Homemade Cough Syrup

September 19, 2016 · 11 Comments

Homemade Cough Syrup

Recently my hubby got a really bad cold and cough. He doesn’t often get sick and it really knocked him around. As well as my regular cold and flu fighting remedies, I also made him up a homemade cough syrup. It worked so well I wanted to pop it on the website for you all to try out too.

This homemade cough syrup is from the amazing Aussie naturopath, Mim Beim and her book, Natural Remedies! It’s a must have book for anyone that wants simple home remedies for a huge range of common ailments.

What I love about this remedy is that you probably have the ingredients already in your pantry. No need to source weird herbs or ingredients! You can’t get much simpler.

So this is how you make it:

Homemade Cough Syrup

What you need:

1 onion
enough raw honey to cover

*use organic ingredients if you can get them

What to do:

Chop the onion and place in a bowl. Pour over enough honey to cover and set aside in a warm place for a few hours or overnight. The onion will steep into the honey! Strain into a sterilised jar.

How to use:

Mim says that adults can have one dessertspoon of honey every hour and children can have one teaspoon.

I can’t believe how well it worked, within two doses, he had stopped coughing! That was a relief for all of us, I can tell you!! 😀

When I mentioned this recipe on social media, some of you suggested adding lemon and garlic and you could totally do that as well. In fact the beauty of natural remedies is that you can tailor make them. Pretty cool huh.

Just make sure you are using a good quality honey – not that yucky supermarket stuff!

5 Essential Natural Remedies for Natural New Age Mums

September 30, 2015 · 2 Comments

I often get asked what things are essential for NNAMs to have on hand for their family’s health, so today I am sharing with you my top five natural products. They are all multi-purpose and have a huge range of properties, benefits and uses around the home – not just for healing and health but for beauty and cleaning too!

The best thing about these natural remedies is that they are all affordable and having all-purpose products means you are saving money and have less clutter.

So, these are my:

5 Essential Natural Remedies for Natural New Age Mums

♥ Jojoba Oil

As much as I love my coconut oil, I am finding that jojoba oil is replacing it as my go to oil (I know – even I am still a bit in shock!!!) Jojoba oil is similar to coconut oil – it is anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal, analgesic, anti-inflammatory and hypoallergenic. It’s also a great all-purpose oil but where it tops coconut oil is that it has virtually no odour and it sinks straight into the skin without that greasy residue (its actually a wax and the closest oil to our natural skin’s oil).

Jojoba oil has great benefits for your skin as a daily moisturizer as it is very high in antioxidants and contains vitamins A, D and E, essential fatty acids and Omegas 6 and 9. However you can also use it for a wide range of ailments including acne, rosacea, burns, dermatitis, eczema, insect bites, psoriasis, sunburn, abrasions, skin rashes, scars, nappy rash, cradle cap and surgical wounds.

I love The Jojoba Company brand – it’s owned by an Australian family and grown ethically in NSW with lots of love and nurturing! Unlike other brands, its 100% pure and cold pressed without any heating or refined so the nutrients stay intact.

♥ Lavender Oil

I am a huge fan of essential oils and use them daily but if I am pressed to choose just one (usually when I go on holidays and can’t take my collection with me) then I choose lavender oil.

It’s one of my favourite smelling oils but it is also a great all-rounder. It has anti-inflammatory, antifungal, antidepressant, antiseptic, antibacterial, and antimicrobial properties. It also has antispasmodic, analgesic, detoxifying and sedative effects!!

You can use it directly on acne, bites, stings, burns and muscle aches and a drop on your pillow helps with sleep. It’s great as an insect repellant (combine with a carrier oil) and to relieve tension, headaches, depression and anxiety.

I love the Twenty 8 brand of essential oils. Sunshine Coast mum and aromatherapist, Kim Morrison has created a beautiful range of pure essential oils that don’t cost a fortune but are still of the highest therapeutic quality. Check her out here.

♥ Epsom Salts

Also known as magnesium sulphate, epsom salts have a wide variety of uses to treat common ailments. It’s a naturally occurring mineral that can be used internally or externally. It can be used dissolved in a bath as a muscle relaxant, headache soother, as a treatment for sprains, bruises and joint inflammation and as a great way to absorb magnesium into your body (most of us are deficient).

2 tablespoons of epsom salts dissolved in warm water works as a laxative. A bath with epsom salts will relax and eliminate toxins from the body and soaking also helps to remove splinters. You can even use it in the garden, as a fabric softener and for cleaning. It’s awesome!

♥ Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple Cider Vinegar is another all-purpose remedy that has so many uses, you can even buy a whole book about it! We look up the book if we have ailments to see if ACV can help and it usually does! Get a raw, organic, unfiltered version with ‘the mother’ for the best results.

Some health benefits include helping with digestion, acne, weight loss, sore throats, bad breath, sunburn, wart removal, toxin removal, lowering blood sugar, lowering bad cholesterol and more. You can take it daily in some water or use it on your meals! It makes a cracker salad dressing.

