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eLearning Series:
I Want a Natural Health Remedy
( 50 articles in this series )
Does
Grandma’s Castor Oil Cure Really Work?
What
does castor oil really do? First, we
need to know what castor oil is and where it comes from.
The castor oil plant originally came for India and the cure
all that we know about from tales handed down from our grandmothers
comes from the seeds of the castor oil plant. It has been known
to be used as far back as the first century writers noted it
as not being fit for food but was a powerful purgative. In
England it was mostly used externally to treat skin diseases.
It has been used medicinally for centuries and the oil is used
for other purposes such as lubricating, leather dressing and
for burning. Castor Oil plants prefer a warmer climate but
have successfully been grown as far north as Norway. The oil
is yellowish in color and the hulls are removed before the
oil is processed.
The
oil is drawn from the plant by two methods. One
method is without heat and the other is with heat. Americans
usually
use the method that involves heat in extracting the oil from
the bean. This work is done primarily in California where the
seeds are put in a dry heat furnace for an hour or so. This
softens them so they oil is extracted easily. The seeds are
put in a large screw press where the oil is extracted and then
mixed with equal parts water. It’s boiled, allowed to cool
and then the water is drawn off leaving the oil. It is then
bleached in the sun for about eight hours after which it is
ready for storing. The poison ricin is a by-product of the
castor oil bean.
Although I have never had a taste of castor oil it has been
used as a laxative for temporary relief of constipation and
is most commonly used for children and the elderly. The
biggest drawback to castor oil is the horrible flavor and the
nausea
that can be the result of taking it. You can camouflage the
taste by adding lemon oil, sassafras oil, and peppermint or
cinnamon water. It can also be given in warm milk and coffee.
The best thing is that it’s now available in capsules. It can
be given in small doses to small children without causing any
harm.
Grandma
used it for purging all the toxins out of the body, which
we now know is a good therapy for several varieties of
ailments. It takes about five hours to affect the body and
start giving relief. It flows throughout the length of the
colon but doesn’t increase the amount of bile produced.
Castor
oil has also been used as a soap product and a skin softener. It is clean, light-colored and nearly odorless. It
can be used to treat ring worm, itch and other similar skin
conditions. Castor oil dropped into the eye will remove any
irritation caused by the removal of foreign particles. It is
also used to induce vomiting do get rid of something that is
upsetting the stomach.
Another common use in the previous century was to induce
labor in pregnant women who were near term or over due. One bottle
of castor oil, which is below the lethal dose, can be used
to safely induce labor. The castor oil leaves are applied to
the breasts by nursing mothers in India to increase the flow
of milk while nursing their babies.
Castor oil has
been used as a tool for torture under Fascist
regimes to cause diarrhea and dehydration in their enemies
or prisoners of war. If they wanted the person to die other
than being badly disabled, they would mix it with gasoline.
Castor oil has many other uses other than medicinal. It is
used in the manufacturing of soaps, paints, hydraulic and brake
fluids, dyes, inks. Besides pharmaceuticals, the oil is also
used in waxes, polishes and even perfumes. In India, castor
oil is used as an inexpensive fuel to burn in lamps. With all
the different uses it has, who would possibly want to ingest
it? Our ancestors did however, and castor oil has been a running
gag in comic strips, cartoons and Our Gang short films.
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SolveYourProblem.com
: 2006
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