1801 Home Remedies

Using Home Remedies

At the age of 85, Adelia Liercke of Clarence, Iowa, still takes the same cough medicine that her mother and father used—a mixture of honey, onion, and lemon juice. When Betty W. Bishop of Hampton, Florida, gets a boil, she spreads the membrane of a boiled egg across it to draw out the core—a trick that her mom taught her. When Cindy Leaf of Glenfield, New York, detects the beginning of a cold, she mixes up a potent medicine brew using a family recipe for nature’s penicillin that includes 24 fresh cloves of garlic.

Nearly every family has some home remedies that have been passed along from one generation to the next. Their origins are lost in the mists of time. Who was the first grandmother to serve peppermint tea to a sick grandchild? Why did a woodsman decide to crush the leaves of a jewelweed plant and spread it on poison ivy? Who was the first cook to discover that chicken soup can help you recover from the common cold?

Considering how often favorite home remedies have been used to cure everyday ailments and relieve pain, it’s a pity we don’t know the names of the originators. They deserve Nobel Prizes in Practical Medicine. But maybe there’s a better way to honor their contributions. We can use the home remedies that they so generously passed along to us.

More Than One Thousand Remedies—Right Here!

Home remedies begin at home—and often that’s where the secrets remain.

But with this book, you’re opening the doors to thousands of homes, discovering the cornucopia of remedies that have been passed along for hundreds of years.

Some of the remedies came to us by mail. We heard from Irving W. Kaarlela of Houghton, Michigan, who has a great way to cure hiccups. From Mrs. Asoph Haas of Venturia, North Dakota, we discovered a surefire remedy for insect bites. Faye Edmunds of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, shared her sore-throat cure, while Vince Klinefelter of Loomis, California, donated the secret recipe his mother concocted to help him recover from chilly-weather softball games. Their homegrown methods have been included in the chapters on hiccups, insect stings, sore throat, and colds and flu.

But that was only the beginning. We also uncovered folk cures used by early American pioneers, acupressure treatments of Chinese doctors, and the healing methods of tribal shamans. We discovered the leading home remedies endorsed by naturopathic doctors and massage therapists, herbalists and homeopathic physicians, specialists in cardiovascular medicine and favorite family doctors. Our search for these remedies carried us through history, from the era of Hippocrates to the battle-fields of World War I and the backyard gardens of twenty-first century herbal healers.

Selecting the Best

Though we cast a wide net, our final selection of the best home remedies was a selective process. To be honest, a number of traditional home remedies didn’t make the cut because they were just too . . . well . . . strange. The asafetida bag, once a cherished cure for colds, has a smell so noxious that it’s remembered with horror by those who used it. Other old remedies are so odd and complex that they aren’t worth passing on, except for curiosity’s sake. An Appalachian cure for warts, for instance, was to rub a potato on the wart, place the potato in a sack, and leave the sack at a fork in the road.

Of course, any remedy that does no harm might also do some good, especially when administered by someone who has a gentle, healing touch and cares deeply for the patient. But when we cast out the oddest, least-credible, most-complicated, and slightly risky, we were left with the wonderful (and sometimes wondrous) remedies that you’ll find in this book—the more than 1,801 that have helped heal millions of people. Each of these remedies was then carefully reviewed by our board of advisors—including physicians, highly qualified specialists, and naturopathic doctors—to ensure that they are safe for you to use as recommended.

All Within Reach

As you read about the home remedies in this book—and start to use them yourself—you’ll probably begin to recall tried-and-true healing techniques that come from your own family. But we’ve all gotten so used to blood tests, X rays, high-potency (and high-cost) prescription drugs, and all the other trappings of modern medicine that we tend to forget, or neglect, our amazing legacy of at-home cures. Time-tested remedies are just as useful today as they ever were. The tricks you learned from your parents and grandparents, like sprinkling meat tenderizer on a bee sting or putting a soothing tea bag on tired eyes, aren’t replacements for high-tech treatments, of course. But you can count on them to feel better fast—and, in many cases, to prevent small problems from turning into bigger ones.

There’s something very satisfying about watching a burn heal almost like magic when you follow your grandmother’s advice and apply a dab of aloe vera gel. Or when you inhale the scent of lavender and feel anxiety slip away. But nostalgia isn’t the reason doctors continue to recommend home treatments. They recommend them because they work.

All those drugs in your medicine cabinet? At least 25 percent of them contain active ingredients that are similar or identical to those found in plants. The active substance in aspirin—one of the world’s most popular medications—was originally derived from white willow bark. The decongestant ephedrine is based on chemicals in the ephedra plant. The heart drug digitalis is derived from the foxglove. The cancer drug taxol comes from the Pacific yew tree. In fact, big drug makers continually send teams of scientists to remote locations to scour the countryside for medically promising chemicals.

Finding What Works

In current medical practice, traditional healing techniques are sometimes neglected, but with luck they’re never forgotten. Physical therapists use the same hot and cold treatments that were popular among Native American tribes—treatments that often work better than aspirin, with none of the side effects. Kitchen cuts certainly heal better when you apply a dab of triple antibiotic. But guess what? A slathering of honey does the same thing, and may help the cut heal faster.

