Healing properties of Baltic amber

Initially, I wanted to make a post on amber teething necklaces for children. And then, when I was looking for a good article, I discovered that there were a lot of skeptics who don’t miss an opportunity to make fun of amber. So I decided to make a general post about healing properties of amber. If you are into natural treatments and not so much into medications, then you might find it interesting.
I bought necklaces for my kids and myself on Etsy.com from sellers in Lithuania. If you are buying locally, try to make sure these are actually amber and not some knock-off glass or plastic. Not going to claim anything, but from our experience, my son hardly ever complains of any teething symptoms. He wears his since before he even started getting teeth. My daughter only got hers when she already had her teeth, and with her we had to go through too many sleepless nights when she was teething. We all wear it because amber does much more than just relieve teething pain. If nothing else, amber jewelry looks extremely good and s all natural and sustainable. What’s there not to love?

This is a wonderful article, very informative, and includes lots of interesting facts on history of amber, mythology, medicinal use, etc. Too long for me to quote, definitely check the whole thing out: http://gailfaithedwards.com/2010/12/11/natural-baltic-amber-magnetic-adaptogenic-universally-applicable/

“The actions of adaptogens, those mysteriously potent herbs and substances that have little understood, but nevertheless remarkable effects on the whole body/mind/spirit, continue to hold my attention, stir my imagination and inspire my creativity in the best of ways.
We’ll define adaptogens here as those natural substances that help the body adapt to stress and recall that in order to meet the criteria as defined by the word adaptogen, a substance must be non-toxic, produce a nonspecific response in the body which boosts the ability to resist multiple stressors, and exert a normalizing influence on physiology. By definition, adaptogens strengthen the immune, nervous and glandular system, increase metabolic efficiency and reduce susceptibility to illness and disease.
Baltic amber is such a substance. In my experience natural Baltic amber is one of the most indispensible, as well as perhaps the most universally applicable, of the known adaptogens.

How natural is your orange juice?

It is important to know what’s in your food, because a lot of people choose to feed certain things to their children without realizing how false the claims on packaging usually are. Very disturbing. And it is not just one particular juice, the article explains that it is most orange juices sold in stores.

Have a look yourself or read my selection:
http://www.foodrenegade.com/secret-ingredient-your-orange-juice/

“Do you buy orange juice at the store? If you do, I’m sure you’re careful to buy the kind that’s 100% juice and not made from concentrate. After all, that’s the healthier kind, right? The kind without any additives?

Haven’t you ever wondered why every glass of Tropicana Pure Premium orange juice tastes the same, no matter where in the world you buy it or what time of year you’re drinking it in?
The reason your store bought orange juice is so consistently flavorful has more to do with chemistry than nature.

What’s in your fast food?

I thought this was interesting. If we are what we eat, then what does it say about us?
I tried to offer just an excerpt from the article but it still ended up longer than desired. Oh well, some might find it useful.
The whole text can be found here:
http://www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating/stories/8-creepy-mystery-ingredients-in-fast-food

“People have been adding flavors, spices, natural preservatives and ripening agents to food since antiquity. But as the popularity of highly processed food has risen dramatically since the 1950s, so has the astounding array of bizarre chemical additives used in food manufacturing. Fast-food recipes seem to be born more from the laboratory than from farm or field.

All these ingredients are labeled as GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe).
These four little words seem to have become the FDA mantra when it comes to food additives; all of the above ingredients, and an expansive array of other chemical additives, have been generally recognized as safe in scientific studies. Taken out of context and looked at individually, maybe a little ammonium sulfate here and a petroleum product there aren’t going to cause quantitative damage to lab animals. But if you were to add up all of the chemical ingredients consumed during a life of a fast-food fueled Western diet, what would that look like? Would it look like an epidemic of obesity, diabetes or cancer?

Let’s look at the strangest of them: