Mama's Home Remedies: Discover Time-Tested Secrets of Good Health and the Pleasures of Natural Livin by Svetlana Konnikova (best fiction novels of all time .txt) 📕

disease. The Caucasus Mountain range is also the famed “longevity belt,” which attracted worldwide notice in the late 1960s. News reporters, scientists, and gerontologists were among those who Trips to the Fairyland @ 221

trekked up the green, idyllic mountainsides, abundant in apples, potatoes, and flower and vegetable gardens, at an altitude of around a thousand feet above sea level, to research the villagers who lived there. The region was reported to be unusually populated with people who lived long lives, often far beyond 100

years—some were said to be as old as 110 to 140.

Shirali Mislimov was one man who lived in Azerbaijan who was reputed to be 168 at the time of his death in 1973! Diet and exercise are believed to be contributing factors to the population’s longevity. I wonder if scientists also considered contributions made by the fragrant aromas of the villagers’ lush mountain gardens, their tea fields, the sea, the fresh mountain air . . . . In other ancient European countries and Russia, people used to burn branches of juniper during epidemics of disease. We can use it in this century during epidemics of flu.

People in the Ukraine use thyme to disinfect their homes from contagious diseases. For centuries, Ukrainians have filled mattresses with thyme and scattered this herb on their floors to freshen the air in their homes. American Indians burn bundles of sage and juniper to purify their environment. In fact, the ritual is no longer confined to a specific culture and today is a popular purification process in the Western and Southwestern United States. In ancient India and China the aroma of lotus saved thousands of people from infectious diseases and the Black Death plague. In my childhood home, we followed a tradition in the fall of washing all of our woolen rugs with pine soap. Grandma had made the rugs by hand. We rinsed them in salt water and allowed them to dry outside on a windy, sunny day. The air in our house was then refreshed with the aroma of pine until the following autumn. The scent was beneficial to the health of our lungs, throat, and bronchi.

Please remember that natural, medicinal plants

have strong disinfectant properties. They are tireless fighters in the bacterial “battlefield.”

There are 35,000 microbes in one cubic yard of air.

Our immune system must work hard to neutralize them.

We should practice a regular exercise regime incorporating such aerobic activities as walking and jogging. Our use of essential plant oils with their bactericidal shields can then do a better job for our well-being.

222 ^ Mama’s Home Remedies

Other valuable essential oils are derived from valerian, mint, fennel, anise, rose, lavender, and sage—most of which are also common culinary herbs. Please remember that essential oils are just that—the pure essence of the plant from which they are extracted. So-called blended oils which contain synthetic additives or synthetic oils should not be used for healing or to promote good health.

Essential oils can be expensive, as it often takes an vast amount of plants to produce a small amount of oil. For example, it takes 10,000 pounds of jasmine flowers to produce one pound of oil. Please insist on pure essential oils for your health.

Turn your house into a Fairyland every season of the year. Create your own health resort to heal your mind, body, and spirit. In winter, when the skin is especially dry, it is helpful to take warm, relaxing, and healing baths. Fill your bathtub with warm water. Pour ½ cup of vinegar and 25-30 drops of lavender oil and enjoy your way to relaxation.

Winter was never one of my favorite seasons, but one slow-moving, cold evening during a long winter I was determined to find something good in the bad. The snowflakes sparkled like diamonds and whirled slowly to earth in the cold air. They covered the ground with a fluffy and splendid blanket, knit with millions of beautiful radiant sequins. I was walking home from school. The brilliant, glistening white snow crunched under my feet. The air was fresh and crisp. A powerful north wind roared ferociously and brutally pounded the glass windows and wooden shutters of the houses. Our house stood up strong against the furious windy winter attack, thanks to the tall giant pines, oaks, and huge walnuts that buffered it. The trees squealed pitifully but stood strong and proud, fighting the cold demon bravely like the most courageous soldiers in the snowy battlefield.

I ran the last 10 steps until I was finally inside the house. There it was warm and cozy. Inside was the aroma of lilac and lavender and Papa played Peter Tchaikovsky’s “The Seasons” on the piano in our gostinaya (a family room). The aroma of lilac flowed from a slick, purple candle, homemade in Grandma’s “laboratory.” As it slowly burned down, it cried fragrant lilac tears, drop by drop, falling onto a shiny silver plate in rhythm to the magnificent Tchaikovsky’s summer part of “The Seasons”—“Barcarolle.” I knew that Papa missed summer too.

Trips to the Fairyland @ 223

Birch logs snapped and crackled in the fireplace, throwing sparks of the golden amber tongues of fire. The flames danced and curled wildly, but their show wasn’t contained to the fireplace. They threw their shadows on the far side of the room, where their pale yellow and tangerine reflections trembled on the dark wall.

I felt peaceful and comfortable there. The warm atmosphere always made me feel cozy. I loved to read a good book there or daydream about mysterious places. I imagined flights on a magic carpet.