause making them a reliable women’s health herb for the entire reproductive cycle.

It is also thought that nettles aid in reducing blood pressure and lowering blood sugar. Externally, nettles treat eczema, burns, rashes, hives, and stimulate hair growth. As an astringent, it stops bleeding and can be applied in a powdered form to arrest nosebleeds. When it comes down to it, nettles belong in your medicine cabinet in some form, much like band-aids. Really.

Nettles as Arthritis Treatment

Although the sting of the stinging nettle is uncomfortable when you encounter it out on a walk, the prickly hairs on the stem and leaves actually reduce the pain and swelling of arthritis. If you pick  nettles with your bare hands, your fingertips may be numb for hours afterward. Urtification, or basically flogging the affected area with stinging nettles, is a practice documented over the last two thousand years. Research has shown that the “sting” of nettles both interferes with pain signals in the body and releases anti-inflammatory compounds to treat arthritic conditions. Taken internally, nettles have been found to support bone and joint health, deliver a healthy dose of boron, balance hormones that affect arthritic conditions, and flush uric acid buildup from the affected joint areas. With plenty of not-so-great-for-you pain relief available these days, it’s nice to have this natural, safe, herbal go-to available for daily management.

Nettles as Allergy Treatment

For a large number of the population suffering from allergies and hay fever, nettles can be a great ally. It is most commonly taken in the form of freeze-dried capsules during periods of seasonal allergies, to reduce inflammation of the affected tissues. Nettles are thought to reduce the histamine levels produced by the body as an allergy response, thus alleviating the allergy symptoms. Many people have reported that itchy eyes, sneezing, runny noses, and stuffy sinuses are treated as effectively, if not more so, by stinging nettle than over the counter allergy medications. They will also leave you feeling energized rather than drowsy. I have always thought it was a wonderful coincidence that nettles start growing in the spring just as pollens are coming out, and continue into the summer and height of pollen season.

Benefits and Use of Stinging Nettles for Other Ailments

Stinging nettles are a blood purifying, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, detoxifying antioxidant with more health benefits than we can list.

  • May treat many skin problems from acne to eczema
  • Stimulates lymph system
  • Stimulates immune system
  • Support adrenal glands
  • Supports thyroid
  • Supports prostate
  • Supports the spleen
  • Supports the pancreas
  • Supports entire endocrine system (hormonal system, glands)
  • Good for menstrual cramps, bloating, PMS
  • Relieves menopausal symptoms
  • Relieves arthritis symptoms
  • Promotes release of uric acid from joints
  • Supports the kidneys
  • May break down kidney stones
  • Helps with respiratory tract infections and respiratory inflammation
  • Helps asthma sufferers
  • Strengthens the fetus in pregnant women
  • Promotes milk production for breastfeeding
  • Improves blood clotting
  • Relieves pain and symptoms from osteoarthritis
  • Reduces inflammation
  • Reduces likelihood of prostate cancer
  • Eliminates allergic rhinitis
  • Reduces hypertension
  • May reduce nausea
  • Alleviates diarrhea
  • Helps with gastrointestinal disease, IBS, and constipation
  • Reduces gingivitis (when used in mouth)
  • Removes and helps prevents plaque buildup (when used in mouth)
  • Has been shown to help treat Alzheimer’s disease
  • Provides relief for neurological disorders like MS, ALS, and sciatica
  • Destroys intestinal worms and other parasites
  • It’s antifungal. Kills Candida along with other yeast and fungi

How to Find Nettles

Nettles can be found growing in moist soils at the edge of forests, in fields, along ditches and near streams or marshy areas. With a good plant ID guide and advice from local foragers, you can venture out and gather your own nettles all through the spring months. You can also purchase nettle seeds from heirloom seed companies and plant them in your garden. I have found that the rhizomes from wild nettle patches transplant nicely into my garden. They love my compost pile. With a little water, you can keep them going through the summer. Nettles are very easy to dry and use throughout the rest of the year when they aren’t found growing outside. If you do not have access to foraging areas or garden space, you can always purchase dried nettle leaf and a variety of nettle supplements. In the Spring, grocery stores will sometimes carry fresh, wildcrafted nettles.

