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.
Natural Approaches Can Lower Cholesterol
Q. My primary care doctor wants to put me on statins to lower my cholesterol, and that scares me to death. Several family members and friends who have been put on statins have become incapacitated at …
Pomegranate Recipe Eases Diarrhea
Q. My grandmother administered, with great success, a pomegranate 'infusion' for treating diarrhea. She would cut the fruit in half and boil it in water and reduce it. It's nasty tasting but effective…
Low-Sodium Soy Sauce Fails to Ease Burn Pain
Q. I burned my thumb on a pan of roasted veggies last night. I remembered your advice and reached for the tamari soy sauce. (I had a low sodium variety.) To my dismay, when I applied it to my thumb, i…
Food Remedies Ease Many Problems
Q. I love reading in your column about foods like cherries, curry and ginger that can help alleviate certain conditions. Where can I find out more about these food remedies? A. We have gathered hundre…
Papaya Enzymes Helped Heartburn
Q. I have read your articles about various ways to treat heartburn naturally. What I have found most helpful are chewable papaya enzymes. They work GREAT! A. We have heard from other readers that chew…
Will Hot Pepper Nose Spray Soothe Sinuses?
Q. Can you comment on the efficacy and safety of nasal capsaicin (Sinus Buster, Sinol-M) for rhinitis, sinusitis or sinus headache? A. Capsaicin is the hot substance that gives chili peppers their kic…
Tart Cherries Save Sore Hip
Q. I have suffered from arthritis in my right hip for several years. By last fall it got so bad I could hardly walk. Over the years, I tried all of the supplements for joint health advertised on TV. I…
Coconut Controls Colitis
Q. I have had colitis for almost three years. Last month a friend mentioned that she read an article in the newspaper about coconut macaroon cookies preventing diarrhea. I was ready to try anything, s…
Sauerkraut Juice Conquers Canker Sore
Q. I have had dry mouth for years due to medication. Recently, with my diabetes diagnosis, it has gotten much worse. It is hard to talk and hard to swallow. In the last week or so I have had very pain…
Soy Foods Fine for Cancer Survivor
Q. Is soy good or bad for an overweight breast cancer survivor? I've heard both. A. Breast cancer survivors have sometimes been warned to avoid soy-based foods because of the natural estrogen-like com…
Buttermilk Fights Canker Sores
Q. My oldest son used to get canker sores a lot when he got a cold. Then my mother-in-law gave us the ultimate cure that works overnight. Swish cultured buttermilk in the mouth and hold it there for a…
Diet Can Lower Blood Pressure and Blood Sugar
Q. I take hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) and lisinopril to control high blood pressure. My doctor says I am pre-diabetic and encouraged me to consult a dietitian for advice on diet to prevent diabetes. Th…
Lowering Cholesterol with Diet
Q. I am one of those people who cannot tolerate statin drugs to lower cholesterol. I have taken lovastatin, pravastatin, simvastatin and Lipitor. They make my muscles ache so I cannot exercise. I am c…
Can Onions Cure the Flu?
Q. There is a message circulating on the Web about putting an unpeeled onion in a room to attract flu viruses. Apparently this is supposed to protect people from catching the flu. Is there any truth h…
Cherries Countered Cognitive Condition
Q. My husband has had a setback in his Alzheimer's disease due to stress about my upcoming heart surgery. Recently, for the very first time, he ate Rainier cherries. The entire next day I was once aga…
Sugar Helped Dog’s Wound Heal
Q. You recently wrote about sugar for wound healing. I have been in veterinary medicine for 15 years. Several years ago we had a case of a dog that had been attacked by another dog. After initial surg…
Persimmon Tea Helped Heartburn
Q. I loved the recipe for persimmon tea to treat heartburn symptoms. I really like the idea of using food to take care of my ailments, and I've gotten good suggestions from your column. I sometimes cl…
Raisins in Vinegar Help Joint Pain
Q. When I read your column about gin-soaked raisins, I recalled a similar remedy I used several years ago. I don't like gin, and I wouldn't buy it. But the man who told me about using gin-soaked raisi…
Preventing Leg Cramps with Coconut Water
Q. I've read about drinking tonic water to prevent waking with leg cramps. Try coconut water instead! It is the best stuff for leg cramps. It is somewhat hard to find, but I buy Zico brand at my local…
Can Curry Spice Soothe Psoriasis?