You can also use ACV for cleaning, disinfecting, as a hair rinse and for whitening your teeth! I like the Braggs brand in a glass bottle but as mentioned, any brand that is organic and unfiltered with the mother is good.

♥ Chamomile Tea

Chamomile tea is the last of my must haves and again, it’s a really great all-rounder. It’s properties include anti-irritant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-microbial. It’s not actually a tea, its flowers of the chamomile plant that you make up into an herbal infusion.

As well as being a nice herbal tea to drink, you can use it to relieve colds, soothe upset tummies, help you to sleep, relieve hemorrhoids and treat candida, eczema and allergies. Use it externally for under-eye bags, acne, conjunctivitis, fungal skin infections and abscesses. There is some research suggesting it can be helpful for diabetes and cancer. It’s a wonder herb!

You can buy chamomile flowers in teabags, but I prefer to get the loose tea herbs. Hilde Hemme’s herbals are in most health food stores or online. If pregnant or breastfeeding, please check with your health practitioner before using.

Yes, I know, it’s hard to stop at five natural remedies, but these are my top five that I buy regularly and use. What is in your top five? Are they the same as mine?

Natural Remedies for Eczema

October 11, 2013 · 25 Comments

Natural Remedies for Eczema

Eczema seems to be a rapidly growing problem and often seen worst in our kids.

It is the question I get asked most about and I can see the frustration and trauma this skin condition causes for families. Many people are interested in natural remedies and a permanent solution, rather than taking antihistamines, antibiotics or steroids.

I am not an expert in this field by any means, but I have collated some information from my Facebook community. Some of our natural, new age mums have kindly shared what has worked for them. I hope this resource will serve as a go-to guide for you.

So, what is eczema?

“Eczema (atopic dermatitis) is a recurring, non-infectious, inflammatory skin condition. The skin becomes red, dry, itchy and scaly, and in severe cases, may weep, bleed and crust over, causing the sufferer much discomfort. Sometimes the skin may become infected. The condition can also flare and subside for no apparent reason.” Eczema Association of Australasia

What causes eczema?

No-one seems to know the exact cause, but it does appear to flare up from stress, allergies and intolerances or you may have an inherited family tendency. Other things may irritate the condition like the weather, animal hair, pollen and grasses and chemicals.

Internal Remedies

It seems to be a commonly held belief that eczema results from an imbalance somewhere in your body. These are some suggestions other mums have used successfully to correct that imbalance:

♥ Testing. Get tested for allergies or intolerance. Gluten, dairy, soy, eggs and some salicylates and amines seem to be common culprits.

♥ Rebalance. Try natural therapies like naturopathy, acupuncture, chiropractor, kinesiology, EFT and homeopathy.

♥ Gut Health. Naturopath, Alisha Lynch recommends fixing your gut health to treat eczema. Click here for her series of gut health information.

♥ Probiotics. Many of you mentioned that probiotics was one of the best remedies and first stops.

♥ Clean Eating. Avoid chemicals, additives and processed foods. Naturopath Jess Donovan has a list of foods that might be triggering your childs’ eczema.

♥ Zinc. Increase zinc in the diet in the form of supplements or zinc-rich foods.

♥ Apple Cider Vinegar. Add ACV to the diet as it contains enzymes that aid digestion.

♥ The Eczema Diet by Karen Fischer. “The Eczema Diet includes all the facts and scientific research, as well as itch-busting treatments that offer immediate relief combined with a tried-and-tested diet – developed by nutritionist Karen Fischer over the past ten years through her work with eczema patients – that really gets results”

External Remedies

These remedies shared by natural, new age mums help to manage the symptoms of eczema.

♥ Avoid anything that contain sulphates, perfumes and alcohol.

♥ Keep the area well moisturized.

♥ Don’t have long, hot baths or showers as these are drying.

♥ Oats in the bath are very soothing on the skin.

♥ Use Tamanu oil. It’s all natural and has anti-inflammatory properties comparable to hydro-cortisone cream.

♥ Coconut oil. Bathing in it and also applying to the skin. Get a good quality coconut oil though.

♥ Apple Cider Vinegar. Diluted and applied with an organic cotton ball or pad.

♥ Aloe Vera Gel. The sap or gel from a fresh plant is best.

♥ Organic shea butter.

♥ Wet wrapping. It’s An Itchy Little World has some great tips on how to do this.

♥ Chamomile. You can use tea bags, steep and then make a warm (not hot) compress and let it sit on the affected area for 10 minutes.

♥ Use all natural, soothing creams. Many of you have reported great success with Moo Goo’s Eczema Cream.

♥ Swimming in the ocean.

♥ Have a completely chemical and synthetic fragrance free home.

Eczema seems to be a very individual condition with no one solution. Keep persevering and trying different things until you hit upon what works for you. I think the main message I keep hearing from mums is that both internal and external remedies are needed, as well as lots of patience!

I hope some of these ideas help you out. Please comment on this post if you have some more thoughts or experiences with eczema – the more ideas the better!!