Which Chinese emperor drank mercury?



Today mercury is handled with much care and never seen much except inside thermometers and labs. But in the early times, the Greeks, the Persians and the Chinese valued it much. Mercury was actually thought to offer immortality. The biggest victim of this misconception was Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huang who took some special mercury pills for immortality which instead had the opposite effect on him!



By the time he died at the age of 49, presumably through mercury poisoning, Qin Shi Huang had all but completed his colossal underground tomb. If he were unable to rule forever in waking life, then he would be emperor until the end of time in the afterlife.



The scale of the Chinese emperor’s mausoleum, the size of a great ancient city, remains breathtaking, its core a pyramid that once rose to 100m (328ft). Less than half this height today and long greened by vegetation the pyramid remains clearly visible. In terms of Chinese tradition, it forms the eye of a propitious landscape that can be read as a dragon.



 



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What is the benefit of Vin Marianni?



In the 19th century, a French chemist came up with a tonic called Vin Marianni made of Bordeaux wine stepped with coca leaves. It was supposed to restore a person’s health, strength, vitality, energy and what not. With a good dose of cocaine in it, it comes as no surprise that the tonic was a huge hit and many people carried a flask around the same way we carry Gatorade around! So popular was it that it was even awarded a gold medal!



The ethanol in the wine operated as a solvent, extracting cocaine from the coca leaf. When cocaine and alcohol are imbibed together, a third chemical compound, called cocaethylene, forms as the intoxicants are metabolized in the liver. This intense psychoactive is more euphoric, powerful, and toxic than cocaine or alcohol alone.



But all parties must come to an end. In 1906, the United States began enforcing labeling regulations through the Pure Food and Drug Act. Alcohol prohibition movements gained traction and the dangers of cocaine became public knowledge, all of which reduced the market for coca wine. A coca-less version of Vin Mariani was produced for sale in the United States, but it didn’t offer the same stimulant effect of a competing beverage that was also originally based on coca: Coca-Cola.



 



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Magnets fight back the moon



Magnets these days are used in advanced diagnostic devices, but in the past they served certain weird purposes. Back then, the moon was thought to be responsible for intermittent episodes of depression and hysteria. An Austrian physician knew the best way to beat the moon’s forces — magnets! Drape magnets all over the patient’s body and watch a medical miracle as body fluids get redistributed and mental equilibrium restored!



Some people use magnet therapy for treating pain, such as foot, back, or joint pain.



Research studies have been done on magnets, but there are not consistent results showing that magnets help with pain relief.



Young children and pregnant women should not use magnetic field therapy, because the safety of this therapy is not proved. People who have medical devices or implants with a magnetic field, such as a pacemaker, should not use magnet therapy, because it could interfere with the function of the implant.



Magnet therapy is not thought to have negative side effects or complications when it is combined with conventional medical treatment.



Talk with your doctor about any complementary health practice that you would like to try or are already using. Your doctor can help you manage your health better if he or she knows about all of your health practices.



 



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Is sun gazing good for your eyes?



We all agree that sunlight is essential and beneficial when exposed to in moderation. However, we’re told not to look at the sun directly and rightly so. The sun’s light is too bright and can damage the eyes. However, a physician called Bates believed otherwise. He claimed that many of patients’ vision improved tremendously thanks to his sun-gazing recommendations. Incidentally, the gentleman also believed that spectacles were unnecessary and even harmful to the eyes!



Bates cautioned that, just like one should not run a marathon without training. one should not look directly at the sun without training. Bates suggested exposing the white part or sclera to direct sunlight for a few seconds and he taught exposing the direct sun on closed eyelids.

In his book, Perfect Sight Without Glasses, Bates described a treatment using a magnifying glass to focus sunlight on the closed lid of an eye. He advised patients to expose the closed eyes to direct sunlight for at least 3 minutes a day and on dark days Bates advised using an infrared light source for “sunning” indoors. Sunning was advised to help refractive problems like nearsightedness and farsightedness but also for glaucoma, cataracts and macular degeneration.



 



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What happens in a rebirthing session?



For those who philosophically ponder how it would work out if you could be born all over again, there’s a therapy just for that. While most times, rebirthing therapy focuses on quick and shallow breathing over a couple of hours, it could go beyond that, too. For instance, some therapists will put you in an enclosed space to mimic the womb and ask you to find your way out of it.



With your instructor’s supervision, you’ll practice “circular breathing” — quick, shallow breaths without any breaks between an inhale and an exhale. You’ll do this for one to two hours, taking breaks if you need to.



During this time, participants are told to expect a release of emotions or a triggering of difficult memories from childhood.



The goal of this type of breathing is to inhale energy as well as oxygen. Practitioners of rebirthing claim that by breathing in energy, you’re healing your body.



