How to get rid of Blackheads and Whiteheads NATURALLY!

Maintaining a clear and beautiful skin, takes time, consistency and effort. Dermatologist may recommend lots of products, but some of them can be expensive and may actually take a long time to work. You can, however, incorporate some home remedies for blackheads and whiteheads into your daily beauty regimen and in a few weeks, you will experience a drastic reduction or even total elimination of the problem.

Organic Toothpaste - Toothpaste is an effective blackhead and whitehead remover. Apply a thin paste to your infected areas and let it sit on your face for at least 25 minutes. You will probably feel a burning sensation when you apply the toothpaste, but this is normal and will pass. Once you remove the toothpaste, the top of your blackheads and whiteheads will disappear, but you still need to thoroughly wash your face to remove the buildup underneath. Repeat this home remedy every other day for two weeks.

Tomato - Tomatoes have natural antiseptic properties that dry up whiteheads and blackheads. Peel and mash a small tomato. Apply the tomato pulp to your blackheads and whiteheads before going to bed. Leave the tomato pulp on your face while you sleep and then wash your face in warm water in the morning.

Lemon -Wash your face in warm water. Then, squeeze the juice of one lemon into a bowl. Add in a pinch of salt and stir the mixture. Apply the mixture to your blackheads and whiteheads. Leave the mixture on for approximately 20 minutes and then wash your face with warm water again.

Lime - You can also use equal parts of lime juice and cinnamon powder and apply this mixture to blackheads. Leave it on overnight and rinse it off in the morning

Cornstarch - Mix about a three-to-one cornstarch to vinegar ratio into a paste. Apply it to your problem areas and let sit for 15 to 30 minutes. Remove the paste with warm water and a washcloth.

Yogurt - Mix three tablespoons of plain yogurt with two tablespoons of oatmeal. Add one teaspoon of olive oil and one tablespoon of lemon juice to the mixture. Stir the mixture thoroughly and apply it to the effective area of the face. Let the mixture sit for five to seven minutes then rinse off with cold water.

Almond or oatmeal - Mix either oatmeal or almond powder with just enough rose water to make a spreadable paste. Apply it to your problem areas with your fingertips first and then apply it to the rest of your face. Let it set for about 15 minutes and then rinse your face with cold water.

Rice - Soak rice in milk for 5 hours and then grind this in a blender until it is paste-like in consistency. Use the paste as a scrub on affected areas of the body.

Potatoes - Grate raw potatoes and then rub the area with the mixture. Wash it off after 15 minutes.

Fenugreek leaves - Crush some fenugreek leaves and mix with water to form a paste. Put this on the face for 15 minutes and then remove it. Do this every night to keep your face free of blackheads.

Coriander leaves - Mix some coriander leaves and a little turmeric powder with water and form a paste. Use this as a mask to eliminate blackheads.

Oatmeal -Grind oatmeal into a powder in a blender and then add some rose water. Use this on affected areas for 15 minutes and then wash it off with cold water.

Baking soda - Prepare a mixture of equal parts of baking soda and water and rub it onto your face or other body areas prone to blackheads. Leave it on for 15 minutes and then rinse it off with warm water.

Honey is also good for removing blackheads. Spread honey on the affected area and remove it after 15 minutes.

Remember -Be gentle to your skin. Never pinch, scrape, poke, press, or squeeze too hard!

Little Known Chinese Herb & Iron Kill 98% of Cancer Cells in 16 Hours

According to studies that were published in an issue of Life Sciences, artemesinin – a derivative of the wormwood plant used in Chinese Medicine - can kill 98% of breast cancer cells in less than 16 hours. The herb used alone caused a 28% reduction in breast cancer cells, but when paired with iron, sweet wormwood was able to eradicate cancer almost entirely. What’s more, normal human breast cancer cells were not affected in the experiment by this treatment.

Artemisinin has been used in the past as a powerful anti-malarial herb, but it now has been proven to be a cancer-fighter, too. When subjects in the published study were given an iron supplement, which often accumulates in the breast tissue but especially so in cancerous cells, the artemisinin was able to selectively target ‘bad’ cells and leave ‘good’ cells alone.

“Taken together, our results demonstrate that the artemisinin disruption of E2F1 transcription factor expression mediates the cell cycle arrest of human breast cancer cells and represents a critical transcriptional pathway by which artemisinin controls human reproductive cancer cell growth.”

