Mother nature is something special. She has a variety of remedies right under our noses that our ancestors probably have used for centuries. Now, many are trying to make a move back to those natural ways.
While consulting with a doctor is always a very good idea, there are a few strange-but-true remedies you can also try:
10. Disinfect a Wound with Honey
No Neosporin in the house? Dab the cut with honey before covering it with a bandage. Believe it or not, honey has powerful antibacterial properties. A study in the Archives of Surgery found that honey is capable of destroying almost all strains of the most common wound-infecting bacteria.
9. Stop Bleeding with Pepper
Next time you nick yourself in the kitchen, reach for the black pepper, says Roberta Lee, M.D., vice chair of the Department of Integrative Medicine at the Beth Israel Medical Center. Run cold water over the wound to clean it, using soap if you were handling meat. Then sprinkle on the pepper and apply pressure. In no time, the bleeding will stop. Turns out, black pepper has analgesic, antibacterial, and antiseptic properties. And don’t worry — it won’t sting.
8. Clear Stuffy Nose With Your Eyebrows
When your nose is stuffy, it’s hard to focus on any other sensation.
To clear up the congestion, just press your tongue flat on the roof of your mouth, and apply pressure between your eyebrows using your tongue. Hold for 20 seconds, and release.
Your sinuses will drain into the back of your throat, and you’ll be able to breathe much easier.
7. Fix Your Scalp with Beer
Celebrities uses this particular health remedy to give their hair that look that is always “camera ready”. Simply wash your hair as you normally would, pour on a cup of the brew of your choice, and let it sit for 5-10 minutes before rinsing it out (which, incidentally, is about the perfect amount of time to finish off the pint or bottle that it came from). Don’t waste your favorite, more expensive beer on your hair because the low cost stuff works just as well.
6. Stop High Fevers Faster With Your Underarms
Anything up to 102°F is mild and can be treated by drinking plenty of fluids. But to quickly bring down a reading above that, put an ice pack under your arm or near your groin. Icing either spot will cool your body’s core. It’s uncomfortable, but it works fast. Then see a doctor.
5. Cure Foot Conditions With Turmeric
Plantar fasciitis (heel spurs) is a medical condition that causes inflammation and pain of the plantar fascia. This is a common cause of heel pain. Symptoms develop gradually and can affect one or both feet.
It is characterized by intense, stabbing pain especially when the first steps are taken in the morning after waking up when we stand long periods or get up after being seated.
Tears to the plantar fascia are caused by tension or repetitive stretching. This inflames and irritates the plantar fascia.
Curcumin, the yellow pigment in turmeric has powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Some people take it in pill form, others add a teaspoon to their massage oil and massage it into their feet.
4. Massage Away Nicotine Cravings
If you’re a smoker who’s trying to quit, try this simple trick the next time a craving hits: Rub the skin between your index fingers and thumbs and the center of your palms. A study in Preventive Medicine found that men using this technique smoked 25 percent fewer cigarettes in a month than 10 quitters who used traditional distraction methods such as chewing gum. The quick self-massage evidently calms you and keeps your hands busy.
3. Prevent Claustrophobia With Fruit
If you get nervous in small spaces such as subways, elevators, and that closet of an office they stuck you in, visit your local fruit stand. A sniff of green apple may help relieve claustrophobic sensations, says Dr. Alan Hirsch, M.D., director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation. Carry one with you. Also, if you’re selling your house, placing a basket of fresh green apples on the table may make potential buyers perceive the house as larger.
2. Remove Warts with Duct Tape
Instead of getting your undesirable warts frozen off, simply apply a strip of duct tape to the affected area. Keep the tape on for three days, remove, rub the wart area with a pumice stone, and then reapply with new tape. Repeat until they are completely gone. Duct tape is an inexpensive way to suffocate the skin virus and remove those unsightly warts. It’s been a Farmers’ Almanac tip for years!
