Home Remedies
What Are Pros and Cons of Cinnamon for Blood Sug…
Millions of American adults have prediabetes. The CDC defines this as having fasting blood sugar over 100 but less than 126 mg/dL, the cut-off for a diagnosis of diabetes. Learning that you have predi…
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 …
Can Soap Chips in Your Socks Ease Leg Cramps?
Leg cramps can be terribly painful. Athletes exercising in hot weather do all they can to avoid them, including sipping pickle juice. But ordinary mortals can get them, too, during daytime activities …
Better Diet for Poor Americans Is Not a SNAP
Poor diet may underly a wide range of undesirable health problems, from obesity to diabetes and heart disease. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) was designed to help very low-income…
Will Extra Vitamin C Prevent Colds?
Every winter, millions of people suffer with congestion, coughs, fever and other symptoms of the common cold. They may lose days from work. (If they don't take time off, they spread the virus causing …
Pomegranate Juice and Rosuvastatin…a Surpr…
Do you know which foods might react badly with your medications? As a graduate student in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Michigan over 50 years ago I was intrigued by food and dru…
Study Shows No Need to Shun Coffee to Keep Heart…
Coffee has a bad reputation when it comes to irregular heart rhythms. For years, cardiologists have warned patients with atrial fibrillation to avoid coffee. They worried that caffeine would aggravate…
DASH Diet for High Blood Pressure
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…
Are There Helpful Home Remedies for Eczema?
Eczema is a common skin problem, sometimes referred to as "the itch that rashes." Doctors call this condition atopic dermatitis. They don’t know precisely what causes it, although some individuals h…
Milk of Magnesia Is Magnificent Deodorant
Most people think of milk of magnesia as a liquid laxative. That is how it is marketed, and it is certainly effective for that purpose. But many readers have found that topical milk of magnesia makes …
Should You Worry About Serious Melatonin Side Ef…
Millions of people take melatonin every night to fall asleep. How many millions? That's anybody's guess. Tracking dietary supplement use is challenging. A research letter in JAMA (Feb. 1, 2022) report…
Beets Lower Blood Pressure
Doctors love scientific explanations for how things work. That is why they are quick to prescribe medications for a variety of conditions. FDA approval provides reassuring evidence of effectiveness. U…
Common Lack of Vitamin B12 Linked to Depression …
Vitamin deficiencies are supposed to be a thing of the past. But a lack of vitamin B12 may be surprisingly common. Most people don't think twice about this nutrient, also known as cobalamin. Vitamins …
Listerine Cured Infectious Dandruff
Flakes on the shoulder is a likely sign of dastardly dandruff. A businessman wearing a perfectly tailored suit can completely destroy his polished image with snowy shoulders. Ditto for a woman in a bl…
Natural Approaches for Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is common and challenging to treat. People who have IBS may feel incredibly frustrated because often doctors tell them there is no observable problem. All the same, they…
How to Ease Arthritic Knees with Natural Remedie…
Osteoarthritis puts its victims in a dreadful double bind. The nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that are the standard pain relievers for arthritis, such as diclofenac (Voltaren), ibupro…
Does Berberine Protect Against Diabetes and Pros…
Berberine is a fascinating compound. It is one of the key constituents of the Oregon grape holly plant (Mahonia aquifolium). Traditionally, this natural compound was used to treat digestive disorders …
Do Glucosamine and Chondroitin Increase Your Cho…
What happens if you take something for a presumed benefit only to discover that it has a downside? This happens pretty frequently with pharmaceuticals; everyone is familiar with the idea of side effec…
Beating Back Garlic Breath with Parsley or a Spo…
Garlic breath can be a real social disadvantage. As delicious and healthful as garlic may be, the consequence can really put others off and even cause trouble within families. What can you do? Taming …
Zinc for the Common Cold…Just NOT in the N…
People have been searching for a cure for the common cold for centuries. To date, we have seen nothing that actually overcomes cold viruses the way antibiotics conquer bacteria. (By the way, antibioti…
Is There Anything to the Pycnogenol Hype?
Dietary supplements can go through fads. One year, there is a lot of enthusiasm for the supplement du jour. The next year, you hear nothing about it. Part of that is driven by the research–or lack t…
How Can a Man Tell if He Needs More Testosterone…
Historically, the FDA has been quite clear that it does not approve routine prescribing of testosterone, even if men have low levels of this hormone. Here was the official word from the feds: "None of…
Fresh Onion Juice for Kitchen Burns
If you have ever reached into the oven without a potholder in place, you know why first aid remedies for burns are popular. Let's start with the official first aid advice: Get the burned skin under co…
Can Vicks VapoRub on Your Soles Calm Your Cough?
Sometimes a cough can linger on long after the respiratory infection that triggered it has vanished. What do you do for such a cough? We have heard from a surprising number of people that smearing Vic…
Can Vitamin B3 (Nicotinamide) Really Help Preven…
Skin cancer is the most common type of malignancy in the US. Between 40 and 50 percent of Americans will be diagnosed with either basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma by the age of 65. That…
Soap Under the Sheet Can Prevent Nocturnal Leg C…
Nocturnal leg cramps really get in the way of a good night's sleep. You might be sound asleep, possibly even dreaming, and bam! You wake up with a horrible charlie horse or, even worse, an iron-hard m…
How to Harness the Healing Power of Garlic
Certain time-honored remedies have had such a reputation in folk medicine that it can be difficult to determine how much of the reputation is hype and how much could be supported by science. Garlic is…
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 …
Dermatologists Are Unhappy with PediatricianR…
Many parents become so frustrated dealing with lice infestations that they are tempted to pull their own hair out. Some parents are concerned about having to use insecticides repeatedly. As lice devel…
Milk of Magnesia for Odd Underarm Odor
Have you ever heard of using the laxative Milk of Magnesia (MoM) as a topical application for the armpits? Many readers have tried it and told us that they have found this an innovative way to manage …
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…
Acupuncture for Low Back Pain, Even Pain During …
Chronic low back pain can be agony to endure as well as challenging to treat. Humans appear to be especially vulnerable to low back pain. On any given day, roughly one-fourth of American adults have b…
What Are the Health Benefits of Cocoa Flavanols?
Do you think of chocolate as a sinful snack or a healthy bite? Chocolate candy itself probably should be considered sinful. It usually contains too much sugar to count as health food. The cocoa flavan…
Will a Mediterranean Diet Help Your Psoriasis?
Following a Mediterranean style diet with lots of vegetables, extra-virgin olive oil, whole grains and fish is good for your heart and your metabolism. Several studies suggest this way of eating might…
Can Beet Juice Really Lower High Blood Pressure?
If you have hypertension, your doctor has probably prescribed medicine to lower high blood pressure. You may have gone through quite an extensive period of trial and error to find a drug that works wi…
Is a Green Mediterranean Diet Healthy for Head a…
Many previous studies have shown that following a Mediterranean diet has cardiovascular benefits. Such an eating pattern leans heavily on vegetables, fruits and whole grains and is light on meat and s…
Will Onion Cough Remedy Help Your Cold?
Every fall or winter, we hear from people who'd like to share their favorite family remedies for coughs, colds and flu. We haven't conducted research on any of these, but one that keeps cropping up ye…
High Doses of Vitamin B6 Could Cause Nerve Damag…
What happens when you take high doses of vitamin B6? A deficiency of this crucial nutrient has been linked to nerve damage, particularly nerve pain. But scientists are unsure if supplements help. More…
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…
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…