Castor Oil Benefits

Castor oil is one of the best kept secrets in the world.  The useful properties of castor oil have been known since ancient times.  Castor oil comes from the castor seed, Ricinus communis, which has a very unique composition. Originally, the plant was called  “Palma Christe” because the leaves were thought to resemble the hand of Christ. The name also represents the miraculous healing properties of the plant.  Later on, ancient Egypt, China, Persia, Africa, Greece, Rome, and eventually in 17thCentury, Europe and the Americas acknowledged the healing powers of the plant.

The psychic Edgar Cayce strongly recommended castor oil for many illnesses.

A little History

Historically, castor oil was used as an oral laxative.  However, today castor oil  is mostly used and recommended as a topical application.  It’s a cheap and effective remedy for many ailments.  Castor oil has been used for many practical applications. In Russia, the stem of the plant is used in the textile industry.

Ricinus communis, the plant from which castor oil is extracted, is native to India.  Along with amazing health benefits, the plant itself is known for  being one of the most toxic plants on earth.  However, there is nothing to worry about -  castor oil is not toxic. When castor oil is extracted,  the toxic part is left behind in the pulp of the seeds.

The Composition of Castor Oil

Castor oil contains vitamin E, minerals, proteins, antibacterial and anti-fungicidal properties. Castor Oil consists of a triglyceride of fatty acids ( 90% of  which are smade up of ricinoleic acid). This unique composition gives castor oil its unbelievable healing abilities. Ricinoleic acid is known to be effective in getting rid of and preventing viruses, bacteria, yeasts and molds.

The Many Benefits of Castor Oil

Castor oil has a long list of useful properties.

• Thickens and regrows hair. Castor oil is loaded with omega 9 fatty acids, which nourish the hair and follicles. Castor oil is able to penetrate into the pores and follicles that produce hair. Just massage a couple of  drops of castor oil into your  hair.
• Improves Lymphatic Flow. According to Dr David Williams, “No drug exists that has the ability to improve lymphatic flow; however, the job can easily be handled through the topical application of Castor oil.”

• Anti-inflammatory. Castor oil consists of ricinoleic acid, which has anti-inflammatory properties. It is used for reducing inflammation and swelling of joints and tissues.

• Helps the intestinal system with inflammatory bowels and dysentery.

• Yeast Infections. Ricinoleic acid found in castor oil is able inhibit the growth of bacteria, yeast and virus’.

• Constipation. Due to its anti-inflammatory properties, castor oil promotes regular bowel movement.

• Gastrointestinal Problems

• Menstrual Disorders. Castor oil is known to relax the muscles involved in menstrual cramps.

• Migraines

• Acne.  Due to the ricinoleic acid in castor oil, many skin problems can be treated with it.

• Sunburn

• Athlete’s Foot

• Ringworm

• Skin Problems

• Hair and Dandruff.  Due to fungicidal, germicidal and insecticidal properties, castor oil is an effective treatment for dandruff and helps protect the scalp  from fungal and microbial infections.

How to Use Castor Oil

To treat skin problems.

For various skin conditions such as bacterial infections, bursitis, fungal infections, itching, keratosis, ringworm, sebaceous cysts, sprains and warts, rub castor oil on to areas of the skin. 

Castor oil packs

Another way to use castor oil is to make castor oil packs. (you can find it here)  They help with various health ailments such as kidney stones, fibroids, ovarian cysts, swollen joints, irritable bowel syndrome, digestive disorders and menstrual cramps.  Soak a cotton cloth folded in several layers in oil and apply it to the skin. Castor oil packs are usually applied to joints and muscles.   If you want to increase its effectiveness, place a hot water bottle placed over the pack. Leave it on for an hour.  Use it up to 3 times a week.

Dr. Mercola has written a long article on Castor Oil and its uses.

Costs of wind and solar power are falling sharply.

