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.
Is Wife Poisoning Husband with Saltpeter?
Q. I have a question about the effects of saltpeter on erections. I have reason to believe my wife is feeding me saltpeter. I am a very sexual person who has no problems getting and maintaining an ere…
Does Goat’s Milk Protect Against Poison Iv…
Q. When I was two, I was very ill and was hospitalized in a sanitarium. There the children were fed goat's milk. The goats roamed the hills around the hospital and foraged on poison oak. I have been i…
Smelly Solution for Stubborn Warts
Q. I've had good luck getting rid of warts with minced garlic. Apply it directly to the wart and cover it with a bandage. Change the garlic and the bandage at least once a day. The wart should be peel…
Don’t Drive After Eating Gin-Soaked Raisin…
Q. Some of the people in my multiple sclerosis support group use the gin and raisins remedy for achy muscles and joints. Does the alcohol evaporate entirely? Would there be cause for worry if a person…
Cinnamon and Mustard Lower Blood Sugar
Q. I have been using cinnamon to help control my blood sugar for the last 4 years. Using 1/4 teaspoon in boiling water to make a cinnamon tea lowers my blood sugar readings from about 185 to 135 in on…
Don’t Give Dogs Gin-Soaked Raisins
Q. My 11-year-old dog suffers from severe hip dysplasia and arthritis. I read in your column that gin-soaked raisins relieve arthritis pain in people, so I decided to try it on my dog. I am giving him…
Don’t Eat Poison Ivy Leaves
Q. I heard a radio show caller say that an old-timer had told him to pick two small, new, reddish poison ivy leaves each spring and roll them inside a dough ball and swallow them to be immune from poi…
Ground Black Pepper Stops Bleeding
Q. Last night I sliced my finger on the inside of a can that I was rinsing out. It was a fairly significant cut. I rinsed it and applied pressure, then went to the cupboard and pulled out a packet of …
Sloe Gin Eases Arthritis Pain
Q. Golden raisins soaked in gin were ineffective against my arthritis pain, but raisins in sloe gin were immediately and totally effective. Thanks for the suggestion. A. Thank you for the testimonial.…
Will Sniffing Hot Pepper Cause Harm?
Q. I've heard that capsaicin nasal spray was used to treat migraines in a study. I've also read accounts online of migraine sufferers who put capsaicin powder into their nostrils as a nonprescription …
Blood Pressure Benefits from Chocolate
Q. I've got a comment about the dark chocolate controversy on whether it is irresponsible to recommend chocolate for health benefits. I started eating Hershey's dark chocolate when it was on sale a fe…
White Vinegar May Help Dry Skin
Q. I used to have severe dry skin. My hands were always dry and chapped. Then a friend told me to dip my hands in a solution of 2/3 white vinegar and 1/3 water. Leave it on one or two minutes and then…
Yogurt Helps Painful Hangnails
Q. My 5 year old has terrible hangnails. Do you have a simple remedy for this annoying condition? A. One reader shared this: "I had a hangnail that had gotten very inflamed. A friend of mine from Iran…
Earl Grey Tea Linked to Muscle Cramps
Q. I wonder whether some additive to Earl Grey tea may cause muscle pain and cramping. I am a yoga teacher with a generally mobile body. Over the past couple of years I have suffered worsening muscle …
Peanut Butter Dose Is Lethal
Q. You've discussed remedies for hiccups in your column. You got a warning about eating peanut butter off a spoon and responded: "If someone has trouble swallowing, it would be prudent to avoid peanut…
Is Peanut Butter Safe As Hiccup Remedy?
Q. I was surprised to see in a recent column a suggestion for swallowing peanut butter as a cure for hiccups. Years ago I read that one should never eat peanut butter unless it is on a cracker, bread,…
Prick Up Your Ears for Hiccup Cure
Q. I have a hiccup cure that I've used all my life and passed on to my kids: Have someone stand behind you and pull straight up on your ears while you take sips of water. I do this by myself by taking…
Blueberries May Be Healthy for Heart
Q. Do blueberries have any bad side effects for cardiac patients? I put some fresh berries in my yogurt every day. A. Blueberries are rich in fiber and antioxidants. Rats fed a diet rich in blueberrie…
Science Supports Cherries to Fight Gout
Q. I have heard that sour cherry juice can ward off gout attacks. Have you heard of this remedy? My doctor thinks it is ridiculous. A. Cherries have traditionally been recommended for gout prevention,…
Curry Spice May Suppress Urge to Gamble
Q. All my life my knees have ached at night. I would use Aleve, arthritis-strength aspirin or Tylenol and usually woke up and had to take more about 3 am. I read in your column about using turmeric fo…
Spice Rack Discovery Lowers Blood Sugar
Q. I found a spice in my spice rack that I had never heard of and I had no instructions on how to use it. In researching fenugreek as a spice I found that it is one of the most overlooked medicinal he…
Is Cranberry Sauce Safe with Blood Thinner?
