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The Cure Is You: Ear Infections, UTI, and a Diabetic Update Oh My

Saturday, June 20, 2015 12:06

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It’s been a few weeks since I posted. Hubby and I organized and held New York City’s first TolkienConference, which took place June 13^th at Baruch College. The weeks leading up to the con were hectic, between the organization itself and getting two of our micropress’ books to print. (My husband and I run Myth Ink Books an independent press specializing in eclectic fiction and nonfiction).

Of course in times of stress, it’s almost a given that health will also decline. But, something strange happened. Anthony’s health got better. Over the last several weeks, I’ve noticed that he’s had less complaints about neuropathy pain and

problems with his eyes. There was a brief spell back in April where he ran out of his tea. I made the horrifying discovery that I had run out of bilberry and he went without the tea blend for about 2 weeks while we waited for a shipment to come in from Mountain Rose Herbs. That was the only time in the last 6 months that I heard him complain about his vision and his neuropathy pain. And, with my husband, when there’s an issue or malady, I hear about it.

Finally, after weeks of him dancing around the issue of needing his a1c checked, he spoke with the doctor last month. In May, he got an ear infection and normally that’s not enough for us to run to the doctor. My remedy for an ear infection has always worked, and for me, personally, it sometimes works more effectively than conventional treatments. My husband is prone to ear infections. I am not. The one time in the last 10 years that I had one, the antibiotic didn’t prevent it from going into my sinuses and eventually into my chest. The antibiotic didn’t treat the pain and frankly, took several days to work. After wanting to give up– after 4 days of a 5 day treatment had already passed with zero change– I delved my herbal books and developed a basic recipe that is my go-to cure for ear infections: garlic and herb oil.

Garlic and Herb Oil– tasty on pasta, cure for ear infections.

I know it sounds weird, but it’s true. Into a small, heavy bottomed saucepan, add garlic cloves, rosemary, oregano, thyme, and sage. Cover with cold extra virgin olive oil and put on the lowest heat possible. Do not cover the pot; covering the pot will allow condensation to form which can ruin the oil. Allow to simmer for at least 20 minutes. Do NOT walk away or the oil can burn. As soon as you notice the garlic or herbs getting brown, turn off and remove from the

heat. Place a lint free dish towel or paper towel over the pot and let it sit, off the heat, until the oil is completely cold. Sometimes I make this at night and just let it sit on the stove til morning. Strain it carefully using a fine mesh or cloth strainer and refrigerate the oil. Sometimes, depending on the quantity I’ve made, I put half in the freezer. You can, if you’re feeling adventurous, fish out the garlic and use it as a spread or in pasta; it’s wonderful. Discard the herbs.

I didn’t give measurements because I’ve made it so many times, it’s almost second nature. However, a good rule is for every 2 cups of olive oil you want: the cloves from one large head of garlic, ¼ cup dried rosemary, ¼ cup of dried oregano, 2 tablespoons of dried thyme, and 2 tablespoons of dried sage.

For anyone nervous about using an herbal remedy on food, relax. We do it all the time. I also clearly label a small bottle: ear oil. That’s refrigerated separately. The oil I use for food is kept in its own jar.

After using this oil on my own stubborn ear infection, for one day (consisting of 2 treatments, one in the morning and one before bed), my ear infection went away. Yes, I had been on antibiotics also. However, whenever I use this on Anthony’s ear infections, those infections clear up in a matter of hours.

So, last month, when he came down with another one– and they happen at least twice a year, once during flu season and once during allergy season– we used the oil and in about a day, he was feeling better. It wasn’t the ear infection that brought him to the doctor– it was a UTI and a pain that developed in his kidneys pretty much simultaneously to the pain in his ear.

For the urinary infection, I pulled out another remedy I had concocted over the last year of having a husband newly diagnosed with diabetes and prone to urinary tract infections. The UTI started when he was on Metformin, honestly in a matter of hours after beginning that regimen. As you know, diabetics are prone to kidney problems, so as soon as he complained of kidney pain, we made an appointment for the doctor. He told me about the pain when he came home from work and confessed that a nurse did a basic urine test for him to see if he had a kidney infection. He works in a hospital and while he doesn’t tell everyone he’s diabetic, one or two colleagues know. The test came back negative for a kidney infection. I’m guessing the pain was so intense that he (and she) weren’t sure if he needed to check in as a patient and the test was to take that option off the table. Still, I was concerned because the UTI’s that he’s gotten in the last year usually aren’t that painful and don’t have pain traveling to the kidney area. Since the appointment wasn’t for 8 days, we requested that they call in antibiotics, which they did. To the nay-sayers, I know he was on antibiotics at the time, but the UTI remedy we’ve used with success when he wasn’t on antibiotics. In the last year, he’s gotten UTI’s maybe 4 times, this last one being the worst. The first was before he began the tea regimen and when he was on Metformin. The second was before I added Uva Ursi to his tea blend. These last 2 were after some particularly bad dietary choices and some increased glucose readings.

UTI and Bladder Infection Remedy

I prefer this remedy using whole cranberries. If you can’t find them fresh or in the freezer, then follow the alternate directions using unsweetened cranberry juice. For the first time, ever, I found frozen unsweetened cranberries at the supermarket. Next Thanksgiving, I plan on stocking up on fresh and freezing them– or making this blend and freezing it. The blend using the whole cranberries tasted better and worked a little quicker than the alternative using the juice.

