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.
New Guidelines on Flavanols Can Help Improve Hea…
For generations, children have been urged to eat their fruits and vegetables. Now, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has issued guidelines that support this advice (Advances in Nutrition, Oct 3, …
Pickle Relish Will Do in a Pinch Against Leg Cra…
Over the years, we have collected quite a number of home remedies for sudden painful muscle cramps. Often these are leg cramps, but occasionally muscles in the hands or arms cramp as well. One favorit…
Picking a Diet That Lowers Blood Pressure
Are you looking for a diet that lowers blood pressure? Most healthcare practitioners would recommend the DASH diet. The acronym stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. Many studies have sh…
Grapefruit Lowers Blood Pressure
Natural products were an essential part of the pharmacopeia until the end of the 20th century. Starting around 1950, scientists valued synthetic medications more than botanical products. Consequently,…
Styptic Pencil: How Does It Work and Is It Safe?
Have you ever heard of a styptic pencil? Most young people today have no idea what such a thing is. Even a lot of older people are clueless. First and foremost, it is not a writing instrument! It is s…
Nutritional Support for Burning Mouth Syndrome
Have you ever burned your mouth on hot tea or coffee? What about food that was unexpectedly hot right out of the microwave, such as pizza or a hot pocket? Such burns can be uncomfortable, but they usu…
Pectin and Grape Juice to Ease Sore Joints
People with arthritis usually rely on nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen or naproxen for pain relief, but these medicines can cause trouble if a person takes them for a lo…
Best Diet for People with Diabetes Is Low in Car…
Diabetes experts have been arguing about the best diet for patients with type 2 diabetes for decades. Past and present studies now show that a diet low in carbs can help people with type 2 diabetes lo…
Can You Lower Blood Sugar with Cinnamon?
You've no doubt heard that type 2 diabetes has reached epidemic levels in this country and many others. That means that millions more people have pre-diabetes, blood sugar that is headed in the wron…
How Can You Use Beets for Better Blood Pressure?
With concerns about contaminated antihypertensive medications, many people are interested in ways to lower their blood pressure without drugs. There is a wide range of options: exercise, weight loss, …
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 …
Do Blueberries Help Older People with Memory?
Could blueberries help improve blood pressure and cognitive function in older people? Researchers have been considering this question for years. The latest study suggests that wild blueberries may imp…
Is It Unhealthy to Drink Unfiltered Coffee?
The health consequences of drinking coffee have stirred quite a bit of controversy over the years. According to legend, a goatherd noticed that his goats were extra frisky after eating coffee berries,…
Do You Swallow a Spoonful of Mustard for Heartbu…
Do you suffer from heartburn? Many people do, judging from the popularity of acid-suppressing drugs such as esomeprazole (Nexium), lansoprazole (Prevacid) or omeprazole (Prilosec). Antacids like Maalo…
Beet Juice Was Better Than a Drug for Lowering B…
Some natural products have an impressive ability to affect human physiology. Among these are vegetables naturally high in nitrate, particularly beets (referred to in England as beetroot). Research sho…
Cabbage Juice Remedy Cured Chronic Heartburn
How do you manage heartburn? Many people use over-the-counter medicines such as Pepcid or Nexium. Others, presumably with more chronic or more serious reflux, are taking prescription medication such a…
10 Favorite Wart Remedies That Work!
Warts are mysterious. They raise more questions than answers. We do know that warts are caused by a virus (human papilloma virus or HPV). How that virus penetrates the skin on fingers, hands or knees …
Pickle Juice Perfect for Restless Foot
Restless leg syndrome (RLS) is a condition in which the person feels a compulsion to move the feet or legs. Some people describe a "creepy" or "crawly" sensation relieved only by movement. Others repo…
Cinnamon Offers Health Benefits but Also Carries…
For a spice that has a history going back over 4,000 years, you would think that there wouldn't be much controversy or confusion. Au contraire. Cinnamon offers health benefits, to be sure, but the pro…
Power Pudding Is Nurses’ Secret Weapon Aga…
Americans are experiencing an epidemic of chronic constipation. A study published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology (June, 2020) reports that CIC (chronic idiopathic constipation) "affects 9…
How Can You Get Off the Laxative Merry-Go-Round?