Back in the dim days of black-and-white television, one over-the-counter product that was frequently advertised claimed to help "the heartbreak of psoriasis." The phrase is no longer heard in commerci…
Peppermint and Coconut Conquer Diarrhea
Q. I have suffered from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) for months. I read that Archway Coconut Macaroon cookies might help and looked for them with no success. When I heard they were no longer availab…
Soy Sauce Soothes Pain of Sting
Q. I was adjusting my sprinkler timer and did not realize my arm was bumping against a wasp nest. That's how I just got stung on the elbow by four or five wasps. Last weekend I heard on The People's P…
Coffee Steam to Counteract Congestion
Q. I learned in Colombia that inhaling the steam of strong, freshly brewed coffee (not instant) is beneficial for nasal and sinus irritation. The steam soothes and heals the mucus membranes. This reme…
Grandmother’s Raisin Remedy Offers Relief
Q. You've written about gin-soaked raisins on several occasions. My grandmother used to make them. She lived in an old farmhouse and had to go down steps to wash her laundry and up stairs to get to he…
Chocolate Cured Serious Hiccups
Q. Chocolate works for hiccups. My father was recovering in the hospital for several weeks last summer, and many, many times he had lengthy bouts of severe hiccups. As he was recovering from abdominal…
Beet Juice Reduced Need for Blood Pressure Pills
Q. Your article on beet juice for hypertension was fascinating. I have had incredible results with freeze-dried beet juice from the health-food store. I have reduced the need for my blood pressure med…
Low Sugar Diet and Black Currant Oil Cleared Com…
Q. I just read the column on milk of magnesia for teen acne. I am allergic to benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid products so I tried black currant oil capsules for my menopausal acne. They cleared my…
Cookies Tame Dreadful Diarrhea
Q. Archway Macaroons are back! Just wanted to let you know, so you can inform your readers. I found them back on my grocery store shelves just today and bought out the macaroons they had. This will be…
Celery Helped Heal Bell’s Palsy
Q. I read your article about celery easing blood pressure. I don't have high blood pressure but I swear that celery helped cure my Bell's Palsy. Several years ago I was diagnosed with Bell's Palsy and…
Broccoli Battles Heartburn
Q. I had been bothered with reflux for several years, but I got good results from broccoli. During the first two weeks I ate 1/2 cup a day (sometimes raw, sometimes cooked). I was able to stop taking …
Celery for Lower Blood Pressure
Q. You have discussed ways to control blood pressure but not the one I use. I have found eating celery and using celery seeds on my food reduces my blood pressure in minutes. A. Celery and celery seed…
Beet Juice and Breathing for Blood Pressure
Q. I was diagnosed recently with borderline hypertension. My internist has prescribed the diuretics HCTZ and spironolactone. My reactions to those have been headache, nausea and intestinal upset. We h…
Will Gin-Soaked Raisins Fail Breathalyzer Test?
Q. I have just taken up gin-soaked raisins for arthritis. So far, so good; they seem to be working. My employer requires random urine testing for drugs and Breathalyzer testing for alcohol. Will this …
Banana Peel Is Popular Wart Remedy
Q. For recurring warts try rubbing the inside of a banana peel on the growth a couple of times daily. This worked on a wart on my hand that I'd had for several years. It takes a couple of weeks for th…
Almonds Against Heartburn
Q. I have been suffering from GERD for a number of years now. I took Zantac for it.But two weeks ago I went to a dinner party. When we were all finished with eating, even coffee, the hostess passed ar…
Raisin Remedy Eases Arthritis
Q. I read about the gin-raisin method for dealing with arthritis and decided to give it a try. None of the many medicines I had tried worked even the slightest bit. Every morning I awoke with severe s…
Caffeine Helps Open Airways
Q. Is it true that coffee can help an asthma attack if you don't have your medicine handy? A. Caffeine acts somewhat like a traditional asthma medicine (theophylline). A review of the scientific liter…
Cabbage Leaves for Breast Engorgement
Q. I used cabbage leaves to reduce the pain and swelling from mastitis when I breastfed my children. I heard about it from other mothers. A cabbage leaf fits perfectly inside your bra. Replace it ever…
Coconut Eases Diarrhea in Dogs
Q. For the past ten years, I've given half a coconut macaroon cookie to my greyhounds when they have diarrhea. It works every time and the dogs love it. A. Many readers have tried coconut to help cont…
Cherries Against Joint Pain
Q. I have heard that sour cherry juice can ward off gout attacks and help relieve arthritis pain. I cannot tolerate drugs like ibuprofen because of a sensitive stomach. When I asked my pharmacist abou…