HomeRemedies-related stories
Flat soda not the best choice for rehydration
When I'd fall ill with a stomachache at my grandmother's house, she always poured me a cup of cola, then stirred it with a spoon to make it flat. It always seemed to work to settle my tummy, but according to new research, flat soda isn't the best home remedy to treat kids who are dehydrated after a stomach bug.Researchers couldn't find any scientific evidence to back up the use of flat sodas for rehydration, so they did a side-by-side comparison of soda and rehydration drinks which are specifically created to aid in mild dehydration. What they found is that soda is far too high in sugar and doesn't contain enough sodium and potassium, essential nutrients in treating dehydration.
Rehydration drinks for children are those like Pedialyte, while adults might drink a sports drink like Gatorade. Grandmothers everywhere may still use flat soda to treat a mild case of nausea, but when it's a case of dehydration, rehydration drinks appear to be the best way to go.
Daily Fit Tip: Cures from your cupboard
Natural Products, Daily Fit Tip, Alternative & Green Health
From rubbing whiskey on sore gums (not a good idea) to gargling warm salt water when you have a sore throat (pretty soothing, actually), my mom is a fountain of home remedies. No matter what the ache or pain is, I always know I can count on my mom to have some sort of "cupboard cure." AOL Body has weeded out the home remedy facts from the fiction. Some of their tips include:
- Rub a small amount of liquid laundry detergent on a mosquito bite.
- Put a few drops of eucalyptus oil on the floor of a hot running shower and inhale the steam to relieve congestion.
- For brighter, whiter teeth, combine a 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda with a few drops of peroxide. Brush the mixture on, let it sit for a few minutes, then rinse it off thoroughly.
- To remove dead skin from your feet, soak them in warm water for 15 minutes then scrub with a mix of water and salt to exfoliate.
- Soothe a sore throat with tea infused with clove, ginger, and cinnamon and sweetened with honey.
Potentially harmful home remedies
Diet & Weight Loss, Alternative & Green Health, Nutrition & Supplements
Did you know that for most people, cleaning the wax out of their ears is unnecessary? That's because ear wax provides waterproof protection to the ear canal, as well as a barrier against infection. Some people have an abundance of ear wax, which makes removal necessary. Removing the wax can be tricky, however, and should never be done through a process known as ear candling. This is just one thing I learned reading about these five home remedy no-nos from CBS News. Others include putting whiskey on a teething baby's gums (whiskey provides no numbing relief and could be dangerous to the baby), putting butter on the burn (doesn't help, might cause infection), and taking colloidal silver to improve immune function (too much colloidal silver can be toxic and its benefits are not well supported).
Minor health issues can often be treated through home remedies, just be sure that the method you are using won't cause more harm than good!
Daily Fit Tip: Get rid of warts with duct tape
Daily Fit Tip, Diet & Weight Loss, Alternative & Green Health
When it comes to home remedies and old wives tales warts seem to have more than their fair share of crazy cures. And although most folk remedy ideas (like rubbing a penny on the wart to make it disappear) don't have real results there's one bizarre sounding one that often does: duct tape. Duct tape doesn't appear to be a total wart cure-all for everybody (there are cases pointing both ways on its effectiveness) but enough people have seen enough positive results (80% in one study) that it might be worth a try.So what's the trick? Simply put a piece of duct tape over your wart and leave it there for 6 days (if it falls off replace it with a new piece). After the 6 days soak the wart until it's soft and file it down with an emery board. Repeat the 6 day cycle as many times as you need to until the wart is gone.
The biggest myths about alternative medicine
I'm a big believer in home remedies and natural approaches to various health issues, but I also believe that in some cases "natural" just won't cut it and technology may have the answer instead. But when dealing with alternative health approaches understanding the pros, cons, limits, and risks is imperative. Do you think you have a solid understanding of the basics? Here are a few of the biggest misconceptions people have about alternative medicine:- "All natural" automatically translates to "all safe." Not true. Natural and herbal compounds often vary in strength, and they can interact and have serious side effects just like many prescription medications.
- "Alternative therapies are cheaper than conventional ones." Not true in many cases. Although they may have a cheaper price tag they often aren't covered by insurance.
- "There's little to no solid research to support the effects of alternative medicine." Not true, although many times research on alternative medicine is not documented and written about in scientific language, which can have a negative influence with doctors.
42 quick home cures
With the onslaught of the cold weather, Jon and I have been feeling the effects of our central heating kicking in -- we've been overwhelmed with extremely dry, itchy skin, and while oatmeal baths and heavy creams seem to help, they're not quite doing the trick.
So I was very interested when I came across this article titled 42 Home Cures. I'm convinced every minor ailment has a quick, easy home remedy. For itchy, dry skin, Prevention suggests using Olive Oil. Sounds interesting -- I'll have to try it.
Check out the article for a full list of home remedies. You never know -- maybe what's ailing you can be cured in a jiffy, without drugs.
So I was very interested when I came across this article titled 42 Home Cures. I'm convinced every minor ailment has a quick, easy home remedy. For itchy, dry skin, Prevention suggests using Olive Oil. Sounds interesting -- I'll have to try it.
Check out the article for a full list of home remedies. You never know -- maybe what's ailing you can be cured in a jiffy, without drugs.
