If you’re just starting to embrace a natural, healthy lifestyle, you may want to create a natural-health medicine chest to treat common ailments.

For Overall Health

Sad to say, but there’s no one magic bullet – no pill, vitamin, or herbal supplement – that will guarantee good health. The human body is meant for variety, and people who eat a wide variety of fresh fruits, vegetables and grains tend to be healthier than those who eat a diet riddled with “junk” processed foods.

Our bodies assimilate vitamins best from the foods that we eat. Foods rich in health-giving vitamins include fruits and vegetables. Eating a rainbow of colors ensures we take in the widest variety of vitamins and antioxidants possible that support health and well being.  And while fresh and organic is best, even eating frozen vegetables is better than living on highly processed and refined foods.

Assembling the Herbal Medicine Chest

Assemble the following herbs and vitamins in one area in your home. You may want to include them in your medicine cabinet or perhaps in a special box. Whatever you do, though, don’t wait until you get sick to gather your supplies. There’s nothing worse than having to run out to the store when you have a cold or flu!

As with all herbs and supplements, please see a doctor if you have any medical conditions or if symptoms persist. Always follow package directions; each supplement manufacturer creates different strengths, so read and follow directions. If you are seriously ill, go to a doctor or the emergency room. Pregnant and nursing women should avoid taking herbs and supplements except under the advice of their doctor.

Stomach Ailments

Two herbs are standouts in the herbal medicine chest for stomach ailments.

•    Peppermint:  Most people love the taste of peppermint. It’s known as a soothing agent, calming an upset stomach, reducing nausea, and eliminating gas and flatulence.  Sip peppermint tea or look for enteric-coated capsules.  Enteric capsules dissolve differently than regular capsules and deliver peppermint differently to the body.

•    Ginger: For fighting nausea, ginger is a leader. Ginger tea may be sipped at the first sign of nausea. Capsules and even ginger powder also tame a rolling tummy and are useful for motion sickness too. Candied ginger is a healthy, tasty way to consume doses. It goes great with chocolate!

Skin Cuts and Scrapes

Natural first aid for simple abrasions includes washing the area with soap and water and applying one of the following herbal antiseptics.

•    Tea tree oil: This oil derives from an Australian tea and is well researched as an antibacterial agent. Apply a few drops to the skin. Do not use tea tree oil internally or get near the mouth, eyes or nose. While you may see it listed as an ingredient in mouthwashes or toothpaste,  it is diluted in these products and tested for internal use.

•    Aloe vera: Aloe vera gel soothes sunburn and scrapes.  If you keep an aloe plant in the kitchen and get a burn, simply break off a stem, slice it, and apply the fresh gel from the plant directly onto the burn.

•    Vitamin E: Vitamin E reduces scarring. Look for a cream containing vitamin E or oil itself to reduce scars and stretch marks.

Splinters and Boils

For splinters and boils, black drawing salve or drawing salve is a must in the herbal medicine chest. Also called ichthammol ointment, it’s made from a coal-tar derivative which safely and effectively draws out splinters and boil pus.  The ointment can be messy, so always apply a bandage over the affected area.

Colds and Flu

The best defense is a good offense, and that goes for colds and flus as well as other aspects of life. Keeping yourself healthy prevents viruses from taking root.  During cold and flu season, have a balanced healthy diet and avoid white sugar, which reduces the effectiveness of certain immune system cells for several hours after ingestion. Ingest extra vitamin C or eat vitamin C-rich fruits, such as oranges, grapefruits, and other citrus fruits.

At the first sign of a cold or flu, Echinacea or an Echinacea/Goldenseal combination are great herbs to use. Echinacea is most effective at the very early stages of a cold; look for herbal products, such as ones sold by Gaia Herbs, marketed for early onset.

Other Natural Healing Remedies to Try

The world of natural remedies is broad and encompasses herbs, vitamins, homeopathy, and many other disciplines. Many of these methods work well alone or in conjunction with others.  If you’re serious about natural health, you may want to schedule an appointment with a naturopathic doctor. He or she should be trained in a variety of natural remedies and can recommend the best actions for your own health needs. A qualified herbalist can also help you choose herbal remedies that are simple and appropriate.

A good diet, adequate exercise, rest, fresh air and sunshine are also vital for our health and well being. Balancing that with stimulating mental activity, creativity, and social interaction will help create a healthy foundation. Holistic health isn’t as much about swallowing the right herbal pill or remedy as it is a way of embracing and nurturing the body’s natural healing methods.

It’s about taking charge of health through the basics, to prevent as well as heal.

Heal the mind. Heal the Body. Heal the Soul.