Wellness Nettle Broth Recipe

I have found when I am feeling under the weather, or I am just in need of some solidly green food at the end of the winter, a nettle broth is perfect. It leaves me feeling healthy and energized.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups of fresh stinging nettle tips (or 1 cup dried)
  • 1 medium onion finely chopped
  • 4-5 cloves fresh minced garlic
  • 2 Tbs fresh grated ginger root
  • 1 burdock root peeled and chopped fine (or 4 Tbs dried)
  • 4 cups vegetable broth, miso broth, or bone broth
  • 1 Tbs olive oil
  • dash of tamari or Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
  • salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, sauté onions until translucent. Add burdock root, garlic, and ginger and sauté a few more minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil. Add nettles, turn down to a simmer, and stir occasionally until the nettles are soft and fully cooked. (This breaks down the prickly hairs, and your tongue will thank you.) Add tamari or Bragg’s and season to taste.

Stinging Nettle Homemade Toothpaste Recipe

The boron in stinging nettles is an essential element for bone health that helps bones and teeth retain calcium. Therefore, it is a great addition to homemade toothpaste.

Homemade toothpaste is easy. If you don’t have one of the ingredients, leave it out or substitute something similar. Mix it up, and experiment.

  • 2 Tbsp nettle powder
  • 1 tsp Irish moss powder
  • 1 tsp bladderwrack powder
  • 1 drops liquid stevia
  • 5 drops peppermint essential oil
  • 1 tsp unrefined sea salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda

Add dry ingredients together and mix. Add wet ingredients and a little bit of distilled water to get your desired consistency.

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Elderberries for Winter Health – With Elderberry Syrup Recipe

With wintertime comes cold and flu season and a general strain on the immune system. Our bodies work harder to regulate temperature in the cold, our immune systems are taxed, and we spend more time indoors in close quarters, exposing ourselves to a variety of illnesses. Fortunately, there are many things you can do to lend your immune system a helping hand, and one of my favorites is the elderberry.

The berries and flowers of black elderberry not only have immune boosting properties, they are highly nutritious and make an excellent cold and flu remedy. This is a good plant to become familiar with for your winter health, whether it’s found in the wild or the vitamin aisle of your grocery store. It will quickly become one of your go-to natural remedies. They are aptly named Elder, with an extensive record of their use in cultures throughout history. Evidence of use has been found in Stone Age archeological sites. Sambucus nigra, the plant’s scientific name, appears in the writing of the ancient Greeks.

Elderberry as Medicine

Elderberry can be taken as a natural medicine in many forms, including tinctures, syrups, extracts, and lozenges. The berries can be used as a dietary supplement in the form of jam, syrup, and a variety of beverages. It is important to note that unless fully cooked, the berries contain compounds that can be toxic, so never eat them raw.

Elderberries are very nutritious, with high levels of phosphorous, potassium, antioxidants, and vitamin C. They contain anti-viral and anti-inflammatory properties and offer overall support for the immune system.

Taking elderberry daily is an excellent preventative measure during cold and flu season, and taking elderberry as a treatment will shorten the duration of the flu and relieve the swelling of nasal passages accompanying a head cold.

The diaphoretic properties of elderberry induce sweating and assist in breaking fevers. Hot spiced elderberry wine was a common winter beverage in London, which is not surprising as hot elderberry broths are a traditional preparation for winter wellness. Topically, elderberry can be used as a poultice to reduce inflammation. This plant is truly a natural medicine chest.

Wildcrafting Elderberry

If you live in an area where black elderberry grows wild, you can gather the berries when they are ripe in the fall. It works best to take garden pruners and clip off the sprays of berries at the base into a bucket or basket. Pulling the berries off the stems takes some effort, but if you get a few people working together it turns the work into fun. I have actually had friends bring their elderberry harvest to a party, and by the end of the evening, everyone was joining in to help them. Once off the stems, you can freeze the berries in quart freezer bags to use throughout the year.

