Nature holds an abundance of natural live-saving medicines.
For thousands of years and perhaps longer, people have relied on natural remedies to cure diseases and treat illness.
Many of the common foods in your cupboard can help you live a healthy life, prevent disease, treat everyday wounds and ailments, and even curb the spread of cancer.
Let’s look at the scientific research associated with five common natural herbal medicine.
1. Garlic
Historically, garlic is one of the most prominent and effective home remedies. People have used garlic to treat colds, infections, heart disease and even diabetes—sometimes without even knowing what condition it was treating!
Doctors and scientists have recently started looking into claims that garlic is a life-saving natural medicine. A 2012 study in the journal BioMedicine, highlighted garlic’s beneficial ability to lower blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, and prevent cancer.
Garlic can even protect neurons—research from the Journal of Health and Aging indicates that garlic can treat Alzheimer’s disease.
2. Honey
Ancient Egyptians and Greeks pioneered the medical use of honey. From ancient times to the present, the antibacterial properties of honey make it a go-to natural medicine for wound care.
An article in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine acknowledged the importance of honey as a natural antibacterial remedy and recommended clinical use of a new product— Medihoney—for wound care.
One of the problems with bacterial infections is the increasing use of antibacterial soaps, ointments and lotions. Doctors are discovering that bacteria are becoming resistant to scientifically developed antibacterial treatments.
In 2008, a research article studying Revamil—another type of clinical honey—advocated for the return to using natural products to fight infection in wounds. Despite years of research and development into antibacterial creams and gels, it turns out that honey still works the best!
With all of this in mind, it might be a good idea to look for medical grade honey for wound care. Medical grade products are treated to guarantee that the honey itself is sterilized and free of bacterial spores. Additionally, many medical grade honey products are derived from tea tree pollen or leptospermum, a variety of honey proven most effective in clinical studies.
3. Apples
Does an apple a day really keep you healthier? Doctors think so. Apples contain high levels of antioxidants including vitamin c, one of the most important antioxidants. Scientists from the Department of Food Science at Cornell University published a study that proves natural sources of antioxidants like apples are more effective than supplementation.
Additionally, their research indicates that whole-apple extracts prevent the growth of colon and liver cancer cells. During studies of cancer cell development in rats, whole apple extracts effectively prevented cancer when consumed at dosages equivalent to human consumption amounts.
It comes down to phytochemicals, chemical compounds found in plant-based foods that inhibit cancer growth. Apples are one of the largest and highest quality sources of phytochemicals in our diet.
4. Sunlight
You don’t even need to change your diet to benefit from sunlight. Too much sun can cause skin problems—it is important to wear proper sun protection on a hot, bright, day. Healthy levels of exposure however, produce vitamin D, a nutrient essential for bone health.
The American Society for Clinical Nutrition and researcher Michael F Holick recommends five to ten minutes of sunlight exposure two to three times per week.
Holick’s 2004 study, published in the Journal of American Clinical Nutrition, demonstrates that reasonable amounts of sun exposure can prevent autoimmune diseases, improve cardiovascular function and prevent cancer.
5. Turmeric
Scientists are just starting to look at the health benefits of turmeric and other traditional spices from India. Kamala Krishnaswamy published a study in the Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nurtition that shows turmeric can impact the development of precancerous cells.
Other studies, like a 2009 article by Doctor Mesa Bengmark, confirm the anti-inflammatory properties of turmeric. Most diseases and illnesses include an inflammatory response, Bengmark’s research indicates that turmeric can reduce inflammation and help people recover faster. If you suffer from inflammatory diseases like Crohn’s disease, turmeric can help reduce symptoms of inflammation.
Sources:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211802011000374
http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/16395514
http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2009/620857/abs/
http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/46/11/1677.short
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/23219160_Manuka_honey_vs._hydrogel–a_prospective_open_label_multicentre_randomised_controlled_trial_to_compare_desloughing_efficacy_and_healing_outcomes_in_venous_ulcers/file/60b7d52a5fef8ef566.pdf&sa=X&scisig=AAGBf
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v405/n6789/abs/405903b0.html
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf058010c,
http://www.nature.com/nrc/journal/v3/n10/abs/nrc1189.html
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/80/6/1678S.short
http://repository.ias.ac.in/18688/
http://web.b.ebscohost.com/abstract?direct=true&profile=ehost&scope=site&authtype=crawler&jrnl=02121611&AN=43540120&h=ZjjoJIq5wU26Tl46JdZCynMbzwIaDi88DtVEZFKh8roYX848pglL5RZbvx%2baas%2bHmkBO1io1S8e7vwExnHXaSg%3d%3d&crl=c
