There are simple things that you can do to ensure that you live free from the common ailments that afflict much of the world today, such as heart disease and stroke. Just like taking care of your car, preventive maintenance for your body is an important component of living a healthy lifestyle.

One of the greatest ways that you can keep your body tuned up is to optimize your circulation system. The easiest way to do this is to move your body. We are all descendants of cave men that had to “use it or lose it” if they wanted to stay alive.  Although we don’t have to run after our food to catch it these days, we are not much different from them in that our bodies are built to move vigorously and consistently.

Another way to help your circulation system is to include lots of fruits and vegetables in your diet and if you’re going to eat meat and dairy products make sure they are organic and not full of pesticides, antibiotics and hormones.

A third way to keep your circulation system free from all blockages is to take a great herbal heart tincture as a regular tonic, such as MFC’s  “Heart Health”.  From the description: “The herbs in this formula have been known to help reduce the risk of heart attack, regulate cardiac rhythm and generally tone the circulatory system.”
 
Remember, maintenance is what you do on a regular basis, even when nothing’s wrong with your car — or your body.

Information on the herbs in Heart Health:

-Hawthorne, known to ancients as the traditional “heart herb”, helps to promote a steady heartbeat and is coupled with other powerful heart-healthy herbs to help reduce cholesterol as well. Hawthorne strengthens the heart and promotes a strong, regular heartbeat. In addition, Hawthorne may help reduce chest pain and arrhythmia and prevent stress-related heart attacks.
-Garlic affects the circulatory system by lowering blood levels of sugar and LDL (harmful cholesterol). Garlic may also reduce blood pressure and raise the level of HDL (good cholesterol).
-Motherwort is an all-purpose heart tonic, helping to regulate the heartbeat.
-Gingko leaf has antioxidant properties, enhances heart efficiency and gradually tones blood vessels.
-Red clover blossoms have an inherent ability to remove toxic waste from the blood.
-Ginger root and Cayenne pepper are two of the best-known circulatory and herbal cardiac tonics.
-Cactus grandiflora, a cardiac tonic and regulator, increases the heart s ability to pump stronger without increasing the heart’s oxygen demand.

Tinctures are not just for when you have a cold or the flu.  They can help you in your every day life, even when you are not sick. Three of my favorite wellness tinctures are Digest-Ease, Tooth and Gum and Kidney Klean.  Here are a few of the benefits that using them will give you:
 
Have you ever eaten a meal and the food tasted so good that you ate a little more than your stomach could comfortably hold?  Then you feel very full and wish that you had saved half of your food for later!!  What can you do to feel better right away?  You take one or more dropperfuls of Digest-Ease tincture in a little water or juice.  It helps your digestion and makes everything go back to normal, fast.  You can also take Digest-Ease whenever you feel queasy due to motion sickness.  It’s amazing how much it helps.  Half a dropperful in a mouthful of water gives you a fresh taste in your mouth and quiets your stomach down.
 
Tooth and Gum tincture helps give your mouth that squeaky clean feeling when you haven’t been flossing your teeth as often as you know you should.  You put a dropperful of the formula right on your gums and massage it in vigorously with your finger so that it gets into all the spaces where bacteria can hide.  You can also put a dropperful of the tincture in your water-pik.  Regular use of Tooth and Gum will help your next dental checkup be more enjoyable by making your gums less likely to be tender.
 
And last but not least, Kidney Klean is a great tincture for preventive maintenance.  The herbs in this formula are specifically chosen to help your kidneys, bladder and urinary system and you may have used this formula once in a while to do a cleanse.  However, you may want to consider taking it more often.  Your entire pelvic region can benefit from taking this tincture on a regular basis.  It helps strengthen the muscles you use to do your Kegel exercises and keeps your urinary elimination system in top shape.  Just drink down a couple of dropperfuls in some water or juice once or twice a day.

Have you ever felt a tiny soreness in your throat when you swallow and thought “Uh oh”?   You’ve worked at boosting your immune system and stayed away from sick people but somehow you feel like something has gotten through.  What do you do to get rid of the sore throat fast before it turns into something worse? 
 
Here’s the answer:  Gargle with Cayenne Tincture. 
 
Here’s how to do it: 
 
- Add 10 – 20 drops of Cayenne Tincture to a quarter cup of warm water or apple juice and mix well.

- Gargle it all, a little at a time, making lots of gargling noise so it goes deep in your throat.   

- Spit it out when you’re ready, swallowing a little bit of the cayenne mix. 

You can swallow it all but you will feel a burning sensation in your stomach if you do. (Your mouth may burn a little afterwards, so rinse with cold water and the burning will go away soon.)  Repeat every few hours until the sore throat is gone.
 
This even works on really sore throats that have been getting worse for a few days.  You can intensify the dosage of Cayenne Tincture and you can repeat the process every 15 minutes if you really need relief fast.  You may experience increased discharges of phlegm during the process.  It’s okay – that means it’s working!

Today I wanted to talk a little bit about tinctures.

WHAT ARE TINCTURES?

Herbal tinctures are what you end up with after you take parts of herbs or plants and soak them in alcohol for a few weeks.  (Non-alcoholic tinctures are made from herbs soaked in glycerin, water or apple cider vinegar.) After you strain the plant material out of the mix, you have a concentrated extract of the herbs or plants.  Depending on what combinations of herbs you use, tinctures can be therapeutic, medicinal, preventive or even life-saving.

For example, one of the most important first-aid tinctures is Cayenne.  This tincture may be able to help stop a heart attack, slow or stop bleeding and revive someone from unconsciousness. 

 WHY USE TINCTURES?
 
Tinctures are an easy way to get a concentrated dose of the healing properties of the herbs you are using.  Especially when the herbs are extracted in a base of 80 – 100% alcohol, your body can absorb the tincture quickly and put it to work!  When I feel myself coming down with something, the first thing I reach for is my bottle of Immune Boost.  It helps me fight off all the bad bugs fast!! 

Another of my favorite tinctures for fighting colds or flu is Super Force, which is onions, garlic, horseradish and peppers soaked in apple cider vinegar.  I even take it when I’m not sick because I like the taste of it so much.  Some people I know will mix it with olive oil to make an immune boosting salad dressing.

WHAT KIND OF TINCTURES SHOULD I USE?

Always look for tinctures where the best, organic and wild-grown herbs and plants are used.  That way you can be sure you are not getting any herbicides and pesticides along with your extracts. 

Next, make sure that the tinctures are full strength, not diluted or watered down so that you receive the full benefit from taking them.

You can easily make your own tinctures at home if you have the time.  There are many different websites explaining how to do this.  If you are short on time, you can order them for very reasonable prices from Marilyn Farms, with the full assurance that you are getting a product that is safe and full-strength.