The vote leans two to one to keep things as they are. Most people said they prefer to have the option to read it right then, save it, or print it out and read Tools for Health away from the computer. So for now Tools for Health will remain as it is.

Originally I had scheduled February as the month to talk about weight loss, but several questions from clients/friends/customers prompted me to take a different path.

"Teri, how can I get rid of this sore throat?"

"We've got the [what ever is going around at the time], what can I do for my family?"

"I feel [list of symptoms], what should I do to get well?"

Most homes have, in one form or another, a medicine chest or cabinet. It contains anything from bandages to over-the-counter medications to prescription drugs. While some of these may be necessary to an individual's wellbeing, most have healthier alternatives.

However, it doesn't do you any good to simply know about the alternatives. If they aren't in your house when you need them, how can they help you?

What you need is a "Natural Medicine Chest." What you'll learn as you read on is how to create one, naturally!

If you subscribe to this newsletter and know someone else who would enjoy receiving Tools for Health, please pass it along. If this issue was passed along to you, take a minute to subscribe by visiting Natural Health Coach for Women, then pay it forward to someone else!

In This Issue

1. Homeopathics
2. Making the Switch from Drugs to Herbal Remedies
3. Health Questions
4. What's New At Home

NOTE: In order for my clients to have the best results I recommend only high quality resources. Look for herbs, supplements, and other resources mentioned in Tools for Health at My NSP Natural Health Coach or Natural Health Coach for Women.

Homeopathics

When working with acute situations, as the people were in the questions above, it is often helpful to alleviate symptoms before or while working on the root cause. Homeopathics fit the bill perfectly, and should be a staple in your Natural Medicine Chest.

Do you need to have one of every possible kind? No.

Take a look at the list of available homeopathic medicines. See which ones relate to symptoms / "dis-eases" you have dealt with over the past year. It's easy to figure out because homeopathic remedies are generally named for the symptoms they alleviate. Choose the remedies that make the most sense for your situation.

NAVIGATION NOTE: In the link above, click the middle search box, scroll to "homeopathic medicines."

When using a homeopathic, take it about a half-hour away from meals and essential oil use.

One other thought. In our home we rarely deal with colds, but I like to keep a variety of the homeopathic cough/cold remedies on hand just in case.

Making the Switch from Drugs to Herbal Remedies

Recently an acquaintance of mine experienced a loss possibly due to one of the side effects of a medication they were taking. It has been a sad ordeal for their entire family. Anger that they weren't told about this possible side effect is just one of the many emotions they are feeling.

Don't let this happen to you. If you are using a medication (prescribed or otherwise), take it upon yourself to learn what all the possible side effects are. Contrary to popular belief, doctors do not know all, cannot see all, and in general are fallible human beings just like you and me. Take responsibility to learn all you can about everything related to your health.

While I'm on the subject of responsibility… Everything you take into, and apply onto, your body affects you as a whole being - herbs as well as medications. Take the time to learn about them and their actions and possible interactions. If you would like help in this area, please contact me. Fax consultations are a great resource for information to meet your health goals.

Following is a list of possible herbal alternatives for medications you may be using. I'm not going to go into side effects of the medications here. Know that they all have them, and you should take the responsibility to learn what they are.

1. Analgesic: Anamu; APS II; Deep Relief Oil; Detoxification: Everflex Pain Cream; Flax Seed Oil; Germanium Combination; Herbal Sleep; IF-C; Inflammation; Kava Kava; Kidney Activator (Chinese); Lung Support; Lymphatic Drainage; Noni; Pain; Spleen Activator: Stress-J; Tei Fu Oil: Tripple Relief.

2. Anti-inflammatory: Antioxidants with Grpine Chewable; APS II; Berry Healthy; Bone/Skin Poultice; CLA; CLT-X; Co-Q10; Deep Relief Oil; Distress Remedy; Elderberry Defense; Frankincense; Gastro Health; Glucosamine; Golden Salve: Guardian; Healing AC Cream; Helichrysum; Herbal Trim Skin Treatment; HY-C; IF-C; Inflammation: Joint Health; Kudzu/St. John's Wort: Lymph Gland Cleanse; Lymph gland Cleanse-HY; MSM/Glucosamine Cream; Myrrh; N-Acetyl Cysteine; Nerve Eight; Nature's Fresh; Tai-Go (one of my favorites!).

3. Antiacid: Papaya Mint chewable tablets (great tasting); aloe vera; Anti-Gas Formula; Barley Juice Powder; Blessed Thistle, Caffeine Detox; Digestive Bitters Tonic; Food Enzymes; Gastro Health; Intestinal Soothe & Build; Lemon Oil; PDA; Small Intestine Detox; Stomach Comfort(my husbands favorite for heartburn).

4. Antibiotic: Black Ointment (topically); Colloidal Silver; Enviro-Detox; Guardian Essential Oil; Immune Stimulator; IN-X; Lymph Gland Cleanse; Lymph Gland Cleanse-HY; Tei Fu Oil; Ultimate Echinacea; VS-C; Viral Recovery; Germanium Combination; Elderberry Defense; Elderberry Plus; Capsicum & Garlic with Parsley.

5. Antihistamine: ALJ; Bronchial Formula; CLA; CleanStart; Colostrum with Immune Factors; Cough Syrup-DH; Elderberry Plus; EW; Eyebright; Fenugreek & Thyme; Four; Helichrysum; HistaBlock; Para-Cleanse; Seasonal Defense; Small Intestine Detox; Super GLA; Tei Fu Oil.

