Thank Gd, The Chiropractic Adjustments have Helped

Not that long ago, I blogged about my neighbor, Dr. Azriel Gordon's Chiropractic Clinic. I had gone to the open house to celebrate his new location. I listened to his talk with half an ear, not having a clue that I'd soon be one of his patients.

"Gd laughs," as the saying goes.

When a pain in my hip caused my knees to ache and make normal life totally impossible I gave Dr. Gordon a call to set up an appointment. That evening I trudged down the hill to his clinic, which was a bad mistake. I should have found a ride. By the time I got there, I could barely move. And the pain in my knees was excruciating.

Dr. Gordon began by reminding me that a well-treated body should last over a hundred years. Oh, boy, had I just permanently abused it...? Chiropractic healing concentrates on keeping the spine supple and healthy. Everyone knows that a break in the spine paralyzes sections of the body, so it makes sense that blockages will also have dangerous effects restricting movement and causing other damage. I knew quite a bit about chiropractic care, because my brother-in-law in New York has been a chiropractor close to forty years, and he has helped me a number of times. But since a trip to New York wasn't realistic, I had no problems calling Dr. Gordon.

When I got ready for my adjustment, I couldn't even take off my shoes. So, since they were soft, he allowed me to keep them on. Dr. Gordon worked very hard trying to relax/release my spine and move the bones of my hip joint into the proper position.

One thing I wonder about is if there are many female chiropractors. I haven't heard of any. The profession demands great physical strength. Women do well as massage therapists, dealing with soft tissue, but the type of work that Dr. Gordon does is much more physically demanding by the therapist. 

Part of my "treatment" was that Dr. Gordon helped me get a ride home. He told me not to overdo things. I realize that I had gotten in such bad shape, because I hadn't gone for help when the first discomfort began.

The next day I began to feel better and started doing various stretches to get my spine healthy again. I do have a very extensive dance background, which makes it possible for me to know what to do. Other people really do need much more professional guidance.

A week later, I returned for another adjustment by Dr. Gordon. By then I could comfortably walk down to his clinic, but I asked a neighbor to drive me home.

Since then I've been doing daily twists and stretches, while gradually returning to my walking routines. The big difference is that I stop when there's discomfort, but the discomfort has been much less frequent and doesn't reach the pain I had previously. My goal is to be totally cured of this "hip" problem, and I'll return for what Dr. Gordon calls tune-ups. Call 054-4849094 to make an appointment or ask more questions.

In the meantime, I feel that I'm doing well, thank Gd, with gradual daily improvements.

Yesterday I comfortably walked a lot and at a good pace, B"H, thank Gd.

Shiloh's Resident Chiropractor

Here in Shiloh we're pretty lucky to have a local chiropractor, Dr. Azriel Gordon, who has been working in the field for over thirty years. Many of my neighbors have been cared for by him. Dr. Gordon insists that he's not a medical doctor and calls what he does "tune ups." According to him, the body can heal itself, or function better, when properly cared for. He doesn't call the people he helps patients, either.

My brother-in-law, in New York, has been a chiropractor for about forty years, and from what I've seen, each chiropractor develops different methods. Dr. Gordon confirmed this.

Last night's gathering was to see the new clinic Dr. Gordon has opened, Optimal Wellness and Laws of Life Chiropractic Center of Shiloh. He explained his rationale of his practice and more. A few people told of how Dr. Gordon helped them. Click here and here for more information. Call 054-4849094 to make an appointment or ask more questions.

Feed The Body Not The Flu

As you may know, I'm at war against a flu which managed to breach the barricades of the flu vaccine. Thank Gd I don't have the worst possible case, but for me, it's bad enough. Cough and chills and difficulties concentrating are bad enough. Even before I had realized I was sick, my walking speed was reduced. The flu rather slowly reached its peak making me think that I wasn't really sick. And then as things got more uncomfortable I'd think:

"That's it. Now I should start feeling better."

But instead of feeling better, I felt worse. I even went to the doctor. But by then, as she pointed out, I was finally on the road to recovery. I should just be patient, not force myself to do anything, including eating. Of course, she doesn't know me well enough to know that "resting" is something I have to force myself to do.  My most "restful" activity is playing cards on the computer. At this point reading is a bit stressful to the eyes, but once I recover a bit more... And those movies I love to watch are usually just background sounds and pictures when I'm cooking and cleaning.

