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.
Onions Have History Against Stings
Q. You recently wrote about rubbing a cut onion on a bee sting to ease the pain. Swiss farmers have practiced this for centuries. In 1949, when I was stung by a bee right near the knee-cap and was hu…
Gin-Soaked Golden Raisins Contain Sulfites
Q. Caution to the sulfite sensitive! My parents swear by gin-soaked raisins for arthritis. I tried them and after about a week I did notice an increased range of motion. But more importantly, they als…
Coconut Eased Diarrhea Problem
Q. I heard a guy on the radio talk about easing his chronic, relentless diarrhea with coconut. I have had a very bad time with diarrhea also, so I have tried eating some raw shredded coconut.I can&rsq…
Non-Drug Ways to Chill Hot Flashes
Q. I am 56 years old--well into menopause--and stopped taking prescription hormones about four months ago. While they helped somewhat with the hot flashes, they did little for the vaginal dryness and …
Eating Arugula to Avoid Ulcers
Perhaps patients with a propensity for stomach ulcers would do well to eat more arugula. Research from Saudi Arabia suggests that the dark green leafy vegetable has anti-ulcer activity. Scientists exp…
Raisin Remedy for Arthritis
Q. I have arthritis in my hands and my back. I heard that gin-soaked raisins would help the pain. Is that true, and if so, what is the recipe and the dose? A. The only way to know if gin-soaked raisin…
Onion Soothes Wasp Lover’s Sting
Q. I love wasps, bee, mud daubers and anything else that flies and buzzes. My friends call me a ‘bee charmer.’ I'm the one who carries them outside to fly free.When I was reaching for …
Fish, Nuts and Olive Oil for Better Vision
Eating fish may help protect vision as people age. Australian investigators have been studying nearly 2,500 people for many years. Dietary data collected in this Blue Mountains Eye Study show that jus…
Soy Sauce Eases Pain of Burn
Q. I burned the heel of my hand with hot bacon grease. I immediately put it under cold running water and then remembered the soy sauce cure. I taped a paper towel soaked in soy sauce to my hand and wi…
Diet Eases Chronic Back Pain
Q. I’ve suffered from severe lower back pain since 1964, when I was 14. In 1972, I was diagnosed with spondylolisthesis, fourth degree. In 1980 and 1986 I had surgical procedures to fuse my spin…
Hot Water for Plantar Warts
Q. You have occasionally written about plantar warts. I have cured several of them (my own, my daughter's and my sister-in-law's) by soaking the area in hot salted water several times a day. A. Your r…
How Safe Is Tonic Water?
Q. I have been drinking a liter or two of tonic water a week for nearly 25 years. Now I'm reading about risks associated with quinine. How much is too much? How much quinine is in tonic? What are the …
Can Chocolate Treat Truck Driver’s Blood P…
Q. I've been having problems with high blood pressure for quite a while, especially since I became a truck driver five years ago. I guess the connection is I sit and don't get enough exercise.…
Fenugreek Tea for Allergies?
Q. I live in the desert southwest, where we have been experiencing allergy symptoms for about a month. With the high winds this time of year they will only get worse. My mother, who grew up in the Mid…
Kudzu Root Helps Conquer Alcohol Craving
Q. I grew up with a parent who was dependent on alcohol. I find myself struggling with cravings for alcohol also. While alcohol doesn't interfere with my daily life, I don't like the cycle of abstaini…
Reaping Health Benefits from Chocolate
Q. I was excited about a recent column describing health benefits from chocolate. Would high-quality chocolate include Snickers bars? What would be considered a moderate amount, to get the health bene…
Will Gin-Soaked Raisins Disqualify Driver?
Q. I read an inquiry from a bus driver who was worried that eating gin-soaked raisins to ease joint pain would trigger a positive breath alcohol result. As a certified BAT (Breath Alcohol Technician) …
Coconut Calms Spastic Colon
Q. After reading about coconut macaroon cookies against diarrhea, I took them for my spastic colon. They worked. But then I went on vacation and could not find the cookies when I needed them. So I ate…
Will Eggplant Water Lower Blood Pressure?