6. Broncho-dialator: Lobelia (I wouldn't be without this gem of an herbal extract); Black Cohosh.

7. Burn Remedies: Topical - Aloe Vera Gel; Tea Tree Oil; Lavender oil; pure vanilla extract; honey; slippery elm or chickweed; Vitamine E after pain is gone to prevent scarring & help with tissue repair. Internally - Zinc and Vitamin C.

8. Cough Remedies: ALJ; all the homeopathic cough syrups; Four; HCP-X; Lobelia; Myrrh; Pine; Rosemary; Tei Fu Oil; Thyme.

9. Decongestant: There are lots of kinds of congestion (i.e. bronchial, lungs, lymphatic, sinus). The long term solution involves enzymes, intestinal support, and usually a colon cleanse. Following are general suggestions for your Natural Medicine Chest. All CellDetox; Anamu; Breathe Free: CC-A; Cellular Energy; Elderberry Defense; Elderberry Plus; Four; HCP-X Lobelia; Lymphatic Drainage; Small Intestine Detox; Tei fu Oil; Thyme; Ultimate Echinacea.

10. Diet Pills: 5-HTP; 7-Keto; Appetite Control; AS with Gymnema; Carbo-Grabbers; Cellu-Smooth; Chickweed; CLA; Collatrim; EveryBody's Formula; Fat Grabbers; Garcinia Combination; Kidney Activator(Chinese); LB Extract; LBS II; LOCLO; Dieter's Cleanse (great cleanse); Nature's Three; Nutri-Burn (love the chocolate made in oat or soy milk instead of water - yummy!); Psyllium Hulls Combination: SF; Stevia (can't say enough good about this one!); Super GLA; Target TS-II; Thyroid Activator; TS II.

11. Hemorrhoids: Topically - Black Ointment; White Oak Bark. Mix the two and apply. There are other remedies that are used internally. There are other products on the market also named "Black Ointment" or "Black Salve." This recommendation applies ONLY to NSP Black Ointment.

12. Laxative: For temporary constipation try Cascara Sagrada; LB Extract; LB-X; LBS-II; or Senna Comb. (Listed in order of strength.) For a long-term concern, try Nature's Three, Psyllium Hulls; Psyllium Seed; Slippery Elm. (All need to be taken with large glasses of water.)

13. Motion Sickness: Ginger Root; Peppermint Oil (I carry a bottle with me all the time.)

14. Sleep Aids: Herbal Sleep Formula. See January 2005 issue of Tools for Health for more information on getting a good night's sleep.

Most of the above can be found at mynsp.com/naturalhealthcoach or natural-health-coach-for-women.com. Receive information tailored to your specific needs via Online Consultation or a simple one time FAX coaching session.

Health Questions

Regarding last months Tools for Health in which I wrote, "No TV right before bed. It is too stimulating to the brain and it will take longer to fall asleep. It is also disruptive of pineal gland function for the same reason as above."

A reader, Tina, sent the following:

"Just took a few minutes to read your sleep newsletter... Very good!!

"Thanks for taking time to research and write! I don't think you said anything about not using the computer before bed, but have you seen any research on that? It always "stirs me up," though I often do it. Anyway, I wonder if you could change the TV one to videos, computer, computer games, video games....or to electronics!"

Good point Tina! It isn't only the TV that can create problems with sleep. If insomnia is one of your challenges, definitely take all of the above into consideration.

Karen, another reader wrote,

"The only thing you left out was the helpful benefit to restful sleep of really great ___! Ha Ha! Obviously couldn't put that one in, I just couldn't resist. …"

You are right, Karen, the spam filters wouldn't deliver the newsletter with that in there. She's also right though, about "it" being a helpful benefit to sleep. Some very well done articles on this topic can be found at www.themarriagebed.com

You are welcome to submit your questions for inclusion. All posts will be listed with first name, initials, or first half of your email address so for all intents and purposes, it will be anonymous.

What's New At Home

There's been a time change for the Natural Health Connections online chat. The 'classes' are still on Wednesday's but have moved to 3PM EST. Join me to discuss a variety of health topics at:

http://www.smallbusinessreferralnetwork.com/chats/flashchat.php

After you sign in (you don't need a password), please let me know who you are -- I enjoy meeting my subscribers.

The evening local Natural Health Connections class at A Touch of Serenity and Palm Island Salon begins Tuesday, March 1st at 7PM. They are located 318 S. Scenic Hwy, Suite 104 in Lake Wales, Florida. Please RSVP so I can arrange for seating. Check the calendar at my herb site for updates on the time schedules and other happenings.

Last but not least, check out the new ebook The Unlimited You in the health books section. It comes with a free audio download.

Teri Hayes is a Certified Natural Health Consultant, Herb Specialist, and Certified Reflexologist

You can e-mail her at TeriHayes@natural-health-coach-for-women.com or visit her at Natural Health Coach for Women

The herbs and supplements she recommends to clients can be found using this link.

Comments? Ideas? Feedback? I’d love to hear from you! Reply to this newsletter and tell me what you think!

To schedule an appointment, online or offline, go to the Health Questions page, choose the option that best suits you, and follow the directions.

The suggestions in this e-newsletter are meant to encourage personal responsibility for health and are not given as medical advice. For your individual health concerns such as chronic or acute warning symptoms, in emergency situations, or when in doubt, seek the advice of your primary personal health car practitioner.