Lani Lopez - Natural Hot Liniment For Aches And Strains

I started being naturopathically aware when I witnessed my grandfather well into his 90’s, cook up brown twiggy herbs together with some herb oils and water. He then applied it to his torn bruised skin and secured it with a bandage. His skin was so thin he used to joke about being able to read the newspaper through his skin on his arm if we pulled it up and had a look. 

My grandfather hailed from China and had immigrated here in NZ. He’d fallen in love with my Maori grandmother from Tauranga, settled in Auckland and had 9 beautiful children. He was extremely fit and still drove a car and was able to teach me gymnastics at this stage. He taught me that herbal remedies existed but it was at this moment that I truly believed in miracles.

You see, after he rubbed on this strong smelling stuff, three days later the bruise had all but disappeared and his torn skin had knitted itself together again.

Now I don’t know his recipe he used but I think we should still utilise what our grandparents and that generation knew about old home remedies.

Here’s a natural remedy that is a liniment for sprains, aches and strains. It’s a bit stinky because of the apple cider vinegar but the relief is palpable.

Mix 1 tablespoon of cayenne pepper in 1 litre of apple cider vinegar. Bottle. Apply for sprains and sore muscles.You can also use it for deep seated chest congestion. The warmth lifts that cold right out of your chest. Now that I’ve bottled my liniment and made chicken soup, I’m off to fossick around for that bottle of lavender oil lost in a cupboard somewhere and channel some more home recipes from my grandparents.