A Word of Caution

Always check with your doctor if you have any doubts about any of the remedies offered here at the Organic Products Guide. These are only suggestions, so use your own judgement. See my Disclaimer .

That being said, I recommend these organic alternative cures, all of which can be found in Alternative Cures - The Most Effective Natural Home Remedies for 160 Health Problems, by Bill Gottlieb. (Buy it here: Alternative Cures )

Drug-Free Impotence Treatment

Alternative physicians say that the chemical sildenafil citrate, better known by its brand name as Viagra, is not the only option for men with erectile disfunction. There are natural remedies that are likely just as effective in restoring erectile ability, are safer, and are much less costly than Viagra.

Especially men who are taking heart medications, and need to explore alternatives to commercial offerings. A nitrate drug like nitroglycerin, when taken with Viagra, can cause a dangerous drop in blood pressure.

Arginine: Natural Viagra

"Before a man tries Viagra, I strongly suggest that he give these remedies a try." So says Jonathan Wright, M.D., a nutritionally oriented physician and director of the Tahoma Clinic in Kent, Washington. "Yes," says Dr. Wright, "taking arginine supplements can improve a man' ability to have an erection."

The reasoning behind this statement is that Viagra works by blocking an enzyme called PDE5 that destroys nitric oxide. Nitric oxide is the chemical that fills the penis with blood during an erection.

The amino acid, arginine, is the body's main source of nitric acid. Therefore, taking an arginine supplement can help a man defeat impotence.

You should consider using arginine before you try Viagra, since it is a safe, natural substance. Viagra is a drug with known side effects, like headaches, facial flushing, digestive upset, and abnormal vision.

Dr. Wright recommends taking 3,000 milligrams of arginine a day, which will take 3-4 weeks to take effect. You may take an additional dose of 3,000 milligrams about an hour before having sex, for additional help.

Note Well: You should only take this supplement under the supervision of a knowledgeable medical doctor. Don't take arginine if you have genital herpes or if you are taking lysine supplements.

See my Disclaimer.

Eliminating Toxins

Compared to modern medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) uses organic alternative cures in the form of herbal remedies to bring about healing. The formulas are concocted to keep crucial components of your body and mind (such as blood and emotions) moving freely.

Below is one suggested formula from Organic Alternate Cures that may help you heal acne and prevent recurrences through cleansing your lymphatic system.

Offered by Jason Elias, a practitioner of TCM in New Paltz, New York, Elias says that when the flow of "liver chi" is stagnant or blocked, acne occurs.

• Elias recommends combining equal parts of the tinctures of nine herbs. The nine include burdock, yellow dock, red clover, echinacea, schisandra, cleavers, gang gui, milk thistle, and licorice.

• Boil one quart of water, then add 1 ounce of the combined tinctures. Take off the heat and let the concoction steep for 30 minutes.

• Drink 2 cups a day for up to 3 months. Unused portions can be refrigerated for not more than a week.

Besides the lymphatic cleansers, this concoction uses herbs that fight infections, support your liver, and nourish your blood. Factors that are critical for healing--acne, among other infections.

A Natural Flu Blaster

As director of the Contemporary Health Clinic in Sebastian, Florida, Peter Holyk, M.D. says, "With (organic) alternative home remedies, I believe that you can knock out the flu in less than 24 hours."

The reasoning behind that statement is that organic remedies help boost your immune system. They allow your immune system to beat the infection that's beating on you.

First and foremost: drink lots of water, since fighting the flu puts your metabolism in overdrive. The result is that your body needs the extra water to throw off the toxins the flu produces.

IMPORTANT NOTE: For folks with underlying illnesses, such as diabetes or heart, lung or kidney diseases, flu is much more dangerous. You don't want to take chances--get an annual flu shot.

A potent anti-flu cocktail from Dr. Holyk:

1. A base of 6 to 8 ounces of organic tomato or vegetable juice in a blender
2. Chop 1 or 2 cloves of garlic as fine as possible, then place them in a blender
   
3. Add 3 droppers each of echinacea tincture, goldenseal tincture, and cat's claw tincture
4. Add a pinch of cayenne pepper
5. Then the juice of 1/2 lemon
6. And two or three ice cubes
7. Blend until the ice cubes are thoroughly crushed
   

After blending, sip the concoction slowly until you finish it. Drink the mixture twice a day for the duration of the flu, which, according to Dr. Holyk, should be mercifully short.

(Garlic is a potent organic viral food. Echinacea boosts production of white blood cells which fight the flu virus. Goldenseal reduces irritation of the lining of your respiratory tract, which soothes a cough or sore throat. Cat's claw has been used for centuries by the peoples of the Andes as a powerful immune system booster, and is well-known among alternative medicine practitioners.)

Headaches

Forty-five to fifty million Americans suffer from chronic headaches. Your biggest headache, though, may be your doctor suggesting your headaches are psychological in origin. That suggestion is far from the truth!

Fred D. Sheftell, M.D., is director and co-founder of the New England Center for Headache in Stamford, Connecticut. He has said, "The majority of doctors do not understnad that chronic headaches are biological in origin."

One easy cure is aromatherapy. Simply rub peppermint oil on your temples at the start of a tension headache. This method relieves pain as effectively as ibuprofen. So says Lawrence Robbins, M.D., director of the Robbins Headache Clinic in Northbrook, Illinois. Dr. Robbins goes on to recommend this aromatherapy solution:

Dilute one drop of peppermint essential oil in one to two drops of almond oil or other carrier oil to apply to your head. Or, add three drops to a warm bath.

Other essential oils, such as lavender or Roman chamomile, can also help relieve a tension headache. Just sprinkle a drop of the oil of your choice on a tissue or handkerchief and inhale deeply. Adding 5 or 6 drops to a warm bath will have the same effect.

"There are two ways to deal with oily skin, externally and internally." So says Joni Loughran, an aesthetician, cosmetologist, and aromatherapist in Petaluma, California. If you eat a lot of red meat and dairy products, be aware that both are loaded with saturated fats. They also are the primary cause of oilier skin, clogged pores, and blemishes. So cut down on saturated fats.

To break up the fats in your body, though, Loughran recommends taking lecithin. This food supplement helps emulsify, or break apart, the saturated fat in your body, so that it doesn't make your skin more oily.

A wonderful dietary supplement is flaxseed, for the Omega 3's, 6's, and 9's it contains. Another good reason to add flaxseed to your diet is because it's rich in fatty acids. Fatty acids are found in vegetable and seed oils, and are a must for healthy skin cells, no matter what type of skin you have.

According to Barbara Close, an aromatherapist and herbalist living in East Hampton, New York, an excellent treatment for overactive, oily skin comes in the form of a spray. Simply add a drop of essential oil of neroli to lavender floral water. Spray your skin several times a day for best results.

Other Alternative Medicine Resources

Ayurvdic Medicine - Introduction to Ayurveda By John Douillard, D.C., Ph.D. "Ayurveda is a Sanskrit word derived from two roots: ayur, which means life, and veda, which means knowledge. Knowledge arranged systematically with logic becomes science. Over time, Ayurveda became the science of life. It has its root in ancient vedic literature and encompasses our entire life - the body, mind and spirit. It is clearly unique in this day and age to find a system of medicine that is over 5000 years old and still today one of the largest on the planet. Ayurvedic medicine, although in its infancy here in America." More...

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