According to skin experts, age spots are a blast from the past. Your past. A reminder of hours spent in the sun without sunscreen. Unless you’re willing to start wearing sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 15 on a daily basis, there’s really no point in fading the spots you have, says Marcey Shapiro, a family doctor in Albany, California, who combines natural healing with conventional medicine.

Although age spots can be removed with laser surgery, experts suggest trying the following natural skin lighteners for several months and see if your age spots begin to fade (The Doctors Book of herbal Home Remedies, 2000)

1. Kojic Acid

   Use an over-the-counter bleaching cream containing this acid. Kojic acid is derived from a Japanese mushroom and can often make age spots look 50 percent lighter over time, says Dr. Shapiro. “With fading products, you don’t want to get an overwhitened effect. It has to be strong enough to fade, yet weak enough to leave your normal pigmentation,” according to Dr. Shapiro.

2. Lemon

   Rub dark patches with juice three times a day, suggests Christine Steward, a medical herbalist and past president of Britain’s National Institute of Medical Herbalists. lemon juice acts as a natural bleaching agent and may help make age spots fade, says Christine Steward. She recommends rubbing fresh juice directly on the skin. The citric acid on the lemon juice helps remove the top layer of dead skin cells.

3. Aloe

   Apply fresh gel of aloe vera twice a day. Studies have shown that the clear gel from the leaves of the plant has an ability to heal wounds, burns, and clears away age spots. It has been a beauty regimen in the olden times and is said to have been used by Cleopatra to keep her skin flawless.

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It’s true, there’s nothing you can do about your DNA, but you can take the smart path and avoid the things that promote wrinkles. Genetics, exposure to sunlight, and smoking, are said to damaged the skin internally. Sun damage is responsible for most wrinkles, but by using sunscreen regularly or shielding your face with a wide-brimmed hat when you go out can prevent this type.

Alan M. Dattner, M.D., a holistic dermatologist in New Rochelle, New York, suggests a daily supplement of vitamin C to help your body produce more of the connective tissue. Try to include natural sources of vitamin C such as oranges and red peppers in your diet, says Dr. Dattner.

Strip away wrinkles with a natural fruit acid mask three times a week, recommends Dina Falconi, a medical herbalist, author of Earthly Bodies and heavenly Hair. A natural fruit acid peel can reduce the harshness of heavy wrinkles and sometimes eliminate fine lines by gently expoliating the skin, says Falconi.

“Fruit acids are extremely effective at removing the loose layer of dead skin,” Falconi said. Citrus fruits, berries, apples, tomatoes, kiwifruit, peaches, and grapes have the same active ingredients available in cosmetic products that contain alpha hydroxy acids.

Major causes of laryngitis include overuse of your voice such as shouting nonstop, drinking alcohol and smoking, according to Connie Castellani, M.D., medical director of the Miro Center for Integrated Medicine in Ivanston, Illinois. Resting your voice, inhaling steam, getting bed rest, steering clear from smoke and alcohol, are keys to recovery, suggests Dr. Connie Castellani. 

Practitioners of alternative medicine often enlist herbal remedies such as those that follow:

1. Goldenseal and Cayenne

Gargle five times a day with this herbal solution, suggests Willow Moore, N.D., a naturopathic physician and chiropractor at the Maryland Natural Medicine Center in Owings Mills. We know that goldenseal is a bitter herb and cayenne is hot. Dr. Moore suggests, “put 1/4 teaspoon of each in 1/2 cup of water. Take a mouthful, swirl it around a few times, tilt your head back, and gargle deeply. You really want to coat the back of your throat with the goldenseal and cayenne pepper.”

2. Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme

Gargling with a blend of tea of sage, thyme, and rosemary is a super sore throat soother that you can use for laryngitis, says Dr. Moore. She recommends mixing equal parts of dried sage, thyme, and rosemary leaves to make a tea blend. Steep 1 heaping tablespoon of the blend in a cup of boiling water for 10 or 20 minutes, let it cool. Take a mouthful of tea and gargle for 0 seconds, repeat two more times. You don’t have to swallow  but try to gargle while the tea is still warm.

Throbbing , intense pain on one side of the brain, accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light or noise, typically distinguish migraines from ordinary headaches. Migraine pains are commonly triggered by sensitivities to foods such as nitrates, chocolates, MSG, alcohol, caffeine, hormonal fluctuations during menstrual cycle, changes in the weather or seasons, sleeping too much or not enough, and stress.

Whatever the trigger, it isn’t actually the cause but rather a factor that aggravates this type of headache. Pulling the trigger sets off a chain of chemical and electrical events in the brain that inflames the blood vessels and increase sensitivity to pain.

“We are clearly dealing with a biological problem, not a psychological one,” says Fred Sheftell, M.D., founder of the new England Center for Headache in Stanford, Connecticut. Dr. Sheftell says while you can’t cure your migraines, you can try to get to know your triggers and avoid them.

