Alternative Medicine for Hair Growth

6 New Home Remedies for Quick Hair Growth 

from www.becomegorgeous.com

There are numerous practical and pocket-friendly means to guarantee the thick and healthy texture of your locks. If you're lusting after long and luscious strands, you'll be able to have them with the following 6 new home remedies for quick growth. Hit the grocery store and purchase organic ingredients to protect the follicles from the damage caused by harsh chemicals. Ditch cosmetics for the sake of rapid hair growth and prepare the most nutritive treatments using veggies, fruits and natural oils.

1. Cinnamon, Garlic and Red Onion Hair Rinse

Prepare a revitalizing hair rinse using these natural ingredients. Grab a bowl and fill it with hot water, add 4 cloves of garlic, 2 cinnamon sticks and a red onion cut into tiny pieces. Leave the mixture boil for 15 minutes. Let the infusion cool down and wash your locks with it. Repeat this ritual for four days in a row and see the magical effect of this organic treatment. 

2. Honey and Aloe Vera Gel Treatment

Combine these two vitamin-rich ingredients in a soothing recipe. Scrape off the gel of 3 Aloe Vera leaves and mix it with 2 tbs of honey.

Apply the treatment on your scalp and massage it into your roots. Leave the hair pack on for 20 minutes then finally wash it off with lukewarm water. Repeat this ritual more times per week for quick and visible results.

3. Cactus Hair Treatment

Choose this natural remedy to solve your hair loss dilemmas. The first step towards accelerating hair growth is to cut 4-5 cactus leaves into tiny pieces. Put these in pure water and leave them there to soak overnight.

Use a spray bottle to apply the toner on your scalp and hair roots. Leave the locks dry naturally without washing off the cactus toner. Make sure you apply the toner on your scalp at least once a day.

4. Potato, Egg Yolk and Honey Treatment

Mix three of these popular ingredients used in beauty care to boost the growth of your healthy locks. First extract the juice of three medium-sized potatoes. In a bowl mix the juice with 1 egg yolk and 2 tsp of honey. Apply the hair pack on your wet locks and massage the treatment in your scalp. Leave the mixture on for 25 minutes, then wash it off with tepid water.

5. Nettle Hair Treatment

This time you have to cheat a little bit and use a not 100% natural ingredient to provide your scalp with the best energy-boosting hair treatment. Mash two bunches of nettles and place the herb in 1 liter of vodka for no less than 1 week. You must wait a few days until the mixture becomes appropriate for application. After the week passed you'll be able to massage this treatment into your scalp either with your fingers or a cotton ball. Leave the tincture on for 20-30 minutes then rinse it off with warm water. Keep on experimenting with this beauty ritual to notice the dazzling results.

6. Onion and White Rum

This time use a revolutionary treatment to accelerate the growth of your locks. In a medium bowl chop an onion into tiny pieces. Add 1 cup of white rum to the onion and give 24 hours for the ingredients to mix and form a fabulous treatment for your thin locks. The next day eliminate the onion pieces from the mixture and massage the solution into your scalp. Use a cotton ball or your fingers to ease the task of your follicles to absorb the lotion. Leave the hair pack on for 30 minutes then wash it off with lukewarm water. 

 
My Thoughts

These are not really alternative medicines but great options, anyway.

Which one's your favorite? 

Mine is the cinnamon and ginger and onion.  Mainly because I love these three ingredients.  Although I'm not too keen on the smell of onions in my hair.  Maybe the smell of the cinnamon and the ginger will win over the onion smell.  I've seen these two ingredients in some shampoos.  But onions? 


On second thought, maybe I should go for aloe vera and honey.


You know what?  I just remembered banana peel.  It's great for waxing the hair.  And that's not in the list.

Herbal Remedies as Alternative Medicine?

