The most common method of making chai tea is to boil water with sugar, molasses, or honey with one or more spices including cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, star anise, peppercorn, cloves, nutmeg, chocolate, cocoa, vanilla, licorice, or saffron, and then add the tea and milk/soy/cream and simmer a bit longer. Once it’s done, just strain and serve. The key to making good tea is to leave the tea leaves in the boiling water long enough, but not so long that the tea is bitter. If you’re a bit intimidated, check out this recipe for a dry mix for instant chai tea that you can keep on hand for those frequent chai tea emergencies, and also a great gift for any tea enthusiast. Oregon Chai Tea, found online at www.oregonchai.com, features a delicious Indian chai made from concentrate, “to nourish your yin and elevate your yang with this creamy blend of tea, spice, and spirit.” 

It’s easy to find lots of great recipes online, including traditional chai, and other quick and easy variations of spiced chai tea that you can make at home. Odie.org features recipes collected from around the world, as well as chai brewing hints and tips, and a chai ingredient glossary. Choose a traditional chai like Chandra Chai Moon Tea, or a quick and easy chai like Romantic Chai, and if you’re looking for tasty treats, mix up some chai cookies or a chai milkshake. If you’re in a hurry and don’t have time to whip up your own, Starbucks features a tasty Tazo chai tea latte, which is a steamed blend of rare black teas, milk, exotic spices and comforting vanilla. Tazo Teas are also available from the company’s website at www.tazo.com. 

Today, St John’s Wort is used to treat depression and anxiety with good effect on many people. It is always wise to check with your doctor before beginning taking the herb, especially if there are other prescription drugs or other herbs already being taken. Especially for those people who sunburn easily or are wary of sun exposure, there can be a measure of photosensitivity, or making you extra sensitive to sunlight. Slapping on a good layer of sun block before going out is always a good idea.

Some of the other properties of St John’s Wort are what are being used to good effect to treat varicose veins. St John’s Wort has anti-inflammatory and astringent qualities that are very helpful. St John’s Wort can be used in different ways, as well; as a tea, an infusion, in an oil extract, also as a pill or capsule. Talk to somebody who is knowledgeable about herbs and be sure to get the okay of your doc; you may be well pleased.

Other astringent herbs you might study are white oak, witch hazel, and calendula. Witch hazel is not for internal use and it can be a little irritating to the skin. Those who tolerate it well might opt for massaging it into the skin or making a compress to lay directly on the varicosities.
Hot and cold compresses, either with vinegar, chamomile, or other herb, or just wetted with hot or cold water can be soothing. When taking a bath, if you can run hot and cold intermittently into the tub can help the circulation and bring relief from aches.

Speaking of circulation, the wearing of compression stockings can be very helpful as they help to squeeze the blood upward in its circulation up the leg, and the support can feel good as well! Making sure that none of your clothes or undergarments are constricting or are too tight is a very important precaution. Squeezing your legs in to knee-high hose that leaves a big depression in your leg after you take it off is tantamount to leaving an invitation for a varicosity to form there. Remember, there is good compression and bad compression and it behooves you to know the difference.

A good massage can often do wonders, especially if you are having a painful time of it. The masseuse will start at your feet and massage upward toward the hips, then follow along the lymphatic system to mobilize congested body tissues. The massage oil might also be infused with palmarosa, frankincense, juniper berries, and myrtle. These oils are made the most efficacious when added to St John’s Wort infused oil. Who doesn’t feel better after a relaxing massage with a little aromatherapy thrown in?

Along with medical doctors, we are lucky these days to have knowledgeable and competent herbalists who are not only wise in herbcraft but have much complementary medical knowledge. Many physicians have come to appreciate herbal knowledge and are happy to work in concert with herbalists. Some physicians are not. You should always follow the advice of a doctor that you trust. Some herbal remedies are not suited to be taken along with prescription drugs. Horse chestnut, for example, has compounds that can slow blood coagulation. So if you are on blood thinners, take coumadin or meds after a stroke, DO NOT use horse chestnut. Witch hazel is not meant to be taken internally, and some folks might find it a bit of an irritant on the skin. These are examples, and there are other cautions related to the interaction of herbs and prescription drugs that can’t be included in an overview. So check with your doctor, and hopefully find some more good medicine for yourself!

