These byproducts are the subject of intense debate in the medical world and praise from the holistic healing and alternative medicine communities for their supposed powers over bacteria, infection, pain, and disease. While speculation continues as to the extent and nature of their healing capabilities, many users attribute their relief or recovery to the unique properties of one or more of these substances.
From noni juice and coconut oil to apple cider vinegar and raw honey, natural products are subject to trends and fads within the organic and holistic healing communities. The healing properties they supposedly possess, however, inspire both believers and skeptics to experiment with their curative powers.
Relieve Pain with Noni Juice
Derived from a tropical island fruit that resembles a cross between a kiwi and a potato in appearance, the noni fruit possesses a foul taste but a powerful healing agent within its substance, according to its holistic researchers. The bottled juice is a popular choice at health food emporiums and alternative medicine venues.
Hailed for its pain-relieving properties, noni is a particularly popular choice for chronic pain sufferers, including unconfirmed fibromyalgia patients, arthritis sufferers, and chronic muscle pain sufferers. The juice is also used as a health supplement in diet and as a deterrent to certain diseases and conditions.
Treat Skin Conditions with Coconut Oil
Alternative medicine followers and natural dietitians promote virgin or natural coconut oil as a virtual miracle substance. The lightly-flavored oil solidifies in cool temperatures, forming a paste that many users melt and mix with coffee to consume or spread across toast as a butter substitute.
The oil supposedly helps heal infections and stave off disease; it also boosts metabolism and promotes weight loss as a natural alternative to less-healthy cooking oils and fats. Coconut oil can be used externally to help heal burns, rashes, dry skin, sores, and other physical conditions.
Treat Virus Germs with Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar has long been a standing cure in the holistic and alternative medicine worlds. Despite its sour taste and smell, the natural substance is used as a stand-alone product or mixed with other curative byproducts to form medicinal recipes. Allergy sufferers and laryngitis patients sip the substance to help relieve symptoms; the substance supposedly helps relieve nausea and soothes stomach virus symptoms.
Vinegar can also be used externally to improve the health of skin and hair. Other uses include the treatment and elimination of harmful bacteria through ingestion (most users take a tablespoon two to three times a day).
Raw Honey for Treating Allergies
Unlike the processed store varieties, raw honey traditionally appears at roadside stands or beekeeper's booths in rural regions. Organic users take two to three tablespoons per day to help stave off sinus infections and discourage pollen and outdoor allergy symptoms; honey is often mixed with vinegar to treat nausea and added to natural tea to help sooth cold and flu symptoms.
A range of natural fruits and byproducts offer healthy alternatives to over-the-counter drugs, treating the symptoms and causes of common health problems. From coconut oil for rashes to pain relief with noni juice, many patients may feel inspired to try one of nature's cures.
Resources:
Wilen, Lydia and Joan Wilen. Healing Remedies: More Than 1,000 Natural Ways to Relieve Common Ailments, from Arthritis and Allergies to Diabetes, Osteoporosis, and Many Others. Ballantine Books, 2008.
Stanley, Louise. Apple Cider Vinegar, Nuts & Honey (Mother Nature's Healing Cocktails). MicroMag, 2000.
Solomon, Neil. Noni: Nature's Amazing Healer. Woodland Publishers, 1999.
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