Ice packs, hot and cold compresses, medicated baths and other forms of water therapy were mainstays of folk medicine for centuries.

Today, high-tech medicine has eclipsed water-based treatments. Yet these treatments—safe, inexpensive and easy to use—remain valuable tools for easing discomfort caused by common ailments.

We all know how relaxing a warm bath can be. But not everyone realizes that even greater benefits can be reaped by adding natural ingredients to the water.

Apple cider vinegar. Add a cup to bathwater, and splash a handful over your shoulders, back and chest. That will invigorate you when you’re fatigued.

This technique also helps restore the skin’s germ-killing natural acidity, which is continually washed away by bathing. To soothe poison ivy or sunburn, add two cups of vinegar.

Bran. A bran bath eases itching, soothes dermatitis or other skin irritations and eliminates scaly patches.

Sew several handfuls of wheat or oat bran into a cheesecloth pouch. Soak the pouch in hot water for several minutes, then place in a tub filled with tepid water. Squeeze the pouch until the water turns milky.

Pine extract. One capful in a warm bath helps open clogged pores, speeds healing of rashes and relieves muscle fatigue.

Pine extract is available at many drugstores and health-food stores. Do not confuse it with pine cleanser, which will irritate the skin.

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The health benefits from drinking coffee continue to be reported—and to the extent where they almost seem too good to actually be true.

Coffee decreases diabetes risk. Drinking six cups a day slashed risk of diabetes by 54% for men and 30% for women in an 18-year Harvard study. Even drinking only one cup a day was found to reduce risk by several percent.

At least six additional studies indicate coffee drinkers reduce their risk of Parkinson’s disease by up to 80%.

And other studies have reported that drinking at least two cups of coffee a day can reduce risk of colon cancer by 25%, risk of gallstones by 50% and risk of liver cirrhosis by 80%.

There’s even evidence that coffee drinking offsets some of the health damage caused by smoking and excessive drinking—those who engage in such health vices but also drink coffee have been reported to suffer less heart and liver damage than those who don’t.

And other studies have indicated coffee may help to control asthma, relieve headaches, lift spirits and even prevent cavities.

Coffee can also increase athletic performance and endurance—until recently, it was a controlled substance at the Olympic Games.

Moreover, coffee is even good for children. One study in Brazil indicated that children (age 12 average) who drank coffee with milk were less prone to depression and were more alert in school. No study indicates that coffee consumed in reasonable amounts is in any way harmful for children.

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dream: Your house is on fire, but you can’t get in to rescue your family. Or you know that a plane is about to crash, but you can’t do anything to help. The more you try, the more panicky you feel.

alternate versions: You lose your driver’s license, wallet, purse or passport…or your car isn’t where you parked it.

meaning : These dreams indicate high levels of anxiety about things beyond your control. They are very common when the economy takes a downturn and companies downsize.

The “unable to rescue” versions are more common among men…the “loss of identity” versions are more common among women.

what you can do: Make a plan to reduce the anxiety that this dream reflects. Evaluate your options and search for opportunities. Also exercise and/or meditate to relieve stress.

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Your aim is to think of nothing. If thoughts intrude, don’t worry—and don’t try to force them to stop. Gently return your attention to the experience of silence.

trap: The more you fight to control your thoughts, the harder your thoughts will resist you. Instead, just observe the thoughts as if they were passing by in the distance.

After meditating for 10 minutes or so, open your eyes. Wiggle your fingers and toes, open and close your fists. Take a deep breath. Stretch your arms and legs. Your yoga session is over.

As you become more skilled at meditation, you should be able to remember and reproduce the feeling at will—to achieve instant relaxation anytime, anywhere.

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In both women and men, these conditions generally are caused by poor dietary absorption of minerals. To help, add one teaspoon of any type of vinegar to four ounces of water and drink during each meal. As an alternative, simply eat a salad with a vinegar-based dressing whenever you can. Vinegar’s acidity will help your digestive tract to draw minerals from your food and make them more available for absorption into your bloodstream.

Women with bacterial or yeast vaginitis respond well and quickly to treatment with vinegar. Douche with a vdn-egar-and-water solution two times per day for up to five days. Purchase Massengill’s premixed plain vinegar douching solution in disposable bottles. Or you can douche with your own solution, using one tablespoon white vinegar per six ounces warm water.