Molly Hopkins, a 60-year-old landscape designer in Albuquerque, New Mexico, discovered first-hand that traditional treatments are sometimes superior to their conventional counterparts. I used to get sinus infections every time I got a cold, and then I had to take antibiotics, she says. Her friend, a family physician, told her to start taking echinacea at the first sign of sniffles. I haven’t had a serious cold since—and no sinus infections at all, she says.

Most of us use traditional cures for minor aches and pains, but doctors at top research institutions now realize that they also work for some of our most serious health threats. Take diabetes. Millions of Americans need injections or oral drugs to keep blood sugar levels stable. Those who also eat a clove of garlic daily may naturally lower blood sugar and with it their doses of medicine. Depression is another condition that frequently requires medication, yet studies show that the herb St. John’s wort may be just as effective as drugs for mild to moderate cases. And because the active ingredient (hypericin) enters the body gradually, it almost never causes the side effects common with prescription drugs, such as sexual dysfunction or low energy.

Many of the most popular at-home cures, such as yogurt for yeast infections or chamomile tea for insomnia, have been used for generations. Others—what you might call future traditions that will hopefully be passed along to your children and grandchildren—are being developed all the time.

• Researchers at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center recently found that duct tape, that all-purpose household fix-it, causes warts to disappear in just a few days.

• Creams laced with the herb arnica help bruises heal faster and with less pain because they contain natural painkilling and anti-inflammatory compounds.

• Zinc improves skin blemishes in about a third of people who take it—and this mighty mineral is just as effective as the drug tetracycline at healing severe acne.

Why should I wait three weeks to see a doctor and pay a fortune for a prescription when I know there are some problems I can treat myself? asks Margie Baker, a therapist in Tucson, Arizona. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that a baking-soda bath is good for sunburn. I grew up in Florida, for goodness’ sakes. I know it works.

The Commonsense Approach

While the remedies in this book comprise a veritable treasure-trove of health solutions, there’s nothing like good judgment when it comes to using any home remedy. Sometimes you need to be on the lookout for signs of more serious problems.

Clara Boxer made the kind of mistake doctors always worry about. A 53-year-old Philadelphia accountant, she’d been suffering from occasional dizziness, usually in the morning when she got out of bed. She read on the Internet that ginger is a good remedy for the whirls. She stocked up on ginger supplements at her local health-food store and took them for a few weeks. Then one morning she stood up in the bathtub, passed out, and fell and broke her wrist.

She was lucky in a way. The emergency room doctor who treated her took the time to find out why the accident happened in the first place. Ginger is in fact a traditional remedy for vertigo, a type of dizziness often associated with inner-ear disturbances. But Clara didn’t have vertigo. What she had was orthostatic hypotension, a sudden drop in blood pressure sometimes caused by too-high doses of blood pressure medicine. Her doctor lowered her dose, and the dizziness went away.

Even though most home remedies are safe, people sometimes take them for the wrong reasons. Or they diagnose themselves when they really need a doctor. Some conditions are easy to recognize and treat at home. You don’t need a battery of tests for gums that bleed for a couple of days, or for the occasional upset stomach. But it’s not always easy to tell what’s minor and what’s not.

That’s one reason it’s important to check with your doctor before taking herbs or other supplements, or at least let your doctor know what you’re already taking, especially if you’re using other medicines at the same time. It’s not uncommon for supplements to alter the effects of over-the-counter or prescription drugs—another good reason to be honest with your doctor about what supplements you take. For example, people who take high-dose vitamin E along with blood-thinning drugs have an increased risk of internal bleeding.

Even if a tea or an herb seems completely innocuous, if you’re taking it regularly to treat a health problem—stinging nettle for arthritis, for example, or dandelion to lower blood pressure—let your doctor know. Some herbs aren’t as effective as people claim, and you don’t want to make a mistake and undertreat a potentially serious problem. Even if a supplement is safe and does what the manufacturer says it does, it won’t do a bit of good if you take it for a condition you don’t actually have—and you could wind up missing a health problem that’s too serious to ignore.

Proceeding with Some Cautions

If traditional cures have been used daily for thousands of years, they probably work or people wouldn’t use them. But there are always risks—of side effects, interactions with drugs, or simply using the wrong remedy. The home remedies in this book are supported by anecdotal evidence of their effectiveness—and in many cases by scientific studies—and they have been carefully screened for safety by our board of medical advisors. But there are times when you’ll want to exercise extra caution, such as:

If you are pregnant. Do not take any herbs, supplements, or over-the-counter (OTC) medications without first consulting your doctor. Many of these can affect the health of the fetus, particularly if they are taken in large doses.

If you are taking prescription medication. Talk to your doctor about possible interactions between your prescribed medication and any herbs, supplements, or over-the-counter drugs recommended in this book. The cautions beginning here provide some guidelines about drug, herb, and supplement interactions and some additional cautions. But you should also tell your doctor about any other supplements or medications that you take at the same time—particularly if you have a chronic condition such as diabetes or heart disease.

