Castor oil is likely the most effective and  inexpensive ingredient  for cleaning, healing, and moisturizing the skin.  Be sure to buy organic castor oil in glass and not a plastic bottle.  This recipe with directions for a deep cleanse of the face (which makes use of another inexpensive and common ingredient–baking soda) has been made popular on a youtube video.  They make claims that it is effective for reducing wrinkles and dark spots.  Here is the summary for how to do the cleanse.

Cleanse your face with the following procedure.   For a deep, exfoliating cleanse, use castor oil and baking soda together –this mixture will also rejuvenate the skin.  Mix 1 tsp. castor oil with ¼ tsp. baking soda (be exact). If you have acne-prone skin, add 1 drop (no more!) tea tree oil.  Massage the paste into your face gently, covering the entire surface of your face but avoiding the delicate area around and under the eyes. Leave on for 15 minutes and then wash your face with warm water and pat dry with a towel.   If any irritation of the skin occurs, wash off the baking soda mixture sooner and reduce the baking soda next time.  This combination will help remove excess oil, dirt and other pore-clogging material and rejuvenate the skin.  The castor oil will absorb in 30 minutes or so and leave the skin feeling clean and moisturized.  However, there are different skin types, so if your face feels too oily afterwards, use a warm wet washcloth to help remove the excess oil.  If your face does not feel oily after the treatment, follow with a few drops of plain castor oil massaged gently into the skin and leave it on.

This mixture can be used on the hands also.  DO NOT DO THIS DEEP CLEANSE MORE THAN 2 TIMES A WEEK.  The recommendation made on the video is to do the cleanse Monday and Thursday evenings on a set schedule.  It should be done before bed for best results.  The castor oil alone can be used every night to remove make-up and clean the skin– use 1/2 tsp. castor oil applied with a warm wet washcloth and gently massaged into the face (add a drop of tea tree oil as an anti-bacterial if desired).  Leave on the skin.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HYDRATING

New research confirms wisdom of ancient strategies.  Another reason to include more fresh vegetables and herbs in your diet and to purify your drinking/cooking water.  Staying hydrated does not equate with chugging water!

Excerpts from the book “Quench” by Dana Cohen, MD and Gina Bria, pgs 47-48

“…Water science at the molecular level has the scientific community abuzz, and it’s shaping our understanding of how water functions, and more relevant for you, it is the basis of Quench…..This new science reveals that the water in our cells is a different type of water:  the same kind of water we can find in plants.  We already know that water exists as a liquid, a gas, or a solid, but new findings are uncovering a fourth, gel-like state of water, just 10 percent more viscous than the liquid state.  This change in water phases takes place at the molecular level.  We can’t see the molecular change with our naked eye, but in this state, water hydrates more efficiently.  For you, it means you can drink less liquid, yet be more hydrated.”

“Some of our best clues about what foods hydrate effectively come from extreme environments where access to abundant water is limited.  Here is where we most see humans turning to foods to supplement their water sources and hydration needs….Archeological and forensic analysis of ancient pottery from Hualcayan in the High Andes show surprising evidence that stews were the staple form of hydration.  They included gelatins released by grains….heating starch grains in the presence of water breaks down the crystalline layers and causes the starches to gelatinize, or form a viscous complex with water.  These grain-released gelatins further enhanced the absorptive and therefore hydrating power of the cooking water found in stew….Indeed, these ancient strategies of changing the hydrating power of water by adding plants such as grains, herbs, seeds, or roots were deployed throughout the ages, on all continents.  Overwhelming evidence resides in ethnographic and medieval records showing plants were used for hydration and the purification of water.  Slow-cooked stews and pottages released more gelatin, changing the molecular structure of cooking liquid.  Beers and meads accomplished the same change through fermentation and were globally used strategies to further purify, or replace entirely, contaminated or tainted waters.”

Monica’s general recommendations for implementing this information:

~Since hydration is essential for weight loss and for boosting metabolic rate, Americans need to eat more fresh vegetables, fruits , herb teas, stews, soups, cooked whole grains such as millet, quinoa, brown rice (NOT more breads, crackers, pasta, and other baked flour products AND NOT bottled juices, sodas, and sweetened and/or caffeinated drinks).

~Herb teas, smoothies containing 1 tsp of ground flax or chia seeds, freshly made vegetable juice, fermented vegetables such as sauerkraut, apple cider vinegar and lemon added to drinking water will all assist in staying hydrated without chugging excess water.

~Need help working out the details for your individual needs?  Schedule a nutrition appointment with Monica.

As a family-oriented practice, we recognize that in today’s world parents may need support in raising their families.

GrowingFamilies.life is our recommended resource for parents who may need help with parenting.  They have a series of online and in-person parenting classes for all stages of childhood.  They also have a service for asking a parenting question at contactmom.life.

Here’s more about them from their website:

“We believe all children should live in a safe world; a place of optimism and innocence; where they are exposed to all that is virtuous, good, just, noble and true.

We are a global network of ordinary mothers and fathers who accept our parenting as a personal and societal responsibility.

We are different in many ways, yet knitted together by a common cause and inspired by a shared conviction. Bringing the message of life to a global generation.”

Castor Oil Packs have a long history for treating all kinds of ailments in the world of natural medicine.  Many people have not made use of them because they can be inconvenient and messy.  Well, don’t give up on them–get a pack and lots more information from www.shopqueenofthethrones.com and start decongesting and rejuvenating your liver.  The packs are re-useable and besides the one for the liver, they have them for the thyroid and abdomen also.  Best of all, you can sleep with the pack on.   Remember to only buy organic castor oil that is in a glass bottle.  Heritage is a good brand and it is available online at sites such as vitacost.com.   The only contra-indications for use of castor oil packs are  pregnancy and lactation.

 

 

 

Did it ever occur to you that you would be better off just saying no to gluten?  The people who need to go gluten-free the most are the ones who cannot imagine what they would eat if they stopped eating wheat flour products.  Some don’t even know what wheat flour products are though they eat them three times a day!   Bread, pasta, cakes, cereals, pastries, crackers, and flour products of all kinds made from wheat can conveniently fill the stomach leaving little room for a variety of delicious and interesting, health-promoting foods.

The main reason I promote a gluten-free diet for everyone (not just people with auto-immune conditions, GERD, constipation, IBS, arthritis, etc.) comes from my observations of the behavior of people–even ones who are more health conscious– who don’t think gluten bothers them.  They will eat white flour products regularly because we are surrounded by them.  Today’s wheat flour  is one of the most problematic foods in the Western diet for many reasons.  (If you are not familiar with the work of Dr. Weston Price, check out the book “Nutrition and Physical Degeneration” written back in the 1930’s. While broad in depth, it includes a discussion of the devitalization of wheat in the Western diet–it tells the beginning of the story which has continued to get worse with wheat hybridization and then the  contamination of our wheat supply with glyphosate.)  Bread made with organic, freshly ground wheat that is fermented (sourdough) is the gold standard.  If you can’t have that, then just say no!