What you need to know when deciding whether herbal remedies will work for you

 http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/health/2011/1025/1224306439300.html

 

DOES IT WORK? BACKGROUND For the past three and a half years, the evidence for different herbs and supplements has been examined here. This will be the last of this series, although a book of the columns will be published mid-2012 by Glasnevin Publishing. In this final column, I’d like to leave you with some general guidance about herbal remedies.

People have been using herbal remedies for thousands of years, but this doesn’t necessarily mean they are all useful. Some are effective for specific conditions, others are poisonous, and still others will do little more than waste your money. For example, St John’s wort has good evidence to support its effectiveness for mild depression, while Aristolochia species have caused the deaths of hundreds of people. Meanwhile, new herbs appear on the market all the time with little or no evidence to guide people.

The complexity here is reflected in the number of products available. One report in the US a few years ago found that 1,400 different species of herbs were available in more than 30,000 different products.
Many products contain several herbs. A market analysis published earlier in 2011 found that multi-herb products dominate this market and are predicted to “race ahead” of single-herb remedies. This makes it even more difficult to determine if a product works or is good value for money. Products may contain several herbs with similar reputations, but it becomes difficult to know if enough of any of them is present in these mixtures to have an effect. The potential for interactions, both good and bad, also arises.

For this reason, products with a single herb offer the best chance of getting a clearer understanding of their evidence. Uncovering that evidence can then be a challenge. As with many topics, the internet provides much information – some of it good, and some of it bad.

Discernment is vital when searching the internet, especially for health information. Be critical. If a website recommends a herb and is also selling it (as three-quarters of the sites are), be wary. If a website claims a herbal remedy will cure everything, surf away. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true.

To help when searching the web for health information, various accreditations are available. Websites agree to abide by a code of conduct and in return can display a certification logo. One is the Health On the Net (HON) Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation based in Switzerland. In general, websites with such logos should be trustworthy (but check out what the logo really means).

The best type of evidence for the effectiveness and safety of herbs, supplements or medicines are controlled clinical trials. These are increasingly available for herbal remedies and published in peer-reviewed journals. However, these are not written for popular consumption, and often provide so much detail that even busy professionals don’t have time to examine them. For this reason, systematic reviews are conducted to summarise the available research. These are designed to remove as much bias as possible from the conclusions.

One of the best sources of systematic reviews is the Cochrane Library, available at TheCochrane Library.com. This is produced by independent professionals and available both in great detail and in plain language summaries. Reviews of several dozen herbs are available, and more are added each month.

PROBLEMATIC ASPECTS

The impression is often given that natural is safe. Hemlock, the death cap mushroom (Amanita phalloides) and deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna), should be enough to remind us that nature can be dangerous. Consuming enough capsaicin from chilli peppers will kill you. Many herbs have adverse effects, and unfortunately some herbal remedies (especially those bought over the internet) can be impure. Batches of “herbal viagra” in particular have been found to be contaminated with pharmaceuticals.

Herbal remedies can be a way to avoid expensive medicines. For short-term conditions, these may be an option. But for serious conditions, or if symptoms persist, it is important not to avoid medical attention. Self-diagnosis has its limitations.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Although thousands of herbs are used, only a few dozen have received extensive research. Many have not been studied in controlled trials and trying them is, at best, guesswork. For others, a few studies may be available.

Be wary of general claims about products being “scientifically proven” unless specific references are given to that evidence. Also, ask your doctor or pharmacist about herbs or supplements you are using or considering. They should have access to the growing number of professional databases addressing herbal remedies (such as NaturalDatabase.com). It is also important that they know about all the herbs, supplements and medicines you are taking as some of them can interact with one another.

If a herb works, it does so because it contains chemicals that affect our bodies. In that way, they are naturally occurring drugs that should be taken with due caution.

---

Dónal O’Mathúna has a PhD in pharmacy, researching herbal remedies, and an MA in bioethics, and is a senior lecturer in the School of Nursing Human Sciences, DCU. His Irish Times columns will be published mid-2012 by Glasnevin Publishing.Series concluded

My Thoughts

Yesterday I got bitten by some bug.  I went picking some star fruit and found myself itching all over.  I needed immediate cure, an alternative medicine.  I tried every alternative medicine I can get hold of.  And then I remembered vinegar- the alternative medicine for a lot of things, including bites. 