I like to simmer elderberries down into a syrup to take by the spoonful as a cold season supplement or to pour on pancakes. You can also preserve elderberry syrup, jam, or jelly in glass jars using basic canning instructions. I am a big fan of the Pomona’s Pectin recipes because they allow for alternative sweeteners in varying amounts. Additionally, elderberries make a delicious wine, and can be brewed in a tea with ginger for making a winter kombucha.

Growing Elderberry

Elderberries are fairly easy to grow in your backyard from seeds or starts, and they make an attractive landscape plant that is beneficial for wildlife. (Don’t worry, there will be plenty of berries to share!) You can plant whole berries in pots after harvesting in the fall, and with consistent watering, they will sprout into starts that can be planted early in the spring. They also propagate well from cuttings.

Native plant nurseries have them available as potted starts in many areas, and they should be able to give information about successful planting tips for your USDA zone.

Elderberries generally like well-drained soil and plenty of water in the first couple of years to get established. They can be planted as a hedge or single shrub, and under the right conditions, they can grow into small trees. Another benefit of growing elderberry in your yard is that bees and pollinators love the flowers. You really can’t go wrong with native plants.

A Simple Elderberry Syrup Recipe

Of the many forms to incorporate elderberries in my winter health regimen, syrup is by far my favorite. There is just something comforting about rich, purple elderberry syrup on a cold day or when you are feeling under the weather.

You can purchase these syrups already made as dietary supplements, or you can make your own. If you don’t have access to fresh elderberries, many bulk herb companies sell them dried.

Local honey lends a little sweetness to the tart flavor with the added benefit of antibacterial properties for your immune system. This tried-and-true recipe is very simple and stores well with refrigeration.

Ingredients:

    • 1 cup black elderberries
    • 2 cups water
    • up to 1 cup raw honey

Put fresh, frozen, or dried black elderberries in a saucepan with water and bring to a boil. If you are using dried, you may want to slightly increase water. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 40 minutes. Strain berry pulp through a sieve or cheesecloth and discard. Stir honey into the remaining liquid, once cooled to around 100°F.

You can keep the syrup in the refrigerator up to 3 months, or can it in small jars following instructions in a canning guide. Take as a daily immune boosting supplement or enjoy on pancakes as a delicious and healthy treat!

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The Phantom Menace – The Superbug

It sounds like the latest Star Wars movie or a villain from Marvel Comics, but this “phantom menace” is not fiction. It’s a deadly superbug with a twist. Classified as a Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, or CRE, this class of bacteria is not only antibiotic resistant to last-resort antibiotics, it has the ability to pass on its antibiotic resistance to other bacteria in the body. Like other superbugs, the phantom menace is associated with healthcare centers (like hospitals, nursing homes, and long-term care facilities) and results in a high mortality rate of 50% or more.

From 2010 through 2015, the CDC has confirmed 43 phantom menace cases in the U.S. from 19 states. The CDC reports that the majority of patients were exposed and infected outside of the United States. While 43 is a very small number, the CDC is concerned because they believe this is just the tip of the iceberg. These types of superbugs are believed to be on the rise and under diagnosed.

The phantom menace bacteria pass on antibiotic resistance through a plasmid, a small DNA molecule with the ability to replicate independently. It includes an enzyme that breaks down antibiotics. It is this plasmid that can transfer antibiotic resistance to other bacteria in our bodies. Basically, the non-superbug bacteria become infected with a resistant gene from the superbug bacteria and then continue spreading the resistant gene creating new strains of superbugs.

The worst-case scenario is not far fetched. The Washing Post quotes Lance Price, director of the Antibiotic Resistance Action Center at George Washington University’s Milken Institute of Public Health, as saying, “History shows that these mobile resistance genes can spread around the world quickly, silently riding in people, animals and food.”

