Natural Ways to Treat Psoriasis

Psoriasis can vary in its severity, but causes serious discomfort and problems for those who suffer from it. The main symptoms are patches of raised skin with silvery white “scales”. It is thought that stress, smoking or even excessive drinking can be triggers which lead to the inflammation and over production of skin.

Tackling it can be troublesome. Research into the condition has shown that although there are many triggers, its underlying cause stems from the immune system. Over the counter medicines can therefore provide short term relief, but as they are designed to treat the outward symptoms only they do not always keep the condition at bay for very long.

The best chance you have for freeing yourself from psoriasis altogether is to tackle it from the inside out. That means strengthening your immune system first, and then dealing with the external symptoms.

The first step to treating psoriasis is therefore to build up your immune system by taking the following vitamin and mineral supplements:

Evening Primrose Oil - Improves dry and flaky skin conditions

Flax Seed Oil - Improves the condition of the skin and nails and reduces the inflammation of skin cells.

Borage Oil - Reduces dryness and scaliness and itchiness.

Zinc - Vital for healthy skin, hair and nails and promotes good growth.

The next step is to treat the outward symptoms and try and reduce the discomfort and appearance of the condition. It is important to apply creams with the following ingredients for this purpose:

Aloe Vera - Hydrates and rejuvenates the skin. It is also a good healing cream that helps reduce pain.

Calendula - Helps blood circulation and the regeneration of skin. It will also help strengthen the skin cells.

Thirdly, bathe in Dead Sea salts at least once per week. The healing properties of the Dead Sea are well known. The salt concentration is ten times higher than normal ocean water and there are rare minerals present that have shown to reduce inflammation and heal skin tissues.

Next you should give your diet an overhaul. Foods that allow toxins or even cause toxins to build up should be avoided. Therefore no spicy foods, alcohol, seafood or red meat but instead a diet of fruit, vegetables and nuts with a moderate amount of fish, chicken and eggs.

Finally you should examine your stress levels. Stress is one of the most well known underlying causes of psoriasis and a host of other illnesses too. By reducing stress in your life you will likely see a dramatic improvement on your psoriasis condition. Get plenty of sleep and exercise and practice proper relaxation to help you rid yourself of stress.

If anyone has any further suggestions on how to tackle psoriasis in a natural way, send in your comments below.

Self Sufficient Health Care

Becoming self- sufficient in terms of your health means no longer relying upon over the counter treatments and remedies for your health care. For every single shop bought product, there is an all natural herbal remedy available. Often in fact, many of the chemical preparations sold contain the natural plant extract as the active ingredient.

The first step to self sufficient health care is replacing the commercial elements of your first aid kit with the natural variety. You can keep the basics such as scissors, tweezers, a thermometer, lifesaving and CPR instructions, a first aid book, assorted bandages, sterile gauze, and first aid tape, but anything further should be totally natural. So what should that involve?

Here are a few ideas of what you might add to your first aid kit:

Cayenne Pepper

Why? This is a remarkable treatment for a number of conditions. First and foremost it heals wounds and limits scarring when applied directly to a wound and it stops bleeding both internally and externally. It also prevents shock and reduces the chances of hypothermia setting in when a person is very cold. It can also relieve pain for someone suffering from a heart attack. To administer cayenne pepper for these purposes, simply dissolve one teaspoon in warm water and drink. For the purpose of aiding recovery to frost bitten parts of the body which it also is capable of doing, soak the affected area in the solution of cayenne and warm water.

Golden Seal Root, Comfrey, Oak Bark and Bayberry Bark

Golden Seal Root will counter most infections whilst the other herbs work well to heal open wounds by stopping the bleeding and encouraging the tissues around the wound to pull together and heal it quickly.

Echinacea Extract

This is the perfect natural remedy for stings and bites from insects and even more venomous bites. It should be in a powdered extract form and applied straight to the skin when required.

Ginger Root

Eaten raw, studies have shown that nausea is very effectively reduced. Include it in your emergency kit for gastro intestinal disorder and other instances of nausea.

Slippery Elm Bark

This is a very soothing herb and is an excellent treatment of minor scrapes, burns, bruises and can even be applied to your baby to soothe nappy rash. Either the dry herb can be sprinkled on to the affected area or it can be mixed with water and applied as a plaster as this solution sticks well to the skin.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of natural items that should be included in your emergency kit, but it does give you an idea of the power of some of the natural remedies available to us are. You will find that becoming self sufficient in this way is rather exhilarating and will also reap great rewards. Do any of you follow this idea already and are self sufficient in terms of health? Send in your comments below.

Why use Shea Butter?

I always like to have a supply of Shea butter at home because of the amazing benefits my skin receives when I use it.

It comes from the seed of the nut produced by the Shea tree which is found only in Africa. The nut of the tree is dried and then through a process of boiling and pressing, the fat of the nut is removed and hence top quality Shea butter is produced. It is totally natural and is I believe the best moisturizer for you skin. The reason for this is that the oils within the butter are almost identical to the oils found within your own skin, so you are essentially using your skin’s own naturally occurring moisturizer on your face and body. you can’t really get more natural than that, and natural is so often best!

Benefits of using shea butter include a reduction of inflammation of the skin, reduction of the appearance of stretch marks and even the reduced appearance of wrinkles if used daily on your face. It can also help remove or reduce brown spots or age spots that are a regular occurrence on our skin as we get older.

There is no greasiness with Shea Butter either, it is absorbed quickly and easily by the skin and leaves absolutely no residue. Just daily application can lead to noticeable improvements to the skin in as little as 4 to 6 weeks.

At Baldwin’s this week, Shea Butter is on special offer, so I am going to be definitely be stocking up and taking full advantage of the 20% off offer. I can’t recommend a moisturizer more highly than Shea Butter. Do any of you use it currently? Send in your comments as to whether you agree that it is the best, or whether you disagree.