Well, I smelled kind of awful.  But the itching did stop.  The rashes are still reddish, but not as uncomfortable as it was the first time. 

I don't think vinegar is considered herbal.  But I'm convinced it is an alternative medicine.

Banana Bread as Alternative Medicine for Libido

Boost Libido With Banana Bread
Natural Remedies For Hormonal Health Problems
Brenda Kearns on Aug 2, 2011 at 11:17AM

Quick and simple kitchen cures to tame your worst symptoms fast (13 Photos)

Monthly ups and downs in sex hormones -- and the estrogen shortfalls that strike after menopause -- can stall blood flow to the genitals, leading to disappointing lulls in arousal and vaginal lubrication, explains Mary Jane Minkin, M.D. and professor of gynecology at Yale University. But studies show smelling banana bread increases pelvic blood flow as much as 40 percent in 10 minutes (whether or not you eat the bread!). Researchers aren’t sure yet why, but studies have shown that this enticing smell actually switches on the arousal center in the brain, explains Alan Hirsch, M.D., neurological director of Chicago’s Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation.

MY THOUGHTS

Well, that's certainly something new.  I've heard of papaya.  But banana bread as an alternative medicine is definitely never heard of.  Until now.   

IS CUCUMBER REALLY THAT WONDERFUL?

IS CUCUMBER REALLY THAT WONDERFUL?

(photo from ufseeds.com)

A friend forwarded me this mail.  I am sharing it because it's very interesting.  However, please be very discerning. I have not checked the veracity of any information here.  I do not even know where this article came from.  So, have fun reading it. Use wisdom and caution when trying the tips.  And own up.  Whatever the results, you were warned and you were the one who made the decision to try.

In short, don't blame me if you fall asleep after eating a cucumber. And don't blame the cucumber if people still shy away from you because of foul odor coming from your not-so-kissable mouth.  Even if you put 10 cucumbers at the roof of your mouth, the article didn't say you should stop brushing your teeth.  The cucumber is supposed to be a stop-gap measure. It was never meant to be a toothbrush, much less, a toothpaste.

Here goes:

"1. Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need.  Every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.

2. Feeling tired in the afternoon, put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a
Cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B Vitamins and Carbohydrates that can provide that Quick pick-me-up that can last for Hours.

3. Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a
Cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, Spa-like fragrance.

4. Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give Off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the
Area.

5 Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool? Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes, the phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!!!

6.. Want to avoid a hangover or Terrible headache? Eat a few cucumber slices
Before going to bed and wake up refreshed and Headache free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B Vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding both a hangover and
headache!!

7. Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge? Cucumbers
Have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers, traders and explores for quick meals to thwart off starvation.

8. Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don't have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe, its chemicals will provide a Quick and durable shine that not only looks
great but also repels Water.

9. Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge? Take a Cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic Hinge, and voila, the squeak is gone!

10. Stressed out and don't have time for massage, Facial or visit to the spa? Cut up an entire Cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water, the chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber will react with the boiling water and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown the reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams.

11. Just finish a business lunch and realize you don't have gum or Mints? Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 Seconds to eliminate bad breath, the Phytochemcials will kill the bacteria in your Mouth responsible for causing bad Breath.

12. Looking for a 'green' way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainless steel?
Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the Surface you want to clean, not only will it Remove years of tarnish and bring back the Shine, but is won't leave streaks and won't harm You fingers or fingernails while you clean.

13. Using a Pen and made a mistake? Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen Writing, also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!!"

Careful with your Tea

Twig tea, anyone? Study says labels often mislead
Published July 21, 2011

OSLO (Reuters) - Herbal teas often contain unlisted extra ingredients such as weeds, ferns or bits of tree, according to a study by New York high school students that could help tighten labeling rules.

