Mama's Home Remedies: Discover Time-Tested Secrets of Good Health and the Pleasures of Natural Living Read online

  IN PRAISE OF

  Mama's Home Remedies

  “The suggestions in this volume bring fruitful advice and invaluable worth. Most people have forgotten that the simple things are at the center of soulful nurturing and this health publication is an exemplary model of such authentic knowledge. This book offers us an outline of happiness and health. Everyone will benefit from these jewels of understanding and I am sure that you will be as rewarded as I was after embracing many of these natural prescriptions."

  —Anna Maria Clement, PhD, NMD, codirector and chief health administrator of Hippocrates Health Institute

  ƒ

  “I thoroughly enjoyed reading “Dialogue with the Trees of Strength and Everlasting Life” in Mama’s Home Remedies. Svetlana Konnikova fills this delightful essay on the importance of trees in our lives with fascinating legends, appealing real-life personal and family stories, poetry, home remedies, interesting nature facts, and motivating aphorisms. She even includes a chart of the Trees of Life; mine is the walnut, the tree of passion and power. Her descriptions of scenery paint colorful pictures that make me want to go to the places she portrays. I am proud that she quotes from my grandfather Joyce Kilmer’s poem,

  “Trees.” I hope that her work will help to instill a deeper reverence for the environment in readers everywhere.”

  —Miriam A. Kilmer, artist and granddaughter of poet Joyce Kilmer, author of “Trees”

  Mama's

  Home Remedies

  Never does nature say one thing and wisdom another.

  — Juvenal (A.D. 50-130), Roman Writer

  A. K.

  An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes

  which can be made in a very narrow field.

  —Niels Bohr (1885–1962), Danish physicist and Nobel Laureate Mama's

  Home Remedies

  Discover Time-Tested Secrets of Good Health

  and the Pleasures of Natural Living

  Svetlana Konnikova, MA, AN

  Foreword by Anna Maria Clement, PhD, NMD

  PUBLISHED BY AURORA PUBLISHERS, INC.

  Mama's Home Remedies

  Copyright © 2008 by Svetlana Konnikova. All rights reserved. Cover photograph Copyright © Richard T. Nowitz /SuperStock, Inc. The copyright in this book is ful y protected under U.S. and international copyright law. No part of this book may be used, reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. For information regarding permissions, write to Aurora Publishers, Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 5970 S.W. 18th Street, Ste.117, Boca Raton, FL 33433. Illustrations by Alexander Khmelnitsky and Anatoli Smishliaev. Used by permission.

  Konnikova, Svetlana

  Mama’s Home Remedies/ Svetlana Konnikova

  p.cm

  Includes Index

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2007932536I

  ISBN-13 978-0-9791758-3-1

  1. Health. 2. Natural Healing. 3. Herbs, Plants. 4. Mind, Body, Spirit. 5. Cookery. 1. Title.

  Available wherever books are sold, or order from

  Independent Publishers Group:

  Call toll-free: 800-888-4741

  Fax: 312-337-5985

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  Visit our website at www.aurorapublishers.com

  Printed in the United States of America

  Published January 2008

  First edition

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

  CONTENTS

  Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix Foreword. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xii Poem

  A Fine Mood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

  Chapter 1 — Rose Hips Tea Party. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

  Chapter 2 — “Even the Badger Knows…” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

  Chapter 3 — A Healthy Spirit Lives in a Healthy Body . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

  Chapter 4 — Stop Sneezes and Sniffles and Stifle a Cold . . . . . . . . . . . 53

  Chapter 5 — A Sickness of the 21st Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

  Chapter 6 — Ourselves, Our Children, Allergens, and Happy Cells . . 111

  Chapter 7 — Clever Remedies to Outsmart Headaches . . . . . . . . . . . 127

  Chapter 8 — Sleeping Beauty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

  Chapter 9 — When Your Head Is Swimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

  Chapter 10 — Don’t Be Afraid of Good Stress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

  Chapter 11 — Trips to the Fairyland. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

  Chapter 12 — Dialogue with the Trees of Strength and

  Everlasting Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

  Chapter 13 — As Isis, So Is Mama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

  Chapter 14 — Nature’s Green Clinic: Useful Herbs,

  Plants, Fruits and Vegetables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275

  Endnotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283

  Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285

  Natural Health Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285

  Glossary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288

  Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

  Useful Addresses/Herbal Suppliers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296

  Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297

  Credits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309

  Acknowledgments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310

  A Note About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311

  About the Book. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313

  IMPORTANT NOTICE

  The information and recommendations in this book have been practically tested and proven by many people. However, the information contained herein is to be used as a reference source only. The author of this book is not a physician and the procedures, ideas, and suggestions in this book are not intended as a substitute for the medical advice of a trained health professional. Some herbs and plants used as remedies or food, internally or externally, can cause allergic reactions in some individuals. These methods should not be used for long-term problems and serious illness. Consult your doctor or qualified health-care practitioner before adapting the suggestions in this book. Always seek the advice of your physician about any condition that may require diagnosis or medical treatment.

