This is the last part of the health during crisis series, in which I will continue talking about natural replacements of conventional medication.

Moving on to other diseases, chronic pain, inflammation or arthritis can be cured with the following remedies:

Turmeric

Turmeric,  better known as curcumin is very beneficial when it comes to inflammation disorders and arthritis, as it has been proven by both the Chinese and the Indian medicine.

Hot Peppers

Other natural plants than can help with the pain caused by inflammation are cayenne, habanero, jalapeno or hot peppers in general. You can use them in the form of a balm, ointment or poultice.

Honey

Honey has a longstanding tradition of miraculous benefits in many areas; it destroys bacteria, fungus and it has antibiotic properties. You can either apply it on the wounds to disinfect them and help the healing process or eat it – you can eat up to 3 tablespoons a day for anti-inflammatory purposes. Honey also helps arthritis if  you mix 1 tablespoon of it with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. You can take the medicine up to 3 times a day.

Another use of natural remedies is replacing antibiotics; there are several alternative solutions you can use:

Garlic

The reason garlic is such a strong replacement of antibiotics is because it contains allicin. However, allicin only comes out when you crush the cloves. The way it works is that allinase, an enzyme, mixes with allliin, a compound, and together they form allicin. The catch is that you have to eat the garlic immediately, because allicin will break down quickly. You can eat as much garlic as you want, but if you intend on applying it on your skin, be careful because it may burn it.

Honey

As I mentioned before, honey has multiple benefits, but other than curing arthritis, pain and inflammation, it is also used as an antiseptic or antibiotic. It has actually been used in hospitals for MRSA, so it has already surpassed the label of ‘alternative medicine’.

Tea Tree Oil

Tea tree oil is not easy to find in nature, as it is extracted from Australia. You can nonetheless stock up on it as a precaution. It’s not costly and it is antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral. Australian natives have been extracting it from the bark of the tree and using it for centuries. Recently, scientific evidence have come out in support of its benefits.

These are, of course, just a few of the multitude of plants that can benefit our health in the absence of conventional medicine. The kitchen herbs you use for food, such as lemon balm, oregano, peppermint, thyme or sage each have their share of benefits and can be consumed as teas. Don’t neglect the common teas such as ginger or chamomile either; drink them with a little honey and they can do magic.

Nature offers us a lot of remedies; some of them you probably heard of from your grandparents. If you know any others, drop us a line!