260 The Complete Home Guide to Herbs, Natural Healing, and Nutrition
and constantly fl ake off. It can be all over the body, including the scalp,
but is most commonly found on the arms, legs, elbows, and knees. Read
“Eczema,” above, for extra tips.
- One-day, three-day, and fi ve-day fasts should be done as directed by
a practitioner, eating only fruits and vegetables appropriate to indi-
vidual needs. Water intake will be vital at all times. - Make sure that your hydrochloric acid levels are suffi cient, and in-
crease essential fatty acid intake via GLA and olive oil. - Eat lots of apples, grapes, carrots, and garlic.
- Seaweed should be used both internally and externally, especially if
the skin is hot, red, and producing pus. - For hot skin, cooling foods will help: raw fruits and vegetables, bil-
berries, celery, grapefruit, spinach, melon, cucumber, and apples are
all good. - For cold skin and low body heat, warming foods will help: raw ginger,
chiles, horseradish, garlic, and onion. - Drink fresh lemon juice in distilled water^ —^ it will naturally cleanse
and clear. - Garlic will be one of the prime foods because of its immune-boosting
qualities and its sulfur content, which cleans and clears the skin.
f Mahonia root inhibits the growth of skin cells, so bathe the affected
areas with a solution of it and also take internally.
f Use equal parts of nettle leaf, echinacea root, lavender leaf and fl ower,
burdock root, gentian root, cleavers leaf, skullcap leaf, red clover
fl ower, barberry root bark, licorice root, sarsaparilla root, dandelion
root, pokeweed root, plantain leaf, and yellow dock root as general
liver, digestive, and blood cleansers and to provide immune-system
support.
f Drink three cups of burdock root tea daily.
f Use three parts skullcap leaf and one part lobelia leaf as a tincture to
nourish the nervous system.
~ Clean and detoxify the eliminative channels^ —^ liver, kidney, and colon
(see chapter 6).
~ Aloe vera gel is absolutely brilliant at soothing and cooling. It has
built-in antimicrobial abilities and is easy to apply from freshly cut
leaves, if these are available.
~ A seaweed and clay skin treatment is cooling, cleansing, and restorative.
Mash bentonite clay powder with dulse and other crumbled sea-
weeds, then add enough virgin olive oil to make a paste. Apply liber-
diseases 260