If you know you are allergic to a food or medication. Exercise caution or consult your doctor before you eat or drink any remedy that might contain the allergen.

If you have a serious health condition. Pay special attention to Should I Call the Doctor? at the beginning of each chapter. The purpose of these home remedies is to help you deal with everyday ailments and improve your overall health—not to mask serious conditions that require medical treatment.

If you are treating a child or infant. Some herbs, supplements, and home remedies just aren’t appropriate for children or babies. Unless a remedy is specifically recommended for children, ask your pediatrician for advice before treating your kids. And choose over-the-counter products designed for children rather than adults (Children’s Tylenol, for instance, instead of regular Tylenol).

Herbal Healing

When James A. Duke slipped a disk in his upper back in the early 1990s, he tried all the things his doctor recommended: rest, ultrasound, and stomach-gnawing doses of anti-inflammatory drugs. He didn’t stop there. He took licorice to settle his stomach, milk thistle to protect his liver from the aspirin, and echinacea before surgery to protect against infection.

Duke, a former botanist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, author of The Green Pharmacy, and a leading expert on medicinal herbs, is one of millions of people who appreciate the healing powers of nature’s plants. In fact, according to the World Health Organization, about 80 percent of the world’s population depends on herbs as their primary source of medical care. They’re cheaper than drugs, and in many cases, they’re just as effective. What’s more, they’re often safer than drugs.

When you’re used to snapping open a childproof cap and popping a convenient capsule, dealing with dried herbs can be a bit daunting. It shouldn’t be. Nearly all herbs are available in capsule or liquid forms, with dosing instructions printed on the label. You can also buy bulk herbs—leaves, seeds, stems, or whatever part of the plant contains the active ingredients—at many health-food stores and brew them into tasty (or not so tasty!) teas.

You can easily grow your own herbs in your garden or in windowsill pots. The usual approach is to snip the stems, rinse the herbs with water to remove any dirt, then hang them upside down to dry. When the leaves feel brittle but aren’t so dry that they crumble, pluck them and store them in a dark container. Packing jars to the lid keeps out oxygen and helps maintain freshness. If you’re using herbs grown for their flowers, harvest the flowers just after the plant blooms.

Most herbal teas call for adding one rounded teaspoon of dried herb (or a tablespoon of fresh) to a cup of boiling water. Steep for about 10 minutes, let cool, then drink. (Teas made from bark, seeds, or roots need to steep longer.) Start with small amounts of tea—say, one to three cups daily. Only use larger amounts under the supervision of a professional herbalist or an herb-friendly doctor.

Grow Your Own: Fresh Herbs Within Reach

You don’t have to have a green thumb to grow medicinal herbs. Most thrive with a minimum of care as long as they’re planted in good soil and get adequate amounts of sunshine. Here are a few versatile herbs to start with:

ALOE VERA leaves contain a clear gel that kills bacteria and helps cuts and burns heal more quickly. It’s among the easiest herbs to grow because it requires little water and no daily care.

Planting tips: Buy a small plant and transfer it to a window planter filled with potting soil. Keep it warm; aloe vera doesn’t like temperatures below about 40 degrees. As long as you keep it warm and watered, it will continue to put out new leaves.

How to use: Cut one of the fleshy leaves and squeeze the gel on minor cuts or burns. The gel dries and forms an invisible bandage, keeping bacteria out and moisture in.

CHAMOMILE is among the sweetest-flavored medicinal herbs. It has anti-inflammatory and intestine-soothing chemical compounds, but most people sip chamomile tea to ease anxiety and insomnia.

Planting tips: German chamomile, the most popular form, is an annual. Sow the seeds in the spring after the danger of frost has passed. Scatter the seeds in beds, tamp them down, and keep the soil moist. Chamomile prefers well-drained soil in areas that are partially shaded.

How to use: Snip the stems and hang to dry. Pluck off the dry leaves and store in dark, sealed containers to preserve the medicinal oils.

GARLIC grows in almost any soil, and it’s among the most potent herbs in terms of flavor as well as healing. Eating a clove or two daily may help prevent colds, lower cholesterol, inhibit blood clots in the arteries, and reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Planting tips: Break cloves from a head of garlic and plant them in full sun about two inches deep. Keep the soil slightly moist at first, but don’t overwater. During summer, cut back the flower stalk so the plant puts all of its energy into producing fat, rich-tasting cloves. Harvest the bulbs in late summer.

How to use: Peel the cloves and add to recipes—or eat them whole if you like the extra-strong taste. Eat one to two cloves daily during the cold season for infection-fighting protection.

LICORICE ROOT has a deliciously sweet taste that’s perfect for teas, especially when you’re fighting a cold or cough. It contains a chemical compound, glycyrrhizinic acid, that suppresses coughs and soothes sore throats.

Planting tips: Licorice is grown from root cuttings that contain eyes. Plant the cuttings vertically about an inch deep in rich, well-drained soil. The plants reach three to seven feet and have beautiful purple flowers. The roots can be harvested in the fall after the first year or two.

How to use: Dig up the roots, split them in half, and store them in a dark, shady place to dry; it takes about six months. Powder the root, add about half a teaspoon to a cup of boiling water, and steep for about 10 minutes.