The superbug gene, MCR-1, is becoming more common in China and has recently shown up in Demark, fueling the concern that it will spread worldwide. Researchers in China tested marketplace meats and slaughterhouse pigs looking for the gene. It was found in 20% of the pigs and 15% of the meat.

Once again this very real threat is man-made. Researchers have concluded that drugs given the pigs in China provided the breeding grounds for the bacteria. If we continue the inhumane and dangerous practice of factory farming, feeding animals both prophylactic and indicated antibiotics, we will continue to breed new threats to worldwide health.

If we as individuals continue to use antibiotics when they are not needed along with antibiotic soaps, hand wipes, and cleaning solutions, we are part of the problem. We are aiding bacteria in their natural progression toward antibiotic resistance.

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Post Halloween Sugar Blues

So you took your little ones out for a night of door-to-door begging and came home with a load of candy. Once your little darlings were tucked into bed you sorted through the hoard, convincing yourself that your only goal was to toss out the worst of it, the crap candy no one should ever feed a child. But let’s face it, you were also picking out the miniature candy bars and eating them yourself, knowing you only have a year or two at the most before the jig is up and your kids will know exactly how many pieces of candy they scored.

Now that Halloween is over, how do you feel? Are your sinuses aching? How about your gums? Any old injuries reminding you that you are getting on in the years? Any joint pain? Any signs of a viral, bacterial, or fungal infection anywhere in your body?

When we deal with aches and pains or a sudden illness after a holiday, we are quick to blame either stress or the weather. The truth is, it’s probably the sugar.

Sugar does two things: it devastates the immune system for 2-3 days and it feeds Candida (and other fungi), bad bacteria, and viruses. If you’ve been eating well and correcting the balance of good bacteria to bad bacteria and yeast in your gut, you just undid a lot of hard work because your bad bacteria and yeast were just given a feast. All through your body where you have scar tissue or a tendency for chronic infection, you have a little more yeast than you want to have. These guys just enjoyed a feast and exploded exponentially. That’s why your old sports injury hurts or your sinuses have flared up again.

So what do you do now? Eat right!

Time for Salads

If you think a salad means lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers, think again. A real salad, a healthy salad, an amazing salad, is a feast of raw, fresh, organic veggies. This salad filled with 10-12 veggies (or more) will not only be the most nutrient rich meal you can eat, it is also exactly what your gut needs to regain balance.

Raw vegetables are prebiotic. They (and their roughage) feed and house healthy bacteria in your gut and help them to multiply. This healthy bacteria keeps bad bacteria and fungi in check.

See the first link below for suggested ingredients for the perfect salad.

Supplements

If you’ve sent Candida into mass production through your sugar consumption diet is key but supplements can help. A good probiotic and a great supplement to kill Candida will hurry up the process.

Another Consideration

Now that you are understanding how much havoc sugar wreaks on your system, why are you feeding it to your children? Eliminate processed sugar and high fructose corn syrup from their diet. Both were already horrible for everyone’s health, but now they are worse – both are usually genetically modified. (GM sugar beets and corn). It’s time we step up and make new traditions for our families that do not include unhealthy food. Check out Gluten, Candida, Leaky Gut Syndrome, and Autoimmune Diseases for more information on gut health and disease.

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Stay Healthy After an Unhealthy Thanksgiving

So you’ve eaten your fill and then some. Maybe you had about seven too many glasses of wine or beer. Between the cranberry sauce, the sweet potato casserole, the eggnog, the pies, the cookies, the candy, the punch, and the alcohol, you’ve ingested more sugar in one day than you usually eat in a month. Did you know that eating refined sugar, even small amounts of any refined sugar (but especially conventional sugar), will cripple your immune system for 48-72 hours? In addition, bad bacteria, viruses, and Candida love sugar. It feeds them! So while you’re binging on sweets, they’re having their own little party and mass multiplying. Not only are your defenses down for the pathogens already in your body, it’s flu and cold season and you are being bombarded with pathogens every single day. Here are a few things you can do to help your immune system bounce back faster.