"A third of the herbal teas had things in them that are not on the label," Mark Stoeckle, of the Rockefeller University who helped oversee the project, told Reuters by telephone.

The students collected dozens of teas and herbal teas and found extra ingredients in some including ferns, grass, parsley, other weeds and even traces of an ornamental tree, Taiwanese cheesewood, they said.

"For me, the most surprising ingredient was the annual bluegrass," said Catherine Gamble, 18, of Trinity School. "It seems kind of outrageous to have it in a tea."

"I think nothing was outright poisonous...but things like chamomile (found in some samples) have been known to cause allergic reactions to people. To have those in tea and unlabelled could be dangerous," she told Reuters.

The students said that three of 70 tea products tested and 21 of 60 herbal products contained rogue ingredients not on the labels.

The tea study, using $5,000 equipment for genetic testing and a technique known as DNA barcoding, could help regulators tighten labeling rules for teabags and make manufacturers improve what they put in the brews, they said.

Testing can be done for about $15 a sample and takes about 24 hours. The teas and infusions were from 33 manufacturers in 17 nations, according to the findings, published on Thursday in the online journal Scientific Reports.

"It's a mystery why ingredients are unlisted," said Grace Young, 15. "It might just be a weed picked up during harvesting or the residue of a plant used in one product gets passed to the next product in a processing facility."

Stoeckle said extra ingredients such as chamomile or parsley might be added deliberately to provide flavor or color. Or manufacturers may seek to sell full-looking tea bags and so pad them with filler.

"This is something that manufacturers and regulators could use," Stoeckle said of the DNA technique for tea. Importers, for instance, could double check if a shipment of dried leaves is really tea.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/qNdUjy Scientific Reports, online July 21, 2011.

MY THOUGHTS

Is there cause for alarm?  For me, yes!  I don't want to take in anything that  I am not aware of.  Chamomile is fine. I'm not allergic to it.  But bluegrass? check out the pic.  i doubt you'd like to eat that.  unless you're a cow?

from ipm.msu.edu

Chiropractors have an ethical duty

Chiropractors have an ethical duty to tell their patients about risks
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/blog/2011/jul/12/chiropractors-ethical-duty-patients-risks

A survey suggests fewer than half of chiropractors always discuss the risks of cervical manipulation with patients

Most consumers seem to think all alternative treatments are natural and therefore safe. I have repeatedly pointed out that this is not necessarily true. Some alternative therapies are associated with very significant risks. Chiropractic, for instance, has left many patients in wheelchairs and some have even died.1 Yet most chiropractors vehemently deny any responsibility.

A recent article by researchers from the Anglo-European College of Chiropractic in Bournemouth started with the telling statement that "the risk associated with cervical manipulation is controversial".2 This is certainly true. About every second patient experiences transient adverse effects after chiropractic, and several hundred cases of permanent neurological deficits or death are on record.1,3,4 Most of these serious complications are caused when an artery in the neck gets damaged during extreme manipulations of the upper spine. When this happens, the patient suffers a stroke and, as we all know, one can die of a stroke.

The Bournemouth team sent questionnaires about risk-related issues to 200 randomly selected UK chiropractors and received 92 responses. Their results show, among other things, that "only 45% indicated they always discuss [the risks of cervical manipulation] with patients ... "2

In plain language, this means that the majority of UK chiropractors seem to violate the most basic ethical standards in healthcare. If we assume that the 92 responders were from the more ethical end of the chiropractic spectrum, it might even be the vast majority of UK chiropractors who are violating the axiom of informed consent.

I applaud the authors for their courage in publishing their findings. They conclude that, "notwithstanding legal obligations, reluctance to disclose risk ... still remains, despite acknowledgement of moral and ethical responsibility."2 There is nothing to add to this clear message.

MY THOUGHTS

Better hash up on this issue.  I love going to the chiro.  But this is scary.

FLAXSEED: AN ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE FOR HOT FLASHES?

