Beauty and Health Secret of the Past

                                                     Castor Bean

The Hollywood portrait of Cleopatra, the famed seductress known for her beauty, is of course, Hollywood.  The book “Egyptology:  The Missing Millennium, Ancient Egypt in Medieval Arabic Writings” is a more accurate portal.  As a child of royal blood she was highly educated.  The text suggests that queen Cleopatra VII was a brilliant mathematician, chemist, philosopher, physician and author of scientific books.  Many of the medical concepts of today are the result of Egyptian medicine.  CASTOR OILis one of the treasured medicines of this ancient culture.

Just bring up Castor oil to anyone over 50 and you will get a grimace.  A dose of castor oil produced stomach cramping and perhaps explosive evacuation.  One person said his mother would always give him a dose if he came home early from school.  Of course he stayed in school.  Castor oil is well known as a laxative.  It was also a controversial method to induce labor.  I don’t think I would want to be the doctor delivering that child. 

“Cold drawn” from the castor oil bean, also known as Palma Christi for the palm of Christ, the healing touch.  From a native tree of Egypt and India, castor oil has been used as healing oil for ages.  The leaves of the tree were also boiled and spread on the breast to increase quantities of milk in nursing women.  It was a beauty secret as a nighttime face treatment. 

Castor oil has also been used successfully for joint problems including inflammation, pain and degeneration.  This can be highly effective.  This healing oil contains fats that included ricinoleic acid, and linoleic acid.  It can be applied directly to the joints or mixed with another oil.    Blending it with olive oil, sweet almond oil (rejuvenating), apricot kernel oil (rejuvenating), or grape seed oil (toning) can make a wonderful body oil.  Using this for foot massage before bedtime can aid in sleep.  Most commercial castor oil found in the drug store, as a laxative is solvent extracted.  Always use the cold pressed or cold drawn oil for topical use. 

A common naturopathic, use it to make a castor oil pack with cotton flannel.  This is done to “detoxify” organs such as the liver.  It has also been used for problems with the female breast.  Castor oil is a great addition to your natural remedies.

Stay Well

Got Fiber?

There are many health problems that are created by dehydration and constipation.  Have you ever heard someone say that it is normal to not have daily bowel movements?  Perhaps this is common but not normal.  A good standard for bowel function is at least one bowel movement per day.  If hydration is the number one health goal then a daily bowel movement is the second.  This is one major avenue of the body’s normal detoxification process.  Dehydration is a major cause of constipation.  Every time you eat there is peristaltic movement in your gut.  This means that you should have more than one bowel movement per day. 

Eating food low in fiber contributes to constipation.  In kindergarten we made paste from flour and water.  Get the picture?  Raw vegetables and fruits can help.  While fiber helps bulk up the stool, it also aids in the absorption and elimination of toxins.  This is why fiber is a recommendation for individuals with elevated cholesterol.  The liver breaks down cholesterol, hormones (thyroid, estrogen, testosterone, etc) and other byproducts of metabolism which is excreted in the bile via the gall bladder.  Bile is not only a waste product but aids in the digestion of fats.  Adequate fiber absorbs the waste components for elimination.  Fiber also acts as a broom for the colon to keep it clean.  My favorite fiber product is Fiber PF which is a combination of psyllium and ground flax seed.

For some fiber products can be constipating.  This can happen when antibiotics create an opportunity for yeast or candida to flourish.  This yeast combined with sugar results in fermentation creating gas and alcohol.  Good bacterial flora in the gut is also imperative to good bowel movements.  The bacteria have a normal life cycle of growth and death.  The normal bacterial die off helps soften the stool.  The use of a good probiotic such as Enterobiotic SBO is often helpful.

For some there is an emotional component to constipation.  It can be the holding on of toxins including toxic emotions.  Not being able to “let go”, so to speak.  Suppressed anger from abuse is a perfect example as many of these individuals display constipation.   This illustrates one aspect of how the mental, emotional, and spiritual can impact the physical body.  Much of illness starts on this emotional plane and is magnified in the physical body.  One great principle is if you heal the emotional/spiritual, then the body will, in turn, heal.  The spiritual is usually followed by the physical. 

Other products that are helpful include herbal teas such as Gaia Natural Laxative, homeopathic combination products Constipation or Constipation CP for children by Natural Creations.

Good bowel health is a major health goal.

Stay Well!