ROSEMARY belongs in the spice cabinet as well as the medicine chest. It contains chemicals that aid digestion, fight bacteria, and act as a mental stimulant.

Planting tips: You can plant rosemary from seed, but cuttings are more likely to thrive. Place them in full sun in sandy soil, with about one-third of the twig showing. How to use: Strip the leaves and store them in a dark, shady place until dry, then use to make a tasty tea.

Other Supplements

Supplements used to mean garden-variety vitamins and minerals that people took to give their diets a boost. Today, pharmacy shelves practically sag under the weight of amino acids, natural hormones, and antioxidants, to name just a few.

For a long time, doctors pooh-poohed the sometimes extravagant claims of supplement manufacturers. To be sure, there are a lot of questionable products, with claims ranging from instant weight loss to overnight improvements in virility. On the other hand, even tradition-bound doctors have come to realize that some supplements have earned their place alongside conventional drugs.

Glucosamine is a good example. It was initially dismissed by the medical community as snake-oil treatment, but studies in the last ten years have shown that it does in fact help the body repair damaged cartilage. Rheumatologists and orthopedists now routinely recommend it to people who need relief from arthritic joints. Maria Garcia, a Santa Fe homemaker, takes it every morning because it keeps her shoulders mobile and pain-free. Just to see what happened, she quit taking glucosamine for a few weeks—and her pain came right back.

Lycopene is another supplement that’s received a lot of scientific attention. An antioxidant found in tomatoes and sold in supplement form, it helps lower a man’s risk of prostate cancer. Coenzyme Q10, a chemical naturally produced by the body, improves the heart’s pumping ability in people with congestive heart failure. Fish-oil capsules may lower levels of cholesterol along with inflammatory chemicals that increase the risk of heart attack. The list goes on and on.

Buying and Using Herbs and Supplements

You don’t have to spend more than a few minutes on the Internet to realize that a lot of the claims about supplements are dubious, to say the least. Nutritional supplements are given only cursory attention by the Food and Drug Administration. Manufacturers aren’t allowed to promise specific health benefits on the labels, but they can do almost anything else. If you’d like to know more about supplements and what they really do, visit the Web site of the Office of Complementary and Alternative Medicine, part of the National Institutes of Health. There you’ll find useful information, including reports of recent clinical studies.

Even if a herb or other supplement has been proven to be safe and effective, there’s no guarantee that the particular product you’re buying contains the active ingredients in the right amounts. Look to the following advice to help you choose a quality product.

Buy reputable brands. When independent laboratories analyze the contents of supplement bottles, they occasionally find—well, nothing very useful. Supplements may contain little or even none of the advertised active ingredient. And the amounts of those ingredients can vary unpredictably from pill to pill. How can you be sure the brand you’re buying is a good one? One place to start is consumerlab.com. There you’ll find the results of independent tests on many products.

Choose standardized supplements. Whenever possible, buy supplements with the word standardized on the label. This indicates that each pill or capsule contains a specified amount of the active ingredient.

Look for USP. This stands for United States Pharmacopeia, an independent body of experts that sets standards of purity and potency for vitamins, minerals, and some herbs. A label marked USP means the product meets these standards, at least according to the manufacturer. If a label doesn’t say USP, it may be because the USP hasn’t set guidelines for that supplement, or the manufacturer chose not to perform the necessary tests. But if you have the choice between a product that’s labeled USP and one that isn’t, choose the one that is.

Aromatherapy: The Scents of Healing

As you stroll through an herb garden, it’s hard to resist the temptation to pluck a few leaves, crush them between your fingers, and enjoy the rich, pleasant fragrance. We now know those scents are not only pleasant but often therapeutic. Captured in essential oils, the fragrances pass directly to nerve centers of our brain, where they produce a wide range of responses. Essential oils can help relieve anxiety and depression, tame our physical reactions to stress, induce sleep, and enhance energy. Research shows that the scents of certain herbs—such as lavender, bergamot, marjoram, and sandalwood—actually alter brain waves, helping to induce relaxation and sleep.

Today we can get these benefits from commercially prepared, highly concentrated essential oils. A plant may contain as little as one percent fragrant oil, but when that oil is extracted and distilled, the scent is intense. To make one ounce of Bulgarian rose oil, for example, requires 600 pounds of rose petals. One drop of herbal oil holds the equivalent of two cups of tea.

You can enjoy the healing benefits of essential oils in several different ways—inhaling the fragrance, soaking in water that contains an oil, or massaging it onto your skin. To inhale the fragrance, just put a drop or two of essential oil on a handkerchief or several drops on a lightbulb or lightbulb ring. Or, if you want to be surrounded by the scent, you can purchase a vaporizer or diffuser and follow the directions.

When you’re using an oil for bathing or massage, you need to dilute it with a carrier oil. To create a massage oil, add 8 to 12 drops of essential oil to 8 teaspoons of a cold-pressed plant oil such as sweet-almond, grape-seed, or sunflower oil. For bathing, the usual mix is 10 to 30 drops of essential oil in 20 teaspoons of an unscented white lotion. Simply add this mix to the bathwater.

