Praktikos Institute

As a culture obsessed with youth and beauty, it’s easy to fall into the trap of using hair dyes to cover those telltale gray hairs. However, using these commercial products is risky since the chemical formulations are linked with a range of cancers. Even so-called ‘natural’ dyes can compromise health. Where do we turn? With a measure of creativity and knowledge, do-it-yourself hair color can give you glossy, rich locks without the drawbacks of pre-made colorants.

Spring is around the corner and as it begins to warm up, no one wants to deal with any lingering congestion from this winter’s variety of allergies, coughs and colds. Congestion can be more than the physical buildup of fluids that causes headaches, difficulty breathing, postnasal drip and coughs. It can also cause brain fuzziness, fatigue, depression and other systemic effects. Listed below are three very different natural approaches to help your body clear the congestion out for good.

Homocysteine is an inflammatory amino acid that is produced as a byproduct of protein metabolism. Homocysteine-induced injury to the arterial wall is one of the factors that can initiate the process of atherosclerosis, leading to endothelial dysfunction and eventually to heart attacks and stroke.

It has been noted that one of the most popular requests in wellness stores is for products to help ease stomach pain naturally. People, from cancer patients to parents of babies suffering from colic, try to look for the safest and most effective way of dealing with stomach pain. There is actually no natural cure that will aid all types of stomach pain, but if the pain has been persisting for some time, you need the help of a doctor. For simple pains due to menstrual cramps or the ingestion of food that is already spoiled, there are many natural alternatives to make the stomach calm down.

Winter cold and herbal therapeutics are seemingly synonymous and rightly so. When the cold winter months threaten, cold weather has a way of lowering the body’s immunities. When this condition develops, the body is more vulnerable to such things as congested sinus’s and sinus infections and variants of colds and flues, and aching muscles. There are herbal teas and essential oils that can be utilized in various ways even as sprays. It is essential to bolster your immune system to protect yourself against any virus that you may come in physical contact with.

Rummaging around your local park may not be the first thing you think to do when looking for a painkiller, but you’d be surprised at what you can find. Fox News ran a segment on Steve Brill, also known as the “Wildman,” who gives foraging tours of Central Park and recently took Chris Kilham, aka the “Medicine Hunter” with him. Steve encouraged Chris to chew on a twig of black birch, Betula lenta, a natural pain reliever.

If you are one of the 11 million Americans afflicted with macular degeneration, you know the loss of central vision the disease causes makes it difficult to read, drive and watch TV. But a new treatment is poised to be a promising alternative for those suffering with this disease.

Natural treatment to sinusitis may be quite easy, but doctors may not necessarily go about recommending them. Antibiotics have been proven not to make much difference, though they are prescribed most.

Skin problems like acne can affect almost everyone. This is most prevalent among adolescents because of their fluctuating hormones. Acne can develop not only on the face but also on the scalp, chest and back. This usually occurs due to lack of sleep, stress, diet and a busy schedule on a daily basis. Even if there is no absolute cure for this skin problem at this time, there are a lot of simple and natural remedies that can be made at home to prevent or diminish the effects of acne.

Each year the Influenza Vaccine is enthusiastically called upon to prevent the contraction of flu, yet could there really be a more natural alternative that works? To the dismay of many pharmaceutical companies, yes.