Living Simply Part 1

For this blog I want to talk about one of my passions which is home remedies including folk remedies, healing plants and herbal medicines nowadays when there is something wrong with us we tend to turn to the pharmacist or go to a doctor and get some sort of drug prescribed to us for all of our ailments. What I have realized is that by living a simple life and trying to find natural remedies before going to a doctor I can cure most of my families ailments without the help of modern medicine. The drug revolution did not really get underway until after World War II whereas folk medicine dates back to before recorded history, there is archeological evidence that even primitive human beings made use of healing plants.

With two young boys, one of the major incidents we run into is cuts and scrapes and burns. Traditionally honey has been used as an antiseptic and to help speed up the healing process and today that can still be used in fact honey can be used in many many herbal remedies. But I don't mean the honey that you find in your grocery store, you want to look for local organic honey, we buy it by the gallon from a bee farm less than a few km's from us. Not only are you supporting local honey producers, local raw honey contains pollen that is specific to your area and therefore can help those that suffer seasonal allergies, just by taking a spoonful of raw honey once or twice a day.

People have been using honey to heal cuts since at least 2000 BC when Egyptian doctors recorded its use to heal wounds. Even modern science has found that the antioxidants, amino acids, vitamins and minerals in honey make it able to kill both the bacteria and fungi that infect wounds and that its texture allows a cut to heal in a moist environment which leaves you with a softer looking scar or no scar at all.

So next time your little one runs to you with a scrape or cut or burn, clean the wound with water and apply a small layer of honey if possible leave the wound open or cover in gauze if need be. (Both my boys get skin rashes from the glue used in band aids) Finish with a big hug and kiss and a spoonful of honey ;)