The area of prepping has grown enormously in the past few years, with a diversity not seen in other current mindsets. Some people prep for economic reasons, others for biblical reasons, others for political reasons, while some seem to have no reason at all or a combination of each. I am sure the list of reasons could extended many times over. Each person also has their areas of focus in which the majority of their prepping focuses. Many people are consumed with water storage and/or water purification. Water is the most important supply when dealing with long-term, off-grid survival. Water should be the largest, by volume, of your supplies, but there is so much more that we must give ample attention to.
Many preppers are stuck on ammunition and firearms. Security and safety should be in the top five of your preparedness priorities list. It won’t do you much good to have 500 gallons of water, if someone can come and take it from you with little resistance. On the other hand, having five thousand rounds for your AR will not do you much good if you only have enough water for 10 days. Then there are those who gear for this ridiculous zombie apocalypse. I immediately turn these people off when they begin to talk because they are obviously misinformed, misguided, and heavily influenced by video games.
Whichever of the top five preparedness items you begin with, each one must be addressed in order for you to have a realistic chance at survival in any situation. Yet there is still more to consider than just supplies. My mindset on prepping may be a little different than most. The majority of preparations are made for a life-altering event. I look at it as trying to become more self-sufficient now, so the life-altering event won’t be so dramatic for me and my family.
My wife and I have recently been researching and attempting to approach the issue of medicine. There have been several good articles posted in the recent past that gave great advice on procuring medicine in advance of a collapse scenario. There was one article that dealt with ordering medicines in powder form that are produced for exotic fish, in bulk and without prescription. I know of doctors who are aware of the dangers that we face in society today that will write prescriptions for antibiotics and such with an extra refill for their patients to put back. If you are one of these people that think this is unethical and illegal, you just go ahead and sign up for Obamacare, wait on the government, and believe everything will be okay.
The encouraging thing that we face in looking into medicines is that everyone in my family is healthy and not required to take any medication on a regular basis, praise the Lord!! Those that rely on medicines to regulate blood pressure, blood sugar, and so forth have to deal with a different set of circumstances, yet there are alternatives for that as well. We do not visit the doctor when we have a sniffle, infection, or tummy ache either. In fact I cannot remember the last time any of us had a regular doctor visit. We are not anti-doctor, but we do not see the wisdom in running to the doctor and getting multiple pills to take when we get sick. It reminds me of the woman with the issue of blood in Luke 8:43, who had spent all her living upon physicians and could not be healed by any.
We began this journey when our children were toddlers, and we grew weary of the pediatrician always wanting to prescribe antibiotics for whatever he/she felt was ailing them. What most people fail to realize is the basis for most drugs is a natural plant. The natural remedies that mankind has used for millenia have obviously worked as we are still here. Modern scientists have taken those plants, herbs, or whatever and tried to copy and enhance the nutrients produced naturally. It doesn’t take a scientist to realize that nutrients occurring naturally are a lot healthier than nutrients produced in a laboratory. When reading the side effects of these new drugs, it makes me think that one would be better off with the ailment they are trying to treat. With our distrust of the pharmaceutical companies, we began giving our children vitamins and changing the foods that they ate. We later expanded into homemade syrups for coughs and immune boosters. We also began consuming natural foods– non-GMO, organic, non-pesticide, et cetera. Local honey and raw garlic were incorporated into various tortures. We began drinking raw milk and eating only grass-feed meat, using kefir in smoothies, and many other concoctions that I didn’t always find very delicious.
The next step was herbs, whether cooking with herbs, drinking them in an herbal tea, infusing oil and herbs into a salve, and the latest trial is herbal tinctures. There are various methods for making tinctures. The main difference is the base. The most common bases are vegetable glycerin, vinegar, and alcohol. The vegetable glycerin tincture has to be cooked in a crockpot for several days. The cooking process can lessen the healing properties with certain herbs. The other two bases have to be mixed and placed in a dark cool place for 3-6 weeks. While the vinegar base has to be kept refrigerated and doesn’t last very long, the alcohol base doesn’t require refrigeration and will last longer. The alcohol will also draw more of the nutrients from certain herbs. We chose to do the alcohol base for the aforementioned reasons, but let me first state my stance on alcohol. I believe the Bible addresses the various uses of alcohol. While the Bible does not teach total abstinence, it does teach the evils of drunkenness and the effect that alcohol has on the body, the mind, and the home when it is abused. I am not one who believes and advocates that someone can drink socially or daily for the “medicinal benefits”. Every person I have known who uses this logic to justify their actions ends up overindulging, which leads to greater sins. The Bible gives the example of using wine for problems with the stomach in I Tim 5:23. Proverbs 31:6 says, “Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts.” Again, advocating the use of alcohol as a medicine in situations but not an everyday use. So the decision we made to use the alcohol-based tincture was made with prayer and contemplation. There are various methods to remove the alcohol from the tincture, if your conscience will not allow you to use it, but please realize the amount is miniscule when taking the tincture properly.
Our first tincture was a winter tincture for colds and flu. It was a mixture of leaves and roots of Olive, Echinacea, Garlic, Elderberries, Yarrow, Astragalus, and others. We used 100 proof Vodka as the base. I am not aware if the brand of alcohol will affect the tincture, so the brand was insignificant to us. It was timely because all four of us had a mild variation of the bug that was going around at the beginning of the year. We each took a teaspoon of the tincture twice a day along with some other immune boosting remedies, and we actually survived. I give my wife a hard time with many of her homemade remedies by calling them Voodoo and complaining that they do not work and taste like high school cafeteria food. It didn’t taste good by any stretch of the imagination, but then again it isn’t supposed to. I have always been difficult and am just trying to stay consistent, but I would much rather take the natural remedies than go to the store and buy something not really knowing what is in it. The misconception people have about all medicines is that they are supposed to work instantly. Pharmaceuticals will address the symptoms and make one feel like they are no longer sick, while the body is still actively fighting the virus, illness, or infection. Natural medicines work differently in that they provide the body the nutrients needed to fight the sickness, while not really addressing the symptoms. God created our bodies to heal themselves, and they will do just that in most cases. God also created the plants that we are supposed to consume to provide our bodies with the necessary ingredients to aid in the healing process.
We next made a tincture that can be taken as a preventative or to aid in recovery during a battle with sickness. It has herbs such as Nettle, Peppermint, Echinacea, Elderberries, Eleuthero, and Rosehips. No, I do not know what most of these herbs are, nor could I spot them in the wild or in the health food store for that matter. That is the next step in my ongoing lessons. In the meantime, these herbs can be purchased premixed from most health food stores and bulk supply stores and just need to be added to the base of your choice. You can also find recipes online for various remedies.
With my mindset of self-sufficiency before a collapse, these tinctures are right up our alley. By using these natural remedies now we are allowing our immune systems to work as they are supposed to and build up strength instead of pumping man-made chemicals into our bodies and nullifying our immune systems. Most people will argue that they have to take a pill for this, another pill for that, and probably a pill to offset the first two pills. Remember that most man-made medicines are copied from a naturally occurring medicine. There are plenty of natural remedies for blood pressure, blood sugar, hyper tension, heart problems, gout, migraines, high cholesterol, et cetera. Why not try to get off some the prescribed drugs now before you are forced to? Even if nothing happens, which is highly unlikely, you will be healthier and happier.