Home Remedies
Can Science Explain Why Vicks on the Feet Calms …
Around the year 2000 a nurse called into our syndicated radio show to tell us that she calmed nighttime coughs by applying Vicks VapoRub to the soles of her children's feet. She then put socks on the …
What Can You Use for Psoriasis If You Can’…
Although no one knows precisely what causes psoriasis, most experts believe this skin condition gets worse when the immune system is especially stressed. Skin cell growth goes into overdrive, and cell…
New Ways to Get Rid of Skin Tags
Skin tags have a fancy medical name: acrochorda (a single tag is called an acrochordon). Dermatologists also call them fibroepithelial polyps. These are soft, fleshy growths that often show up in armp…
Show 1491: Would Eating Better Reduce Brain Fog?
Do you run out of go-power in the middle of the morning? Maybe you find it hard to focus and your ability to call on your memory is strained. Or perhaps you suffer from an after-lunch slump. Some peop…
How Does Drinking Tea Affect the Risk for Osteop…
People often think of osteoporosis as a condition that affects elderly women, creeping up on them unannounced and making them as fragile as porcelain. While it is true that many people with osteoporos…
When Drugs Are Dangerous, What Remedies Ease Art…
People with arthritis often face a terrible dilemma because the medications that are most commonly used to ease stiffness and discomfort in the joints can have nasty side effects. NSAIDs such as diclo…
Natural Ways to Get Your Cholesterol Down
Cholesterol is only one of numerous risk factors for heart disease. However, physicians can't do much about some of your other risk factors, such as your family history. They can prescribe medications…
Poison Painful Plantar Warts With Peculiar Remed…
Plantar warts on the sole of the foot can be quite difficult to treat. They can also make walking pretty painful. No wonder people are enthusiastic about some strange remedies, so long as they work. Y…
Can You Remove Skin Tags With a Remedy?
Have you wondered about skin tags? These little growths are not dangerous, but they certainly can be annoying. They tend to grow in places where they may encounter the friction of skin rubbing against…
Will Eating Produce Ward Off Heart Failure?
When your grandmother urged you to eat your vegetables, she had your health at heart. She might not have known why, but scientists have confirmed that people who eat about a cup of dark green leafy ve…
Can You Manage Your Blood Sugar Naturally?
Metformin is a first-line medication for people with type 2 diabetes. Although doctors also prescribe it for different disorders, from polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) to prostate cancer, the majori…
Olive Oil Combats Vaginal Dryness
Menopause is a natural phase in a woman's life, but that doesn't mean it is always comfortable. In addition to hot flashes and night sweats that can disturb sleep, many women experience vaginal drynes…
Stock Your First Aid Kit from the Kitchen
The trouble with most first aid kits is that you don't have them when you need them. They are usually stored safely in a bathroom closet or perhaps in the trunk of the car. What if you could put toget…
Will Lavender Oil Ease Anxiety, Insomnia or Depr…
Aromatherapy, the use of plant materials with notable fragrance, has long been popular in Europe. It is now becoming more widely adopted in the US as well. In this approach, people utilize the essenti…
Are There Natural Remedies for Constipation?
Constipation is a very common complaint. While doctors rarely become concerned about constipation unless the patient seems to have obstructed bowels, sufferers find that this problem really affects th…
How to Use Soap in Bed for Nighttime Leg Cramps
If you suffer from leg cramps that wake you up at night, you've no doubt sought some way to prevent them. Some people find that taking minerals such as magnesium or potassium may help to ward off leg …
How Can You Find Natural Cough Medicine That Wor…
Have you ever looked for a natural cough medicine that you can take until you recover from your cold or bronchitis? Some readers have encountered cold remedies in Europe that they found helpful. When …
Will Low-Carb Diets Boost Liver Health?
For years, doctors and dietitians have been arguing about the best diet for people with diabetes. The American Diabetes Association has long recommended cutting fat, especially saturated fat, which le…
What Is the Best Time to Eat?
A small study shows that the timing of meals can have a profound impact on blood sugar, insulin secretion and blood pressure. But what is the best time to eat? A reader is concerned that her late-nigh…
Will Boosting Your Step Count Save Your Life?
How many steps do you take a day? You may have heard that you should be taking 10,000 steps a day. Initially, that ideal step count was not based on evidence, but rather was a marketing maneuver by a …
Is Listerine a First Aid Kit in a Bottle?
