Thieves oil or more properly an essential oil blend coined Thieves (since it is a registered trademark of Young Living Essential Oils™ who sells a wide range of Thieves oil products) has been found by a Weber State University study to have a 99.96% success rate against airborne bacteria. That's a pretty huge claim to make, but many people swear by their Thieves oil recipes and concoctions.

The basic Thieves oil recipe consists of Clove, Lemon, Cinnamon Bark, Eucalyptus and Rosemary. All of these essential oils have powerful healing properties. Cinnamon and clove make a viral infection less likely to occur by fitting the cell receptor sites normally reserved for viruses - just like a puzzle piece - or I suppose more like a wad of chewing gum and the underside of a park bench. I know from experience that clove oil is exceptional at fighting off colds after trying a natural toothpaste that includes clove and other bacteria fighting ingredients.

Many people already know about lemon's antiseptic properties since it is used in cleaning products everywhere. According to Jean Valnet, MD, the vaporized essence of lemon can kill meningococcus bacteria in 15 minutes, typhoid bacilli in one hour, Staphylococcus aureus in two hours, and Pneumococcus bacteria within three hours. Even a 0.2% solution of lemon oil can kill diphtheria bacteria in 20 minutes and inactivate tuberculosis. (as stated in the book Essential Oils Desk Reference) Wow! Once you get past the tongue twisting barrage of scientific terms there lemon seems like a miracle cure.

Rosemary helps protect against and destroy bad bacteria, yeasts and fungi - and we're not talking the fungi from your monster Angus beef, onion and Shiitake burger, more like the fungi crawling between your toes after a fast paced game of basketball. (sorry to those of you who just enjoyed a Shiitake burger, didn't mean to ruin your fine meal - although you know if you have a bit of bad breath from the onion a bit of Thieves oil might just clear that up)

And let's not leave out Eucalyptus since it is quite the little gamer itself. We all know about the stimulating aroma of Eucalyptus and its known properties for helping relieve cold and flu symptoms, but it is also adept as an antibacterial and helps stimulate the immune system, It acts as an anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial and even analgesic. (that last really isn't as dirty as it sounds - it just means pain killer - man get your mind out of the gutter).

When you slip all these powerhouse essential oils into a bottle and give it a catchy name like Thieves Oil (with a sordid myth based potentially on the truth) you have a natural remedy winner on your hands. There are a billion and one uses for Thieves oil from use as a household cleaner, mold destroyer, cold fighter, hand sanitizer and even treating or preventing the common flu or H1N1 Swine Flu. Since Thieves oil is safe for ingestion a few drops can be added to your toothbrush to fight bacteria in the mouth and on the toothbrush itself.

You can make up an easy Thieves oil recipe your self by mixing 1-tablespoon each of Clove Oil and Lemon Oil, 2 1/2-teaspoons of Cinnamon Oil and 2-teaspoons of Rosemary Oil and Eucalyptus Oil with a cup of Jojoba oil or other carrier oil.

If you aren't a DIY apothecary type you can always find plenty of good deals on pre-made Thieves Oil at your local natural health store or patiently look for a good sale on ebay.

Hey Who Stole My Cold? Thieves Oil Strikes Again is a post from: Natural Health Goodies

Let's face it Flu season is here and the heart of flu season is fast approaching, so are we protected from H1N1? That may depend believe it or not on whether you have had your seasonal flu shot - and the answer isn't what you would expect.

Research done in four Canadian studies involving 2000 people shows those that have had their seasonal flu shot are actually at more of a risk to get H1N1 than those with no flu shot at all. I was surprised by that as well until I started reading more about how the seasonal flu vaccine works.

It turns out that repeated vaccines actually weaken your immune system putting you at more risk to get subsequent infections. And even more of a slap in the face is the fact that flu shots don't even work against the virus they are targeting.

Here's the basics - the flu shot is a weakened version of the strain of flu they are targeting. It is given to us in the hopes that our immune system will be able to generate antibodies that will fight off this low dose virus so when the real deal comes along our immune systems will be ready. The problem with that is it trains the immune system to be lazy - it has only had practice fighting off the weak version of the virus so when the big bopper comes along it isn't ready - think of it like a runner training to run a 5k and then he decides to do a marathon on the day of the race - not gonna happen.

Another critical factor is that the strain of the flu virus we get in a flu shot is more than often the wrong strain and thus worthless. The strain of flu virus is determined every year in January or February based on active flu viruses in Asia with the assumption that when it hits the US the following year they'll have a vaccine for it. Problem is viruses mutate (they would make great horror movie monsters) thus the strain of flu in the US nearly a year later is most likely different if not always different than that found in Asia.

I can tell you from my own personal experience the few times I've had the flu shot have been years where I've actually gotten the flu!

Well then, what should we do to avoid the flu and H1N1? It turns out that a healthy dose of vitamin D and other immune boosting nutrients like vitamin C, zinc, and omega-3 oils is the key. People with adequate levels of vitamin D rarely get sick from seasonal flu. Can you guess why the drug companies and vaccine manufacturers would rather you not simply spend some time in the sun (exposure to the sun allows the body to produce its own vitamin D) or drink some good 'ol fashioned fresh squeezed OJ? I can think of billions and they all have former presidents on them...

Read more at NaturalNews.com: "Evidence emerges that seasonal flu vaccine increases risk of H1N1 swine flu"

Does the Seasonal Flu Vaccine Increase the Risk of H1N1? is a post from: Natural Health Goodies