Read: Watercress Found to Block Breast Cancer Cell Growth

Iron accumulates in cancerous cells due to special receptors that help them in cell division, called transferrin receptors. Normal cells likely have these receptors as well, but cancerous cells have them in greater abundance, and thus can be targeted by the iron-artemisinin combination, like a 1-2 punch.

There have been many experiments now that prove this sweet wormwood derivative can effectively eradicate disease in the presence of iron. The extract has been used for thousand of years in China to treat malaria. The malaria parasite cannot live in the presence of artemisinin because they are iron-rich, but the treatment works just as well for cancerous cells, too. Bioengineers Henry Lai and Narendra Singh of the University of Washington, Seattle were the scientists who initially made this discovery. This is yet another example of a natural herb causing cancerous cell apoptosis.

While the sweet wormwood extract has been somewhat difficult to obtain for a fair price for countless years, it is now on its way to being mass-produced by biotech. Will the result be positive and promising?

Read: Study Shows How Radiation Treatment Makes Breast Cancer Worse

“It’s the volatility that really makes the supply chain for this life-saving drug just a complete train wreck,” says Jack Newman, chief scientific officer of the California-based biotech firm Amyris. ”When we first started talking about this,” Newman says, “we gave it 1,000 to 1 odds of ever working. “

French drugmaker Sanofi is expected to make 50 to 60 tons of artemisinin each year, striving to supply enough demand for the global market.

Source: NaturalSociety

Natural Holiday Room Scents Made In The Crockpot

Fall and winter are the perfect time of year to make your own natural holiday room scents!

Cooler weather means spending more time indoors and holiday entertaining with friends and family. Your home will smell cozy, comforting, festive and absolutely delicious with these all natural holiday room scents made in the crockpot.

I’ll pass on the artificially scented candles and room sprays. While many of these do smell nice, they are filled with synthetic fragrances and toxic chemicals associated with hormone disruptions, allergic reactions, migraines, sinus pain, mental vagueness, dizziness, eye and skin irritations and more. What’s especially troubling is that these chemical toxins accumulate in human tissue. No, thank you. I’ll stick to my natural room scents that smell just as nice.

And these natural room scents couldn’t be more easy to make because they’re made in the crockpot! Oh how I love crockpots and this is just one more reason to love them. Just put your room scent ingredients in a mini crockpot (I love THIS one), fill it with water, turn it to low and you’ll have such a lovely holiday scent all day long.

Here’s 3 of my very favorite natural holiday room scents:

Ingredients

Holiday Spice

• Orange peels from one orange
• ¼ cup fresh cranberries
• 2 teaspoons whole cloves (Find HERE)
• 2 cinnamon sticks (Find HERE)

Warm Apple Pie

• Apple peels from 2 apples
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 tablespoon whole cloves

Orange Cinnamon Vanilla

• Orange peels from one orange
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or 4 drops of vanilla essential oil (Find HERE)

Instructions

1. Choose a scent and place the ingredients in a mini crockpot.
2. Fill the crockpot with water.
3. Turn to low and leave uncovered.
4. Enjoy!

Notes

If the water levels gets too low, just add more water!
You can reuse the room scents a few times – just keep the mixture stored in the fridge up to 4 days while not in use.

Source: PrimallyInspired

12 Uses For Cloves - A Wonder Spice With The Highest Antioxidant Value

On the ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) scale used by the National Institute on Aging in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to assess the antioxidant value of foods, clove has the highest ORAC score. Besides it's ability to prevent cancer, clove has incredible purification and protection properties within.

Cloves are a very common spice widely used all over the world. It is renowned for its rich aroma and flavour. 

1) Consuming a couple of cloves can help to cleanse your body from harmful toxins and microbes. This will help to boost your health.

2) Cloves help to protect the damage caused to your body's cells and help to stimulate energy in every part of your body.

3) Cloves help give you quick relief from toothache. Just place a piece of clove on the affected area, and gain instant relief.

4) The presence of eugenol, in cloves gives it a lovely aroma and helps in numbing dental pain and clearing out bacteria in the mouth.

5) You can also use cloves as a mosquito repellent. Clove can effectively help to ward off mosquitoes.

6) Cloves also have great anti-inflammatory properties. Use cloves to treat inflammation and infections.