  The statements ma
de by the author regarding certain products and services represent the views of the author alone, and do not constitute a recommendation or endorsement of any product or service by the publisher. The author and publisher disclaim any liability arising directly or indirectly from the use of the book. Neither the author nor the publisher can be held responsible for claims arising from the inappropriate use of any remedy in this book or from the mistaken identity of any herbs or other components of the recipes herein.

 

  viii ^ Mama’s Home Remedies

  PREFACE

  M ama’s Home Remedies is an easy-to-read, learn-and-do practical guide written for people unfamiliar with the basics of common herbal remedies but who wish to derive benefits from the medicinal properties of herbs. These herbs have been healing peoples of the world—Sumerians and Babylonians six thousand years before the Common Era; Scythians (second and third centuries B.C.E.), the first and oldest tribes of ancient Greece and Russia; and Egyptians four thousand years ago. This book is written for everybody who has a desire to improve his or her health naturally. Hundreds of natural treatments, small real-life anecdotes, and inspirational notes are garnered from the personal observations, experience, and life philosophy of several generations of women in one family and their friends, passed down through centuries.

  The therapeutic properties of more than 100 medicinal herbs, plants, and trees are examined herein along with the true, lyrical and romantic memoirs of a family who for many years supported each other. Life experience is paralleled with ancient mythology and Grandma’s folk tales, fairy tales and legends.

 

  Preface @ ix

  FOREWORD

  Svetlana Konnikova has penned an important book using the wisdom of the ages for the age in which we live. Her time-tested, natural remedies were born out of necessity in generations past when the pharmaceutical approach was not available. This hearty group was fortunate to live off of the earth, from the earth and wholly healthfully. Most often, it was our grandmothers and mothers who nursed us back from sickness and on rare occasions they may have seen the village or town’s doctor who also used herbs, food and love as a remedy. Each ethnic culture developed their own natural pharmacy determined by their unique environment, long history and personal needs. Svetlana’s northern European offerings are sophisticated since these hearty people who lived in severe conditions manifested an equally strong system of earth’s healthcare.

  The suggestions in this volume bring fruitful advice and invaluable worth. It is impressive to note the thoughtfulness and maternal care that was taken in weaving this guide together. As a native European who has worked in complimentary healthcare in North America for decades, I can confirm the value of this priceless counsel. Most people have forgotten that the simple things are at the center of soulful nurturing and this health publication is an exemplary model of such authentic knowledge. As days pass, modern people are rushing toward the edge of a precipice. It is abundantly clear to any thinking person that we must halt this self-destructive pattern and once again come to our senses. Each of us must take personal responsibility for al aspects of our lives; most importantly, our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health. x ^ Mama’s Home Remedies

  We can change the course of our future, either making it a pathway of fulfillment and abundant joy or an excruciating voyage through the misery of irresponsibility. In your hands, you hold an important key to the place where all of us wish to reside. This special space is free from suffering and filled with health. Do not allow commercial interests to rob you of inherent strength by selling you inferior and destructive products and ideas. Help yourself by increasing your know-how and succeeding with your conquest. This accumulating character-building continuum gives you the wherewithal to engage wholeness. When you have achieved this crucial plateau, the insight and tools will be available so that you can build the necessary health that is required to live a full and successful life. Ms. Konnikova should be congratulated for her laborious efforts to offer us an outline to happiness and health. Everyone will benefit from these jewels of understanding and I am sure that you will be as rewarded as I was after embracing many of these natural prescriptions. Anna Maria Clement, PhD, NMD

  Codirector and Chief Health Administrator

  of Hippocrates Health Institute, West Palm Beach, Florida

 

  Foreword @ xi

  INTRODUCTION

  If I were to name the three most precious resources of life, I should say books, friends, and nature. Nature we have always with us, an inexhaustible storehouse of that which moves the heart, appeals to the mind, and fires the imagination—health to the body, a stimulus to the intellect, and joy to the soul.

