Headaches

That persistent pain in your head presents a big problem for a lot of people.  Headaches can be a difficult puzzle to unravel- and when you're in the thick of one, sometimes you'd rather cut your head off than try to unravel the Gordian knot.  Let's be pro-active, and present some practical solutions.

• Drink some water.  The Army instructs soldiers that most headaches are simply dehydration.  Personally, I've found that drinking all the water I can handle at once seems to cure that kind of headache in about a half hour. Translation:  down about 3-4 cups of water quickly.
• Go to a chiropractor.  They can do some amazing things for the body.  If the problem is a skeletal one, they are great at fixing the spine.  Proper alignment of the spine then goes deeper, allowing the body to function optimally once again. 
• Look for signs of food allergies.  This requires some willingness to pay attention to your body.  If you notice that your pulse rate shoots up (80 beats or more per minute), or is irregular (beat-beat---pause-beat) 15 minutes or so after eating a particular food, then you likely have a problem with it and need to eliminate it. Which food?  That'll take some detective work.  Please don't convince yourself, "I just have a high pulse rate"-- normal pulse beats are 60-70 bpm.  A high pulse signals something is wrong.
• Avoid Soy and MSG.  They are huge headache-makers.  My husband reacted violently to both of these triggers with severe migraines.  Eliminating them from our diet really helped his headaches.
• Check for mold.  Mold and fungus exposure will bring on headaches, too (along with a host of other problems!).  Mold is everywhere, but it doesn't have to live in your home and make you sick.  Check pipes, furnace, A/C unit for water leaks.  Roof leaks will cause mold to grow in your attic.  And of course, clean the mold out of your bathtub.  Every time water hits a mold site, spores (with their own toxins) spray into the air and creep into your body.  Ewww! 
• Get an evaluation by a dentist specializing in TMJ treatment.  Injuries to the face or jaw, improper bite, car accidents, even a forceps delivery can all cause your Temporo-Mandibular Joint to wear away and become misaligned.  Damage to that joint can cause all kinds of trouble:  ringing in the ears, snoring, shoulder & neck pain, difficulty swallowing, vertigo, hearing loss, and of course, the typical clicking and popping noises when opening and closing the mouth-- not to mention headaches.  Treatment can include getting braces and/or wearing a specially made bite splint.  It certainly worked for me!
• Fix your stress.  Eliminate the stress wherever you can, but don't stress about it!  At the very least, prepare to get a good night's sleep by turning off light-makers.  TV, video games, and computers all emit a lot of light.  Light signals the body to stay awake.  Slow down-- allow the body to rest before dropping into a coma.  Too much stress and not enough rest is a headache cocktail.  It gets my husband all the time.  
• Pray about it.  It's amazing that God answers our prayers.  I've gathered my children around me during my times of sickness and asked them to pray.  One by one, oldest to youngest, they have interceded and God has answered.  I firmly believe that God loves to answer the prayers of children- to grow their faith- and mine.  We do this for all prayer requests.  It's a beautiful thing, indeed.

A quick fix for your headache- after drinking lots of water- might include peppermint essential oil applied to the top of the head and the bottom of the foot.  But, please-- be practical, and get to the source of your headache.

**Thanks to Christy K. for suggesting this post.  Be well!!

White Willow Bark

Today I had a headache from too much teenage drama.  A few tears, some stress, then a post-nap headache.  I didn't have time to deal with it before I had to leave, so I had to wait it out for two very long hours, hoping it would go on its own.  But no-  I was forced to deal with it.

I thought I would give White Willow Bark a go.  I've used it before with good success.  Compared to aspirin, it takes longer to work, but the benefits outweigh aspirin, and the effects last longer.

Aspirin v. White Willow Bark
Why not just use aspirin, like everybody else?  For a number of good reasons.  Firstly, it's a whole product, unlike aspirin which is an isolated compound with additives to buffer the wickedly bitter taste.  As a whole herb, there are more benefits in the complex compounds.  There are antioxidants in there- a real plus.  It's antiseptic, too- meaning that it fights infection.  Inflammation is reduced, and that helps with many problems, including osteoarthritis and low back pain.  To top it off, it will actually boost the immune system, helping the body to protect itself from attack by infectious agents.  Did I mention it cures headaches?