Laxatives remain one of the most popular products in the pharmacy. Millions worry that if they do not have a bowel movement every day they will become sick. Sometimes a laxative habit can develop over…
When Drugs Are Dangerous, Natural Remedies Ease …
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…
Diet and Exercise Can Help You Manage Diabetes
Being told you have a chronic health problem like type 2 diabetes can be frightening. It often triggers a cascade of prescriptions intended to manage diabetes and keep blood sugar under control. Using…
Is Coffee Really Bad for You?
Health professionals just can’t seem to make up their minds about coffee. Is it good or really bad for you? They have been arguing about the pros and cons of coffee drinking for at least half a cent…
Eating Prunes Can Reduce Inflammation and Improv…
In the 1970s the California Prune Advisory Board promoted its product as the “FUNNY FRUIT.” These days, prunes are advertised as dried plums. Researchers at Penn State investigated how eating prun…
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…
Black Pepper Boosts Turmeric’s Benefits
Scientists have been studying the yellow spice turmeric and its primary component curcumin for more than two decades. They have found evidence that it has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anticancer…
Why Don’t Doctors Prescribe Vitamin C for …
Pain gets everyone's attention. Whether it's a stubbed toe or a headache, heartburn or arthritis, pain signals that something has gone wrong. With appropriate treatment, most of these conditions are m…
Healthful Diets Help People Live Longer, Healthi…
Have you ever wondered whether healthful diets make a real difference? A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine shows that they do. Moreover, the scientists found that there is not just one good di…
Does Chocolate Really Help Your Heart?
Most people think of chocolate as a sinful indulgence. We may be prepared to pay the price of the extra calories, but we don't expect it to have any health benefits. Might we be wrong, though? Could c…
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…
Women Who Eat Mediterranean Diets Improve Pregna…
The Mediterranean diet has gotten a lot of attention for the health benefits it can provide. These include common but important factors like lower cholesterol, a reduced likelihood of diabetes and eve…
Walnuts are Good for Heart Health!
There is growing awareness that chronic inflammation contributes to cardiovascular disease (CVD). We have reported that anti-inflammatory foods can reduce the risk of complications from CVD (Journal o…
Caffeine Consumption Cuts Risk of Type 2 Diabete…
The most common drug in the world has surprisingly strong health benefits. Caffeine consumption through drinking coffee and tea can help reduce the risk of Parkinson’s disease or type 2 diabetes. Th…
People with Diabetes Do Better on Low-Carb Diets
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…
Show 1298: The Health Benefits of Tart Cherries …
In our nationally syndicated radio show this week, we talk with two scientists who have been studying how eating cherries affects our physiology. Both are experts in sports medicine who have done some…
Give the Best Gift This Holiday: Better Health f…
The most valuable gift is good health, not a new wallet, a fancy phone, or a smart speaker. The last thing mom needs is a new gadget. How about health info that lasts for years? What is most important…
Do People Who Skip Meat Have a Lower Chance of C…
Colorectal cancer is common and deadly. It is the third most common malignancy and the fourth most common cause of cancer death in the world. A new study published in BMC Medicine reports that diet ca…
Will the Gin and Raisin Remedy Help Hip and Knee…
We first heard about the gin and raisin remedy for arthritis nearly 30 years ago. On May 16, 1994 we received this letter: "A neighbor gave my wife a recipe for "arthritis relief" that involves soakin…
Do You Take Olive Oil for Your Blood Pressure?
Have you been looking for natural ways to lower your blood pressure? People who manage their blood pressure with medications are less likely to experience cognitive decline (JAMA, May 19, 2020). What'…