Do it yourself health

For years now I have been trying to find out ways to do many things myself, naturally, rather than relying on corporate entities, mostly for reasons of finances, but also because I believe that we can do it better naturally.
Something I have come upon lately is calcium supplements made from our own free range chicken eggs. Here is a section I have copied from an email loop I am on:
Fortunately, ground eggshells are not and offer not only calcium but 27 other minerals that are crucial in optimizing one's health and removing heavy metals from the system.
EGGSHELLS! Yes, eggshell calcium offers the body a balanced calcium source due to trace amounts of other minerals contained in it. Eggshell calcium is probably the best natural source of calcium, and it is easier for your body to digest and absorb.
One whole medium sized eggshell makes about one teaspoon of powder, which yields about 750 - 800 mgs of elemental* calcium plus other microelements, i.e. magnesium, boron, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, sulphur, silicon, zinc, etc.
How to Make Powdered Eggshells:
Wash empty eggshells in warm water until all of the egg white is removed, but do not remove the membrane because it contains important nutrients for the joints which helps arthritis.
Lay broken pieces out on paper towels and allow them to air dry thoroughly.
Break the eggshells up into small pieces, and grind them to into a fine powder in a food processor, blender, coffee grinder, or a nut mill, or put them in a plastic bag and use a rolling pin to grind them. Please note that some blenders will not grind the eggshell into a fine enough powder. A coffee grinder works the best.
Store powdered eggshells in a covered glass jar or container. Keep it in a dry place, like the kitchen cupboard.
I most often recommend 1 teaspoon per day of the powdered eggshells with food but for best results, please have a HTMA to determine your individual needs.

Here is another website to do with the same thing.
http://nourishedmagazine.com.au/blog/articles/how-to-make-calcium-using-egg-shells
In the above website it reminds us we need magnesium along with the calcium, as there isn't quite enough in eggshells. So, if you go to the herb medicine thread, read about nettles, there is a ton of magnesium in there. Also, the sun provides the good kind of Vitamin D, but besides cod liver oil, I am looking for another one we could use in an emergency situation. By the way, if anyone is concerned with not enough iodine in a diet for someone who is not near the ocean, nettles will provide that, too.

Did you know that preserving foods by lactic acid actually makes them MORE nutritious? Canning and freezing make food less nutritious, and sometimes with certain things in foods that are fresh, we can't get all the nutrition out of them. But, in the case of some foods, cabbage for instance, making sour kraut, by lactic acid fermentation, breaks down the substances in cabbage that make for poor digestion of its nutrients, and is actually more nutritious as sourkraut than fresh cabbage. We can do this with cucumbers, as pickles, cabbage, Korean kimchi, ketchup, salsa, etc. Be sure not to can this when you are done, however, because you will destroy the natural enzymes in the food, which aid digestion, and your immune system. Using whey and salt and the fresh vegetables, or fruits is all you need to do this. Before the days of canners, and freezers, people did this all the time to preserve their foods. You can make your own whey, too, by putting yogurt in a handkerchief, and suspending it over a bowl, and letting the whey drip into the bowl. A cookbook I recommend is Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. It is about all the traditional, native ways to cook foods, and preserve them naturally.

You are a wealth of information! this is great stuff to know. Thank you so much for continuing to post!

How do you prepare nettles?

In the spring, pick nettles, usually the top third of the plant, (use gloves), and put in saucepan, add a little water, a lid and boil until tender. Eat as greens. Greens are delicious with a little vinegar of your choice, butter, salt and pepper.
Nettles should also be dried for the rest of the year. To dry, pick as above, and gather the stems in groups of 5 or so, and use an elastic band, and hang in a dry place, or put in a basket loosely and hang to dry. When completely dry, using gloves again, although most of the stingers are gone when dried, toss the large stems on your compost pile, and save the dried leaves in glass jars. Use for tea, 1 tsp per cup, or make tincture, directions are under herbal medicines thread. A lot of people like the tea sweetened and iced, or can be drunk hot.

In a survival situation, don't worry about vitamin C needs, as you can drink Strawberry leaf tea, using either wild or cultivated strawberries. Strawberry leaves have more vitamin C than most fruits and vegetables, and tastes more like real tea than most herbs, along with blackberry leaf tea. Both teas by the way will cure diarreah, thanks to the amount of tannin in it. And if you can't find strawberry leaves, and can find a pine tree, you can make pine needle tea, which is also extremely rich in Vitamin C, although doesn't taste as good.

Want to help your heart health, arthritis, and inflammation while weeding your garden? Most people know of the value of Omega 3 fatty acids, but in a survival situation, away from the ocean, how would one get them? Purslane, latin name, Portulaca oleracea is a succulent type of weed growing all over, and is the richest in Omega 3 fatty acids in the plant world, even more than flax seeds. In fact if it grows in your yard and you have free range chickens, their eggs will have omega 3 fatty acids from eating this weed. Even if you don't like greens, you may like this plant, as it doesn't taste like a green. Pick your weed, steam lightly, add seasonings, and enjoy. In fact, I like this weed so much, I always leave a few to go to seed in my garden to be assured of a future supply of it. Here is a picture of it, so you too can find some and try it: http://www.2bnthewild.com/plants/H186.htm

Surviving and ENJOYING it exclude eating nettles for me - lol! And for all the hoopla around here about camas being survival food, the actual EATING of camas is something to survive. Many "wild edibles" will keep you alive, but they tend to taste like you are eating lawn clippings or have the texture of kindergarten paste. Once you have gotten beyond caring what things taste or feel like, surviving gets easier. Vitamin C? Pick a rose hip. It is bitter as it can be, but it will be down the hatch in a moment and is arguable the best form and source of the nutrient.
My favorite "wild thing?" Yarrow. Not very tasty at all, but damn near a cure-all and it grows on every continent and in almost every climate. And my favorite thing about it? EASY TO IDENTIFY. If you smelled it once, you will never forget. No "death yarrow" to worry about!