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Besides the carefully manufactured wheat germ oil, there is also available a fortifying and body-building tonic called Vitaforce. This product is especially appreciated by those who have a sensitive liver and wish to use a good food supplement. It is a natural product, whose carefully balanced combination of ingredients is the result of exhaustive research, containing mainly sea buckthorn juice, orange juice, wheat germ and malt extracts, honey, bee pollen and the effective ingredients of a tropical fruit called durian {Durio zibethinus). The combination is a concentrated food supplement ideal for fortifying and maintaining the muscle tone and the functions of the sex glands. The effective ingredients of Vitaforce make

it an excellent tonic for all those who work hard, and particularly those who use up more energy than most, such as athletes. The tonic compensates for the high loss of energy.

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Of course, the modern treatment is much milder than the old-fashioned methods. In the old days a white-hot iron was passed quickly over the affected area in order to induce stimulation or revulsion. Nowadays pungent roots containing mainly mustard oil, are used instead. First, hot compresses are applied to the area to be cured, then the grated roots are rubbed in, bandaged with cotton to keep warm and left to act for 4-5 hours. The active substances contained in the root pulp induce powerful stimulation, making the blood circulate vigorously in the area. The body responds by sending a great detachment of leucocytes and lymphocytes to the spot, so that an artificially induced inflammation breaks out. The purpose is to rally all available forces in the body. Congested blood vessels, tiny thromboses, toxins and metabolic wastes are dislodged and excreted. If the treatment is done properly, it is possible to cure old and even chronic disorders.

Some years ago I had the opportunity to give such a treatment with complete success. One day an old man from the Jura mountains came to see me about his leg, which the doctors were intending to amputate. The stimulating treatment I gave him opened up an ulcer on his leg that had been a long-standing problem. You should have seen the quantity of blood and pus that burst forth! And then the pain subsided all at once. Needless to say, after this thorough cleansing action the wound began to heal and the old watchmaker’s leg was soon as good as new.

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In a series of experiments some animals were given food that did not contain vitamin A, resulting in the development of gravel and stones in the kidneys. To eliminate the stones, they were then given food rich in vitamin A. The experiments were indeed successful and the elimination was confirmed by means of X-ray pictures. This is a clear warning to us never to go without food that is rich in vitamin A.

Other symptoms of vitamin A deficiency are bleeding gums, which are more frequently seen in the spring, and blue-red spots in the skin, which occur when blood seeps into the tissues as a result of leaking blood vessels caused by the deficiency. These undesirable blue-red spots show up mainly in the legs, where they can eventually turn into ulcers. Vitamin A deficiency can also lead to a loss of appetite and the limbs feeling as heavy as lead. In some cases frequent nose bleeds are experienced or existing piles begin to bleed slightly; these symptoms are often accompanied by cardiac insufficiency.

Scurvy used to make itself known with similar symptoms, posing great problems to ships’ crews for a long time, until the importance of vitamin Ñ was discovered. Sauerkraut then came to the rescue. The great seafarer James Cook used it successfully to keep his crews free from scurvy, and others later followed his example. Instead of sauerkraut you can eat white cabbage salad, flavoured with a little lemon juice; the effect is the same.

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This is one of the remedies that is greatly misused by orthodox medicine, insofar as it is given in large material doses. Professor Bier has promoted the success of potassium iodide and has proved that it is one of the best expectorants for catarrh and will even arrest the development of catarrh if used in the strengths 4x and even 6x.

Those who are predisposed to rheumatism and chesty colds will find Kali iodatum 4x an excellent and speedy means of help, even for bronchial and pulmonary catarrh. Even chronic cases respond favourably to the remedy. Kali iodatum is indicated for post-pneumonia treatment, in cases where phlegm is still present and seems to sit deep in the chest, threatening to develop into consumption. The best results are obtained when it is alternated with raw pine bud syrup or Imperatoria (imperial masterwort).

As a final observation, the main effect of kelp can no doubt be ascribed to its content of Kalium iodatum.

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Although a certain German pharmaceutical company mentions the use of only ripe papaya in their product, the real medicinal effect is not obtained from ripe fruits. The curative properties, especially papain, are found in the unripe fruit, the seeds and leaves. Papain can be obtained by scratching the skin of unripe fruits. Immediately, a white juice oozes from the incision, similar to latex in a rubber tree. Left to dry, this milky juice becomes a yellowish rubbery substance – raw papain. This is an excellent remedy, employed to deal with two specific problems. First of all, it kills – or rather, digests – all intestinal parasites that usually settle in the large and small intestines. So if you eat a piece of papaya leaf after every meal, as I used to do, you will not be plagued by troublesome worms. You can also chew and swallow a teaspoonful of the black seeds for the same purpose. This simple preventative measure, if taken regularly, will keep you free from infections too.

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