Natural Health for Life: August 2007

Colloidal silver has come to the forefront of natural supplements used to help the body deal with all manner of infection. Although it is a popular supplement today, silver has been used for these purposes for thousands of years. Current scientific support dates back to the seventeenth century. Silver has been used to help prevent spoilage of food and water, topically to help fight bacterial infection, internally to help fight a variety of infections, and via the mucous membranes to help alleviate problems such as sinus infections.

Some of the advantages of colloidal silver over conventional treatments, such as antibiotics, involve the specific action of the antibiotics. Antibiotics were developed to kill bacterial species, and have no effect on fungal or viral organisms, which themselves are common causes of many infections. Additionally, antibiotics do not discriminate between the harmful bacteria they are intended to kill, and the "helpful" bacteria that are a normal part of our bodily functions, and are essential to us in a number of ways, one of the most important of which is our immune functioning. Because of this action, antibiotics may actually LESSEN our body's ability to fight off infection. Also, prolonged and widespread use of antibiotics over time has decreased their effectiveness because the bacteria they were developed to kill have increasingly developed resistances to specific antibiotics, rendering them ineffective. For all of these reasons, many choose to seek natural cures, choosing colloidal silver for sinus infection, bacterial skin infections, and other infections.

In searching the internet, we have found much misinformation about the supposed dangers of colloidal silver for sinus infection or taken internally to fight various other infections. However, the very rare condition known as argyria requires a level of silver to be ingested that is essentially impossible with colloidal silver products. Silver salt solutions may have been labeled as "colloidal silver," but silver salts are much higher in silver concentration. A more thorough understanding of colloidal silver products will assure the consumer of the safety of colloidal silver.

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Toothache / tooth infection

I had the unfortunate opportunity to suffer a bad case of tooth root infection over the past week, with no opportunity to visit a dentist.

I realized that so far, we have only mentioned clove oil as being helpful for toothache, and decided to expand the list based on what I used.

I did use clove oil for the first two days, applied to the cavity, and rubbed over the gums. It does help, although the taste leaves a lot to be desired. It really only helps with pain, though, and did nothing to head off the real infection that was coming. It was supplemented with White Willow Bark capsules for pain.

When the infection reached its peak, I started applying goldenseal tincture directly to the tooth and gum. It does soak in, and it does help. And it tastes less bad than the clove oil (at least in my opinion). Goldenseal helps fight infection.

I also applied Young Living Geranium Oil to the skin of the face outside the painful area. That helped somewhat with pain for several hours.

At the store, when I had everything available, I started taking Newton Homeopathics Fever-Infection on an intense schedule. I took about 5 doses every 5 minutes, then about 6 doses every 15 minutes, then once per hour for the next 36 hours. Because I combined this with other treatments I am not sure which was most effective, but I do believe this one helped. I am still taking it 3x per day.

I took 1 tsp. of colloidal silver 50 ppm and used it as a mouthrinse for about 1 minute, then swallowed about 1/2 of it. I did this once per day for 2 days. This is to help fight infection.

I alternated doses of Nature's Sunshine Echinacea/Goldenseal (3 capsules) with Garlic Oil (3 perls) every couple of hours to help fight infection for about 2 days. I am still taking this several times per day.

For pain I took 3 capsules of White Willow Bark every hour, when the pain was intense. I am down now to 1 capsule a couple of times a day, and am ready to discontinue it.

I supplemented that with 1-2 capsules of Skullcap, which helps to cut down on nerve excitation and thus can decrease pain, as well as providing general relaxation and allowing for better sleep when under stress.

The result was that within about 24 hours of intensive treatment, the tooth was MUCH less painful. In the beginning of the real infection, it hurt too badly to tap it as softly as you can tap using a fingernail, which helped me to identify exactly which tooth was the problem (not the one I expected!) ... I tend to have a lot of referred pain with toothaches.

After 24 hours, I still was not ready to bite down hard on anything, but I was having only a dull ache. Now, 2 days later, the ache is gone. If I tap the tooth HARD I can feel a little "ping" but nothing like what I experienced previously.

My plan is to continue with the garlic and goldenseal/echinacea as well as the Newton's Fever-Infection until the infection is completely under control. Of course, during this whole time I have been taking the usual vitamin/mineral supplements, which help EVERYthing to work better.

Oh, and (probably due to the stress) I had a fever blister start up on the second day of treatment. I took one dose of L-Lysine with Beta Glucan and Olive leaf, and that always knocks out a fever blister for me within 12 hours, if I catch it right away.

This is provided for informational use only, of course, and, as the FDA says, "is not intended to diagnose or treat any condition or ailment" ...

I am just thankful once again to have been able to regain my health without having to visit an emergency practitioner (especially since I have no insurance and am on a limited income). I wish to share my experiences with others.

Have a great day. I know that I am having one, now that the pain is gone!

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Detox Programs

While we are most interested in encouraging people to enjoy good health by developing sound nutritional and exercise habits, and using natural supplements, we understand that sometimes situations arise that require correction in order to restore the person first. Of particular concern are addictions. Some individuals may need to seek prescription drug addiction treatment, while others may need programs such as heroin or methadone treatment.

One program offered is unique among drug addiction treatment programs in that it offers drug rehab at home. The benefits of such a program include the decreased cost, by allowing the person undergoing treatment to stay at home rather than paying for confinement for weeks or even months to a facility, as well as allowing the person to resume working and avoiding loss of income during that extended period.

Please note that we will not ordinarily mention programs involving the use of prescriptions because that falls outside of the context of this blog. However, this program (while we have no personal experience with it) might offer some who need it a chance at reclaiming their lives in order to allow them to begin pursuing a naturally healthy lifestyle. We reconsidered because a number of individuals come to us in the retail establishment because they have unwittingly become addicted to prescription painkillers and now seek a way to escape their addiction, and also because we were impressed by some of the success stories of this program.

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$mart $hopping for $upplements

If you shop online for supplements, we found a great website for comparing prices between a multitude of online stores on almost thirty thousand supplements. Shopping.com allows you to compare prices of multiple sellers on a single page, including shipping and handling charges, as well as providing ratings at a glance for the sellers you are considering.

Categories are searchable by price range, dosage, type of supplement, body systems, brand, and a number of other factors in order to make it easy to find what you are looking for, or to locate other products you may not be aware of that will suit your needs.

Because online prices can vary widely between suppliers, a reliable information tool that allows you to compare prices between sellers can save you a lot of money as well as time. Within a couple of minutes of browsing, we found prices for Jarrow Glutathione that varied between $23.95 (free shipping) to as high as $45.60 (including shipping). So you can see that comparing prices before ordering is essential.

Shopping.com also allows you to find and compare prices on Herbalife products as well as many retail brands. We are familiar with many of the brands offered and they are among some of the products available through retail outlets. As well as supplements, you can also compare prices on a wide variety of nutritional products and drink mixes.

So before ordering supplements online, be sure to check Shopping.com to select your source!

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Natural Health for Life

Information for increasing and maintaining health through the use of natural supplements, natural products, holistic services, sound nutrition and physical excercise. The usual FDA required disclaimer: "The information on this site has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and is not intended to treat, diagnose, cure, or prevent any disease."