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10 Ways to use comfrey, a powerful healing herb

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(Natural News) Comfrey, or gum plant, is a medicinal herb that can be used as an astringent, anti-inflammatory or anti-rheumatic agent. It can also be used to treat wounds, bites, stings, rashes and other conditions. Not only does it speed up recovery on the surface level, but it also penetrates into the tissues to speed the healing of sprains, strains and even broken bones.

Comfrey is a nutrient accumulator. The roots of the comfrey plant reach far into the earth to pull up minerals, and it is known to be a good source of calcium, manganese, potassium, vitamin A and vitamin C. (Related: How to grow and use comfrey for gardening and medicine.)

Using comfrey for healing

As Oil

You can boil comfrey in a pan and heat it on low until the oil takes the color of the herbs. This will take about thirty minutes to an hour. You can then strain the herbs and bottle the oil. While it can be stored at room temperature, comfrey oil will last longer when kept in a cool place.

You can apply the oil liberally to aches, pains, and other areas when desired. Use a roller bottle to use the oil without getting your hands messy.

As Decoction

Use 1-3 teaspoons of dried comfrey root for every cup of water. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for up ten to fifteen minutes. Drink this concoction up to three times a day, or gargle it to treat infections, dry mouth, sore throat and bleeding gums.

As tea or water infusion

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Prepper medicine: How to use sage, a versatile healing herb

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(Natural News) Sage is a flavorful herb that’s often used during Thanksgiving to season turkey and homemade stuffing.

The herb may be popular as a culinary seasoning for holiday recipes, but you also need to learn the medicinal uses of sage before SHTF. (h/t to TheSurvivalMom.com)

Sage: A versatile herb for your home garden

Sage belongs to the mint family. While there are many varieties, the one you’re probably most familiar with is the one used for cooking, Salvia officinalis.

Sage is very aromatic and using it gives your dishes an earthy, warm quality. The herb can be used fresh, dry, rubbed, and ground. (Related: 10 Ways to use comfrey, a powerful healing herb.)

While the modern use of sage usually involves savory dishes, sage has been valued for its health benefits for thousands of years.

The ancient Greeks and Chinese used varieties of sage to address different health issues. Native Americans used sage for meditation, protection and relaxation.

Common garden sage, the variety you often use for cooking, is also used for broader health purposes as recently as the late 1800s by early doctors like Physiomedicalists in the United States.

Traditionally, sage has been used to address minor discomforts like bloating and gas after eating a fatty meal to more serious health problems like typhoid fever and tuberculosis.

Sage health benefits

Sage is full of vitamins and minerals. One teaspoon (0.7 grams) of ground sage contains only two calories, 0.1 grams of fat and protein and 0.4 grams of carbs.

The same serving also contains:

  • Vitamin K –10 percent of the reference daily intake (RDI)
  • Iron – 1.1 percent of the RDI
  • Vitamin B6 – 1.1 percent of the RDI
  • Calcium – One percent of the RDI
  • Manganese – One percent of the RDI

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Survival medicine 101: Three natural remedies for pain relief, infections and for improving heart health

Survival medicine 101: Three natural remedies for pain relief, infections and for improving heart health

Image: Survival medicine 101: Three natural remedies for pain relief, infections and for improving heart health

(Natural News) Herbs and plants make for potent medicines and holistic treatments for a range of ailments, from muscle pain to bacterial infections. These natural remedies also do not cause harmful side effects like drugs and are cost-efficient to boot.

In one of his recent articles published online, prepper and natural medicine proponent Claude Davis shared three of his grandfather’s most potent remedies made using medicinal plants. These remedies succeed despite the failures of modern medication to treat the same health issues, said Davis.

He also noted that each of these remedies performs for a particular purpose. One helps neutralize pain, another combats life-threatening bacterial infections and the last eliminates cholesterol plaque, a major biomarker for heart disease.

Potent natural remedies

The three remedies are made from plants that can be found in abundance throughout the U.S. These plants include Cotyledon tomentosaUsnea barbata and Crataegus oxyacantha. Read on to learn about the in-depth benefits of and preparation methods used for each one.

Angry bear paw

According to Davis, his grandfather had used this first remedy to either treat hurt soldiers on the battlefield or ease the pain of dying ones. His grandfather had learned it from a Native American healer adept at using medicinal plants and remedies.

It involves using the leaves of bear’s paw (C. tomentosa), a plant endemic to South Africa. Davis’ grandfather ground and boiled the leaves and kept stirring until he had a dark and viscous substance.

He strained it and then left it to simmer for another three to four hours until the substance became darker and thicker. This can then be consumed as is like cough syrup for fast-acting relief from intense pain.

Log man’s mending fur

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The Grim Reality of Survival Medicine in Austere Conditions

The Grim Reality of Survival Medicine in Austere Conditions

Several years ago, I wrote the following for a survival medicine book we had put together. I still think it provides a realistic view of the potential medical environment in a grid down or austere survival situation.

From a healthcare standpoint, a post-SHTF world looks quite grim.

“With no antibiotics, there would be no treatment for bacterial infections; pneumonia or a simple cut could kill again, contagious diseases (including those sexually transmitted) would make a comeback, and high mortality rates would be associated with any surgery. Poor hygiene and disrupted water supplies would lead to an increase in diseases such as typhoid and cholera.

Without vaccines, there would be a progressive return in infectious diseases such as polio, tetanus, whooping cough, diphtheria, mumps, etc. especially among children. People suffering from chronic illnesses such as asthma, diabetes, or epilepsy would be severely affected with many dying (especially insulin-dependent diabetics).

There would be no anesthetic agents resulting in a return to tortuous surgical procedures with the patient awake or if they were lucky, drunk or stoned. The same would apply to painkillers; a broken leg would be agony, and dying of cancer would be distressing for the patient and their family.

Without reliable oral contraceptives or condoms the pregnancy rate would rise and with it the maternal and neonatal death rates, women would die during pregnancy and delivery again, and premature babies would die. Women would still seek abortions, and without proper instruments or antibiotics death from septic abortion would be common again. In the absence of proper dental care, teeth would rot, and painful extractions would have to be performed. What limited medical supplies available would have to be recycled, resulting in increased risks of hepatitis and HIV infection.”

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Olduvai IV: Courage
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Olduvai II: Exodus
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