Botanica WestHolistic Healing & Therapy from a Master Herbalist

Poor bone density is a real problem as we age especially during menopause and many of the medical treatments can really do a job on the digestive system. It seems the medical treatment can cause more damage to the body then the poor bone density itself!

Number one for this problem in our clinic we address the hormone imbalance itself. We have a hormone replacement specialist for bio identical hormone replacement therapy H.R.T. here on staff at the Holistic wellness center here in Calimesa. If you choose to use herbals which are less expensive and doesn’t require blood tests, we have a Chinese Acupuncturist and Native American Iridologist / Herbalist on staff as well.

There are natural supplements such as bone renew or bone rebuild by source naturals that are tummy friendly. A Chinese tea pill called “the great mender” is not only good to rebuild bones but helps renew  cartilage, sinews, muscle and repair scar tissue as well. We use this product with a Native American tea called”bone mender tea”. Eating a vegetarian diet high in calcium and fiber can also improve bone function. Avoiding high sugar diets, diet and all regular sodas is important because carbonation and sugar is known to block calcium absorption.

Dairy products are mucus causing and in excess can deplete the body of assimulative calcium absorption. In some cases cultured milk products can be helpful if you can tolerate it. See our previous article bone building healing foods. There are many medicinal herbs high in calcium as listed below. I prefer liquid herbal calcium supplements myself.

Calcium Rich Herbs

Alfalfa     Flaxseed     Parsley
Burdock Root     Green Tea     Peppermint
Boneset   Cayenne    Comfrey leaf     Hops     Plantain
Chamomile     Horsetail     Raspberry
Chickweed  dandelion   Kelp     Red Clover
Chicory     Lemongrass     Rose Hips
Dandelion     Mullein     Shepherd’s Purse
Eyebright     Nettle     Violet Leaves
Fennel Seed     Oats Straw     Yarrow
Fenugreek     Paprika     Yellow Dock

There is an old bone building soup recipe that I was taught to make many years ago that is excellent for brittle bones and the recipe is as follows.

Bone building soup Base

3 pounds bones cut up with marrow exposed

can be chicken, lamb, goat or beef

1 gallon of water

1/3 cup Apple cider vinegar

Roast bones in oven at 400 degrees for 35 minutes until browned . I place the roasted bones and  all the rest of these ingredients in my turkey roaster and cook it for 12- 24 hours until the bones are pithy or pitted. Cool,  strain and usually a quart a day is drank 5 days a week for a month. season broth to taste.

We tried this broth and brewed the bone mender tea with it and fed a 15 year old crippled Labrador for a month with great results. Can you imagine what it could do for you.

To make sure you get the proper natural treatments see your natural health care provider.

Be healthy and strong from Helene Gentili at Botanica West

A patient called today suffering with a sore throat so I slipped this article in for her today.

Sore throats are such agony! And holistically very easy to cure. You never want to let a sore throat linger because it can cause ear infection that can snowball into upper respiratory infection and then travel down into your bronchial’s.

This can all be prevented by some simple homemade gargles. The purpose of gargling is to change the P.H. in the mouth and throat so bacteria and virus’s can’t grow. You also should not feed these bacterias and virus’s by eating sweets, dairy products, simple carbohydrates, as well as fruit juices.

For beverages sip hot herbal teas or warm broth. Teas with licorice root soothe throat nicely. Hot lemon water work quite well too. In Chinese medicine they poach a pear in water, lemon, three cloves and a stick of cinnamon until very soft but still intact and you eat it very slow a spoonful at a time. It’s delicious as well as soothing.

Below are a couple of recipes to gargle with. Now the secret to ridding yourself of a sore throat is to gargle consistantly every1-2 hours.

Vinegar and salt gargle

1 Tablespoon of raw apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup very warm water

Lemon juice Gargle

juice of 1/2 a lemon

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup very warm water

Pickle or olive juice gargle

1 clove garlic crushed

2 tablespoons pickle or olive juice

1/3 cup very warm water or vodka (yeah you heard me vodka)

the problem with the last recipe I tend to always want to swallow!

If you can’t stand to gargle then suck on a kosher garlic pickle or spicy garlic olives. This works great for kids.

It’s so simple! But it works. Be healthy from Helene Gentili at Botanica West