Mama's Home Remedies: Discover Time-Tested Secrets of Good Health and the Pleasures of Natural Livin, Svetlana Konnikova [classic fiction .TXT] 📗

and yellow and then turn into an amber warmth or golden gleam. It happens because the sun pours into each berry its bright colors, like foggy-grey, purple, and brown, and it makes sure that all

grapes shine and brighten up under his radiant beams.”

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The grape was known for its effective healing properties 5,500 years ago in ancient Babylon and Mesopotamia. In 1613 this plant was brought to Russia and became very popular there. The grapevine gloriously conquered the hearts of the people around the world from time immemorial and it was recognized as highly nutritious and medicinal.

Today’s biochemists affirm that 100-percent natural grape juice is equal in value to mother’s milk. Grapes contain calcium, potassium, carotene, magnesium, manganese, glucose, pectin, and natural vitamins, such as C (ascorbic acid), B1 (thiamine), B6 (pyridoxine), B12 (cobalamin), dietary fiber, and organic acids, which are biological and nutritious stimulants. The human body will not function properly without them.

However people began to cultivate grapevines even earlier, about nine thousand years ago. They loved and nurtured this generous plant, producing

“the berries of life.” The grape was also called a wise plant and an immortal fruit. Grapes love the sun, so they were named “sunny berries.”

In ancient times the grape was used as a tonic and effective diuretic, laxative, and expectorant. The grape is a great healer of a wide spectrum of illnesses when caught in the initial stage, such as bronchial asthma; pleurisy; tuberculosis; metabolism disorders; chronic inflammations of the alimentary canal; hemorrhoids; cardiovascular, liver, and kidney diseases; depression; arthritis; collapse/breakdown; and loss of blood.

The grape’s sugar—glucose—is a strong antidote when poisoning by toxic substances such as morphine, arsenic, strychnine, and nitrate sodium has occurred.

R 30. Drink ½ cup freshly pressed grape juice a day for one month to maintain your normal weight. Grape juice is also helpful as a restorative remedy for the nervous system to heal anxiety and tension associated with excessive stress. As we know, excessive stress can lead to a variety of health problems, such as emotional instability (tendency to cry or be irritated for no obvious reason), inability to relax, palpitations, insomnia, or headaches. Fresh grape juice also improves the exchange of water and salt in the body and acts as a good antiseptic to clean harmful products, such as uric acid, from the system. And this is not al : Fresh grapes can prevent the formation of stones and sand in the urinary tract. A Healthy Spirit Lives in a chapter

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r 31. Make “Baby Vinegar” using young green grapes. Fil a glass jar with two ounces of grapes. Add two tablespoons apple cider vinegar and one cup spring water. Simmer for two hours. Take one to two teaspoons daily before meals if you experience pains in joints and muscles or suffer from rheumatism. Store “Baby Vinegar” in the refrigerator.

R 32. Eat one ounce dried raisins, one ounce almonds or four to five walnuts, and two to three thin pieces of cheese (about an ounce) once a week for one month. Drink a cup of natural white grape juice once a week. It wil make your heart muscle stronger, strengthen the nervous system, and relieve nervous headaches. R 33. As a remedy for fatigue, take ½ cup fresh grape juice a day. Two tablespoons every two hours is also very helpful as a preventive measure for a loss of energy, insomnia and depression, lack of determination, anger, or emptiness.

I believe that grapeseed extract—a heavily marketed product—should not be substituted for grapes and grape juices. It is extracted from the seeds of grapes ( Vitis vinifera) and is combined with pine bark, which comes from the bark of the European coastal pine tree ( Pinus maritime and Pinus nigra). In The Complete Guide to Herbal Medicines 10, Charles W. Fetrow, Pharm. D., and Juan R. Avila, Pharm.D., wrote that grapeseed and pine bark “contain proanthocyanidins, a chemical marketed as Pycnogenol.” It comes in tablets and capsules to treat cancer, inflammation, poor circulation, and varicose veins. The two pharmacists point out that products containing grapeseed and pine bark are sold under such names as Mega Juice, NutraPack, and Pycnogenol.

“The research shows,” they indicate, “that although grape seed extract is popular in Europe, it hasn’t been studied adequately in people for medical experts to recommend its medicinal use. The same holds true for pine bark.”

I grew up in a family of European winemakers, but I never heard that any efficient grapeseed extract can be produced from grape seeds. However Mama made the best grapeseed oil I ever had. It was fresh from our winery and soft 38 ^ Mama’s Home Remedies

as velvet. It was much lighter to the touch than apricot kernel, almond, wheat germ, evening primrose, calendula, or rose hip oils. Mama kept it in tightly sealed European dark glass bottles.

I could see its emerald green spark even through these amber bottles. It was Mama’s favorite oil for massaging. Sometimes she gave me a full body massage “to wake up my blood vessels” and increase the circulation of my blood and lymph system. Her skillful massage was a blessing, soothing my nervous system while her strong fingers glided effortlessly over my body, slick with her favorite grapeseed oil.

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