Q. I take the anticoagulant Coumadin and I have read that drinking cranberry juice may increase my risk of bleeding. Would that hold for cranberry sauce as well? I love it. A. There is still no consen…
Sliced Onion for Wasp Stings
People use all sorts of remedies for bee or wasp stings. Some swear by tobacco juice, but that is getting hard to come by as the habit of chewing tobacco is fading (along with cigarette smoking). Othe…
Vinegar for Underarm Odor
Almost all antiperspirants contain aluminum, in one form or another. It is hard to say at this time whether we absorb any of that aluminum into our systems and even if we did, whether it would be harm…
Can Garlic Ward Off Colds?
**Q. I have been eating two cloves of raw garlic every day at my evening meal. It may be a coincidence, but I have not had a cold in over 10 years and I don't get sick for any other reason either. I'm…
Sauerkraut Juice for Canker Sores
One of the strangest remedies we have ever heard of involves sauerkraut juice against canker sores. Take a tablespoon of sauerkraut juice in your mouth and swish it around morning and night, then swal…
Honey & Lemon Juice for Constipation
Here's a remedy that goes back generations. We can't explain or vouch for it... but it has been popular for a long time to promote regularity. A reader shared the following: "I have always had problem…
Flaxseed for Constipation
Flaxseed is rich in soluble fiber. One reader has found a way to utilize this property to prevent constipation: "I purchase flaxseed in bulk at a health food store for about $1.50 per pound. I put thr…
Banana Peel for Warts
Warts are extremely susceptible to home remedies, and many have been developed for this common condition. One of our favorites is readily available at any grocery store. Tape a small piece of banana s…
Pomegranates Have Many Health Benefits
Have you eaten a pomegranate? The fruit features in Greek mythology in the story of Persephone, daughter of the harvest goddess Demeter. Hades, the lord of the underworld, kidnapped the beautiful maid…
Tea Eases Heartbreak of Eczema
Q. Thank you for your advice to try oolong tea for eczema. It's been like a miracle. I've had eczema on my scalp for most of my life. I would have terrible itching and scaling on my scalp that would u…
Vinegar for Fungus
There are so many uses for vinegar it boggles the mind. An otolaryngologist (ear, nose, and throat specialist) recommended rinsing the ear with the following solution: one part vinegar to five parts t…
Ginger Tea for Colds
We love this ginger tea remedy and use it whenever we feel a cold coming on. It came to us from a radio listener in the hills of West Virginia but originated with her grandmother in India. Grind about…
Gin Soaked Raisins for Arthritis
We have received more mail about this "raisin remedy" than any other home remedy we have written about. Many people are incredulous that eating nine gin soaked raisins daily could do anything for pe…
Avoiding Migraines with Wheat-Free Diet
Q. I suffered from migraine headaches for more than 10 years. I saw several neurologists, but my intense headaches forced me to take early retirement. In the fall of 2002, I went from 3 headaches a we…
Seniors Sneak Gin For Arthritis Relief
Q. Some elderly friends recently told a group of us that they were surreptitiously going to the liquor store and purchasing gin so they could soak golden raisins in it and eat a few daily. This was ac…
Cutting Carbs Controls Indigestion
Q. Years ago, I was overweight and had high blood pressure. So my doctor put me on a diet. When I reached a plateau, the doctor told me to cut out bread. It worked. I lost the desired amount and my bl…
Will Eggplant Lower Blood Pressure?
Q. Have you ever heard of this remedy for high blood pressure? Wash but don't peel a medium eggplant. Dice it into 1-inch cubes. Place the cubes in a glass gallon jug and cover the eggplant with disti…
Lowering Cholesterol With A Bit Of Cinnamon
Q. I have a history of high cholesterol dating at least to bypass surgery about 12 years ago. My cholesterol was running around 290. Several months ago I decided to try cinnamon, about a quarter teasp…
Will Lemon Conquer Nail Fungus?
Q. I have suffered for years with a fungal growth under my big toenail and would like to get rid of it. I read somewhere that sticking my big toe in half a lemon every night would do this. Apparently …