Repopulate Your Gut With Healthy Bacteria

The first and most important action you can take is to eat nutrient dense, prebiotic foods to aid your gut in its efforts to regain proper balance. Eat lots of whole, fresh, raw vegetables and fruits (more vegetables than fruits). The healthiest diet consists of 80% fresh, raw, organic produce each day. The fiber helps to cleanse the gut and it provides the best environment for healthy, beneficial bacteria to thrive.

You may need to be eat probiotic foods as well, fermented foods that will help repopulate the beneficial bacteria. Consider probiotic supplements, too. Supplements that kill Candida, like undecylenic acid, will be beneficial as well.

Support Your Immune System With the Right Food and Supplements

In addition to prebiotic and probiotic foods, there are several foods that will aid your immune system in fighting pathogens.

Garlic is antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral, without harming beneficial bacteria. Add raw garlic to your salads or your salad dressing to get the most benefit.

Oranges, grapefruit, lemons, limes, kiwis, mangoes, papayas, strawberries, pineapple, red peppers, green peppers, chili peppers, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, and kale are all great sources of vitamin C. If you would like to supplement with vitamin C, try saving your organic citrus peels! Simply dehydrate them and grind them up.

Echinacea and vitamin D also strengthen the immune system.

Get Enough Sleep, Exercise, and Water

Of course, you should always make sure to get enough sleep and exercise. Too often during the holidays we push ourselves too far, too fast, trying to please everyone, and ignoring our own needs. The one thing a four-day holiday weekend gives us is the time to relax and the time to catch up on sleep.

Go for walks, dance, tumble with the kids or grandkids, use a rebounder, or jump rope. Do something to get your lymph moving. And squat! Do bodyweight squats. They not only build total body strength; squats also benefit internal organs, and they cause the body to produce large amounts of beneficial hormones.

This is also a good time to drink lots of water. Or, even better, try the cranberry stevia lemonade recipe (see the first source link below).

Step by Step

We have a tendency to ignore our health around the holidays, putting it off good behavior for our New Year’s resolutions. If you take really good care of yourself for the next few days or the next week, you may find you like the added benefit of more energy, fewer aches and pains, and a happier digestive system. Maybe you might just roll on into the next holiday right through to New Year’s with a resolution to make this change permanent instead of temporary.

  1. Eat salads with lots of vegetables and fresh garlic
  2. Eat 80% raw fresh produce
  3. Do body-weight squats (if you can’t squat, try sitting and standing repeatedly with a chair)
  4. Kill Candida and balance your inner eco-system
  5. Bullet Proof your immune system
  6. And last but not least, drink lots of water!
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Make Your Immune System Bulletproof with These Natural Remedies

You don’t have to catch the next flu. You can stop the next cold before it gets started. All you need is the right diet and a strong, healthy immune system.

Contents:

Yes, I know. We have all met one or more people who eat crap and still never get sick. Chances are they were born with a good, healthy immune system and their parents fed them right. Now they are tearing down their immune systems. Their luck won’t last forever.

There are also people who don’t get sick because they take such good care of themselves that their body is not a suitable host for infection. Bacteria and viruses can’t get a foothold. When pathogens invade the body, the immune system kills them so quickly that very healthy people aren’t even aware the battle took place.

Then there are people who eat pretty well and usually get enough sleep, but sometimes, every now and then, they still get sick.

With the right combination of supplements, in most cases, you can knock out, or radically lessen the severity of an infection. If an illness is caught early enough, even people who eat a lousy diet can treat it with the right supplements before they feel really sick.

Before we get into infection remedies, let’s be clear that we are talking about viruses, bacteria, fungus, and most of the parasites that make us sick. Believe it or not, candida (a type of fungus) can give us the same symptoms as a bacterial or viral infection, and many times people have multiple infections at once causing flu-like symptoms. The only way to properly prepare your immune system to be as strong as possible is to have a diet and supplement regimen to address not just viruses, but all the other infectious organisms as well. The good news is that there are many different herbs and foods that none of these invaders and pathogens like.