Aside from avoiding migraine triggers, here are some herbal remedies from The Doctors Book of herbal Home Remedies (2000).

1.) Feverfew
Taking feverfew may help prevent migraine, says keith Robertson, a member of Britain’s National Institute of Medical Herbalists and director of education for the Scottish School of Herbal Medicine in Glasgow. Feverfew has an inflammatory action and works as a vasodilator.

2.) Flaxseed
Taking fresh, cold-pressed oil daily has a good chance to lessen migraine pains, says Brent Mathiew, N.D., a naturopathic physician in Boise, Idaho. Flaxseed oil is a rich source of essential oil fatty acids that changes your body chemistry so that you produce fewer harmful prostaglandins.

3.) Skullcap and Rosemary
Drink one to three cups a day of tea made from both herbs, both herbs stimulates and relaxes you, says Gayle Eversole, Ph.D, a certified nurse practitioner and a professional member of the American herbalists Guild in Everett.

“Skin and bones share common building accompanied by changes in skin and deterioration of bone quantity and quality,” said Lubna Pal, associate professor in the Department  of Obstetrics Gynecology and Reproductive Science at Yale School of Medicine.

Researchers  examined  114 early post-menopausal  women as part  of a clinical trial at various sites in the United States. They measured the women’s skin at 11 locations on the face and neck, both visually and  using a device known as durometer to assess how rigid the skin on the forehead and cheek. Bone mass and density were measured using a portable ultrasound and X-ray.

Findings shows that the more or the worse the wrinkles in a woman’s face, the lesser the bone density. “We found that deepening and worsening skin wrinkles are related to lower bone density among the study participants,”  said  Lubna Pal.

“Our findings that the appearance and physical properties of the skin can reflect the quality of the  skeleton are noteworthy because this may allow clinicians to identify fracture risk in post menopausal women’s at a glance without depending on costly tests, “ pal added.

Yin and yang are opposites, but they also work in harmony. Yin and yang are not fixed; they are constantly changing, so that too much yin becomes yang and vice versa. Yin is the negative force and yang the positive, but these terms don’t translate to “bad” and “good” as  they do in Western thinking.

Qi  (pronounced as “chi”) is the attraction between the two forces. It flows to all parts of the body through channels called meridians. Meridians are pathways that run along the surface of the body and branch into the body’s interior. Imbalance between those forces is believed to cause illness. When needles are inserted into the appropriate points along these meridians, balance is restored and health is regained.

Hahnemann was a German physician who lived from 1755 to 1843. He became a traditional doctor but soon lost faith in the methods he had learned. Instead he recommended exercise, good diet, and fresh air he treated. A deeply religious man, he believed that healing came from God and Nature and needed only to be gently encouraged by the physician. Hahnemann was especially dissatisfied by what he considered the thoughtless prescription of toxic drugs.

The three basic principles of homeopathy are the principle of similars, the minimum dose, and the holistic approach. The principle of similars takes into account the individualized  symptoms of the disease. In applying this principle, Hahnemann observed that an initial set of symptoms would be followed some time later by an opposite set. He interpreted this pattern as one of action and reaction, the initial symptoms being direct drug effects, the delayed ones the body’s attempt to restore equilibrium.

The law of minimum dose relies on the introduction of a remedy in very small amounts, known as the Law of Infinitesimals. It states that the smaller the dose of a remedy, when properly diluted, the more effective it would be at stimulating the body’s vital forces to react against disease.

The holistic approach of homeopathy mandates that when a patient is treated with the remedy, his or her physical, emotional, and psychological reactions are given equal importance. Hahnemann’s religious belief led him to consider spiritual reality more important than material reality; applying this attitude to therapeutics, he came to regard the spiritual essence of a drug as more important than it’s physical substance.

Studies of biofeedback grew out of the interest in conditioning learning. A Russian physiologist, Ivan Pavlov, conducted a famous experiment in which he rang a bell eery time he fed a dog. After a while, he simply rang the bell without giving the dog any food. The dog associated food with the bell, so his body reacted to food even when only the bell was present. Those experiments paved the way for research into human responses to conditioning stimuli.

Today, using modern methods, people can learn to control peripheral blood flow, for example, in a matter of a few weeks without expensive equipment.

People often see the humorous side of even the most desperate situations. The famed poet Walter De La Mare, during a serious illness was asked by a visiting friend, whether he would like fruit or flowers. “Too late for fruit, too soon for flowers,” replied De La Mare.

Humor aside, studies show that humor and laughter actually can improve people’s health, both physically and mentally. This was proven dramatically by Norman cousins, who was diagnosed with a potentially fatal illness in 1964. Determined to beat the odds, cousins began experimenting with alternative forms of therapy. He decided to adopt a positive approach, began watching comic movies, reading humorous books to keep up his spirits. To the amazement of his doctors, it worked.

Although Norman Cousins died in 1990, he had many productive years during which he travelled the country promoting his philosophy of humor and confidence as a healing force.