Because essential oils are so highly concentrated, they should not be taken internally. Some people have an allergic reaction to oils, so you’ll want to take some care when trying out a new oil. Also, since essential oils can pass through the skin into the bloodstream, they should not be used by pregnant women. Talk to a qualified practitioner before applying essential oil if you have sensitive skin, epilepsy, high blood pressure, or if you’ve recently had an operation.

To make sure you purchase high-quality essential oils and store them properly, you may want to get some advice from an aromatherapist. Many of these oils can be stored for years without losing their fragrance, though some citrus oils—like orange and lemon—need to be refrigerated. Store them in dark bottles, tightly sealed, preferably in a cool place and always away from sunlight.

What Is Homeopathy?

If you haven’t encountered homeopathy before, you might be wary of the strange little bottles marked with C’s and X’s on the shelves of many health-food stores. But there’s no reason to fear these remedies. The homeopathic mixtures recommended in this book are extremely safe, and many of them have won widespread respect as healing agents—even if it’s impossible to explain why they work.

Imagine taking a single drop of any drug—say, a liquid decongestant. Dilute that drop with 10 drops of water. Shake the mixture well, take out a single drop, and dilute it with another 10 drops of water. Repeat the process a few times, and what’s left? According to the laws of science, not much. But according to homeopathy, the highly diluted mixture is among the most powerful drugs you can take.

You can see why homeopathy, a style of medicine developed by a German physician more than 200 years ago, hasn’t won a lot of support in the mainstream medical community. But the experience of millions of Americans—and a handful of scientific studies—suggest there’s something to it.

Here are the basics. Working from a list of more than 2,000 substances, homeopaths give sick patients a substance that in large doses would mimic the symptoms caused by their disease—but in very small amounts, theoretically relieves the symptoms. Most of the remedies used in homeopathy come from herbs or minerals. For example, St. John’s wort for depression, comfrey for wounds or bruises, and eyebright for tired, burning eyes. But many are diluted with so much water that they contain little or even none of the active ingredient.

Most experts say that homeopathy violates a basic principle of pharmaceutical science: The smaller the dose, the smaller the effects. Yet researchers who study homeopathy have come up with some intriguing results. A study of 478 flu patients, for example, found that 17 percent of those treated with homeopathy improved, compared to just 10 percent of those taking placebos. The prestigious British Medical Journal, in an analysis of 107 scientific studies of homeopathic medicines, found that 77 percent of them showed positive effects.

It’s been suggested that the process of diluting and shaking the solutions somehow potentizes the remaining water and changes its chemical properties. But no one really knows how—or whether—homeopathy actually works. Since the doses of active ingredients are so small, however, there’s no harm in trying it. That’s what Gail Robinson of Kansas City, Missouri, thought when she took homeopathic doses of St. John’s wort for depression. I felt better than I had in years, she says.

You can buy homeopathic remedies in health-food stores, but you’ll still want to work with an experienced homeopath. Different remedies are used for each symptom you’re experiencing—and the remedies as well as the doses may change depending on your mental and emotional state at the time.

The doses used in homeopathy are confusing at first. You’ll usually see them listed as X or C on the label. A 1X remedy has been diluted one time, using one part of the active ingredient in 10 parts water. A 2X solution contains one part of the active ingredient in 100 parts water, and a 3X solution contains one part of the active ingredient in 1,000 parts water. The C solutions are even more dilute; they may not contain even a single molecule of the original active ingredient.

Homeopathy isn’t a substitute for regular medical care. Most homeopaths spend at least an hour with new patients. They take a complete health history, review your symptoms, and decide whether or not homeopathy is appropriate for you—and whether you need to see a conventional doctor.

Mind-Body Medicine

For many of the health conditions in this book, you’ll find a number of remedies that involve meditation, progressive relaxation, yoga, or tai chi. Whatever form they take, relaxation and meditation techniques have proved their power. In recent years, the success of mind-body healing has been borne out by some remarkable evidence.

One of the most well-studied practices is transcendental meditation, or TM. In exploring the benefits of TM, Harvard researcher Herbert Benson, M.D., measured the physical responses of students who would sit quietly with their eyes closed and repeat a word or phrase (called a mantra) over and over again. The twenty-minute exercises were done once or twice a day. Dr. Benson discovered that the profound calm induced by TM could lower blood pressure as well as slow heart rate and breathing. Benson termed this the relaxation response. Many of the stress-relief benefits of meditation also help increase immunity and combat problems such as anxiety and depression.

Since all kinds of meditation and relaxation techniques can be done at home at any time and with minimal preparation, they are recommended for many health conditions, ranging from anxiety and high blood pressure to psoriasis and menstrual problems.

If you have no experience with meditation, start with a simple twenty-minute exercise that will give you some practice. Just sit in a comfortable, upright position, with your back straight, your head upright, and your body relaxed. With your eyes closed, concentrate completely on your breathing. Take deep, steady breaths, feeling the rise and fall of your abdomen, not your chest. Focus on a word or sound, such as peace or om, and repeat it over and over again. Anytime your attention wanders, bring it back to your word or sound and your breathing again. After about twenty minutes, stop, open your eyes, and stretch. Go slowly at first as you stand up and begin to move around again.