Some household staples are so versatile that people use them for nearly everything. Where would we be without baking soda and vinegar in the kitchen cupboard and Epsom salts or Vicks VapoRub in the ba…
Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Relieved With Biofr…
There are some medical conditions that are surprisingly common but quite mysterious. You have probably heard of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Doctors now call it myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME). The …
Turmeric Raises the Risk for Severe Nosebleeds a…
We commend any effort to control health problems with nondrug approaches such as food choice, exercise, meditation, stress relief and so on. But we caution that it is critical to understand that even …
Preventing Sunburn from the Inside Out with Aspi…
Fifty years ago, it was hard to avoid sunburn. Sunscreens were crude. The most effective sun blocker, zinc oxide cream, went on ghostly white. It looked funny, though it did keep lifeguards from burni…
Will Saffron Delay Age-Related Macular Degenerat…
As people grow older, the retina of the eye may deteriorate. In particular, the central part of the retina, known as the macula, is very vulnerable. Age-related macular degeneration causes visual impa…
St. John’s Wort Can Lift Mood But May Dama…
About twenty years ago, people who were reluctant to take prescription antidepressants were excited to learn that the herbal medicine St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) could help alleviate mild t…
For Some Readers, Almonds Help Heartburn More Th…
Many people use over-the-counter acid-suppressing drugs to ease the uncomfortable symptoms of heartburn, indigestion or acid reflux. Medicines such as omeprazole (Prilosec OTC) or esomeprazole (Nexium…
Vinegar Stars as Surprising Antidote to Sting of…
Fire ants are an invasive species in the southern United States, gradually making their way northward. These aggressive ants live in colonies and they have a ferocious and painful sting that feels lik…
Should You Let Food Be Your Medicine?
While millions of people around the world struggle with overnutrition and obesity, older people living on their own are at risk for undernutrition. That, in turn, is associated with frailty and even c…
Can You Control Cholesterol Naturally?
Let's not arm wrestle about the cholesterol theory of heart disease. Most cardiologists believe LDL cholesterol is the culprit behind clogged coronary arteries. That's why they are very quick to presc…
Natural Approaches for Arthritis May Provide Rel…
Many readers have noticed that as they add more candles to their birthday cakes, their joints may get stiffer and become painful. Although over-the-counter pain relievers are popular, they do have sid…
Will Extra Vitamin C Prevent Colds?
This year, some people suffered from summer colds, although these respiratory infections appear to be more common in other seasons. Every winter, millions of people suffer with congestion, coughs, fev…
What Are the Best Remedies for Under-Breast Rash…
Women rarely talk about one delicate problem that many of them experience. It is especially common when the weather is warm and humid. These conditions favor the growth of yeast or fungus in skin fold…
DASH Diet, Not Processed Food, to Control Blood …
For nearly 30 years, nutrition scientists studying dietary outcomes have noted that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy products can help people control their blood pr…
Natural Approaches Including Hot Pepper Solution…
Hair loss is hardly life-threatening, but it certainly can be distressing. Could polyphenol extracts from plants like green tea or grape seed counteract hair loss? That may sound silly, but a few stud…
Overcoming Stubborn Adult Acne by Changing Your …
Many people think of acne as a particularly adolescent affliction. While it is true that many teenagers suffer with the zits and blemishes of acne vulgaris, grown-ups are not immune to this condition.…
Cure Athlete’s Foot with Time-Honored Reme…
Have you checked out your toes lately? Look closely at the area between the toes to see whether there is red or peeling skin. If there is, you might have athlete’s foot, and you may find that the ar…
What Are the Risks of Glucosamine for Arthritis?
For decades, we have been agnostic about the use of glucosamine for arthritis. Some readers praised this dietary supplement while others denounced it. Studies have arrived at conflicting conclusions. …
Can Restricting Eating Time Help Control Blood S…
People at risk of developing type 2 diabetes may be able to reverse this process by restricting eating time to a nine-hour period every day. Other approaches that seem to rely on the same body process…
Will Cherry Juice or Melatonin Ease Arthritis Pa…
Whoever said "Growing older isn't for sissies!" probably had arthritis. Although it sometimes strikes younger people, the constant ache in knees and hips can make it hard for older adults to keep movi…