With more and more people being laid off and the economic situation becoming increasingly difficult, individuals are turning to natural ways to prevent or even heal minor illnesses.  It is very difficult having no health insurance and deciding what symptom warrants a trip to the doctor or even the emergency room.

Almost half of Americans are using alternative medicine to heal themselves or at the very least, to make themselves feel better.  What are some of these alternative medicines for relief from common ailments?

• Migraines can be treated with butterbur, an Asian flower found in health food stores.  Some people have found success taking 75mg of butterbur extract twice a day thus slashing the number of migraines per month by half.
• Who would have thought red powder, red yeast rice, would work the same way in lowering cholesterol as does the most expensive statin.  Taking this alternative remedy helped many individuals lower their LDL cholesterol by at least 27% in three months.
• With mounting stress being felt on a daily basis, heartburn is the usual outcome.  Acid reflux can turn into gastroesophageal reflux (GERD) and when taking prescription medications, the side effect could be an acquired hiatal hernia.  Drinking herbal tea, which is normally given to babies with colic, in addition to adding mineral filled apple juice, a natural antacid, can calm the most irritated stomach.  Herbs in the tea mop up excess stomach acid.  Inflammation is reduced.  An at home treatment includes mixing 1 teaspoon each chamomile flowers, lemon balm and licorice root with ½ teaspoon powdered slippery elm bark and ¼ teaspoon each powdered fennel sees and dried catnip.  Steep in boiling water for 15 minutes, strain and mix with 1½ cups of apple juice.  Drink after meals.
• Mounting stress also influences sleep patterns and usually not for the good.  The constant worry how to make ends meet takes its toll.  Enter L-theanine to the rescue.  It is a natural relaxant made from tea leaves.  L-theanine raises levels of calming neurotransmitters which invites sleep at the rate of 75mg to 200mg before bedtime.
• Ouch…nothing is worse than bladder pain from diagnosed interstitial cystitis (IC).  Prescribed medications come with negative side effects.  But freeze dried aloe vera capsules has helped many people overcome this dreadful pain.  Aloe calms the inflammation process and may even repair the bladder lining.  You will need to make sure the formula you are using does not contain bladder irritants.

Let’s face it.  Financial times are tough and if preventative herbs can help us heal ourselves the natural way, than it is worth it to try Mother Nature’s healing powers.