Almost half of new electricity generation is now renewable, and the costs of wind and solar power are falling sharply.

Solar Panels in Guyana Interior.

The latest annual Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment, published today by UNEP, reveals that 44 per cent of all generating capacity installed last year around the world was renewable. That is despite a 14 per cent decline in renewables investment, and in new electricity generally.

Uruguay Wind Farm

Last year, China invested $56 billion in green power.

The continent cut investment by 44 per cent.

The only big exception was the UK, which increased investment by 12 per cent despite rumblings of discontent in the governing Conservative party.

Renewables kept 1.2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide from being emitted in 2013, says report author Ulf Moslener of the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management in Germany.

Private equity firm bets on organic foods.

Pass the organic quinoa, but hold the unsavoury investments.

Organic Quinoa growing.

A private equity firm committed to a socially responsible investment strategy is preparing to place new bets on organic food, green consumer products and environmental innovation.

Vancouver-based Renewal Funds Management Co. has raised $63-million for Renewal3, well ahead of its target of $50-million. The team at Renewal Funds is again on the lookout for early-stage growth companies. Renewal3 is the third fund launched by the private equity firm, which previously raised $35-million for Renewal2.

Why shrink wrapping a cucumber works.

Environmentalists thought they had found an easy target in what appeared to be an extravagantly unnecessary and wasteful packaging choice.

 It turns out,however, that a shrink-wrapped cucumber lasts three times longer than an unprotected cucumber. It  will stay fresh from harvest to delivery until the plastic is cut,. This reduces  food waste in landfills and ultimately saves more on shipping and packaging costs than the other attempts to design what seemed like, at least from the outside, more sustainable packaging solutions.

Eastern Yoga Joins Western Medicine to Heal Breast Cancer Survivors

New research suggests that women who survived breast cancer can reduce inflammation and fatigue by regularly practicing hatha yoga

Feb 10, 2014 |By Annie Sneed

Credit: Trollderella/Wikimedia Commons

Exercise is difficult enough for healthy people, but it’s even harder for breast cancer survivors after surgery and rounds of taxing therapy. Studies have shown that exercise can buoy the health of cancer survivors, but heavy fatigue and pain after treatment can keep patients from going on a run or a bike ride. Now a new study published in the January issue of Journal of Clinical Oncology shows that yoga may be a manageable way for breast cancer survivors to work out and still attain health benefits comparable with (and perhaps superior to) other kinds of exercise.

To investigate the effects of yoga, breast cancer survivors of all ages gathered twice a week for three months to practice hatha yoga for the study conducted by The Ohio State University. Researcher Janice Kiecolt-Glaser and her team tracked two important components of diminished health: fatigue and inflammation. Fatigue from cancer treatments hinders daily activity for one in three breast cancer survivors, and less physically active survivors are more at risk for poor health and early death. Inflammation also provides an important measure of health because it drives fatigue and is linked to many problems, including cancer, diabetes, heart disease and Alzheimer’s. Kiecolt-Glaser’s study is the largest yet to evaluate how yoga affects inflammation in cancer survivors.

When the researchers assessed participants after six weeks of yoga, they found that women practicing yoga had less inflammation and reported lower fatigue than the nonyoga control group. The team reevaluated the women several months after the study ended and discovered that women who had practiced yoga achieved even greater long-term gains, with up to 20 percent reduced inflammation and fatigue 57 percent lower than the control group.

Kiecolt-Glaser has several ideas why yoga might restore health. Breast cancer survivors often have disrupted sleep, which drives fatigue and inflammation, and the women who practiced yoga slept significantly better. The deep-breathing and meditative aspects of yoga can reduce stress and this may also lessen inflammation and fatigue. A group activity like yoga also gives survivors additional social support that can boost the healing process, although the study saw no remarkable difference in mood and loneliness between those who did and didn’t practice yoga.