Today I didn't even drink coffee. Really! I had my water with lemon and a bit of fresh ginger, but since I didn't enjoy yesterday's coffee and threw out most of it, I didn't make any this morning.

Another change I made was to have a vegan breakfast. I mixed sesame paste with fruit, rather than using goat yogurt or sour cream. First I had it with apple and ginger and then with a persimmon. Both were totally delicious.

For whatever reason, I still have a good appetite in the morning, especially for these fruit treats/meals. Next on the menu is a vegetable soup. The peas are already soaking in boiling water.  I hope that this helps me get all better quickly, Gd willing.

Potion Plus Flu Vaccine?

For the past few years, I've been taking the flu vaccine, and I even got the pneumonia one. So, why do I feel so sick? Yes, I've heard that it's not a magic potion to prevent all winter ills. Sigh...

I also prepared another sort of magic potion for myself, but it doesn't seem to be working either. This includes honey, onion and whisky. And I also drink my water with lemon slices.

Let's see what the doctor says today. Maybe she'll have a more effective trick Gd willing.

Onion Honey Cure- Homemade Cough Syrup

I don't remember where I got the instructions/recipe for this natural cure against coughs and scratchy throat. But it's better and a lot cheaper than buying lozenges and cough syrup. So when you're home and need something soothing, give it a try. I made a very simple version.  Googling it*, I discovered that some people add garlic and keep it in a covered jar, but I just made this one in a teacup. 

cut up an onion

spoon on a bit of honey

within a few hours....

It takes just a few hours for a natural cough syrup to form combining the best of the onion and honey.

Of course, if you're not home, you will need to find some sort of lozenge to have with you. Most are not only awfully expensive, but they are so full of sugar, you may as well buy a regular sucking candy. So, it's best to look for one of the sugarless types.

*Here are a couple of the articles I found on the internet:
Homemade Honey & Onion Cough Syrup
HOMEMADE ONION HONEY COUGH SYRUP

Horseradish for All Year, Not Just Passover and Gefilte Fish

Over twenty years ago, when there were lots of newcomers, olim chadashim, from the USSR here in Shiloh, suddenly during, or just after, Pesach many knocked on our door asking for their favorite "natural cure," freshly grated horseradish. Word had gotten out that we had the "real stuff" in our house. The bitter herb horseradish at our seder is from the root, ground well in the "coffee bean grinder" of our Passover Moulinex blender bought in the early 1970's. My husband adds some vinegar, and it stays potent a few months until I use it up. I eat it with my morning eggs and other foods.

This year's horseradish was finished months ago, and I had asked my husband to buy me a new root. Unfortunately I took my time in preparing it, so it wasn't all that fresh when I finally grated it the other day.

I had to carefully peel it with a sharp knife, and then I threw the peels into the garden...

Actually, I shredded it in the food processor.

Then I put it all in a glass jar and added some vinegar.

And then I served it as a "dressing" on my fish and vegetables!

It was a very healthy, tasty addition to the meal!

More about horseradish:

Horseradish

Medicinal, Refreshing Jerusalem "Street Food"

There's more to Jerusalem "Street Food" than felafel, shwarma, bourekas and ice cream. One thing I remember from my very first visit here in 1969 was the "freshly squeezed juice" kiosk. Even with the addition of more and more unhealthy foods and 5 Shekel snackbar/restaurants, you can still find an amazing amount of custom juice places with a wider variety of fruits and vegetables for your juice, custom-made.

Way back when it was mostly orange, apple and carrot, but today you can get lots more.

The other day, fighting one of those season-change colds, I decided to lunch on a healthy "medicinal" juice. I went to a kiosk my son recently took me to on Rechov Agripas, just off of King George Street and asked for pomegranate and ginger. The "juicer" -what does one call a person who runs such a business?- told me that with the powerful ginger, I need to add either some apple or carrot juice. I chose the carrot, which is also chock full of vitamins.

I took his largest size cup, which cost me NS25, lots more than I would have spent on a felafel or tuna sandwich. But I wanted something to help flush out or scare away whatever virus had been plaguing my body.

It had a nice powerful taste from the ginger, was refreshing and filling. Just as it was almost ready for drinking, a passerby took a look and asked for exactly the same thing without even knowing what I had in it. Actually, he was an American, and I needed to translate for him. I hope he enjoyed it as much as I did.

Photo Experiment on My Virus "Cure"

Let's "kill two birds with one stone" as the saying goes...

