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| | July 2000 Ageless herbal newsletter
Tea Tree Oil is really one of nature's miracles, obtained from a tree grown in New South Wales,
Australia, used for fighting infections and other problems. It is a natural
antiseptic and fungicide and has been shown to possess
anti-microbial activity against a wide range of gram-positive and gram-negative
bacteria and fungi.
The intrinsic anti-microbial activity, in combination with its penetrating power, is believed to be responsible for the efficiency of this natural product.
Several hundred in-vitro tests have been conducted and the results of these tests can be viewed at www.ageless.co.za/teatreeoil-results.htm
Tea tree oil can burn your skin if it is used uncontrolled and undiluted on your
skin.
When using it in a room humidifier, (first check the instructions and cautionary notes of the humidifier manufacturer), it helps relieve the
symptoms of colds, flu, bronchitis and
emphysema.
A few drops of tea tree oil, on a handkerchief, helps when sniffed, for
sinusitis or colds.
A few drops on a tampon to use internally can help take care of vaginal infections - put first check with your licensed medical practitioner if it will be in order for you to use this
remedy.
A 2% (two percent) (2:100) solution with a carrier, such as almond oil, makes a great massage for someone suffering with a
chest infection.
Tea Tree Oil is used to great effect on acne, itches, nappy
rash, blisters and sunburn.
For more information on tea tree oil please visit our essential oil site
Seeing that we are dealing with energy in the summer of 2000, we decided that it would be nice to have something different this month, and therefore decided on this rather different
sorbet to help cool you down.
Ingredients:
Method:
Wash leaves well and shake dry. Place sugar and water in thick-bottomed pan and bring to the boil until sugar dissolves. Place the leaves in the pan, cover the pan and turn off the heat. Leave for 25 minutes and taste. Should the taste be too weak, bring to the boil again, turn off the heat, and keep covered for another 15 minutes.
When you are satisfied with the taste, strain the syrup into a rigid plastic container, add lemon juice and leave to cool. Place in
freezer and freeze until semi-frozen - between 45 - 60 minutes.
Beat the egg white until stiff and fold the beaten egg white into the semi frozen mixture. Freeze again until nearly frozen - about 35 minutes, and beat again slightly and re-freeze for another 35 minutes. The mixture can then be scooped out and the mushy frozen sorbet can then be served, decorated with a small geranium leaf.
- Diet
- A good balanced diet is required for energy and
vitality, and it really does not matter if you follow a specialized or restricted diet, as long as the required ingredients form part of your diet, and all nutritional principles and ingredients are taken care of.
- Should you be following a specialized diet, such as being a strict vegan, care must be taken to prevent a shortage of for instance vitamin B 12.
- Meal times and your blood sugar level are important factors to keep in mind when wanting to maximize your energy levels.
- A good breakfast - to break the fast after sleeping - is required to bring blood sugar levels up to speed again.
- Humble oats porridge, is a great way to stabilize your blood sugar at breakfast, but although your quality of food is vitally important, it is just as important to ensure that you
DO NOT SKIP BREAKFAST - AND AVOID LARGE MEALS BEFORE BEDTIME.
- Your diet should also be balanced in the sense that it contains sufficient carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, fat and fiber to offer your body a well-rounded source of nutrition.
- Fluids
- Although energy giving vitamins, minerals and herbs are listed underneath, also keep your intake of fluid in mind.
Dehydration plays havoc with your energy levels, and even
mild dehydration can make you feel tired and listless.
- A person does not only dehydrate after hours in the desert, but can easily dehydrate in very warm weather with excessive perspiration, or if you suffer from diarrhea or vomiting. In all of these cases it is vitally important to replenish your fluid as well as your electrolytes, lost through the above.
- Supplements
- It could be useful to supplement your diet with the following vitamins / nutrition / minerals / herbs, to help increase your
energy levels:
- Exercises
- It is great to watch bodybuilders pumping iron and the hyped-up exercise fanatics spinning away on their cycles, but are they really fit?
- Even if people spend hours per day at their gym, they might still not achieve ultimate fitness and health, since wrong exercising can cause them not to exercise optimally, and could ultimately cause damage.
- Although the writer himself is not an exercise fanatic, he does believe greatly in walking and prefers swimming to sweating over an exercise bicycle.
- But, never mind your choice of exercise, keep in mind that the body with all its muscles, tendons etc. should be kept in practice regularly to ensure your body is performing optimally and to prevent degeneration and wasting away of muscles and muscle tone.
