Health And Wellness Products - How To Make Your Own

Health and wellness will mean very different things to different people.

Wellness can be defined as 'the pursuit of a healthy, balanced lifestyle. For the benefit of this article, wellness products are being looked at in the context of 'over the counter drugs, health supplements and health remedies.

While for some people, wellness products might be viewed as an aid to recovery from illness, for others it might be a means of further enhancing some aspect of their current health.

The variety of and uses for such products are as numerous as are the the definitions of wellness products or wellness programs, depending of course upon who is promoting them at any given time.

Whatever your reasons for pursuing alternative care health or health and wellness products, a common goal is to achieve optimised health and well-being.

There are powerful media images hailing the benefits and safety of many over the counter drugs, supplements and health and wellness products, every where you turn these days. They have equally strong claims of being the one and only miracle cure or solution for one ailment or another. How accurate are these claims though, and what are the real costs to you in monetary and health risk terms?

Immediately after reading this article, go take a look and do a quick add-up of the total cost of all the health and wellness products you currently have in stock. I'm sure the figure will surprise you just as much as learning about the very real and harmful side effects which can be caused by some of these drugs or supplements that are supposed to be contributing to your overall state of wellness.

You may also be surprised to know that many of the 'over the counter drugs you buy on a regular basis, simply treat the symptoms and not the real health issue. Needless to say, this approach of focusing on the symptom, side-steps the crucial requirement of getting to the root cause of your condition or whatever it is that ails you.

You're most likely to pursue a wellness product either because you are becoming wary of the adverse effects of chemically produced drugs or because you're keen to recover from ill-health and improve a specific health condition. In some instances it might be that you just want to optimise your current state of good health.

While some health and wellness products can be an effective measure toward improving your health, you should note that long-term use of certain over the counter drugs and some supplements can cause you more harm than good, with the long-term implications far outweighing any short-term benefits. You may well find that you are paying far too high a price on the basis of a mere quick fix promise.

For thousands of years, people in lands far and wide have used natural homemade remedies to manage their health conditions and wellness needs, without manufactured health and wellness products, that can be detrimental to health. They have purely relied upon attaining or maintaining health by plants or by other natural means. It could be argued that with the emergence of chemical and pharmacological methods, many forms of this natural means to health and wellness have declined. In fact, even by today's standards, there are many so-called under-developed countries where inhabitants' rely on nothing more than homemade health and wellness products, gained via natural methods of plants or plant-based extracts.

While conventional medicine relies on scientifically backed research to substantiate effectiveness and safety. In contrast, similar cannot be said about some alternative medicines or health and wellness products. There is no such requirement but their promotion as regard effectiveness are deemed sufficient in themselves as support for therapeutic or wellness claims.

Herbal remedies in general are harmless, however, certain claims being made by some health and wellness products promoters, (under the banner of being 'natural') can insinuate their health and fitness products being the exclusive answer to your health condition or wellness questions, thus putting you at great risk. Secondly, how open are they being about what's really inside? You should always consult your physician over any health concerns, as well as discussing with him/her your intention or choice of alternative means for treatment with any health and wellness product or remedy.

Multi-billion-dollar industries have long wealed their power by way of lobbying to gain exemption from FDA regulation. This has been exactly the case, according to the Skeptical Inquirer, who, on commenting on the 'dietary supplement industry, back in 1994, states - "Since then, these products have flooded the market, subject only to the scruples of their manufacturers".

The above point is an important one to note in that, while health and wellness products manufacturers may list ingredients and quantities being used in specific health and wellness products, there has been no real pressure on them to do so, or to do so accurately. Furthermore, neither has there been any watchdog body to ensure they are penalised for this failing.

So, what are the alternatives open to you? Increasingly, more and more people are turning to do-it-yourself health and wellness homemade herbal remedies. The distinct difference being that in making your own health and wellness products, you are in the driving seat. Not only do you have a full awareness of exactly what the ingredients are and the true quantities, but with the appropriate level of guidance from a reputable practitioner, you're more conversant with any health implications, if any.

With the right know-how, you too can draw on the old-fashioned yet effective sources to greatly improve your health. For instance, using naturally prepared herbs, vitamins, minerals and nutritional supplements, essential oils and flower essences to create real healing solutions that deal with particular health conditions rather than just the symptoms.

It is in the interest of a health and wellness product manufacturers to promote their products as being the only option open to you. They don't want you to know about the abundant natural resources and health- giving potent attributes of herbs and home remedies which have been used effectively for thousands of years. You see, these remedies cannot be patented because you can make them yourself and at a fraction of the cost.