Research has shown that many forms of exercise provide similar benefits but yoga may be a more practical way for women to rebuild their health. With yoga, breast cancer survivors can tailor its practice to their fitness level and adapt postures to accommodate physical limitations. And yoga may offer one more advantage over other exercise. Many studies have concluded that people need to lose weight in addition to exercising to reliably reduce inflammation, but this may not apply to yoga. “When I saw that, I thought, ‘Oh boy, we’re cooked,’ because we didn’t have a lightweight group and the women in our study didn’t lose weight,” Kiecolt-Glaser says. “Yet we did see changes in inflammation. That suggests there may be something particularly beneficial about yoga.”

Now meditate on that.

Scientific studies show: Happiness leads to better health

There are many studies supporting the belief that people with an upbeat and positive perspective tend to be healthier and enjoy longer lives. For example, in one study,1 the tendency to always expect the worst was linked to a 25 percent higher risk of dying before the age of 65.

Studies show that your immune system and brain are wired together
Portions of your nervous system connect with immune-related organs, and immune cells have neurotransmitter receptors, suggesting active interaction between the two.

Chronic loneliness tends to result in upregulation of genes involved with your inflammatory response, while genes involved with antiviral control tend to be downregulated.

Happiness derived from activities that bring you a greater sense of purpose, life meaning, or self-actualization appear to have a direct, positive effect on your gene profile

Read full article on Mercola.com

Mandela and Ruben Karster's “Portrait of Hope and Peace ”-Suriname's message to the World

Nelson Mandela, the fourth and last-living icon on Professor Ruben Karsters’ renowned “Portrait of Hope of Peace:  The Four Ms”, passed away on Friday, December 5th, 2013, in the land of his birth, South Africa.  Mr Mandela was 95 years of age.

His Excellency, Desire D. Bouterse, the President of the Republic of Suriname and a long-time admirer of the former President of South Africa, joined scores of other heads of state from around the world – all of whom converged on the southernmost nation-state on the horn of Africa, to pay their last respects to  the legendary African leader who following incarceration for over two decades emerged triumphant, vindicated, to lead his oppressors and fellow-black and non-black supporters as the era of Boer-instigated apartheid was finally brought to a close in dramatic peace, reconciliation, and harmony in the mid-1990s. 

Suriname’s First Lady, Ingrid Bouterse-Waldring, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs also attended the funeral ceremonies which drew billions of sympathetic television viewers worldwide – the likes of which mirrored the farewell rite and service for Mother Theresa of Calcutta. 

Nelson Mandela’s rise to political prominence and world respect in the 1990s spanned a struggle of more than four decades.  The village boy from Qunu became an international symbol and icon of protracted struggle and hope that finally yielded the once-impossible, triumphant victory.

In 2006-2007, Suriname’s Professor Ruben Karsters captured on canvas four icons from the 20th century with the specific purpose of inspiring through visual imagery young people and future leaders of the 21st century.  In his portrait, “The Four Ms”, Karsters chose to portray Mahatma Gandhi of India, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X of the United States of America, and Nelson Mandela of South Africa. 

There are historic, geographic and natural connections between all four iconic freedom-fighters:  Gandhi’s rise to political prominence began in the country of Mandela’s birth and struggle, South Africa.  Although the two men never met, they both faced on African soil the same monstrosity, ‘aparthied’.  All four men were considered ‘dangerous’ by the status quo and faced incarceration for their outspoken moral stand on the issues of their day.  And in the process of taking clear, unflinching, moral stands – what Mahatma Gandhi termed ‘satyagraha’ (truth-force), they galvanized not just people in their immediate locales, but hundreds of millions worldwide.  Given the fear they generated and the ‘urgency’ of their specific moments in the 20th century, three were assassinated at the hands of their own countrymen - Gandhi in 1948, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X in 1968. 

