Instinctive health

I remember as a child if any of us was stung by a stinging nettle we would hunt for a “Doc” leaf growing nearby to rub on the affected part . . . these days I’m sure we would run to the nearest chemist for a pharmaceutical ointment. Likewise, if we had a tummy ache, we were given a cup of chamomile tea and a hot water bottle, and tucked up in bed.

Nature didn’t intend us to take an aspirin daily or a couple of beers, or consume vast amounts of white devitalized carbs, not to mention cigarettes. And Mother Nature certainly didn’t intend us to have a deficiency of Valium or tetracycline either!

When animals are sick they know instinctively what grasses and herbs to eat. We humans seem to have aberrated that instinct somewhere along the way. Let’s try to get back to nature a little ourselves this month.

Next time you have a headache, try taking some magnesium, drink plenty of water, pour yourself a cup of rosemary tea and rub some peppermint oil into your temples. Or if you catch a cold, make yourself a cup of YEP tea (yarrow, elder and peppermint), eat plenty of oranges and kiwi fruit, increase garlic in your diet, take a teaspoon of Manuka honey and have a handful of pumpkin seeds (high in zinc).

Don’t rush for a pharmaceutical answer unless necessary, listen to your body, and try a gentler approach.