Whether your goal is to overcome illness, drugs intolerance, allergies or just to optimise your already good health, with a little know-how, you can start making your own health and wellness products and remedies, using nothing more than the readily available natural resources in your home and garden. Not only will you save your hard earned cash, you also alleviate the risk of serious or harmful additives and side effects.

Are you interested in learning more about how you can treat numerous common ailments without the harsh side effects, using nothing but natural herbs, vitamins and nutrients you prepare yourself at home? For instance, did you know that placing yogurt on your face help to bring water from the deeper layers of your skin to the surface, moisturizing your skin for the rest of the day and hiding wrinkles?

Here are just a few more of the many quick and effective remedies you can learn to make:

1. Natural laxatives
2. Beauty recipes
3. Skin care and cleansing preparations such as acne treatment
4. Herbal shampoos as well as how to treat hair loss,
5. Dermatitis
6. Menstrual Pain and PMS Symptoms

About The Author
Olga Graham is a qualified social care practitioner, life coach and founder of: http://www.health-womens-healthy-living-goals.com A health and Personal Development website for women, that provides free guidance and goalsetting tools, enabling women to set and achieve all aspects of their health goals.

Build Health: Initiate A Health Strategy Makeover

My mother-in-law, a widow of a doctor, recently died. The way she exited was a nightmare. This was because her health strategy produced a lousy result.

Shortly before passing away, she had a colostomy to fix an intestinal blockage, the result of a decades-long struggle with diverticulitis. Poor teeth and gums, kidney failure and liver problems were also in the mix.

Not surprisingly she was riding a doctor-directed merry-go-round of prescription drugs and their side effects.

My mother-in-law went out in typical American fashion--a slow system-by-system breakdown accompanied by loss of mobility.

She learned three hard, painful lessons during her exit:

1) You can't find health in a doctor's office.

2) Pharmaceuticals do not restore your health.

3) Our "health care" system manages disease, but does not improve your health.

My father, a retired dentist who can barely get around using a walker, is also following the typical American health strategy.

In spite of eating all the "right foods," he is dealing with the effects of prostate disease, osteoporosis, arthritis, stroke, Parkinson's, and has recently been fitted with a pacemaker.

He too has been riding that doctor-directed merry-go-round of prescription drugs. He has his cozaar, carbidoba, ticlid, prilosec, voltaren, lipitor, and zoloft. His vasotec and doxycycline have recently been discontinued.

You do not have to follow this common American health "strategy."

Instead, you might want to consider implementing what I call the Grandma Weiss/Uncle Wallace health strategy.

These relatives of mine lived well into their 90's, were seldom sick and rarely ever saw a doctor. They were not plagued by slow, agonizing, system-by-system breakdowns.

On their last day they made it to the bathroom unassisted, had an evening meal, drank a little tea, read a bit, went to bed and didn't wake up.

The night they closed up shop, all their metabolic enzyme systems mercifully shut down at the same time, the way nature intended it.

This kind of strategy is quite common in remote places like Vilcabamba in Ecuador and Abkhazia in the Russian Caucasus.

Dr. Weston A. Price chronicled other distant groups who did not get sick nor die like we do. He found the diets of those people to be nutrient-dense, containing four times the minerals and ten times the fat-soluble vitamins found in the American diet of the late 1930's and early 40's.

Here are two common denominators found in the strategies of Grandma Weiss/Uncle Wallace and isolated groups noted for their health and longevity:

(1) Diets loaded with minerals and vitamins that maintain their 2000+ metabolic enzymes through time.

(2) No reliance upon prescription drugs that interfere with those metabolic enzymes.

Consider what has happened to most Americans during the six decades beginning 1940:

The nutrient density of their diets, including that of the so-called "right foods" in those diets, has continued to slide downhill, and their use of prescription drugs has skyrocketed.

If you conclude you want to retool your present strategy, here are a couple of simple, logical things to do:

(1) Take advantage of the resources offered by the Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation.

(2) Start looking for natural alternatives to the prescription and over-the- counter items in your medicine cabinet.

About The Author
Bill Quesnell (bill@mineralsbuildhealth.com) is a health educator, author of Minerals: The Essential Link to Health, and Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation member. He farmed melon for eight years in Costa Rica where he learned how minerals build health and prevent disease by putting his hands in the soil, not by relying upon medical advice devoted to disease and treatment. Critical reviews of his book and a list of 15 harmful health myths can be found at http://www.mineralsbuildhealth.com

Low Back pain - Ayurvedic Management

Low back pain is one of the most common pain disorders today .It is a chronic condition characterized by a persistent dull or sharp pain per the lower back. It may be also associated with burning, stiffness, numbness or tingling with the pain shooting down the buttocks and the legs.