If you find that you have difficulty meditating, you might want to get further guidance from an instructor who practices TM, yoga, or tai chi. Many classes are offered at health clubs, community centers, or adult-education centers.

You don’t necessarily have to practice meditation or deep breathing to elicit the relaxation response. Many religions include practices of regular worship or reflection that can provide similar benefits, Dr. Benson has pointed out. Follow-up research has shown that daily prayer, for example, can help relieve various health problems and even help prolong life.

Teaming Up with Professionals

Even though Americans see non-M.D. health professionals more often than we see primary care physicians and spend billions of dollars a year on herbs and supplements, we obviously haven’t given up on conventional medicine. Nor are we interested in substituting one type of medicine for another. What most of us want is the best of both worlds—the cutting-edge tools of modern medicine combined with the natural, at-home treatments that earlier generations depend on.

This approach, known as complementary medicine, makes good sense. If you have heart disease or diabetes, for example, you’ll obviously want the most advanced care you can get. Yet there’s so much you can do yourself at the same time—not only to relieve symptoms and feel better, but also to give nature a hand and help your body reverse the condition or recover more quickly.

Don’t hesitate to talk to your doctor about the remedies you use at home. You may even discover that your doctor has his or her own favorites, like flushing away ear pain with hydrogen peroxide, massaging away a headache, or soothing a rash with an oatmeal bath. After all, conventional medicine and at-home remedies aren’t the adversaries they’re sometimes made out to be. Each has strengths and weaknesses—and both work best when they’re used hand in hand.

If you’re especially interested in herbs, acupuncture, and other natural healing methods, consider seeing a naturopathic doctor (N.D.). These doctors specialize in treating health problems using a wide range of therapies.

The Remedies: A Final Word

This book contains a huge number of remedies from a wide variety of sources, including traditional folk remedies. Many of the traditional recipes we found for teas, elixirs, and tonics called for specific measurements. A grandmother may have specified, for instance, 2 teaspoons of honey, 24 cloves of garlic, or 3 handfuls of pokeberry root. But in many cases the exact amounts aren’t critical to the success of the remedy. So the quantities that you find in this book may differ slightly from those in home remedies that you have heard about from your own family.

For each recipe, however, we’ve included the ingredients that are most likely to provide some direct health benefits, while omitting those that are ineffective or might cause problems.

Whenever possible, we recommend ingredients available from common sources. In some cases, the ingredients in regional recipes have been excluded. Health cures used in India and Pakistan, for example, include herbs and spices such as Indian pennywort, butterfly pea, cardamom, cinnamon, cyperus, and turmeric. In this book, we have only included the ones that can be found in most grocery stores. If you can’t find a remedy in the grocery store, check your local health-food store or medical supply store. If you still have a hard time finding a product, you may be able to order it online, so try searching the Internet.

Of course, many of the remedies in this book don’t require any special supplies at all—just the right food, exercise, or hands-on healing. Temporary relief, or even a cure, may be as near as your kitchen shelf or medicine cabinet.

If one remedy doesn’t work for you, try another. If it does work, be sure to tell a loved one or friend so that they might one day benefit from it too. Happy healing!

Part One

Everyday Ailments

When you itch, ache, or sting, when you’re coughing, sneezing, swelling, or otherwise suffering, it’s deeply comforting to know that there are thousands of effective remedies that can help. And you don’t need a doctor’s prescription for any of them. Just stock your cabinets with a few healing essentials (see The Top 20 Household Healers), then raid your refrigerator, plunder your pantry, harvest your garden, and rob your garage to find what else you need. Some of the remedies, like simple acupressure techniques, are literally at your fingertips. Something ailing you? Find out how to soothe it with oatmeal, pamper it with peppermint, banish it with baking soda, or tame it with tea bags. From bad breath to bug bites, head lice to heartburn, shingles to splinters, here are treatments for more than a hundred health complaints.

Acne

If scientists can decipher the human genome, you’d think they could find a way to eradicate acne. No such luck. It’s up to you to deal with the outbreaks that can damage your pride of appearance long after teenage angst is past. When a pimple rears its ugly black, white, or red head, over-the-counter products can help. But so can simple remedies from Mother Nature’s medicine chest.

What’s wrong

Your skin is producing too much sebum—the thick, oily substance that acts as a natural lubricant—and the excess is blocking your pores. There are two kinds of acne. The most common form, acne vulgaris, shows up on your face, chest, shoulders, or back as blackheads, whiteheads, or red blemishes. Cystic acne appears as painful cysts or firm, painless lumps. Fluctuating hormones caused by puberty, menstruation, pregnancy, perimenopause, or birth-control pills often increase the production of sebum, which can trigger an outbreak of either type. Other culprits include emotional stress, clothing that rubs against the skin, and some drugs, such as steroids. Genetics may also play a role.