Your session may consist of only breathwork, or it may include other techniques.



Some practitioners simulate birth by putting you in an enclosed environment meant to resemble a womb and coaching you to escape from it. This may involve blankets, pillows, or other materials.



Another popular method of rebirthing involves submerging yourself in a bathtub or hot tub and using a breathing device such as a snorkel to stay underwater.



 



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How do you use the Gua Sha scraping tool?



Gua sha or “coining” involves the use of a blunt tool to scrape the skin to relieve different ailments, ranging from headache to fever, by releasing all the negative energies. The tool could be a coin, jade crystal (blunt) or buffalo horn. As you’ll expect, this not only caused extensive skin scraping but also an immense amount of pain. Suddenly, the headache doesn’t seem so bad – a pain balm and a pillow sounds so much better!



In gua sha, a technician scrapes your skin with short or long strokes to stimulate microcirculation of the soft tissue, which increases blood flow. They make these strokes with a smooth-edged instrument known as a gua massage tool. The technician applies massage oil to your skin, and then uses the tool to repeatedly scrape your skin in a downward motion.



Gua sha is intended to address stagnant energy, called chi, in the body that practitioners believe may be responsible for inflammation. Inflammation is the underlying cause of several conditions associated with chronic pain. Rubbing the skin’s surface is thought to help break up this energy, reduce inflammation, and promote healing.



 



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How flowers and dew drops used as medicine?



There was a time when illness was a matter of philosophy – it was the result of a disagreement between the soul’s purpose and a person’s actions. The remedy? It turns out the secret lay in flower petals and dewdrops. Flower therapy was introduced by Bach who addressed emotional problems using different plants. His logic was that early morning sunlight hitting dewdrops on plants had a special power. His remedy involved collecting dew and diluting it in brandy to treat illnesses. But, it wasn’t easy collecting enough dewdrops for large-scale treatments. So Bach suspended or boiled flowers in spring water, blessed by good old sunlight, for use in his treatments.



The solutions may be recommended by a naturopath or by a trained Bach flower practitioner after an interview. Some vendors recommend dowsing to select a solution.



The best known solution product is the Rescue Remedy combination, which contains an equal amount each of rock rose, impatiens, clematis, star of Bethlehem and cherry plum remedies. Rescue Remedy is a trademark and other companies produce the same formula under other names, such as Five Flower Remedy. Rescue Cream contains the same remedies in a cream form, with the addition of crab apple.



 



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What does germanium do for the body?



The metal germanium marketed under the fancy name of “Vitamin O”, is supposed to cure everything from diabetes and hepatitis to asthma. Supporters claim that it achieves fantastic results by stimulating the body’s immune system. Others disagree strongly. From the way it looks, germanium is better off for use in solar panels and fibre optics.



There is, however, little to no scientific support of these claims, and using germanium supplements or medications can lead to many side effects, including kidney damage, anemia, muscle weakness and lack of coordination, and elevated liver enzymes, according to Healthline.



In experiments, a derivative of germanium called spirogermanium has been shown to inhibit replication in certain cancer cells, but human studies show it has adverse effects and is not suitable as an anticancer treatment, according to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.



 



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Do ear candles remove earwax?



It’s bad enough that people don’t hesitate to push an earbud inside the ear to clean it, but it turns out that there’s another purported treatment for cleaning the ear of its wax and toxins that is much scarier: ear candling! Yes, it involves a hollow burning candle, with the other end in the ear canal.



During an ear candling session, you lie down on one side with the ear to be treated facing up. The pointed end of the ear candle is usually inserted into a hole in a paper or foil plate (meant to catch any dripping wax) and then into the external ear canal.



The candle is lit at the opposite end and held as the practitioner trims away the burnt material while the candle is burning.



After several minutes (or when the candle stub is several inches from your head), the treatment ends and the ear candle stub is removed and extinguished. The outer ear is wiped clean with a cotton ball or pad.



 



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What is the medicinal value of charcoal?



Activated charcoal has been a major fad in recent years – black burger burns, black ice creams, black dosas, and even juices and biscuits! Where did it all start? Activated charcoal slurry was used in medical treatment to remove toxins from the body. Thinking that this would be the perfect cleansing magnet to drag out shady molecules and microbic pests are far from the truth!



Irinotecan is a cancer drug known to cause diarrhea. Early research shows that taking activated charcoal during treatment with irinotecan decreases diarrhea, including severe diarrhea, in children taking this drug. Early research shows that taking activated charcoal daily for 24 weeks might reduce phosphate levels in people on hemodialysis who have high phosphate levels. Studies on the use of activated charcoal for wound healing are mixed. Some early research shows that using bandages with activated charcoal helps wound healing in people with venous leg ulcers. But other research shows that activated charcoal does not help treat bed sores or venous leg ulcers.



 



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