• this is a health post, a natural health cure
• experimenting with simple settings on my camera, Canon IXUS 145

For years I've been using a very simple "cure" for "colds" and other viral annoyances. I drink water, tap-room temperature, that has freshly squeezed lemon juice added. Yesterday, I, davka, added another simple natural ingredient, a bit of fresh ginger. And since then my "scratchy, then painful throat has softened into a runny nose, but my hip now hurts a bit. Actually it hurts less now than earlier in the day. And Gd willing this little "virus" will soon be gone. 

Now for the photo experiment. 

no flash
1/50 sec. f/3.2 5mm, ISO 800

flash fired
1/60 sec. f/3.2 5mm, ISO 125

Slow Sync flash mode
1/10 sec. f/9 5mm, ISO 500

These photos are totally untouched, unedited, not even cropped. So you can see that I was the same distance from the glass mug when I shot the pictures. All three were done at the sametime, with barely seconds between them. All adjustments were done automatically by the camera. All I did was choose the flash mode from none, flash and slow sync.

Which do you like better? 

Forget Antibiotic Cream: Ichthammol is Better!!

Decades ago when one of my daughters had a bad skin infection, the old hareidi nursery school teacher told me to buy "mishchah shechora," "black cream." So that's what I did, and in a few days the infection got better. I used it for years, and it has always been more effective than antibiotic creams.

The real name of the cream is Ichthammol, and in the 1970's I didn't need to learn the real name, since all the pharmacists knew what I meant.

Ammonium bituminosulfonate or ammonium bituminosulphonate (synonyms of ichthammol, CAS#8029-68-3 brand name: Ichthyol) is a product of natural origin obtained in the first step by dry distillation of sulfur-rich oil shale (bituminous schists). By sulfonation of the resulting oil (or purified fractions thereof) and subsequent neutralization with ammonia Ichthammol results as viscous, water-soluble substance with characteristic bitumen-like odor. It is used in medicine as a remedy for treatment of different skin diseases, including eczema and psoriasis (see below). Ointments containing 10% or 20% Ichthammol are most common. They are sometimes called "black ointments" or "drawing salves". Ichthammol's dermatological action was promoted by German physician Paul Gerson Unna.^[1] Wikipedia

Just recently I used it on myself when the antibiotic cream was ineffective and I was tempted to make a doctor's appointment to get antibiotics. Suddenly I remembered our old standby and found quite a few pretty full tubes.

Now, why don't I use it automatically, instead of even bothering with the antibiotics? It stinks. Yes, literally so. It smells like tar. For all I know it could be tar or related to tar.

Who cares, because it it really clears infections that nothing else other than maybe taking ten days of oral antibiotic can do. And a few years ago I had an awful infection, took a couple of rounds of antibiotics and then finally finished it off with Ichthammol and cabbage leaves. Yes, cabbage leaves, but that's another blog post...

Simple TNT Cold Cures

I had one of those annoying season change colds this week. It started with a scratchy sore throat and escalated into a frightening cough. Thank Gd it didn't keep me in bed, but the cough did disturb my sleep and frighten my workmates and customers.

My favorite cure is drinking lots of water with freshly squeezed lemon juice. The water is simple tap water, not hot at all. Hot water kills the vitamin C in the leomon and makes it useless. That is easy when I'm home, but almost impossible at work. Luckily I only work part-time and managed to drink lots of my lemon juice water. And as you can see, I keep the lemon in the water to make it even more potent.

Yesterday, I was worried that the cold wouldn't go away in time for an important/significant family wedding tonight (no, not one of my kids, but almost) so I thought I'd get some Vitamin C in the nearby pharmacy. But when I saw the price (vitamins are expensive in Israel) I changed my mind and ran to the healthfood store at the other end of Sha'ar Binyamin.

There I bought myself some low sugar dried cranberries and flax seeds. The cranberries have a bit of Vitamin C plus antioxidants which is supposed to be good for our health and fight disease. I decided on the flax, because decades ago, it was considered a good food addition to clear the respiratory system of phlegm. Children with repeated/repeating bronchitis and ear infections despite taking conventional medicine were given ground flax seeds sprinkled over their foods with very good results. So I hope that the flax seeds will make my cough go away more quickly, Gd willing. I sprinkled some on the dinner I had brought from home. And then I had more with oatmeal after work. I make the oatmeal with water and cinamon only, no milk nor sugar added at all.

Last night I did sleep much better than the past few nights, thank Gd. And today I was up bright and early before my alarms went off.