5 Traditional Latino Health Treatments

Latino.com’s Nichole Fratangelo tells us about 5 traditional Latino health treatments we should all try. –

“There’s a reason why abuela’s home remedies work the best: She took a hint from her ancestors and their traditional health treatments that date back centuries.

It’s time to go back to the roots, all in the name of health and wellness with these traditional Latino treatments that are worth a try:

1.

The Mayan Abdominal Massage

This ancient massage technique helps with menstruation pains and other female-related issues. The massage, typically practiced in Belize, Guatemala and Mexico, helps to “reposition” the uterus and eliminate the body of toxins.

“A displaced uterus can cause a number of troublesome symptoms such as fertility challenges and overly painful periods,” Naturopathic Doctor Gabrielle Francis explains. “The Mayan Abdominal massage restores proper alignment of the uterus and ovaries, promoting detoxification, properly balancing hormones, and restoring circulation of blood and nutrients.”

2.

Aztecan Herbal Drink

Classic Aztec medicine included an abundance of herbs and natural remedies. Traditional Aztec herbal medicines include using sweet-flowers and other items from nature to concont certain drinks for common illnesses, such as a popular “tonic” drink made of yellow-leafed maguey, yellow chili, tomato juice and gourd seeds.

3.

An Incan Offering

The Incan tradition places high importance on emotional, mental and spiritual health, more so than physical health. An important part of Incan healing includes making an offering to a higher spiritual being, in honor of “ayni,” the reciprocity of giving and receiving. Incan traditional healing practices include the act of giving to the land, in the form of seeds, stones or similar.

4.

The Taíno Zemi

The Taíno culture focused on spiritual healing in order to benefit physical healing. Their well-known practice of creating a zemi allows them to worship an object in the household in order to be spiritually cleansed of all other ailments in the body and mind.

5.

The Mexican Balance

The Mexican culture focuses deeply on the concept of balance. A balance of the four humors (blood, phlegm, black bile and yellow bile) are meant to all be kept in check for optimal health. Therefore, when someone is sick, Mexican tradition focuses on finding the balance between hot and cold. “Correction of this balance is by consumption of foods or herbs of the opposite quality,” studies note.”