Home Guide to Herbs - davies


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life stages  
153  
Old Age  
According to many sources, including the World Health Organization, as  
time goes by we are going to have far more elderly people around who  
will not necessarily be in good or better health. Their prediction is that  
the number of cases of cancer and bowel diseases will dramatically  
increase.  
As life expectancy extends, it is perhaps time to develop a good  
understanding of home self-healing methods. Anything that can  
ordinarily harm the body will simply continue to do so for longer, the older  
we get. So whether it is the bowel congesting or the liver stagnating, the  
answer lies in learning about and implementing natural healing routines  
designed to cleanse and rejuvenate the body’s organs. This may, at first  
sight, appear to be a tough option for the elderly, who are sometimes  
more rigid or dogmatic in their approach to their lifestyles, as they  
justifiably relax into the evening of their lives. It certainly requires those  
noble elder qualities of wisdom, enlightenment, balance, and courage in  
order to make these changes.  
Nutrition will have a different focus as digestion becomes less efficient  
and as shopping for food and cooking become more tiring. Additionally,  
older people tend to eat less as they require fewer calories and less protein  
to fuel their daily activities. For them, a combination of liquid foods  
balanced with fiber, good-quality fruit and vegetables, juices, superfood,  
and some good-quality and well-chosen supplements would be ideal,  
while also making sure that what little food is eaten is of excellent quality  
and taste. Every day, a salad should be eaten that includes some of the  
following ingredients: grated carrots, beets, cucumber, and ginger, added  
to dandelion leaves, lettuce, and sorrel. Vary the ingredients each day if  
possible. Now is the time to grow a few herbs like thyme, oregano,  
coriander, and garlic and to use them to flavor each meal.  
Some older people find that memory and brain agility begin to fail  
them, just at a time when memories are more delightful to recall and they  
have all the time in the world for crosswords and conversation. Ginkgo  
(
which is already used in copious amounts by the elderly) will really help,  
as will other brain restoratives such as Siberian ginseng root, rosemary  
leaf, gotu kola root, and prickly ash berryrefer to “Parkinson’s and  
Alzheimer’s Diseases” in chapter 10.  
Brittle bones are an increasing problem as we grow older; some two  
hundred thousand hip fractures are reported each year in Britain and,  
likewise, cases of osteoporosis are increasing. Refer to “Osteoporosis” in  
chapter 10.  
The immune system must be lovingly cared for so that colds, flu, and  
other respiratory disorders and diseases do not have a chance to become  


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