Zap Zits Now

• The first avenue of assault is an over-the-counter cream or gel formulated with benzoyl peroxide. It works by mildly irritating the skin, which encourages dying skin cells to flake off. This helps reopen clogged pores. Benzoyl peroxide also kills the bacteria that infect clogged pores.

• Alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs), such as glycolic acid, slough off the outermost layer of skin, which helps keep pores clear and unclogged. Opt for a cream, lotion, or gel that contains 8% glycolic acid.

• At the first hint of a pimple, wrap an ice cube in a piece of plastic wrap and hold it to the area at least twice a day—every hour, if you can, but for no longer than five minutes each time. The cold will reduce the redness and ease the inflammation.

• Pop an aspirin or two. Taking one or two 325-milligram tablets four times a day can help calm an acne outbreak by reducing inflammation. (Check with your doctor before taking aspirin regularly.)

Try Alternative Acne Treatments

• Three times a day, dab a drop of tea-tree oil on blemishes to discourage infection and speed healing. Research has found that 5% tea-tree oil is as effective against acne as a 5% benzoyl peroxide solution.

• For acne that flares at that time of the month, drink one to two cups of chasteberry tea a day. Some studies show that this herb helps regulate female hormones. Give the herb two or three months to work. And don’t drink copious amounts of the tea to hasten the results—it may make your skin look worse.

• Dab vinegar or lemon juice on pimples. All vinegars contain acids that can help flush out pores—so does lemon juice.

• An old folk remedy for healing pimples is to use a mixture of spice and honey on them. Combine 1 teaspoon powdered nutmeg and 1 teaspoon honey, and apply it to the pimple. Leave on for 20 minutes, then wash off. There’s no proof that this helps, but honey does have antiseptic properties.

• Apply aloe vera. One study found that 90 percent of skin sores were completely healed with aloe vera within five days.

• Think zinc. People with acne tend to have lower than normal zinc levels. Zinc supplements produce visible improvement in about a third of people who take them. You’ll need high doses, though—between 200 and 600 milligrams daily—so take it only under your doctor’s supervision.

The Power of Prevention

• If you keep skin free of dirt and excess oil—the thinking goes—perhaps your pores will never get clogged. But overcleansing can cause acne by making your sebaceous glands produce more oil. Forgo granulated cleansers. And avoid washcloths; they are abrasive and can accumulate bacteria if you reuse them. Instead, use a disposable cleansing cloth.

• Make a skin-cleansing solution to help clear up blackheads. Add one teaspoon of Epsom salt and three drops of iodine to one-half cup of water and bring to a boil. Let cool. Dip in a clean cotton pad and use it to clean the pores.

• Men: Rinse your razor in alcohol after you use it so any bacteria it harbors won’t transfer itself to your face.

To Squeeze or Not to Squeeze

If you absolutely, positively must squeeze your blemishes, here’s the dermatologist-approved method—and it’s only valid for whiteheads. Clean the area well. Light a match and hold the tip of a needle in the flame for three seconds. Then gently nick the surface of the pimple. Use a cotton swab to drain it, then clean it with hydrogen peroxide, if you wish. But don’t squeeze or pick—you’ll make it worse. To squeeze a blackhead, use a blackhead extractor, available in drugstores. Soften the blemish with a hot-water compress for 10 minutes before you use it, and wash your hands beforehand to reduce the chances of infection.

Should I call the doctor?

Getting a pimple now and then is no big deal. But a visit to a dermatologist is in order if your blemishes don’t respond to over-the-counter treatments within three months or your skin becomes severely inflamed, with painful, fluid-filled lumps and a reddish or purplish cast. You’ll want a doctor to take a look at your skin if it’s always red and flushed, even if acne isn’t present; you may have the beginnings of rosacea, a skin condition characterized by persistent redness, pimples, and enlarged blood vessels.

Age Spots

Let them count your birthday candles, not your age spots! The best way to block the spots—and skin cancer too—is by slathering on the sunscreen. But if past lapses have shown up on your skin, shop for an over-the-counter fade cream, or raid your kitchen for a simple spot remover. Keep in mind that it may take weeks or months to see improvement. And from this day forward, vow never to leave the house without proper protection.

What’s wrong

Despite their name, these flat or rounded brown spots that dot the backs of your hands or face aren’t caused by age. They’re simply areas of excess pigment, which result from years of unprotected sun exposure. Because it takes decades to see the sun damage, many people won’t notice the splotches until later in life, but people who have had significant sun exposure can develop them in their 20s and 30s. Some drugs can make you more vulnerable to sun damage and related age spots, including tetracycline, diuretics (water pills), and drugs for diabetes and blood pressure.

Lighten Up

• A fade cream called Porcelana contains a 2% solution of the bleaching agent hydroquinone. (Darker spots may need a 3% solution, but for that you will need a prescription from a dermatologist.) Before you use Porcelana, read the package directions.

• Dab the juice of a fresh lemon on the spots at least twice a day. Lemon juice is mildly acidic, and may be strong enough to slough off the skin’s outer layer and remove or lighten age spots.

• Blend honey and yogurt to create a natural bleach that can lighten age spots. Mix 1 teaspoon of plain yogurt and 1 teaspoon of honey. Apply, let dry for 30 minutes, then rinse. Do this once a day.

