NATURAL HEALING FROM BOGS: A bog forms when a waterlogged area builds up thick layers of densely packed, partly decayed plant life called peat. Although the conditions sound simple -lots of water plus lots of plant life minus adequate drainage-the creation of a bog takes hundreds of years. The thick, wet turf covering a bog has so little air in it that only certain specialized plants can grow there. For example, the thick leaves of some plants help to conserve nutrients that they must produce above ground through photo-synthesis rather than drawing them from the soil. Plants that thrive in the highly acidic turf release nutrients for their less-hardy neighbors to use. Perhaps the most common plant growing in bogs is sphagnum moss. Vast stretches of this simple plant carpet many bogs and eventually mix with other plant life, then decays to become peat moss. We can burn peat for fuel, and often add it to sandy soil to increase the soils water-holding capacity. American Indians cut the absorbent stuff into strips to use as diapers. Peat also has medicinal purposes. Ancient peoples used many of the plants growing in a peat bog (including cranberries) for healing. Even now one Russian factory produces an ointment from peat for the treatment of eczema, ulcers, and burns. During World War 1 peat moss served as surgical dressing for wounds because something in the moss seemed to control infection. One surprising use for peat moss is in mud baths, first taken to treat rheumatism in 19th-century Europe. Since the 1950s a German doctor has used peat baths with amputees and injured athletes. People can take peat baths at higher temperatures than water baths because of the way in which the peat distributes the heat. A person who takes a 30 minute, 118-degree peat bath raises his body temperature by one degree, which in turn dramatically increases blood circulation to speed healing and reduce pain. With all of our human formulas for healing and comfort, sometimes the best ways are still the natural ones._A WORD FROM OUR CREATOR_Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved. Jeremiah 17:14
Posted on: Mon, 18 Nov 2013 06:02:36 +0000
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