Recommended: How To Heal Your Gut

The Foundation – Foods, Herbs, and Diet for the Immune System

Infection wants an easy host. An easy host does not eat a healthy diet filled with lots of raw, fresh, organic produce, full of enzymes and vitamins. To be healthy, eat a salad every day with raw garlic. If garlic makes your breath stink, it’s time to detox and get yourself healthy. Toxic body = garlic breath. Don’t eat processed foods, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, trans fats, or GMO foods. Don’t eat any food with artificial colors, flavorings, or preservatives or MSG.

Recommended:

If you can’t grow your own ultra healthy produce at home, and you don’t have access to the best nutrient dense produce year around, take a really good whole food multivitamin with lots of easily assimilated vitamin C. It’s not important how much of any one vitamin there is, what matters is that the nutrients can be properly and easily assimilated. Take a separate vitamin D supplement, too.

Check out Make Your Own Nutrition Formula and Homemade Vitamin C.

Also see Total Nutrition Formula, vitamin D, and vitamin C (Total Nutrition Formula is a better source of vitamin C than any pills we know of).

If your throat gets itchy at all, your breath smells stale, or your sinuses feel overly sensitive, sip on apple cider vinegar all day. If you need to speak to anyone up close, stop sipping for ten minutes or so beforehand. The vinegar will make your breath smell like an old shoe, for just a bit.

Drink plenty of fluids. Stevia-sweetened cranberry lemonade with cayenne will help detoxify and flush the system while making the body extremely inhospitable to infection (cayenne, cranberry, and lemonade are all very good at fighting off sickness).

If there is any sign of a cold or infection coming on, don’t use cough drops, or nasal spray, or any over the counter medications. Stay away from anything sweet, even fruit (besides stevia, green apples, berries, and watermelon).

That’s the foundation. With good sleep habits and a nearly perfect diet, there’s no getting sick.

Stepping It Up a Notch With the Real Flu Shots

If you have access to a juice press, the best flu shots in the world are available to you. If you are making sure your immune system is combat ready, it is not time to juice carrots, beets, or apples. They have too much sugar. Juice ginger, turmeric, lemon, wheat grass, and cranberry (if you can’t get fresh cranberries, get organic not-from-concentrate), 2 ounces each. Take them all as individual shots. You could mix them up and chug it all down at once, but my tummy revolted when I tried this. Sometimes I will juice a granny smith apple with these tonics for palatability, but only one apple.

Do these shots in the morning on an empty stomach for a multitude of benefits, including a stronger immune system. Make sure it’s all organic of course. Nothing I know of sets the day off better. Well… okay, almost nothing.

The Big Guns – Bulletproof Your Immune System with the Most Powerful Herbs

Good echinacea, the pure, clean, and potent kind that makes your tongue feel as fuzzy as a shag carpet, will help knock out a viral infection all by itself in some cases. When you combine echinacea with vitamin C and elderberry, flu and colds don’t stand a chance. Echinacea strengthens the entire immune system, but it’s better not to take it for more than a week at a time, as it loses its effectiveness if you take it for more than 7 days straight. Wait at least 5 days before taking it again.

Goldenseal is antiviral and anti-parasitic. It’s also a powerful blood cleanser. Coptis chinensis, also known as goldenthread, is a very powerful aid to detoxification. It helps keep the lymph glands clean and running smoothly, and it’s antibacterial, antiviral, antiparasitic, and antifungal. I get these supplements into my system by taking, Shillington’s Blood Detox, MicroDefense, black cumin seed oil, coptis chinensis, elderberry, and I also recommend Shillington’s Total Tonic formula which you can make it yourself pretty easily. Here’s the recipe for total tonic:

Doc Shillington’s Total Tonic Recipe (or purchase here)

  • 1 handful of garlic cloves
  • 1 handful of chopped onions
  • 1 handful of chopped ginger
  • 1 handful of chopped horseradish
  • 1/2 handful of chopped habanero peppers
  • Raw apple cider vinegar

Throw in a blender and cover with an inch or two of organic raw apple cider vinegar. All ingredients should be organic, but don’t let that stop you from making this great formula (as long as the garlic is not from China). You can use the mash right away or wait two weeks and allow it to turn into a tincture.