• Spread your spots with aloe vera gel, straight from the leaves of a living plant, if possible. The plant contains chemicals that slough away dead cells and encourages the growth of new, healthy ones. Apply the gel once or twice a day.

• Try buttermilk. An old folk remedy for age spots, it contains lactic acid, which gently exfoliates sun-damaged skin and pigmented areas.

Go Undercover

• Camouflage age spots with a cosmetic concealer like Dermablend, a heavy foundation sold at major department stores. Ask a salesperson to help you pick the right shade for your skin and show you how to apply it.

The Power of Prevention

• Avoid the sun as much as possible during peak hours—10 A.M. to 4 P.M. during summer, and 10 A.M. to 2 P.M. in the winter.

• Every day, 30 minutes before you set foot outside, slather your skin—including your face and the backs of your hands—with sunscreen. Make sure it has a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 15. The most effective sunscreens for guarding against age spots contain zinc oxide or titanium dioxide. If you will be outdoors for long periods of time, reapply every two hours.

• To help prevent sun rays from penetrating your clothing, try the product called Rit Sun Guard. Added to your laundry during the wash cycle, it boosts the SPF of your clothing and prevents 96 percent of the sun’s ultraviolet waves from reaching your skin.

• After you’ve been out in the sun, slather on some vitamin E oil. An antioxidant, vitamin E may help prevent age spots by neutralizing skin-damaging free radical molecules. Because vitamin E produces free radicals when it’s exposed to sunlight, smooth it on only after sun exposure.

Should I call the doctor?

Age spots, which usually look like dark, smooth freckles, are generally harmless. However, if a spot starts to tingle, itch, change size or color, or bleed, it’s time to call the doctor. Some skin cancers, like melanoma, can look like age spots. If home remedies don’t work on your age spots, your dermatologist can most likely get rid of them through laser treatment or by applying liquid nitrogen.

Allergies

Itchy, scratchy, sneezy—they might sound like three of the Seven Dwarfs, but in fact they’re allergy symptoms that can leave you, well, grumpy. Reach for an allergy pill if you wish—take it before an allergy attack sets in for better results—or try one of the natural antihistamines listed below. You’ll also want to wage war on pollen, mites, dander, and other microscopic menaces that send your immune system into overdrive.

What’s wrong

Allergies? Your symptoms are signs that your immune system is on a rampage, reacting to normally harmless substances like pollen, ragweed, dust, pet dander, or mold. Usually, the immune system ignores these triggers and concentrates on protecting you from real threats, such as viruses or bacteria. But when you have allergies, your immune system can’t tell certain benign substances from dangerous ones. Triggers can include substances you eat (such as wheat and peanuts), absorb through the skin (such as poison ivy or insect venom), inhale (such as mold or dander), or receive by injection (such as a shot of penicillin).

Nature’s Antihistamines

• Nettle contains a substance that works as a natural antihistamine. In fact, the famous naturopathic doctor Andrew Weil reportedly takes it for his allergies. You’ll find capsules of the freeze-dried leaf in health-food stores. Take 500 milligrams three times a day.

• Ginkgo biloba has become renowned for its memory-boosting properties, but it can also be an effective allergy fighter. Gingko contains substances called ginkgolides, which can stop certain allergy-triggering chemicals (platelet activating factor, or PAF) in their tracks. Take 60 to 240 milligrams a day.

• Quercetin, the pigment that gives grapes their purple hue and puts the green in green tea, inhibits the release of histamine. Take one 500-milligram capsule twice a day. (Off-limits . . . if you’re already taking nettle, which contains quercetin.)

Try Something Fishy

• Omega-3 fatty acids help counter inflammatory responses in the body, such as those triggered by allergies. Salmon and mackerel are good sources of these fats. If you prefer the idea of fish-oil capsules, try taking 3,000 milligrams a day.

• Flaxseeds are another excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids. Take one tablespoon of flaxseed oil a day. You can add it to a glass of juice or blend it into a smoothie, but avoid heating it.

Use a Simple Soother

• To soothe red, itchy, swollen eyes, dampen a washcloth with cool water and place it over your eyes. Repeat as often as necessary.

• Saline nasal sprays are time-tested mucus-busters and can also help to keep your nasal passages moisturized. However, a recent study shows that some commercially made sprays contain a preservative that can actually damage the cells of your sinuses, so it may be safer to make your own. Dissolve a half-teaspoon salt in eight ounces warm water. Load a bulb syringe, lean over the sink, and spritz the saline into your nose.

Repel Pollen Attacks

• Stay indoors with the windows closed and the air conditioner turned on to filter out pollen, especially in the early evening, when pollen counts hit their peak.

• Take shelter inside before a thunderstorm—and up to three hours afterward. Storms are preceded by high humidity, which makes pollen grains swell, burst, and release their irritating starch.

• When you have to go out, wear wraparound sunglasses to keep the pollen away from your eyes. And if you don’t mind resembling Michael Jackson, a face mask works well too.

• You can also protect yourself outdoors