  —John Burroughs (1837–1921), American writer and naturalist My interest in herbs and nature began long ago. I remember my first impression: a bunch of small chamomile flowers in a crystal vase standing on a side table near my bed. They held a delicate aroma that I memorized forever. I feel that it blends perfectly with my body chemistry.

  Chamomile was the first of Nature’s greetings to me from the unknown, miraculous world outside. I grew up in a home filled with dried herbs, potted plants, and fragrant sachets everywhere to keep the air fresh with an energizing scent. Our kitchen was filled with numerous packets and glass jars of mixed herbs, nastoykas (infusions), juices, teas, and elixirs. Beginning with my great-great-grandmother, several generations of women in our family were fascinated with herbs and everything that Nature could provide us. Grandma planted herbs, flowers, and trees in her gardens and used them as natural healers in the preparation of homemade green medicines; as cosmetics; and in cooking delicious vegetable meals, preserves, and jams. All the women in our family, except my mother, were homemakers, but they learned how to use a green pharmacy. They acquired a broad range of knowledge of plants and used it to prevent and heal various ailments in their family members.

  xii ^ Mama’s Home Remedies

  Generation after generation accepted the importance of herbs in healing naturally, in eating healthy foods, and in keeping themselves at their best. They also explored the incredible world of Nature in another part of our house. Our family library contained hundreds of books. My grandmother and grandfather, and then my parents, created an exciting atmosphere there where my aunts and uncles, cousins, good friends, and neighbors were welcomed to tea parties and

  “green” dinners, where candlelight and stimulating conversations abounded. My sister and I grew up without extensive use of antibiotics and other drugs. Instead we were surrounded with great books, good friends, a beautiful natural environment, Grandma’s fairy tales, and her green-blue garden. We also had Grandpa’s wisdom and his vineyards with ripe grapes, Papa’s home library with hundreds of great books and lessons on how to reach your dreams, and Mama’s motivational discussions on self-esteem and treatment with her homemade healing remedies.

  I read many medical books from Mama’s library and she shared with me her knowledge. She often told me, “You are a doctor by nature. It is a gift from God. You understand and feel the nature of disease. Why won’t you continue to study medicine?”

  “Mama, my first love is journalism,” I would tell her.

  Although I felt a strong desire to devote my life to becoming a doctor, I dreamed also of being a journalist. I was torn between the two paths and had such a difficult time making one “right” choice that I chose a “gold middle.”

  I became a writer and a broadcast journalist, an educator, and the family

  “doctor” for my husband and two sons. I feel comfortable sharing the knowledge I’ve garnered from Grandma and Mama’s wisdom combined with my own research and formal education, including the study of natural remedies from fifteenth-century herbal books through current advances. Many of the hundreds of Mama’s recipes have been used widely in Russia and Europe for centuries. I am happy now to share with you my knowledge and show you how you can treat illnesses in a wise way without polluting your body w
ith an endless flow of chemicals.

  Svetlana Konnikova

 

  Introduction @ xiii

  A. K.

  xiv ^ Mama’s Home Remedies

  A Fine Mood

  Who was silent by the window?

  Fog quarreled with rain

  and it was a long, long evening…

  about something far away, unearthly,

  about something close and kindred.

  The weeping candles burn down.

  And what is there to cry about?

  All in all, we are in fact alive,

  but sometimes toward evening

  suddenly we feel sorry for ourselves.

  It’s always toward evening

  and we sit down at the grand piano,

  lift a veil from the keyboard,

  and bring the candles back to life.

  These candles weep for the people –

  now softly, now intense,

  unable to quench their tears

  in time.

  It’s very important for me

  that we have no fear of fire,

  that the candles cry for the people,

  burn down and, soundless, melt away.

  Tomorrow daylight comes again,

  and we’ll hear a tune again,

  like Mama’s song.

  And a musician will be playing

  to make the people glad again.

  And like a song it comes back to you

  that fine mood.

 

  S. K.

  A Fine Mood @ 1

  2 ^ Mama’s Home Remedies

  Chapter 1

  Rose Hips Tea Party

  To live we need sun, freedom and a small flower.

  —Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875), Danish writer

  Tea parties were a Friday tradition and always a perfect get-together at our home. The “girls” would meet as usual in our garden. They were my mother’s girlfriends, medical professionals, doctors, and nurses. They worked together many years and shared one love, an obsession with their medical profession.