Update: We recently started selling Mother Earth Organic Root Cider. I like this much better than Total Tonic. It’s harsh, it’s potent, it’s not my idea of a delicious refreshing drink, but if you sip throughout the day the results are truly amazing. This cider really helps keep the sinuses and throat from getting infected. Here’s my review.

Kill the Bastards

If I feel like I am coming down with something I add oil of oregano and I increase the dosage for Blood Detox and MicroDefense. I also increase my garlic intake substantially and make sure I’m eating a salad like this every day. This will pretty much kill anything we don’t want in our gut (and some stuff we do want), as well as aid in killing any microorganisms anywhere in the body. It pretty much makes the body totally inhospitable to foreign invaders.

And last, but certainly not least, if you have a chronic sinus infection, consider Shillington’s Herbal Snuff. This is the herbal remedy that proves Doc Shillington is a sadist.

Doc Shillington’s Herbal Snuff Recipe (or purchase here)

A part is a measurement by volume (cups, tbsp, etc.)

  • 7 parts goldenseal root powder
  • 7 parts bayberry bark powder
  • 1 part cayenne pepper powder
  • 1 part garlic powder

All the above must be ground up very finely. It is best to use habanero cayenne as it is the hottest. Mix it very well as a clump of cayenne could keep your eyes in tears for an hour. It won’t hurt you, though.

Menu

When allergies are starting, or a sinus infection is trying to set in (or both), perfumes and sugary odors can make you nauseated or cause unusually intense cravings. Things that normally wouldn’t bother can smell very stale and overpowering. This is a sign that it’s time for Herbal Snuff. You snort it. Just a tiny bit. Get it up both nostrils quick before you change your mind. It hurts. It sucks. But it clears out the sinuses like nothing else.

When using oil of oregano and garlic to balance the gut, or Herbal Snuff to eliminate sinus infections, the diet needs to be clean and at least some of the aforementioned practices should be utilized. If someone uses herbal snuff to prevent a sinus infection or a sore throat (sore throats are typically caused by sinus infections), while eating food that promotes infection, it is likely that lung infections like pneumonia will set in very quickly. Eating poor quality food can wreak havoc on the intestines of someone that has taken antibiotics, and oil of oregano and garlic are pretty strong, all natural, antibiotics.

If you don’t get sick, are you healthy? Some people have a genetically gifted immune system, and some people may have emotional makeups that help keep them from getting sick (mind over matter is powerful medicine). This doesn’t necessarily mean these people are healthy. Anyone who doesn’t eat extremely well would benefit from regular detoxification, which is something your body does at all times on its own when it’s healthy and is fed a truly healthy diet.

For those who don’t take care of themselves, getting sick is a very good way to detoxify. For someone who doesn’t eat as well as they should, and/or doesn’t get enough sleep, getting sick is a way of taking out the garbage. Parasites, viruses, bacteria, and candida need weak cells to feed off of and to make a home. A poor diet, lack of sleep, and habits like drinking or smoking cause malfunctioning cells to develop. To use the methods that prevent infection, and to do so repeatedly, without taking care of oneself, can lead to serious illness such as cancer, or autoimmune disease.

Disease suppression is dangerous in the long run, even with all natural, perfectly safe remedies. With that in mind, if you need to make it through a stressful situation when the weather is changing and you know you won’t get enough sleep for a while, and the food situation won’t be ideal for periods (this certainly happens to me with business from time to time) without getting sick under any circumstances, then this protocol is what you need. On the other hand, these practices can also be used while detoxifying to strengthen the detox and to lessen the side effects and reduce the likelihood of a weakened immune system and getting sick.

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