Mama's Medicine Chest: Black Berries

I have learned a LOT in the past year about ways to take care of my family's health at home, not just proactive, but also during times of illness. I used to think I just need to 'let things take their course' if I wanted to treat something naturally, and I've put my health in danger following that philosophy. I have since learned there are lots of ways to help our bodies do the things they were designed to do by boosting our immune systems and even using naturally occurring antibiotics. By using these front line defences I haven't yet needed to take my children to the doctor, through there is certainly no shame is using other types of medicine when they are needed. I thought I would start sharing some of the things I have learned now, while most of us are not experiencing colds, so you can thinking about investing in a new medicine chest for yourself a little at a time before the cold season hits. Some of these things are SO inexpensive and easy to do, and today's suggestion certainly is.

Collect and dry black berries, and black berry leaves. I just let them sit out on the counter in dishes to dry then put them in a container to wait till the winter. Use this to make a tea for diarrhea. Some other things you might consider adding to the tea are fennel seed and mint or chamomile for taste.

Here are some other ideas of things you can do for diarrhea, the root cause of the diarrhea will determine how affective these things are.

• Drink rice water- Soak 1 part rice to 2 parts hot water, pour off the water and drink. I mix it with something else, like a yogurt smoothy with black berries to make it easier to drink for the girls. You can still cook the rice and eat it, which is also good for a torn up tummy.
• Drink juice with a few drops of Grapefruit seed extract in it, which helps kill any bad bacteria in your stomach.
• Put lots of raw garlic, a natural antibiotic, in your system. You can cut it pill size and swallow whole, buy capsules, or make a very easy quick garlic salve called GOOT (I'll give directions for it next time) and put it on your feet. Sounds crazy, I know, you should have seen the look on The Man's face when I started this. One of the girls had run a  fever for a day while we were out of town. The poor thing looked like a wilted flower. I mixed this up and an hour later she was up and around playing, and The Man was a believer. This is the BEST cheapest front line defence I have found. You put it on your feet because the pores are some of the largest in your skin and it is most quickly absorbed there. It's also a good place to put your Vick's chest rub. 
• Eat lots of yogurt (the natural kind of a culture listed on the label Dannon is the most common store brand and propiotics. This puts good bacteria back in your stomach.

One great free resource for more information on home remedies is a forum called WellTellMe and a book well worth putting in your library is Be Your Own Doctor.
May God bless you and yours with good health! c

Read other posts in this series:
Onions & Garlic