When we stand, the lower back functions to hold most of the weight of the body. When we bend, extend or rotate at the waist, the lower back is involved in the movement. Low back ache is often precipitated by moving, lifting objects or twisting of the waist. Severe pain in the low back can be quite debilitating to patients. Pain in the lower back restricts activity and reduces work capacity and quality of enjoyment of everyday living and turns daily life into a misery.

Survey indicates that 70 per cent of the people suffer from low back pain at some time in their lives. The highest rate of back pain occurs among the 45 to 64 year age group. The incidence of low back pain is greater among women. In 90 per cent of the patients, low back pain resolves within six weeks, i.e. self limited. In another 5 per cent the pain resolves by 12 weeks. Less than 5 per cent of back paid account for true nerve root pain.

Causes

One of the common causes for the backache is poor posture habit. Balanced posture decreases stress on your back by keeping the muscles, bones and other supporting parts in their natural position. Any change from normal spinal curve can stress or pull muscles. This leads to increased muscle contraction, which causes pain. Low back pain can result due to health problems like osteoporosis, scoliosis, spinal stenosis. Sprain or strain of muscles or ligaments in the area can also manifest in low back pain. Other possible causes include fibromyalgia and benign or malignant tumours. A fall or blow to the back can strain or tear tissues around the spine, or even break a bone leading to back pain. Lack of exercise or incorrect exercise can also lead to low back pain. Too much weight or overweight also is a cause of low back pain.

Treatment

Conservative treatment is the most likely course of action for most patients. Treatment options include rest, Traction, Short wave diathermy, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications, weight control, steroid injections in step by step order.

If a patients does not get relief after 8 to 12 weeks of conservative therapy surgical intervention is considered. The most common surgical procedure is a discectomy, which involves removing the soft gel-like material in the disc. This procedure returns the disc to a more normal shape, relieving the pressure on the nerve. the neurosurgeon can also perform a foraminotomy, which is a procedure designed to expand the opening the nerve travels through.

Drugs and knives don't always work because from 60% to 90% of disease is not the result of structural injury, but rather of the mind-body response to stress

Ayurvedic Perspective

Ayurveda holds that low back pain is a result of vitiation of one of the three principal 'doshas'. 'Kateegraham'/'Prishtasoola' or low back pain is an indication of Vata aggravation and bone and muscle weakness.

Ayurvedic Treatment

Treatment in Ayurveda is to bring the vitiated 'dosha' back to the state of equilibrium and thereby to the state of health. For treating low back pain, internal as well as external treatments are done. Herbal preparations like 'Asthavargam' are administered internally. Daily purgation is recommended to restore the vitiated 'dosha' to the state of normalcy.

Ayurvedic Panchakarma treatments like Abhyanga (oil massage), Basti (meditated enema) are very much helpful in relieving backache and correcting abnormalities. Drugs like Yogarajaguggulu, Lakshadiguggulu, Triphala Guggulu, Maanarayana tailam are useful in this condition.

Yoga and Yogasana

The source of the pain is due most often to pushing oneself beyond physical or emotional capacity. The spine needs stability and, therefore, the mind must first be steady. So, the first step is to learn to relax the mind and focus on the specific areas of back pain. With practice, you can redirect the body's energy and affect the pain.

Among the Yogasanas ,when there is pain, start with simple back-bends, such as Locust, Cat, and Sunbird. To keep the spine aligned practice Hero Pose.

Caution- Before trying any of these postures, consult with a yoga teacher or therapist to determine the best postures for your condition.

About The Author
Dr.Shashikant Patwardhan is practicing as 'Ayurvedic Consultant' for last 25 years at the city -Sangli , Maharashtra -India. He has done his graduation in Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery [B.A.M&S] and post graduate Fellowship of Faculty of Ayurvedic Medicine [F.F.A.M.] From Tilak Ayurved Mahavidyalaya, Pune University , India, during the years 1970-1976. He is a chief editor and Ayurvedic Consultant of a 'Comprehensive website on Ayurveda - http://www.ayurveda-foryou.com. He is an author of many books on Ayurveda and is first to publish them in ebook format. He has written ebooks like - Ayurvedic Cure of Diabetes , Home Remedies in Ayurveda, Treat Common Diseases with Ayurveda & Yoga , Ayurvedic Principles Revealed. He regularly writes articles on various topics in Ayurveda in Ayurvedic health magazines and alternative medicine sites.
editor@ayurveda-foryou.com