Ebola – Natural Remedies for a virus coming soon to a city near you

A while back, I wrote about natural remedies for the flu virus and one of the points that I like to make is that Echinacea and Golden Seal, commonly recommended for “colds” should NOT be taken for serious viral disorders like Ebola – but other natural or herbal treatments may help.

About Ebola Virus

First let’s talk about Ebola itself. The feared (and current) Ebola virus is actually a member of the Ebolavirus genus – and there are four other types. The current “Ebola virus” was formerly called the “Zaire ebolavirus” creates hemorrhagic fever. Hemorrhagic fever is a disease that is often fatal with symptoms of fever, muscle pain, headache, gastrointestinal symptoms, selling, low blood pressure, shock and bleeding – hence the name “hemorrhagic fever”. It causes bleeding by reducing the body’s ability to clot – and may cause dehydration through GI fluid loss.

Scientists reveal early humans ate weeds…Really?

An article published on livescience.com has just revealed that our early human ancestors ate “weeds” as a major part of their diet. Are you surprised? I’m not.

The creepy thing is only the way they discovered this un-news fact. They analyzed prehistoric plaque and tartar. You know the sticky, stinky film on your teeth that eventually hardens and has to be picked off by the hygienist. Yep, that stuff. Apparently our ancestors didn’t have good oral hygiene (another big shocker since my kids don’t practice good oral hygiene and they have convenient toothbrushes and tasty toothpaste which they use in science experiments rather than in their mouths).

These archeologists from Spain analyzed the chemical compounds and “microfossils” in the “dental calculus”. This showed that the skeletons (when they were people) ate large quantities of a plant known as “nutsedge”. Nutsedge is a serious problem for people who want to have great lawns. It grows and grows and is nearly impossible to get rid of.

Why couldn’t he just quit….? Philip Seymour Hoffman

Once every few months the media buzzes with news of a recent celebrity death due to a drug overdose. Everyone wails, laments, cries, moans, blames, reminisces….and then forgets until the next one comes along.

Funny thing – the news of this last death – Philip Seymour Hoffman – undoubtedly a truly gifted actor, an academy award winner, who had been sober for over a decade until a relapse, who died alone of a heroin overdose…whose supposed dealers may or may not have been arrested – has been and is still overshadowed by images of Justin Bieber sitting on the top of his car after being released from jail or Miley Cyrus sticking out her tongue and shaking her ass, nearly naked….

No doubt some day we will wail, lament, cry, moan, blame and reminisce about them – though right now they both look like a far cry from Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kurt Cobain, Jimmy Hendrix, Whitney Houston, John Belushi, Chris Farley, Michael Jackson, River Phoenix, Heath Ledger, Janice Joplin, or the many others who have been lost to a combination of drugs, alcohol and mental disorders.

So why can’t they just quit?

They can’t quit.

They are desperate to quit.

They don’t want to quit.

They fear quitting like they fear death.

They fear continuing to use like they fear quitting.

No one else really wants them to quit.

Everyone wants them to quit.

People like them the way they are.

People hate them the way they are.

No one can make them quit.

They can’t quit.

Next time you see a story about a celebrity who “threw away” a life because “he wouldn’t quit”, “why wouldn’t he quit”….remember those in your life whom you have blamed. Remember those people die alone. Alone. Think of those in your life who you still blame, think of what it will be like to lose them if they don’t quit and know that “they can’t quit” by themselves.