Keeping blood pressure under control is crucial in maintaining good heart health and reducing the likelihood of a stroke. There are a number of non-drug approaches that have research backing, such as …
Brazil Nuts Behind Leg Cramps
Q. A few years ago I read that selenium was good for everyone and that Brazil nuts were high in selenium. Since I love Brazil nuts, I bought them regularly and ate about three a day. After a few month…
Health Benefits of Coffee and Chocolate
Americans are not used to good news about life’s little pleasures. We are told that salt will raise our blood pressure, saturated fat will clog our arteries and that high fructose sweeteners in …
Aloe Upset Digestive Tract
Q. I just started drinking two ounces of aloe a day to heal a stomach inflammation. I don’t like taking prescription acid suppressors, and they did not seem to be helping so I thought I would tr…
Coconut Counters Chronic Colitis
Q. Thank you for writing about coconut for treating ulcerative colitis. I was diagnosed with colitis in 1980, and had three feet of my colon removed. My condition was moderate to severe and I was taki…
Electrolyte Replacement May Prevent Cramps
Have you ever experienced a muscle cramp? The pain can be excruciating. It is especially hard on athletes. We have heard from serious bike riders who are many miles from home and become incapacitated …
Home Remedy May Offer Pain Relief
Q. My husband and I are both suffering from arthritis pain. His knees hurt and I have problems with my thumbs and my hips. My doctor says hip replacement is in my future. We have tried glucosamine and…
Will Eggplant Lower Blood Pressure?
Q. I have heard that if you place pieces of eggplant in water for a couple of hours and then drink the water it helps reduce cholesterol levels and blood pressure. Is this correct or do I have to put …
Gin-Soaked Raisins May Trigger Alarm
Q. I read that if you soak raisins in gin it might help ease arthritis pain. I have pain in my hands and would like to try this remedy.I am a school bus driver and we get tested all the time for drugs…
Lemon Juice Liquidates Warts
Q. My daughter had several warts on her hands and was able to kill them quickly with lemon juice. She dabbed the warts with a sliver of lemon three or four times a day and all of the warts fell of…
Ground Coffee to Stop Bleeding
Q. Ground coffee to stop bleeding really works! I just punctured my pointer finger fairly deeply with a fillet knife and it bled profusely. I had my skeptical husband coat the wound with ground coffee…
Enthusiastic About Ginger for Cold Symptoms
Q. Now that my son is in daycare, I am constantly getting his colds and coughs. What can you recommend for easing the symptoms? I am not big on drugstore remedies.A. Readers of this column are enthusi…
Avoiding Sugar May Help Heartburn
Q. I was on omeprazole for gastroesophageal reflux for several years until I saw a PBS program on heartburn and acid reflux problems. The expert said the worst culprit for heartburn is refined sugar!N…
Home Remedy Resource
Q. I loved the recipe you gave for fennel tea to relieve a sore throat and sinus problems. Is there a book that would have similar home remedies, like teas for common symptoms? I have been searching f…
Mustard Heals Burn from Hot Honey
Q. I foolishly picked up a plastic honey bear that was in a pot of boiling water and the honey squirted out of the little pour hole all over the palm of my hand. Immediately I ran it under cold water …
Oat Bran Lowers Cholesterol
Q. When you wrote about alternatives to Crestor for lowering cholesterol, you failed to mention mine: oat bran. For about 10 years I've been eating 1/2 cup of oat bran every day.I make it into a l…
Ground Coffee Stops Bleeding
Q. I have enjoyed reading about home remedies on your Web site and would like to share mine. Dip a bleeding (cut-nicked-sliced or whatever) finger in ground coffee and the bleeding stops. If after the…
Grape Juice and Certo Keeps Him Running
The best advice we hear about aging gracefully and joyfully is keep moving! Not only is mobility a pleasure in its own right, it can also help maintain range of motion in joints that could otherwise g…
Ginger Against Migraines
Q. Someone was asking about natural migraine remedies and you mentioned spicy hot and sour soup, among other things. I've had migraines since before I was in kindergarten (I'm 58 now), and the…
Overcoming Constipation from Home Remedy
Q. I found that Certo and grape juice really works for my arthritis. However, it seems to make me constipated. Do you have any ideas to counteract the constipation so I can keep taking the Certo and g…
Don’t Give Honey to Babies
Q. I appreciate you writing about home remedies for children when they come down with colds, but I am alarmed that you suggested lemon and honey for coughs. I feel this needs an urgent disclaimer!Hone…
Health Hazards of Natural Licorice
Q. What health concerns may be related to eating a lot of black licorice, especially for children?A. Natural black licorice contains glycyrrhizin. Regular consumption of this compound can have serious…