Food & Drink Remedies
Thousands of years ago, Hippocrates said Let food be your medicine. Foods and beverages provide relief from an amazing number of common ailments.
How to Eat for Better Blood Glucose Control
When public health experts point out that nearly one-third of American adults have prediabetes, we figure that we could all benefit from an appropriate diet for better blood glucose control. One reade…
Eating Prunes Can Reduce Inflammation and Improv…
In the 1970s the California Prune Advisory Board promoted its product as the “FUNNY FRUIT.” These days, prunes are advertised as dried plums. Researchers at Penn State investigated how eating prun…
Science Supports Home & Herbal Remedies Des…
A surprising number of people hate home & herbal remedies. We have lost count of the number of visitors to this website who complain bitterly that such treatments lack credibility and are unproven…
Don’t Smear Molasses on Hemorrhoids!
Hemorrhoids (also known inelegantly as piles) are swollen veins in or near the anus. They are rather like varicose veins, although their awkward location can cause trouble. They may bleed during bowel…
Coconut for Crohn’s Supported by Science
In 1998 we received an intriguing letter from a reader of our syndicated newspaper column. Donald Agar, from Pittsfield, MA, contacted us to say he had finally overcome a long-standing battle with inf…
Do You Swallow a Spoonful of Mustard for Heartbu…
Do you suffer from heartburn? Many people do, judging from the popularity of acid-suppressing drugs such as esomeprazole (Nexium), lansoprazole (Prevacid) or omeprazole (Prilosec). Antacids like Maalo…
How to Delay Dementia with a Mediterranean-Style…
Could a Mediterranean-style diet help preserve cognitive function in older individuals? Studies from around the world suggest that people following such a regimen may be able to delay dementia. Based …
What to Do When Quinine in Tonic Water DoesnR…
Have you ever been awakened from a deep sleep by sudden excruciating pain in your leg? In an instant, your sleep is interrupted and you are desperate for relief. A good friend described it as immediat…
Golden Raisins in Gin: Placebo or Powerful Arthr…
Are you a skeptic? Do you think all home remedies are nothing more than old wives' tales? Snake oil? Silliness? Or do you keep an open mind and wonder why such approaches are handed down from generati…
Oolong Tea Healed Eczema
Eczema, also termed atopic dermatitis, can be very persistent. Dermatologists often prescribe strong steroid creams, and that usually eases the symptoms for a while. But once the cream or lotion is no…
Diet and Exercise Can Help You Manage Diabetes
Being told you have a chronic health problem like type 2 diabetes can be frightening. It often triggers a cascade of prescriptions intended to manage diabetes and keep blood sugar under control. Using…
If You Are a Vegan or Vegetarian, Are Your Bones…
Many people choose not to eat meat because of environmental, ethical or health considerations. At least one study has shown, for example, that people on a vegan diet have lower levels of inflammation …
Pickle Juice to the Rescue
Modern medicine is skeptical of most home remedies. It relegates them to the category of anecdotal old wives’ tales. Instead, prescribers prefer FDA-approved medicines that are supported by clinical…
What Are the Health Benefits of Coffee and Choco…
Americans have a puritanical streak. This way of thinking suggests that if something hurts or tastes bad, it must be good for you. Conversely, if it tastes good, you might conclude it's bad for you. T…
Amazing Benefits from Half a Tablespoon of Olive…
We have been writing about the health benefits of olive oil for decades, although at one time doctors thought it was too high in saturated fat to be healthy. Data from long-running cohort studies cont…
How to Make Gin-Soaked Raisins for Joint Pain
Have you looked at the side effects of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) lately? Drugs like diclofenac, ibuprofen, indomethacin, ketoprofen, meloxicam, piroxicam and naproxen can cause hig…
Sugar and Milk Can Trigger Acne
Is there a connection between acne and diet? For years, dermatologists told teenagers to stay away from high-fat foods like burgers, shakes, fries or chocolate. Then there was a period in which dermat…
Do You Take Olive Oil for Your Blood Pressure?
