Make Your Own Mouthwash

These delightful mouthwashes will help to eliminate bad breath and promote overall mouth and gum health.

LEMON SAGE BRANDY

This takes about 15 minutes to prepare, and two weeks to infuse. The infused brandy will keep indefinitely, in a glass jar with a screw top.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup brandy infused with sage, thyme, and myrrh powder
1 cup distilled water
1 teaspoon lemon juice

1. To make the infusion, place 1 teaspoon each dried sage, thyme, and myrrh powder in one cup brandy. Cover tightly and let set for 2 weeks.

2. Strain, add the water, and shake to blend.

3. Pour a few tablespoons into a glass, and add the lemon juice. Swirl to blend, swish around the mouth, and spit.

Makes 2 cups.

BASIC ALCOHOL FREE HERBAL MOUTHWASH FORMULA

Make this strong antibacterial infusion using antiseptic plant materials such as cloves, rosemary, and myrrh to keep your breath fresh and your mouth healthy. Infuse the herbs overnight and it’s ready to use by morning.

INGREDIENTS

1 ounce cloves or powdered myrrh OR 2 to 4 ounces goldenseal or rosemary
2 cups boiling water

1. Place the plant materials in a pint mason jar and cover with the boiling water.

2. Let steep overnight, then strain.

3. Swish around in the mouth and then spit out.



D for Diabetes




Over the past five years or so, researchers have established tentative links between vitamin D deficiency and metabolic syndrome (aka syndrome X), a condition characterized by abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, and high levels of either blood sugar or insulin. People with metabolic syndrome have an elevated risk for type-2 diabetes and/or cardiovascular disease, as well as other health problems.

Now a study from Spain provides new evidence that the two are closely associated. It looked at a group of morbidly obese individuals and found that 63 percent of them had metabolic syndrome. A little more than half of the group also had too little vitamin D in their bodies.

More significantly, however, roughly 61 percent of those with metabolic syndrome were vitamin D deficient, leading the researchers to say they were closely linked–at least in morbidly obese individuals.

The Spanish study was strictly observational, so it makes no claims about the value of vitamin D supplementation. It does, however, add yet another reason to make sure you either get enough sun time or take a daily dose of vitamin D3.