- Breathing
- While a great many people spend hours per week in the gym to exercise their muscles, few actually think about doing
breathing exercises to help increase their energy level with proper
oxygenation of their blood.
- Although we will not even try and fully discuss breathing in this newsletter, we would like to offer some very basic ideas to keep in mind.
- Always breathe through the nose and guard against shallow breathing. Use your abdomen when breathing to ensure that you breathe deeply and fully.
- To experience deep breathing try the following exercise:
- Stand upright in a comfortable and restful position, but ensure that your spine is upright and begin breathing in three inter-connected phases.
- Push the stomach outwards and feel the air moving into the lower part of the lungs - then in the second phase spread out the lower ribs and feel the air in the middle part of your lungs - then in the final phase spread out your chest and let the air fill the top part of your lungs.
- You might feel awkward when doing this for the first time, but with practice you will be able to do these three movements as one fluid movement.
- Although most of us think that we breathe just fine, you will feel the difference when doing full complete breathing and will be amazed at the invigorating effect this will have on your entire body.
- Try it! - it is free and you might just find out that you like to breathe more fully.
- PS: Students find great benefit from doing some breathing exercises when studying - it gives them a break from their studies and deep concentration, corrects their posture and increases their blood oxygen level.
- Massage
- This tactile treatment is a great stress reliever, and that in itself is a great energizer, since stress is one of the greatest robbers of vitality and energy.
- As Tony Robbins so eloquently demonstrates in his motivational courses about "walking-your-talk" - when you act depressed and down-and-out, then your mind follows this path, but when you look and sound confident, so your mind also follows that path.
- To look and feel confident, you need to be rested and de-stressed, and with this, massage can help a great deal.
- We might not always be able to afford professional masseurs, but even if you spend some time to massage your tired feet or aching neck muscles, you will feel the difference. Or, you could get your partner to pick up some pointers on massage and to regularly treat you to a relaxing and invigorating massage.
- Meditation
- In today's hurried life, we sometimes do not have enough time to do all our chores, let alone time to reflect on life and the value it holds.
- But, when we take the time to give thanks for what we have in life, and spend some time on quiet reflection,
we benefit greatly, not only in the theological sense, but in strengthening our inner peace and happiness as well.
- After a very busy and disruptive day, try to set 30 minutes aside for yourself - if need be, lock yourself in the bath or bedroom, and try some simple relaxation exercises, like deep breathing and getting in touch with yourself and your body again.
- Have you ever had the feeling that you are somehow detached from your body - not in the mentally ill way, but in a way where you have been so busy with your life, the lives of your family and friends, running your professional life, meeting deadlines?? Need I go on??
- Then maybe it is time that you spent some quiet time all by yourself - even if it is just having a walk in the park (which is great exercise as well), sitting by a pond, on the beach - or wherever you can just spend some quality time with yourself.
- We all have very time for such "luxuries" such as spending time on meditation - but you will be amazed how much easier your life is, after you have given yourself such a mental breather.
- Aromatherapy
- Aromatherapy refers to massaging with essential aromatic
oils, but also includes the use of these oils in a bath, in a vaporizer and in inhalation. The practice dates back thousands of years, and was practiced in ancient Egypt and by the ancients Greeks and Romans.
- Aromatherapy and essential oils are useful in the enlightenment of the psychological wellbeing of a person, as well as being therapeutic for the physical body, since they inspire the body, mind and soul, help with cell division as well as the rate of oxygenation of the body and the removal of waste products from the body.
- Oils such as peppermint, rosemary, basil and clove bud are particularly useful in increasing energy, but please keep in mind that pure aromatherapy oils should not be used undiluted on the skin, since they can burn and damage the skin.
- For massage purposes, you need to mix the aromatherapy oil with a good carrier oil, such as pure sweet almond oil, in a 2% solution (1:40).
- For more on the therapeutic values of different oils go to www.ageless.co.za/aroma.htmor have a look at our sister site which deals only in essential oils at www.essentialoils.co.za
- Bath
- Bathing is really one of the great pleasures in life, and a long, quiet bath, with peaceful music playing in the background and soft candlelight, can do a great deal to revitalize both body and mind.
- Adding essential oils to your bath water adds fragrance to your bath and has the added therapeutic benefits of the essential oils. For a refreshing bath, add a couple of drops of rosemary, pine needles or peppermint to the water.
- Other oils that can be used in the bath are lavender, lavandin, orange, sandalwood, vetiver and ylang ylang - all of which make for a relaxing bath before going to bed, which is conducive to a good night's rest, and feeling more energized and energetic the next morning.
Other articles of interest
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