Fittness and Weight loss News

We’ve all been burned by something at sometime in our lives, be it boiling water or the hot, summer sun. The key is to know how to treat the burn effectively.

Naturally, second and third degree burns require immediate medical treatment, but mild first degree burns are often superficial and can be treated at home. Any burn requires immediate cooling down, so run tepid water directly onto the wound for at least five minutes to reduce the heat and give pain relief. For a chemical burn the skin must be flushed with cold running water until all pain has subsided.

Once the water has cooled the skin, here are 6 suggestions for home treatment of mild burns:

1. For burns, apply plain yogurt to keep it cool, or you can make a poultice from honey and yogurt.

2. Cucumber mashed to a pulp and mixed with glycerine makes a wonderful moisturizing balm.

3. Cool the affected area with cider vinegar, and make sure that the person who has been burned drinks plenty of fluids.

4. Make a tea from lemon balm, which will perform two functions-it will calm the patient and provide further pain relief.

5. For scalds, olive oil can bring effective relief, and will improve the chances of healing without blisters or scars. If you have lavender essential oil handy, add a few drops to help ease the singing sensation.

6. For sunburn, lemon juice dabbed on the affected area will bring pain relief. If you have an all-over-sunburn that doesn’t allow you to sleep try adding 2 tablespoons of baking soda to a cool bath and soak you whole body in a tub of water. For face burns, bathe your face in buttermilk, or grate up some potatoes and apply. The starch will cool and sooth the burn. Use cold peppermint tea as a mild wash to alleviate the stinging.
Thanks to expert author, Wendy Evenson, for this great contribution!

Check out these related articles at ModernSage.com:

Using Herbs and Spices for HealthPut Your Skincare Where Your Mouth Is

I have a confession….I used to consume aspartame sweetened soft drinks by the gallon! I would finish one can and pop open another. On very rare occasions, I still can’t resist my old favorite carbonated beverage, but I have officially kicked the habit.

I still have a craving for something tasty and sweet to drink. (My mother stills asks me, “What’s wrong with good old water?”) Thankfully, a friend turned me onto Stevia about four years ago.

Stevia is an herb called Stevia Rebaudiana. It is in the Chrysanthemum family and grows wild in parts of South America. Stevia is very popular in other parts of the world, including Japan – one of the largest consumers of stevia.

Refined stevia is about 200 times sweeter than refined sugar.

The FDA once banned stevia imports. However, about 12 years ago, they lifted the ban and approved stevia for use as an herb, but not as a sweetener.

Can you imagine the change in the soft drink industry if an all-natural sweetener were used in lieu of sugar or aspartame?

Here is my new “soft drink” of choice that I mix in a water bottle (a bottle I reuse over and over!) It is also a great way to add flax to your diet.

10 ounces of water
2 ounces of organic, unsweetened cranberry juice
6-8 drops of liquid stevia
1-2 teaspoons ground flax seed (optional)

Fill the water bottle with 10 ounces of water (Or, if using a bottle other than a 12 ounce water bottle, I leave about a 2 inch gap from the top of the water bottle). Add 2 ounces of unsweetened cranberry juice. Drop 6-8 drops of Stevia into the mix (depending on your taste and the size of the drops, you might add more or less). I like to add flaxseed to at least one or two bottles per day.

My children think the flaxseed version looks terrible, but yummmm, what a healthy drink! I don’t have to worry about the kids stealing my drink out of the fridge.

ModernSage publisher, Leah Guy shares her recipe for using stevia with mint tea. What a great way to cool off on these sweltering summer days!

Do you want to teach your little ones about caring for the planet but don’t know where to start? Check out Dori and Val’s top 10 tips for teaching kids about green living.

1.  To throw away as little as you can.

2.  Buying used is more hip than buying new.

• Read Garage Sale America by Bruce Littlefield

3.  To appreciate open spaces.

4.  Where electricity comes from.

5.  To appreciate water.

6.  The answer to “Paper or Plastic?” is “Neither”.

• Sign up for Big Ed’s No Plastic Bag Pledge.

7.  To grow something.

8.  To respect other cultures.

9.  It’s better to give than to receive.

• Read The Kids Guide to Service Projects.

10.  To Respect Nature

Reprinted with permission, courtesy of Dori and Val of More Hip Than Hippie.

Check out this article at ModernSage.com to get you started:

Helping Your Kids Grow a Garden

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This is our first full summer in our “new” home, which is bordered on two sides by woods. Keeping some of the areas mowed, thinned out and planted with wildflowers has been great exercise, very rewarding and a constant battle with chiggers! For over forty-something years, I have been a city gal, so I was not well prepared for the fight with these little creatures. The chiggers won the first 5-week bout. But, now, I am educated and prepared for them.

What can we do to prevent insect bites this summer without having to spray dangerous insect repellants on our skin? Dr. Melody Hart, ND, of Chicago Healers, offers this terrific, all-natural advice for holistic insect protection.

For prevention of insect bites, especially during peak season, take vitamin B-1, also known as thiamine - 100mg for children and 500mg for adults. Or, try rubbing fresh elder leaves or elder-chamomile tea on skin before exposure to bugs. For a more essential oil, use eucalyptus for flying insects, or lemon grass for a broad range of insects. Try these easy tips and enjoy a comfortable, bug-bite-free summer!

Interested in more ideas for using herbs and spices for health, read here…

Dr. Hart is on staff with Chicago Healers and is Board Certified with the American Naturopathic Medical Association (ANMA), American Academy of Quantum Medicine (AAQM), American Academy of Neural Therapy (AANT), American Association of Nutritional Consultants (AANC) and National Naturopathic Council (NNC). Look for her two upcoming books 7 Habits of Healthy Lifestyle and Natural Laws of Wellness.