Uva Ursi

For the original recipe, you’ll need the following dried herbs in a 1 quart pot or heat-proof vessel:

2 tbsp uva ursi
1 tbsp marshmallow leaf
1 tbsp dandelion leaf
1 tbsp horsetail
1 tbsp rosemary
1 tbsp holy basil (tulsi)
Optional: 1-2 tsp whole stevia leaf

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil and pour over the herbs. Set aside to steep for at least 1 hour. Do this before you move onto the other steps.

Other ingredients and supplies:

2 quarts of unsweetened apple cider or apple juice
2 lbs fresh or frozen (unsweetened) whole cranberries– cleaned and sorted
the zest of 1 lemon
the zest of 1 orange
a stick blender or food mill
a large, non-reactive heavy bottomed pot
a sieve (not too fine)
a fine tea strainer (linen or cloth works best)
splenda to taste

Into the pot, add the cranberries and apple cider in a 1:1 ratio. For example, if you use 6 cups of cranberries (by volume not weight), then add 6 cups of cider to the pot. Add the citrus zest and place on medium heat. Bring up to a simmer. Simmer until the berries begin to burst, exactly as though you’re making cranberry sauce.

As the tea steeps and the berries simmer, juice the lemon and orange. Set the juice aside.

Once the berries burst, allow to cool slightly, off the heat for about 20 minutes. Then thoroughly blend with a stick blender (or use a food mill; the stick blender is much easier and simpler to clean up).

Strain out as much of the pulp and seeds as possible using a coarse strainer. Then carefully strain the tea mixture. Combine the cranberry and tea mixtures. Add the citrus juice. While warm, sweeten as desired using a natural, non-caloric sweetener like Splenda or Stevia. By adding whole stevia to the tea blend and unsweetened apple cider, you may not need to add much sweetener at all. Also, in my experience, the uva ursi makes a slightly sweet tea with vanilla notes and whenever I use it in a blend, I don’t have to add much sugar at all.

If you cannot find whole cranberries, fresh or frozen, then eliminate the 2nd step and just combine the tea with unsweetened cranberry juice.

As usual, in a matter of a few hours, Anthony’s UTI and kidney pain began to recede. I wouldn’t recommend this remedy to anyone with kidney problems since it increases urination. But, it’s a good tasty cleanse, whether you have a UTI or not. The dosage I recommend is a quart of this blend a day. He basically had 3 16oz. glasses a day for a week. After the first glass, the pain diminished. After the first full day, the pain had disappeared.

He took the antibiotics for 5 days despite the infections clearing up from the home remedies. I’m not sure I’ll have him go this route again because the hardest thing was the other side effects from the antibiotics. Namely, he became very anxious, more irritable, and downright combative. The first side effect was a nebulous “mood and mental changes.”

The upside to all this? He got his a1c checked, along with his cholesterol, his triglycerides, his kidneys, and his PSA. His cholesterol, kidneys, and PSA were excellent. His triglycerides were elevated– but that could have been the ridiculous burger he had the night before for dinner and our hideous diet over the last 6 months. Whenever we’re stressed, whenever we’re organizing an event, our diet slips. We don’t do fast food, but we do eat out and order. I’m convinced, a solid change back to our old habits of juicing, veg, and smoothies and his triglyceride numbers will go down.

The best news? He’s gone from a full-blown Type II Diabetic to someone with pre-diabetic numbers. His a1c was an astounding 6.5. The doctor was dumbfounded and convinced that Anthony was secretly taking Metformin or another glucose reducing medication.

We pointed him to my blog series which outline what course of action Anthony’s taken for his diabetes. The only thing that he hasn’t stuck with is diet and exercise. We both like to think that if he does that, if he’s able to lose even 10 pounds– and keep it off– then is numbers can potentially go down to a normal, non-diabetic range.

Is he cured? No. Will he be able to stop the vitamins and herbal regimen? No. Is this a problem? I really don’t know. But, to have a person go from an a1c of 14 one year ago to an a1c of 6.5 without using any conventional diabetic medications is amazing.

The biggest problem with the herbal regimen is the quality of the herbs. There was a rocky bit I mentioned in an earlier installment about our herbal supplier running out of our herbs. I’m going through this now for my #1 anti-epileptic herb, gotu kola. Our supplier ran out, just like they did with the Bitter Melon. They got the Bitter Melon back in stock in late January– but I’ve had to increase Anthony’s dosage from 2 pills twice a day (1800 mg total) to 3 pills twice a day (2700) because the quality wasn’t the same. With the different gotu kola, the dosage of this brand was twice my other brand– so I thought it would work. It hasn’t. In the first 2 weeks on it, I was back to multiple seizures a day. I’ve since doubled the dosage and while I’m still seizing, I have some seizure free days. However, the seizures are worse. I get pre-seizure pain which I’ve never experienced before– pain in my head or my eyes– or, this is new as of last night and very distressing– pain in my heart. Last night just prior to a seizure, I actually thought I was having a heart attack because it felt like someone had reached into my chest and squeezed my heart. The post seizure effects can last for hours. So, this gotu kola is NOT working for me or working minimally. On top of that, I’ve noticed an increase in arthritis and back pain and some skin irritations not healing the way they used to.

My solution to both of these issues? I’ve got to move to the next step and make my own herbal capsules. I’ll post updates about that.

Source: http://www.green-and-growing.com/2015/06/the-cure-is-you-ear-infections-uti-and.html

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