These herbs can be made into or bought as tinctures or made into tea. Their actions can improve vein elasticity, improve blood vessel tone, stimulate circulation and help relieve water retention. Horse chestnut and Butcher’s Broom have long been used. Butcher’s Broom has also been applied directly on varicose veins. It should not be taken internally by pregnant women. Other astringent herbs would include white oak, witch hazel, and calendula. They are also good used in sitz baths.

Herbs that have been used to stimulate peripheral circulation include ginko, ginger, cayenne, prickly ash, or garlic, fresh or in capsules.

Diuretics include dandelion, yarrow, and hawthorn. These can be used in hot and cold compresses as well. Bilberries and gotu cola are also used.

My grandmother was wise in folk medicine as well as working as a nurse for most of her adult life. Her favorite remedy was apple cider vinegar and honey. She would mix a tablespoon of each in a cup of warm to hot water. She drank this religiously every day and lived over ninety years. She advocated the tonic and rubbing vinegar on varicose veins. She said that vinegar was not just an astringent, but she felt it “broke things up” when it came to blockages anywhere in the body. She used it for the same purpose when it came to arthritis. From my experience with that very wise woman, wise words indeed!

She says that the quickest and easiest way is to apply the apple-cider vinegar directly from the vinegar bottle onto the varicose veins. She says that she’ll usually do this when she’s mixing her tonic, just a dab on each area where she sees the varicose veins. After applying the apple-cider vinegar to the affected areas, she likes to put her feet up onto a chair or ottoman while she sips her tonic. She said that ideally she does this twice a day, although some days she can only get to it once in a day. Grandma stays very active.
I asked her about another apple-cider vinegar method I had heard about. A person is supposed to drench a rag or a cloth with the vinegar and then lie down and apply the cloth directly to the area where the varicose veins exist. Try to stay down for at least 20 minutes or a half-hour to allow the vinegar to settle into your skin.

My Grandma said she’s knows a couple of folks who use that method with the cloth, and that she chooses not to do it that way because she’s been happy with her own method of just dabbing some directly out of the bottle. She said that regardless of the topical method you choose, you should also consider trying some of her tonic “so the stuff is working from the inside and the outside as well.”

While her apple-cider vinegar regimen is her favorite (and she absolutely swears by it), she has found a few other home remedies (she calls them “common sense remedies”) that she believes can be of benefit. The most important thing is movement, she said, you have to see to it that your muscle tone doesn’t turn into stone. She does this primarily by walking, even if it’s just a stroll out to the mailbox and back or a walk around the block, she tries very hard to make sure that she gets out and moves at least once a day, ideally twice a day.

She said to remind everyone not to overdo it at first, and to be sure to check with their doctor before beginning a new fitness or healing project. She said “tell everyone to have a cup of apple-cider vinegar tonic and then to dab a bit onto those varicose veins.” Then commence to strolling. Good luck!

It’s not wise to let just anyone stick needles into your skin. Those who have gone to acupuncture school and who have practiced under the watchful eye of someone with years of experience is the best bet for proper healing. The balance of the body is delicate, and applying the practice in the wrong way will not work, and might even make things worse for the patient. In order to get proper treatment, it makes sense that the person wielding the needles must know what they are doing, and why they are doing it.

There are some who will not see anyone unless they have completed acupuncture school in China. They don’t trust the schools in the US, and I guess that is somewhat understandable. However, there are some great schools here, and most of them were started by masters of acupuncture. When signing up or looking for a school, a person has to determine the validity of what the school has to offer, and who is running the classes and the school. As with anything, some schools will be better than others.

Anyone interested in attending acupuncture school has a lot of options out there, and most of them are good ones. However, not all are good, so research is essential. Find out what they teach, how long the course may be, and find out about accreditation. Some of these schools will have financial aid, and may have courses like therapeutic and medicinal massage and therapy training, and some training with natural herbs and other alternative medicines. Acupuncture school should not only teach the practice of acupuncture, but the theories and beliefs that come along with it. Only someone who truly understands what it is all about can give effective treatments to their patients.

YES!!…

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