Home Remedies: Fact, Fiction, or Somewhere in Between?
We were given the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well”
Let us be the first put forth to that in the western world, traditional, natural, and/or home remedies are mostly regarded as a bunch of hooey. Let us also be the first to put forth that yes, some of it is. That being said, modern medicine isn’t flawless either.
When humans started realizing that they could tinker with themselves on a chemical level and miraculously cure whatever ailed them, they threw natural remedies out the window. It was forgotten that as a race we had survived however many centuries without western medicine until, in recent years, we began to be reminded.
Consider the following:
• Spending on prescription drugs more than doubled over the years from 1999 to 2008. In constant dollars, Americans spent more than $234 billion dollars on prescription drugs in 2008, up from 104.6 billion in 1999.
• The number of drugs ordered or provided by physicians in 2009 was 2.6 billion.
• From 2004-2009 there was a 98% increase in visits to the E.R. involving pharmaceutical drugs (1.2 million in ’09 versus 627,00 in ‘04.)
• Depressants, antidepressants, and opioids are responsible for more overdose deaths (45%) than cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and amphetamines combined (39 %.)
Scary sounding stuff, but it also doesn’t mean one should never go to the doctor. It could be interpreted as a refresher that we need to take some responsibility for our health and the quality of our lifestyle and one way to do so is to start looking into using more natural remedies, which may be something as simple as changing things like diet and exercise. Finding a healthy balance between what we’ve labeled “modern” and “traditional” in terms of medicine could be vital not just for a longer life, but a happier one as well.
Sources: nytimes.com, CDC.gov, Drug Free World.
P.S. Make sure to take a look at the Everyday Roots Book with 350+ pages of the best home remedies, natural beauty recipes, homemade cleaners and diy household products. View Remedies
By Claire Goodall
Claire is a lover of life, the natural world, and wild blueberries. On the weekend you can find her fiddling in the garden, playing with her dogs, and enjoying the great outdoors with her horse. Claire is very open-minded, ask her anything 🙂 Meet ClaireWe Want to Hear from You! Let us know which remedies work and do not work for you, ask a question or leave a comment:
I suffer everyday waking up with headaches,This has been going on for about 8 yrs.Seeing doctor after doctor,I went to my dentist for some dental work and he told me I have indents in my upper front teeth in the back of them from clinching my teeth at night.I bought me a sports mouth piece and I haven’t. had a headache since.God has blessed me.
My Grandmother taught me much about natural healing she passed before she finished passing on every thing she knew and she never wrote them down . Therefore I would be honored if you share all you know on the subject. Thank you.