7) If you are troubled with digestion problems, chew on a couple of cloves.

8) Cloves also aid with cardiac and diabetes health.

9) Due to its purification properties, cloves help in purifying your blood.

10) Ayurveda suggests making a tea to lessen, or prevent, colds and flu. It is also used as an expectorant, making it easier to cough up phlegm. Cloves are a natural painkiller and also attack germs, so they'll help you get rid of that sore throat.

11) Sometimes used as an aphrodisiac, cloves can also help men from reaching orgasm too early.

12) Cloves treats scrapes and bruises. They are pretty strong and can sting, so the best bet is to probably make a poultice with a little olive oil.

Just add cloves to your diet in the form of curries, soups and main dishes to gain maximum benefits.

Source: PreventDisease

10 Amazing Uses For Apple Cider Vinegar

I’ve mentioned many times on my facebook page how great raw apple cider vinegar is for your health. However, almost every time I post about it, a reader asks how to use it. It seems to me that a lot of people have heard that ACV is good for you, but they don’t quite know how to incorporate it into their lives. After all, it is vinegar, so you can’t just chug it straight from the bottle…yuk! This article will give you 10 different ways to use this miracle elixir!

The Many Health Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar

But first, let’s talk about WHY you should be using apple cider vinegar. The benefits to raw apple cider vinegar are many. Apart from containing many beneficial vitamins and minerals, apple cider vinegar also contains acetic acid, potassium and malic acid. It can help regulate blood sugar, aid digestion, build muscle, clear skin, reduce bad cholesterol, prevent sickness with its antiviral properties, help remove toxins and aid in weight loss. It is also an alkalizing food, so it helps your body maintain good PH levels.

When choosing apple cider vinegar, you should always get raw (unpasteurized) with the mother like this one to ensure you will get all the benefits from it.

If you want even more ideas, this book is less that $4 and has a bunch of great tips on how to use apple cider vinegar for natural cures.

10 Ways to Use Apple Cider Vinegar

1. Drink 1-2 tablespoons ACV diluted in a glass of still or bubbly water with a teaspoon of raw honey like this (optional). You can also buy ACV drinks at some health food stores, I love this brand with added cinnamon–it tastes like apple pie in a bottle and it’s good for you too! You can also make a drink with ginger like this recipe.

2. Use ACV in place of balsamic vinegar in salad dressing.

3. Add 1-2 tablespoons ACV to your morning smoothie. Start with one tablespoon and work your way up. It is vinegar and can have a strong flavor, so be careful not to start with too much.

4. Use it as a facial toner to improve complexion and restore skin’s natural PH.

5. Use it to naturally treat dandruff.

6. Heal your sunburn quickly and naturally.

7. Use ACV as an all purpose cleaner. Mix equal parts water and ACV and add 2-3 drops essential oils like lavender or tea tree. (Find quality essential oils here)

8. Use ACV to soak your beans, legumes or grains to reduce phytic acid and make them more easily digested. Simply cover a pot of dry uncooked beans with filtered water. The water should come well over the top of the beans (they will expand), then add 1 tablespoon of vinegar per cup of beans to the water. The acidic medium helps reduce the anti-nutrients in beans that block absorption of vitamins and minerals.

9. Use ACV in your bath. Add ½- 1 cup to your bath water along with epsom salts and lavender essential oil for a relaxing and detoxifying bath.

10. Help treat yeast infections by adding 1 cup ACV to your bath or by adding 1 tablespoon to your water in the morning.

Source: HealyRealFoodVegetarian

10 Signs You Have A Thyroid Problem

It's estimated that as many as 25 million Americans have a thyroid problem, and half of them have no idea that they do.Hypothyroidism, or an under-active thyroid, accounts for 90% of all thyroid imbalances.

The thyroid, a butterfly-shaped gland in the center of your neck, is the master gland of metabolism. How well your thyroid is functioning is inter-related with every system in your body. If your thyroid is not running optimally, then neither are you.

Here are 10 signs that you could have an underactive thyroid:

1. Fatigue after sleeping 8 to 10 hours a night or needing to take a nap daily.

2. Weight gain or the inability to lose weight.

3. Mood issues such as mood swings, anxiety or depression. 

4. Hormone imbalances such as PMS, irregular periods, infertility and low sex drive.

5. Muscle pain, joint pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, or tendonitis.

6. Cold hands and feet, feeling cold when others are not, or having a body temperature consistently below 98.5.

7. Dry or cracking skin, brittle nails and excessive hair loss.

8. Constipation.

9. Mind issues such as brain fog, poor concentration or poor memory.

10. Neck swelling, snoring or hoarse voice.

How does you thyroid gland work?

