Wednesday, February 29, 2012

BEAUTY WITH NICOLE - GUEST BLOGGER, DR. WILLOW McQUADE


Beauty editor Nicole Emmerling has invited Willow McQuade to visit with us today. Willow is a naturopathic doctor and the star of Chrystle Fiedler’s new Nature Remedy Mysteries.

Chrystle Fiedler is the author of the newly released
Death Drops: A Natural Remedies Mystery. She’s also the author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide To Natural Remedies and the co-author of Beat Sugar Addiction Now!, the Beat Sugar Addiction Now! Cookbook and The Country Almanac of Home Remedies. Her magazine articles featuring natural remedies have appeared in many national publications including  Better Homes and Gardens, Natural Health, Vegetarian Times and Remedy. To learn more about Chrystle, visit her at her website and blog.

Chrystle is offering a copy of Death Drops: A Natural Remedies Mystery to one lucky reader who posts a comment. -- AP  

A big thank you to Anastasia Pollack for welcoming me to her blog today! I'm a naturopathic doctor named Willow McQuade and I'm the star of my own book called Death Drops: A Natural Remedies Mystery. I'm a big believer in natural cures and I thought that you would enjoy these recipes for different kinds of baths. Luxuriating in a bath tub can help you rest, renew and heal your body. You will look and feel better! 

Flower Power Bath: Let the stress drain away with a bath full of fresh flowers, orange or lemon peels. You can also use  lilac, dandelion, daisies, honeysuckle, jasmine, camellia, or lavender. 
Dry Skin Bath: Herbs can have a soothing lubricating effect on the skin. Moisturize by adding to the bath calendula flowers, chamomile flowers, comfrey leaves, elder flowers, fennel seed, jasmine flowers, lavender flowers, oatmeal, rose buds, and violet leaves.
Baking Soda Bath: This alkalinizing and detoxifying bath can help calm allergic reactions, chicken pox, eczema, hives, itchy skin, insect bites, poison ivy, sunburn, and fungal infections. Baking soda baths also aid weight loss. Use one pound per bath.
Cold and Flu Bath: Try these natural remedies when you want to soothe deep muscle aches that often accompany viral infections. Add Epsom salts, ginger root, marjoram, mustard seed powder, pine needles, and thyme leaves to your bath.
Detox Bath: Consider these cleansing herbs in the bath to help the body get rid of toxins. Try apple cider vinegar, cypress essential oil, Epsom salts, ginger root, grapefruit, juniper, lavender flowers, lemon peel, rosemary leaves, sage leaves, seaweed (buy in a natural food store unless you live close to the ocean), and tea tree essential oil.
Epsom Salts Bath: Relax sore muscles, soften the skin and detoxify. If you have diabetes, hypertension or heart disease rinse off after the bath. Follow package directions.
If you have any medical conditions and are not sure if you should try any of these baths, please see your health practitioner. This is in no way meant to be medical advice. 

About Death Drops: A Natural Remedies Mystery:

Dr. Willow McQuade, N.D., a twenty-eight-year-old naturopathic doctor specializing in natural remedies, has decided to take sabbatical and visit her Aunt Claire, the owner of Nature’s Way Market and Cafe in idyllic Greenport, Long Island. But the idea of rest and relaxation is quickly forgotten when Willow arrives from a morning meditative walk to discover her Aunt Claire dead in the store, a strange almond-like smell emanating from her mouth and a bottle of flower essences by her side. Despite her Zen nature and penchant for yoga, Aunt Claire had a knack for getting into confrontations with folks. An activist, she held weekly meetings for different causes every week in the store. The police want to believe the death is accidental—but Willow thinks she may have been poisoned.

Things get worse when Aunt Claire’s valuable recipe for a new natural age-defying formula, Fresh Face, is stolen during a store break-in, and an attempt is made on Willow’s life. Desperate for a way out of the mess, she turns to handsome young cop Jackson Spade. Together the two set about solving the case the natural way—through a combination of hard work, common sense, and a dose of luck.
Thanks for joining us today, Willow. I can’t wait to soak in some of those relaxing baths! What about you, readers? Post a comment for a chance to win a copy of Death Drops: A Natural Remedies Mystery. -- AP

18 comments:

  1. I know little about natural cures but I LOVE baths and I also love cozy mysteries, so I can't wait to see how they go together.

    Rachel
    rachelkb at gmail.com

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  2. This sounds like a great cozy, thank you for the chance to win it.

    wfnren(at)aol(dot)com
    wrensthoughts.blogspot.com

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  3. I love reading mysteries that both entertain and teach me something. I'm looking forward to this series.

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  4. This sounds like a great cozy. Good luck and thanks for hosting a giveaway. :)

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  5. Thanks for stopping by! Yes, baths and cozies go well together!

    My favorite baths are the ones I've taken when visiting England. For some reason they have very deep and long tubs which is good for me cause I'm tall. Great stress reliever and don't we all need that?

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  6. It seems like forever ago now (12 years actually) I took an herb class which lasted months ... I think the only thing I remember from that is tea tree oil and nettles can solve a whole heck of a lot!

    lms (dot) dragonmist (at) gmail.com

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  7. Loved reading about the herbal baths. Looking forward to reading your book.

    Happy bathing, Theresa

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  8. I love natural remedies and would rather clean with vinegar than bleach. Great idea for a cozy :)

    shara at sharalanel .com

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  9. I love natural remedies & mixing together herbal baths! How fun. I'm so glad I heard about this book.

    Jess

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  10. Epsom slt bathes especially if lavender count me in.

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  11. Hi everyone! Thank for stopping by. Willow is very glad that she was able to help you! Thanks to Lois Winston for having us over! I'll announce the winner on Friday!

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  12. I want to try the Dry Skin Bath. Love to read about natural cures that can be used today.
    I love cozy mysteries and can't wait to read one of yours Chrystle. I am adding you as new author to my wish list. Willow,it was a pleasure meeting you. Thanks for your great bath naturan cures.
    Thanks for the opportunity to enter giveaway.

    misskallie2000 at yahoo dot com

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  13. Once had a terrible run in with sumac. In addition to pills, brilliant doc recommended piping hot showers, last thing at night, and Epsom salt compresses.

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  14. I want to try all of these different baths! I use Epsom salt quite often, but I loved the additions for when you are sick.

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  15. Thanks to everyone for stopping by! I hope you enjoy the baths! The winner of the giveaway of Death Drops: A Natural Remedies Mystery is: Janel! Please send your address to cfwrites@optonline.net!

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  16. Oh, yay! I can't wait to read this! Thank-you for doing the giveaway!!

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  17. I enjoy herbs and have grown many both for fun and usefulness. This sounds like a great series.

    boots9k at wowway dot com

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  18. This sounds like a wonderful new series. I look forward to reading the book while soaking in one of your recommended baths.

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