Ironically, of the four, after decades of protests which had spread across the earth – becoming even an international embarrassment as the incessant rumble rose clarion-strong in the United Nations, only Nelson Mandela came to full bloom, democratically elected as President from 1994 - 1999, before his retirement from public life, and acquiescence at the ripe old age of 95.  Finally, the souls of all four men chose bodies of ‘color’ and the soles of their feet trod the soil of the oft-despised continent, Africa. 

Little wonder, Ruben Karsters’ portrayed these four iconic men who symbolized sacrifice and personal self-transformation by ordinary folk amidst the angst, struggle and undying quest for betterment, not just for themselves but future generations, regardless of color, clime, or creed. 

Upon completion, Professor Karster’s Portrait of the Four Ms, first went on public display at Suriname’s Fort Zeelandia Museum & Art Gallery.  It was part of an exhibition sponsored by the Embassy of India entitled “Indian Resonances in Suriname” – and precisely because the Mahatma was among the 4Ms, there was logical reason for its inclusion. 

In October 2007, the Karsters’ Portrait journeyed to India where – sponsored by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) – it was on display for about eight weeks in New Delhi.  There were numerous anecdotes and accolades on the sub-continent about the unusually unique Portrait which for the first time suggested a metaphoric connection between the four freedom fighters – two from the new world and two from the ancient world.  One wealthy admirer was so enamored in India that he offered Karsters ‘any price’ for the painting.  The latter, however, perceiving a greater purpose beyond that of the Portrait gracing one person’s private collection, returned to Suriname with the masterpiece.

In 2010, when Suriname’s freedom fighter and nationalist, Desire D. Bouterse, finally came to power, through free and fair democratic elections, President Bouterse took the bold decision to adopt Ruben Karsters’ “Portrait of Hope & Peace:  the Four Ms” as his official state gift. 

The Presidential Gift achieved a rare amplitude in November 2010 when President Bouterse presented the Karsters’ Portrait in person to the President of Venezuela, the late Hugo Frias Chavez.  The significance of the gift was reflected in an independent MSNBC poll which selected the Bouterse-Chavez gift as one of the top three best and most appropriate gifts from one head of state to another in 2010.  Karsters’ life-like and brilliantly executed “Four Ms” portrait was selected above gifts from heads of state in the U.S., Russia, U.K., Middle East, and elsewhere. 

Undoubtedly the “Four Ms” was the highlight of the Karsters artistic career which began for the autodidact at the age of seven.  However, the sudden passing of Professor Ruben Karsters on March 5th, 2013, following a brief illness, gave some admirers cause for reflection because the artistic genius died on the same day as Hugo Frias Chavez, the Bolivarian freedom-fighter from Venezuela. 

Prior to his own demise, on the occasion of an earlier meeting, Ruben Karsters had requested that the President of Suriname also present the painting to Nelson Mandela.  Sources close to the President indicated that he had hoped to do so in person.   However, on account of Mandela’s sustained illness and convalescence, a likely meeting between the two freedom-fighters did not take place.

Nelson Mandela, the South African boxer, lawyer, freedom-fighter and Marxist, who joyfully triumphed over adversity, and like Jesus and Gandhi magnanimously forgave his jailors and oppressors, to become an international icon, has been captured in inimitable joyful form on a canvas that is undoubtedly Suriname’s most famous painting to date, “The Portrait of Hope & Peace: the 4 Ms.” 

A Caribbean poet, resident in Suriname, memorialized his first encounter with the Karsters’ art-piece in verse that reflects the essence of the painting

One Shakti
One century
One trajectory

Seamlessly staged
Meteoric rocket fired forth
Morphing the old in the new

One world of Gaea
Rta, the goal, Ananda
Shanti Om!
                    Ivan A. Khayiat © 2007

Thus, as the eternal flame, honoring the world-renowned fallen South African statesman and hero of struggling people, burns bright on a hillside in Mandela’s boyhood village in Qunu, South Africa, it will do likewise in Suriname and the Caribbean for generations to come.