1. Use Drunken Raisins for Pain Relief
Your grandparents may have sworn by this trick to relieve joint pain. The vitamins from golden raisins mixed with the anti-inflammatory effects of the juniper berries used to make gin has been shown to help reduce swelling and ease arthritis pain. Soak golden raisins in gin overnight and eat ten daily.
Other odd health tricks include:
• You can lose weight by paying for groceries with cash. For some reason, you’re more likely to buy unhealthy foods if you pay with a credit card.
• Taking a vitamin D supplement fortifies your muscles, making them less prone to injury.
• Flirting at work is a hidden sign that your job isn’t right for you.
Weird Foods You SHOULD Try
Most American’s stick to the same food, week in and week out without little variation at all. Incorporating more fruits and vegetables into your diet can be a lot more enticing when you have more options. So, look for these the next time you’re in the grocery store or at the farmer’s market.
Jackfruit
Bigger than a watermelon, jackfruit is eaten all over Southeast Asia, where it’s prized for its starchy qualities and often incorporated into vegetarian curries as a result. It has a second use, though, in canned form swimming in heavy syrup, making it suitable for dessert uses. Native to southern India, the plant is a cousin of the mulberry, and jackfruit is the world’s largest tree-borne fruit.
Loofah
Not to be confused with the plastic shower aids in bathrooms across the country nor the late great Luther Vandross, this fruit is also known as ridge gourd. When young and tender, it tastes almost like zucchini, but as the fruit grows old and woody, the flesh melts away, leaving the abrasive skeleton. As a tender young vegetable, loofah is indispensable to Chinese and Indian cooking.
Radicchio Variegato di Castelfranco
Yes, this leaf vegetable that looks like a blood-spattered flower opening is a form of radicchio—and has the slightly bitter taste associated with that popular salad green. This type of radicchio hails from the region around Venice, Italy and is occasionally available at fancier groceries that stock Italian products.
Cherimoya
No, it’s not a funky artichoke-this heart-shaped fruit native to South America is a cherimoya, also referred to as a “custard apple.” While it may be rough and bumpy on the outside, the actual fruit flesh is smooth and creamy, like custard. Described by Mark Twain as “deliciousness itself,” a ripe cherimoya blends flavors of pineapple and banana. Can’t find it in your grocery store? Bottled water brand Aquafina now makes a Tropical Cherimoya flavored water.
Pummelo
It may look like a giant grapefruit, but the pummelo is more than meets the eye. Hailing from Asia, the super-sized fruit has an ultra-thick skin that gives way to a fresh, citrusy flesh. Sweeter than your typical grapefruit, this widely-available gem makes a great breakfast side, salad topper, or fruit salad add-in.
Karela
This bumpy orange or green squash is somewhat alarming-looking, and the flesh is laced with quinine, giving it an its alternate name of bitter melon or bitter squash. Accordingly, it’s usually cooked with brown sugar to allay the extreme flavor—though many find the bitterness an attractive quality, and the vegetable is often paired with lamb or goat in Pakistani cooking, and also used extensively in Chinese cuisine.
Kiwano melon
It may look like something from outer space (and, in fact, it once made an appearance on Star Trek), but the Kiwano melon is actually grown in Southern Africa, California and New Zealand. Nicknamed the “horned melon,” its yellow, stubby exterior encases a bright green, jelly-like fruit with edible seeds. The fruit has a citrusy flavor that some liken to a mix of cucumber, lime and
banana.
(BONUS FRUIT) Rambutan
Rambut is Malay for “hair”, and looking at the fruit, this makes perfect sense. Rambutan is native to tropical Southeast Asia (in particular the Malay-Indonesian region), and is very closely related to the lychee.
The tender fruit inside a Rambutan is described as sweet and sour, similar to a grape.
So where do you find all of these gems?
Remember there are unusual fruits and veggies at farmers’ markets, and in food stores that appeal to your gourmet side. Challenge youreself to be the first in your clique to break out a botanical product that no one else has ever heard of before.
It feels good to help expand people’s minds and tastebuds.