Medicine-Naturals :: Grandma’s
Castor Oil Cure-All – What does it really do? ::
What does
castor oil really do? First, we need to
know what castor oil is and where it comes from.
The castor oil
plant originally came for India
and the cure all that we know about from tales handed down from our
grandmothers comes from the seeds of the castor oil plant. It has been known to be used as far back as
the first century writers noted it as not being fit for food but was a powerful
purgative. In England it was mostly used
externally to treat skin diseases. It
has been used medicinally for centuries and the oil is used for other purposes
such as lubricating, leather dressing and for burning. Castor Oil plants prefer a warmer climate but
have successfully been grown as far north as Norway . The oil is yellowish in color and the hulls
are removed before the oil is processed.
The oil is
drawn from the plant by two methods. One
method is without heat and the other is with heat. Americans usually use the method that
involves heat in extracting the oil from the bean. This work is done primarily in California where the
seeds are put in a dry heat furnace for an hour or so. This softens them so they oil is extracted
easily. The seeds are put in a large
screw press where the oil is extracted and then mixed with equal parts
water. It’s boiled, allowed to cool and
then the water is drawn off leaving the oil.
It is then bleached in the sun for about eight hours after which it is
ready for storing. The poison ricin is a
by- product of the castor oil bean.
Although I
have never had a taste of castor oil it has been used as a laxative for
temporary relief of constipation and is most commonly used for children and the
elderly. The biggest drawback to castor
oil is the horrible flavor and the nausea that can be the result of taking
it. You can camouflage the taste by
adding lemon oil, sassafras oil, and peppermint or cinnamon water. It can also be given in warm milk and
coffee. The best thing is that it’s now
available in capsules. It can be given
in small doses to small children without causing any harm.
Grandma used
it for purging all the toxins out of the body, which we now know is a good
therapy for several varieties of ailments.
It takes about five hours to affect the body and start giving
relief. It flows throughout the length
of the colon but doesn’t increase the amount of bile produced.
Castor oil has
also been used as a soap product and a skin softener. It is clean, light-colored and nearly
odorless. It can be used to treat ring
worm, itch and other similar skin conditions.
Castor oil dropped into the eye will remove any irritation caused by the
removal of foreign particles. It is also
used to induce vomiting do get rid of something that is upsetting the stomach.
Another common
use in the previous century was to induce labor in pregnant women who were near
term or over due. One bottle of castor
oil, which is below the lethal dose, can be used to safely induce labor. The castor oil leaves are applied to the
breasts by nursing mothers in India
to increase the flow of milk while nursing their babies.
Castor oil has
been used as a tool for torture under Fascist regimes to cause diarrhea and
dehydration in their enemies or prisoners of war. If they wanted the person to die other than
being badly disabled, they would mix it with gasoline.
Castor oil has
many other uses other than medicinal. It
is used in the manufacturing of soaps, paints, hydraulic and brake fluids,
dyes, inks. Besides pharmaceuticals, the
oil is also used in waxes, polishes and even perfumes. In India , castor oil is used as an
inexpensive fuel to burn in lamps. With
all the different uses it has, who would possibly want to ingest it? Our ancestors did however, and castor oil has
been a running gag in comic strips, cartoons and Our Gang short films.
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