Thyroid hormone production is regulated by a feedback loop between the hypothalamus, pituitary gland and the thyroid gland. Hypothalamic thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) stimulates pituitary thyrotropin (TSH) synthesis and secretion. 

In turn, TSH stimulates production and release of T4 and T3 from the thyroid gland. When enough T4 is produced, it signals to TRH and TSH that there is enough thyroid hormone in circulation and not to produce more.  

About 85% of the hormone produced by our thyroid gland is T4, which is an inactive form of the hormone. After T4 is made, a small amount of it is converted into T3, which is the active form of thyroid hormone.

The role of Reverse T3 is not well known, however, I do see it elevated in persons under extreme stress...

To complicate matters, T3 also gets converted into either Free T3 (FT3) or Reverse T3 (RT3). It's the Free T3 that really matters in all of this, since it's the only hormone that can attach to a receptor and cause your metabolism to rise, keep you warm, keep your bowels moving, mind working, and other hormones in check. The role of Reverse T3 is not well known, however, I do see it elevated in persons under extreme stress and those who have mercury toxicity.

And finally, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, an autoimmune disease, is the most common form of hypothyroidism and its numbers are rising annually. An autoimmune disease is one in which your body turns on itself and begins to attack a certain organ or tissue believing its foreign. 

I routinely screen all of my patients for autoimmune thyroid disease by ordering Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies (TPOAb) and Thyroglobulin Antibodies (TgAb). 

Why is hypothyroidism so under diagnosed in the USA?

Many symptoms of thyroid imbalance are vague and most doctors spend only a few minutes talking with patients to sort out the cause of their complaint. 

Most conventional doctors use only one or two tests

Most conventional doctors use only one or two tests (TSH and T4) to screen for problems. They are not checking FT3, RT3 or thyroid antibodies.

Most conventional doctors use the ‘normal’ lab reference range as their guide only. Rather than listening to their patients symptoms, they use ‘optimal’ lab values and temperature as their guide.

Which lab tests are best to determine if you have a thyroid problem?

I check the below panel on each of my patients. Make sure your doctor does the same for you.

• TSH
• Free T4
• Free T3
• Reverse T3
• Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies (TPOAb)
• Thyroglobulin Antibodies (TgAb)

What are the ‘optimal’ lab values for thyroid tests?

In my practice, I have found that the below are the ranges in which my patients (and myself) thrive.  I listen to my patients as well and take how they are feeling into account.

• TSH 1-2 UIU/ML or lower (Armour or compounded T3 can artificially suppress TSH)
• FT4  >1.1 NG/DL
• FT3 > 3.2 PG/ML
• RT3 less than a 10:1 ratio RT3:FT3
• TPO –
• TgAb - < 4 IU/ML or negative

What are 10 things you can do to improve your thyroid function?

1. Make sure you are taking a high quality multivitamin with Iodine, Zinc, Selenium, Iron, Vitamin D and B vitamins.

2. Take a tyrosine and iodine supplement to help with the FT4 to FT3 conversion.

3. Go gluten-free! If you have Hashimoto’s, try going completely grain and legume free.

4. Deal with your stress and support your adrenal glands. The adrenal glands and thyroid work hand and hand. I recommend restorative yoga and adaptogenic herbs, which support the adrenal glands in coping with stress.

5. Get 8 to 10 hours of sleep a night.

6. Have a biological dentist safely remove any amalgam fillings you may have.

7. Watch your intake of cruciferous vegetables. There is a bit of a debate surrounding this.

8. Get fluoride, bromide and chlorine out of your diet and environment.

9. Heal your gut. A properly functioning digestive system (gut) is critical to good health. To learn more, click here. 

10. Find a functional medicine doctor in your area and have them run the above laboratory test and work with you to find our root cause of the thyroid imbalance.

Source: EatLocalGrown

Read more about -- Herbs that can heal your thyroid here:
http://www.naturalcuresnotmedicine.com/2013/12/herbs-for-thyroid.html