Herbal Medicine Cabinet

As I've done more and more research on the effects of drugs...

.....No, not recreational drugs.....I wish!

Not really. I won't put NutraSweet in my body much less something some dude with no teeth cooked up in his trailer house! As a funny aside, I live in a small, rural town. The weekly county paper had a report about a kid that was injured when his house blew up in a hair coloring accident.

Hair coloring accident?!?!?!??
I was thinking 'What the heck was that kid coloring his hair with anyway??? THAT'S the news report right there!! THIS JUST IN Ladies stop coloring your hair until we figure out what's making it blow up your house!!'
Turns out as I'm sure you've already figured out, that was no hair coloring accident. Kid was cookin up some meth.

I know, I know all you english teachers out there are about to have a hyperventilation fit because I left a sentence fragment at the beginning of this post so I can tell you about the meth kid with funky looking hair.

Its okay, seriously. I'm coming back to it *looking at my watch* right about......NOW!

As I do more and more research about the effects of drugs it makes me realize that I want to use them less and less. (Whew! feeling better?) So I put together the staples from my medicine cabinet which really arent in my medical cabinet at all! These things are scattered all about my house, mostly in the kitchen. These are the basics and with them you can treat almost any malady you have.

Let me first tell you what you don't see.

Bandaids - of course we should all have bandaids and I don't think I need to tell you how to use them....right?

Apirin or Ibuprofen - We do occasionally use them. In fact, I thought I was getting sick yesterday. I was achy all day. It started with a stiff neck and shoulders and moved into a headache. I think I just slept funny because it was cold. In fact, I'm wearing ski bibs today and everyone is making fun of me asking if we're going skiing. I can't help it. I live in Texas. I'm a summer girl! Anyway, I took an Ibuprofen and BAM! achiness gone.

Monavie - We drink Monavie everyday for the anti-oxidants and it makes my knees feel good. If we feel like we're coming down with something we chug it. If you want to try it, we're distributors. You can order it from my website on the right hand side bar.

Thats really it for what I didn't take a picture of.

Heres what the rest of it is.

Neti Pot - You use it to rinse out the nasal passages and sinuses with salt water. Salt water is also great to gargle with if you have a sore throat. If you want to know more about the neti pot click Here.

Aloe Vera - I use the plant when I burn myself (which oddly, I do frequently when I'm cooking.) I break the leaves and rub the juice on the burn. It works wonderfully!

Calendula ointment - Same as with the aloe. Its great for scrapes, burns, rashes, and other skin irritations

Arnica Cream - You're gonna love me for this one! Its like IcyHot, but without the Icy and the Hot. It really works great for muscle and joint aches and pains. You can't really feel anything when you rub it on but it really works. I fractured my pelvis when I was thrown from an unbroke horse. I used the heck out of my arnica and I continued to teach yoga and Tae Kwon Do (even sparred!) and continued to work cleaning pools. A nurse friend found out about it and screamed "You're supposed to be on bedrest!!" I said, as I was down blocking waiting to be thrown by her to the ground in TKD "Yeah, well, good luck to me, because that was weeks ago!"

Gas Stop - Uhhhhh, yeah.....I think you got that one, right? Shall I explain? I don't think I really need to but here goes.......It. uh. stops. gassiness....If you need more than that, leave a comment.

Crystallized Ginger - I like to take a little piece and nibble it if I'm feeling queasy. It just takes a little to work. Ginger is also good for other things as well. If you want to know more about the benefits of ginger click Here.

Traditional Medicinals Ginger Aid tea - Same principle as the crystallized ginger but in a tea form.

Traditional Medicinals Throat Coat tea - Good for minor throat irritations. These are what's in it:
Medicinal ingredients: Each tea bag (2.0g) contains: organic licorice root* (Glycyrrhiza glabra) 420 mg, organic wild cherry bark (Prunus serotina) 340 mg, organic bitter fennel fruit (Foeniculum vulgare) 300 mg, organic marshmallow root (Althaea officinalis) 120 mg, organic slippery elm bark (Ulmus rubra) 100 mg.

Non-medicinal ingredients: organic cinnamon bark (Cinnamomum spp.), organic sweet orange peel (Citrus sinensis).
I like Traditional Medicinals because they are fair trade and organic.

Yogi Stress Relief tea - It has kava kava in it. It helps reduce anxiety. I live with a Type A personality and this helps me to relax so I don't kill him in a horrible, knitting accident. Its okay, he knows. In fact, I'm now thinking that maybe it should be HIM drinking it, not me. One of these days, he's going to disappear and "I'm not going to know what happened". Its okay. He knows that too. We've been married for 21 years and we work together. If you want to know how that works read This. But, back to the kava kava, its a little hard on the liver. So, don't drink it a lot. If, like me, you live with a Type A personality, do what I do, Yoga and martial arts where you can relax and beat the crap out of bags, and then go home to your loving spouse. They'll be spared the horrible knitting accident and you'll be spared years of inprisonment. Of course, I won't be inprisoned because as I've stated "I won't know what happened."

Yogi Bedtime tea - This is fantastic if you have trouble sleeping, It contains valerian, chamomile, hops and other calming herbs. Chamomile helps you fall asleep while valerian helps you stay asleep. Honey before bed helps too, as does a shot of Monavie. It has to do with blood sugars. You can also learn more about that Right Here.

I also use Burts Bees lip balm for chapped lips.

That's about all we use to stay healthy. Its so much more body friendly than using drugs. Did you know that according to FoodMatters, prescription drugs AS PRESCRIBED BY YOUR DOCTOR is the number one killer of people. Not to mention all the nasty side effects of pharmaceuticals.

If you're looking to create an herbal medicine cabinet or just supplement whatcha got, this is a good start. If you have anything to add let me know.

This post is linked to Food Renegade's Fight Back Friday, Farmgirl Hop, and frugally sustainable.