Hot flash: Flaxseed may not help menopause symptoms
June 6th, 2011 8:53 pm ET

If you’re one of many women turning to alternative medicine as a way of dealing with hot flashes during menopause or breast cancer treatment, you might want to cross flaxseed off your list. That's the suggestion of a new study presented today at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology  which found this natural treatment ineffective in controlling hot flashes.

In this randomized, placebo-controlled study of 188 women, doctors from the Mayo Clinic and the North Central Cancer Treatment Group report they found no statistically significant difference in hot flash episodes among women eating crushed  flax seed compared to those who didn’t. 

This finding contradicts earlier research by the same group which suggested that 40 grams of crushed flax seed daily might be a safe and effective way to treat hot flashes.

"While our preliminary data from our 2007 pilot study showed a reduction in hot flashes associated with the consumption of ground flaxseed, our new study did not result in a significant decrease in hot flashes with eating flaxseed compared to placebo,” said Sandhya Pruthis, M.D., of Mayo’s Breast Diagnostic Clinic and a researcher at  North Central.

Flax is a plant grown for both it's seeds and it's fiber. The seeds are what contain the nutritional value while the fiber is used in the manufacture of cloth and paper.

What Causes a Hot Flash?

Hot flashes can occur for many reasons, but the two most common are related to menopause and certain breast cancer treatments.  The flashes themselves  occur due  to rapid changes in body temperature - changes  that are  ultimately linked to fluctuations in hormones, particularly estrogen.

In fact,  while most women believe it is low estrogen that causes a hot flash, in truth, it is really the fluctuations of estrogen– the up-and-down movement  that occurs during the “change of life” -  that is really behind many menopause symptoms, including hot flashes.

Indeed, as estrogens levels rise and fall they send an erroneous message to your brain, specifically your hypothalamus gland the command central responsible for keeping your body temperature on an even keel.   This erroneous message tells your brain that your body is overheated - even when you're not - and must dispense of all this excess heat immediately.

As a result your hypothalamus gland sends a chemical message to your blood vessels to rapidly dilate and release that excess heat.

This rapid release of body heat is what you experience when a “hot flash” occurs.

However, usally within about 5 to 10 minutes your brain figures out that your hypothalamus was “tricked” by those bouncing hormones,  and that you really weren’t overheated at all.  This in turn causes your brain to send out a new message to immediately stop releasing heat – which is turn causes blood vessels to constrict and the hot flash to subside.

Indeed, the fact that all this heat was released when you really weren't overheated is one reason why many women experience a brief bout of the "chills" after each hot flash.

Natural treatments for hot flashes

Natural treatments such as flax seed are thought to help hot flashes by stabilizing estrogen levels, thus keeping the fluctuations at bay.  By doing so, the hypothalamus gland gets fewer “wrong” messages, so fewer hot flashes occur.

Now, however, this new study suggests that flax seed  does not appear to have the ability to do this - and might not be the right answer for women seeking natural hot flash relief.

What the study does not tell us, however, is whether or not higher doses of the flax seed might work, or if  using this treatment for a longer period of time might change the outcome.

That said,  Dr. Pruthis suggests that if you enjoy including flax seed in your diet, you should continue to do so since there it has many other healthful benefits.  In addition to being a good source of fiber which can help manage constipation and blood sugar (two other problems related to menopause) flax seed can also be a good source of omega 3 fatty acids, which have other important health benefits during menopause , including helping to control mood swings.

Other natural treatments for hot flashes include herbs such as black cohash, red clover and dong quai.

To learn more about natural treatments for menopause symptoms, including bioidentical hormones visit www.yourMenopause.com .

Colette Bouchez is an award winning medical journalist and author of ten books on women’s health including “The Hot Flash Solution”, a breakthrough guide for treating hot flashes and other symptoms of menopause naturally.

MY THOUGHTS

If flaxseed is not an alternative medicine for hot flashes, take note of the other herbs mentioned in the article.