Originally published September 2 2009
Not Just a Beautiful Flower: The Marigold Brings Natural Health
by Barbi Trejo
(NaturalNews) Marigold (also known as Calendula officinalis) is not just a beautiful flower, but a natural medicine for many conditions. The marigold has now been placed in the books of cancer and anti-cancer cures, because it has antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties. The marigold is also able to help in the treatment of wounds. It is excellent in healing burns, stings and impetigo (a contagious skin infection.) It is also wonderful in the treatment of warts, corns and calluses. The flowers are also used in the treatment of many skin conditions from eczema to varicose ulcers.
This wonderful garden flower is used to line many gardens with and is found on many mountains. The calendula offcinalis is taken from the Latin word Kalendae, (1st day of the Roman calendar). The marigold blooms all year round and is also known as "flower of rain." The flower will not open if it is going to rain.
One should be careful not to confuse the Arnica flower with the Calendula, as the Arnica can be toxic and should be used only under supervision. The Arnica tea can be harmful to heart patients. The Calendula grows up to 40 cm in height. The flowers are yellow to orange and the leaves have a sticky feel to them. It is a good rain doctor also. If the flowers are closed in the early morning, it will rain that day. When picking the flowers, you should only pick in the bright sunshine and in the middle of the day. The best month to pick the marigold is in August.
The marigold can be juiced from fresh flowers and leaves or made into a tea using the dried flowers. The easiest way to use marigold is in a tea. In this case, you would dry only the flowers and use the flowers to make the tea.
Making Tea:
To make tea or infuse the flowers, make sure that you boil the water and then add 1 tablespoon of the flowers to the pot of tea and let it steep. Do not add the dried flowers to cold water and then let it boil. The tea purifies the blood, so drink this tea regularly. Remedies for the use of the marigold tea:
- Inflammation of the intestines
- Diarrhea
- Liver problems
- Expel worms
- Herpes and glandular swellings
- Hepatitis
Mixture of the tea and horsetail (use half and half)
- Cancer and tumor growths
- Cracked feet and ulcerated legs
- Non healing wounds
Sitz Bath:
What is a sitz bath? A sitz bath is a bath you sit in. Sitz baths are being used for many things from healing the wounds of stitches after childbirth to hemorrhoids, vaginal infections, genital herpes, and bladder infections. So the use of the sitz bath is an "old fashioned" way of treatment, but a very effective one. Place one or two cups of dried or fresh flowers in some cold water for one day. After one day, heat the flowers to just before boiling and add to the warm bath that is up to your hip. Relax in the soothing sitz bath as long as you can. The aroma alone will soothe your spirits.
Fresh juice:
In order to juice the marigold, you may use both the flowers and the stems. Wash both of them and juice them. It is a strong juice and you can add this to some carrot and apple juice to ease the flavor. Remedies that you can use for the juice:
- Warts (note: use the fresh juice with no mixture here on the warts)
- Scabies
Ointments:
Chop some fresh flowers and add it to some coconut oil. Heat slightly and then let cool. The ointments are good for pains. To make the ointment easy to spread, you can add some vegetable oil to the ointment. Some will recommend lard instead of coconut oil. Remedies using the ointment:
- Athlete`s feet
- Nose scabs
- Varicose veins
- Eczema and skin infections
Tinctures:
When making tinctures, you can either use alcohol or raw apple vinegar. Dr. Schultz and Dr. Christopher both used the alcohol, such as Vodka. But many for religious purposes prefer something without alcohol, so they use raw apple vinegar. Raw apple vinegar must be cloudy. Real apple vinegar will never be clear. Place some flowers in the vinegar or the alcohol and let it sit in the sun for 20 days. After twenty days, drain the vinegar from the flowers and you have your tinctures. Remedies that the tinctures are used for:
- Regulating menstrual periods
- Treatment of anemic patients
Cold Infusion is used for the eyes. A cold infusion is basically the tea which is let to cool and placed in the refrigerator. Use a cotton pad and dip the pad in the infusion and lay on the eye, changing the pads regularly. The leaves can be used in salads or as fresh vegetables and eaten to heal tuberculosis.
The marigold is a benefit and a treatment for so many illness and diseases, and should be used daily. Many local herbalists carry dried marigolds and they are easily accessible. Always be careful from whom you purchase your dried herbs and go with a reputable supplier.
http://www.home-remedies-guide.com/herbs/mar...
http://www.mariatrebenherbs.com/calendula.ht...
http://www.liveandfeel.com/medicinalplants/p...
http://www.howtodothings.com/health-and-fitn...
About the author
Barbi Trejo is a natural hygiene foodist and loves the medicine of the earth. After being diagnosed with MS and early onset dementia last year, she cured herself using herbs and juicing from the earth. She now spends her time helping others.
Barbi Trejo lives in Jordan with her cat, Baby. Barbi is writes for Suite101, Break Studios and Associated Content. She moderates four forums and six blogs in her spare time.
Barbi has just released her first eBook entitled, "Everything You Would Ever Want to Know About Black Seeds (Nigella sativa) and more. It can be seen at http://nigellasativa.weebly.com
Barbi is also a Twitter Manager for many of the top Natural Health Writers here on Natural News.com and Corporations. To learn more about how Twitter can benefit you, contact her at [email protected] and make sure to put Twitter as the reason for the email.
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