Dosage
One capsule every six hours.  You could make a tea from it, but I'd rather just take a capsule than drink the stuff!

Contraindications

Anticoagulants (blood-thinning medications) -- Willow bark may strengthen the effects of drugs and herbs with blood-thinning properties, and increase the risk of bleeding.

Beta blockers -- including Atenolol (Tenormin), Metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol-XL), Propranolol (Inderal, Inderal LA). Willow bark may make these drugs less effective.

Diuretics (water pills) -- Willow bark may make these drugs less effective.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs -- including ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) and naproxen (Aleve). Taking willow bark with these drugs may increase risk of stomach bleeding.

Methotrexate and phenytoin (Dilantin) -- Willow may increase levels of these drugs in the body, resulting in toxic levels  
--Courtesy of University of Maryland Medical Center

 (But we don't take drugs, now, do we?!?)

It's been an hour since I took the White Willow Bark, and I feel a lot better.  The headache gradually subsided, and the inflammation is gone.  I like this herb.

These statements have been approved by Mom at practical-health.  Feel free to comment!

How To Look Old

If you're 13 years old, this might sound really interesting to you; but if you're 35 years old, you probably are more interested in an article entitled, How To Look Young!!  Since we adults don't relish the idea of looking old before our time, the following information might surprise you- a lot.

Eat Soy
Consuming soy in any of these various forms- as lecithin, soy milk, soy protein, soybean oil, some types of TVP (textured vegetable protein), soya, edamame- will add five years to your overall look, according to an article on Dr. Mercola's website.   Soy is a known allergen- that's why it's listed on the label- but you might not be aware of how it can be affecting you.  It can cause major disruptions in the body:  everything from endocrine problems to headaches to infertility.  It seems that most people are unaware of how it affects them.  My husband suffers terrible migraines whenever he eats too much soy.  Uncovering that fact was a major breakthrough.  Now we avoid it like the plague, but it is very hard because nearly everything has soy in one form or another.

Use Chemical Creams, Lotions, Sprays, Make-up, etc. on Your Skin
Read the labels.  If it contains ingredients you can't pronounce or wouldn't eat, it will eventually cause harm.  There are many natural alternatives, and eventually, I'll share some products that I have found to work well.  Skin is permeable, meaning that it isn't truly solid.  Stuff gets through the skin and into your cells, doing a lot of damage.  I remember hearing about a guy who used to do a cool party trick; he'd pour dry cleaning fluid onto his hand, then show people how it would drip through his hand.  EWWWW!!  (I wonder how long it took for him to develop... something terrible!?)  As for make-up, I heard that the average woman wears five pounds of make-up a year.  And every woman knows that much of that make-up soaks into our skin.  Most importantly, make-up is mostly all chemicals, and therefore toxic.

Eat Processed Food
Any food not made from scratch is gonna have chemicals in it.  Fresh, raw food tastes so much better without all those chemicals.  After I had baked my first cake from scratch, my friend Cheryl told me, "Your liver will thank you!"  The liver is where all the toxins go to get filtered from the body.  When the liver gets overloaded, eyes get blue shadows or rings under them, a.k.a., "raccoon eyes".  Additionally, you feel sluggish and tired.  (Milk Thistle herb cleanses the liver very nicely.)  Processed food will add lovely pounds to your bathroom scale, too.

Use Chemicals For Cleaning
Skin is permeable, and those chemicals easily get into your body as you touch them and inhale them.  Vinegar and baking soda work great on most surfaces.  Microfiber cloths work superbly for dusting- no spray required.

I surely could go on, but change usually happens little by little.  People need a reason to change, too.   I've heard it said that "people only change when it costs them too much not to change."  That was me-- my health was failing, and I needed a change big time.  I have put all the above into practice in my own life.  Guess what??  It worked!!