Have you been looking for natural ways to lower your blood pressure? People who manage their blood pressure with medications are less likely to experience cognitive decline (JAMA, May 19, 2020). What'…
Why Home Remedies Deserve Respect
Before there were pharmaceutical companies, drug commercials on television, pharmacists or physicians, there were herbs and home remedies. There is archeological evidence that our stone age ancestors …
Old-Fashioned Sugar Remedy Heals Persistent Woun…
When wounds refuse to heal, both patients and caregivers struggle. They suffer frustration as well as pain, not to mention the fear of a serious infection setting in. Several readers have written abou…
New Guidelines on Flavanols Can Help Improve Hea…
For generations, children have been urged to eat their fruits and vegetables. Now, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has issued guidelines that support this advice (Advances in Nutrition, Oct 3, …
Grapefruit Lowers Blood Pressure
Natural products were an essential part of the pharmacopeia until the end of the 20th century. Starting around 1950, scientists valued synthetic medications more than botanical products. Consequently,…
Styptic Pencil: How Does It Work and Is It Safe?
Have you ever heard of a styptic pencil? Most young people today have no idea what such a thing is. Even a lot of older people are clueless. First and foremost, it is not a writing instrument! It is s…
Nutritional Support for Burning Mouth Syndrome
Have you ever burned your mouth on hot tea or coffee? What about food that was unexpectedly hot right out of the microwave, such as pizza or a hot pocket? Such burns can be uncomfortable, but they usu…
Pectin and Grape Juice to Ease Sore Joints
People with arthritis usually rely on nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen or naproxen for pain relief, but these medicines can cause trouble if a person takes them for a lo…
Best Diet for People with Diabetes Is Low in Car…
Diabetes experts have been arguing about the best diet for patients with type 2 diabetes for decades. Past and present studies now show that a diet low in carbs can help people with type 2 diabetes lo…
Can Elderberry Juice Really Fight Flu Virus?
Elderberries and elderberry juice have long had a reputation for fighting the flu. Most physicians undoubtedly have considered this just another old wives’ tale. One reader remembers how her family …
Do Blueberries Help Older People with Memory?
Could blueberries help improve blood pressure and cognitive function in older people? Researchers have been considering this question for years. The latest study suggests that wild blueberries may imp…
Is It Unhealthy to Drink Unfiltered Coffee?
The health consequences of drinking coffee have stirred quite a bit of controversy over the years. According to legend, a goatherd noticed that his goats were extra frisky after eating coffee berries,…
Beet Juice Was Better Than a Drug for Lowering B…
Some natural products have an impressive ability to affect human physiology. Among these are vegetables naturally high in nitrate, particularly beets (referred to in England as beetroot). Research sho…
Cabbage Juice Remedy Cured Chronic Heartburn
How do you manage heartburn? Many people use over-the-counter medicines such as Pepcid or Nexium. Others, presumably with more chronic or more serious reflux, are taking prescription medication such a…
10 Favorite Wart Remedies That Work!
Warts are mysterious. They raise more questions than answers. We do know that warts are caused by a virus (human papilloma virus or HPV). How that virus penetrates the skin on fingers, hands or knees …
Pickle Juice Perfect for Restless Foot
Restless leg syndrome (RLS) is a condition in which the person feels a compulsion to move the feet or legs. Some people describe a "creepy" or "crawly" sensation relieved only by movement. Others repo…
Cinnamon Offers Health Benefits but Also Carries…
For a spice that has a history going back over 4,000 years, you would think that there wouldn't be much controversy or confusion. Au contraire. Cinnamon offers health benefits, to be sure, but the pro…
Power Pudding Is Nurses’ Secret Weapon Aga…
Americans are experiencing an epidemic of chronic constipation. A study published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology (June, 2020) reports that CIC (chronic idiopathic constipation) "affects 9…
How Can You Get Off the Laxative Merry-Go-Round?
Laxatives remain one of the most popular products in the pharmacy. Millions worry that if they do not have a bowel movement every day they will become sick. Sometimes a laxative habit can develop over…
Is Coffee Really Bad for You?
Health professionals just can’t seem to make up their minds about coffee. Is it good or really bad for you? They have been arguing about the pros and cons of coffee drinking for at least half a cent…
Black Pepper Boosts Turmeric’s Benefits
Scientists have been studying the yellow spice turmeric and its primary component curcumin for more than two decades. They have found evidence that it has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anticancer…
Why Don’t Doctors Prescribe Vitamin C for …
Pain gets everyone's attention. Whether it's a stubbed toe or a headache, heartburn or arthritis, pain signals that something has gone wrong. With appropriate treatment, most of these conditions are m…
Healthful Diets Help People Live Longer, Healthi…
Have you ever wondered whether healthful diets make a real difference? A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine shows that they do. Moreover, the scientists found that there is not just one good di…