Home remedies for seasonal allergies
Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements
I don't know how I got so blessed but my entire family all comes down with hay fever and pollen allergies every fall -- everybody except for me. But seeing people like my mom and sister suffer really brings home the fact that having allergies can present a real problem because often the medications that are supposed to help come with side-effects that are almost as bad as the allergies themselves. And although the drug companies are getting better and there are more options out there than ever before, what if you'd rather just do something natural? Mother Earth Living has come up with this list of natural allergy fighters, including garlic & onions, honey, horseradish, vitamin C, and ginko biloba. You've probably already got several of these in your kitchen cabinet, so have you ever eaten them with allergies in mind?
Some simple home remedies
Next time you're about to head to the doctor for relief from one of the following problems, consider one of the following home remedies from Glee Magazine:
- Athlete's foot: Tea tree oil works, but olive oil with a bit of garlic crushed into it (let stand for a couple of days before applying) works better
- Tinnitus: Consider how much aspirin you are taking (too much can lead to Tinnitus.) If that's not the problem, increase your intake of zinc-rich foods like spinach, brussel sprouts, asparagus, string beans and sesame seeds.
- Ingrown toenails: Soak your feet in a tub of warm water with Epsom salts. Make sure to let the toe breath
- Acne: Tea tree and lavender oil can boost healing. Zinc supplements may also help.
What to do (and not to do) for jellyfish stings
Although jellyfish stings aren't exactly a regular occurrence at the beach unfortunately they're not completely uncommon either, and knowing the best way to treat one could save you or some poor member of your family a lot of suffering. So what's the best remedy for the misery of a jellyfish attack? Vinegar. Straight up, in-your-kitchen-cabinet vinegar should stop the injection and spread of the poison and provide some relief for the pain. On the flip side remedies you don't want to use (and that in some cases can even make things worse) include rinsing the area with fresh water, rubbing alcohol, ammonia, meat tenderizer, and (yuck) urine.
The skin doctor is in!...your kitchen?
Diet & Weight Loss, Alternative & Green Health
We all have skin issues, and we all spend a lot of money and use a lot of chemicals trying to get rid of them. Summertime is especially hard on the skin with sunburns and bug bites on top of year round issues like breakouts and eczema, leaving your medicine cabinet full of tubes and ointments for everything you can think of. But did you know you might be able to do away with many of them just by heading to the kitchen when you need something? By combining simple ingredients you might already have you can not only treat issues like cold sores and blisters successfully, but in an all natural way.Read this article for home remedy ideas you probably would have never thought of on your own, like using apple-cider vinegar on a sunburn or taking digestive enzyme pills to help heal eczema.
Treat your cold sores naturally
Cold sores are painful and ugly, and if you get one you can't get rid of it fast enough. There are all kinds of over-the-counter and prescription treatment options, but if you're interested in more natural remedies there are several worth trying -- many of which you probably already have around the house. Aloe, zinc oxide ointment, lemon-balm ointment, Super Lysine Plus, and sage & rhubarb cream have all been shown to speed healing, relieve pain, or both. Any of these work for you?
Fighting arthritis
1 out of every 5 people suffer from arthritis in some form, and that number is so high (it works out to 46 million Americans) in part because the term "arthritis" technically includes any number of diseases and conditions that cause pain, swelling, and inflammation of joints and other body parts. When it comes to reducing your arthritis symptoms treating the inflammation is key, as that's what really causes much of the discomfort and swelling. As many as half of Americans have given up on trying to beat the pain and have resigned themselves to living with it miserably, but there are things you can do to minimize symptoms that have good results for most people:- Exercise and lose weight. Less weight equals less stress on joints.
- Adjust your diet to include plenty of veggies, fruits, and whole grains. Limit sugar, fat, and salt.
- Get enough rest. Joints will be at their best when you've got a good daily balance between rest and exercise.
- Be wary of medications. While some can be very helpful, others only mask symptoms and don't attack the true root of the problem, the inflammation.
- Try taking some natural anti-inflammatory supplements, after speaking with your doctor of course.
What do old wives' tales tell us about keeping healthy?
Healthy Habits, Diet & Weight Loss, Motivation, Nutrition & Supplements
We've all heard at least one old wives' tale: an apple a day keeps the doctor away, don't you know. But maybe the old wives of yesteryear knew what they were talking about.It seems that science is actually backing up some of the old wives' tales. Studies done support the notions that feeding a cold and starving a fever, that boy babies cause longer labors for their moms, and that people with joint pain know when it is going to rain, among others.
Some old wives' tales that have no basis in science -- as of yet -- are that people exhibit wacky behavior during a full moon and I am sorry to say that early birds aren't healthier, wealthier or wiser.
So eat those apples, feed that cold, don't catch a chill and eat your fish. Then you'll be as healthy as all those old wives.
Fit Links: Nature's remedies
As fabulous as we at That's Fit think this blog is, the truth is there are hundreds of wonderful blogs on healthy living to be seen all over the blogosphere. So in this feature, Fit Links, we'll introduce you to some that have caught our eye.Science keeps proving in new ways why some of the most ancient health remedies are still fact the most effective today. Below you'll find a few of my favorite blogs for finding simple natural remedies for everyday health problems. While the advice on these blogs shouldn't replace the recommendations of your doctor, there's tons of great information for naturally curing everyday health annoyances.
Herbal Home Remedies offers natural solutions for everything from legs cramps, to chapped hands, to sleeping problems.
The Natural Remedies Blog covers anything to do with nature's remedies, plus other health news.
Natural Holistic Health Blog even gives recipes for things you can make yourself, like aromatherapy massage bars!
Workplace Fitness: It's easier than you think to get Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Surprisingly (at least to me) one of the most common reasons people miss work is carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). I've always known that CTS was serious, but honestly never really considered it as something that happened very often. So what is carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS)? Caused when pressure and inflammation interfere with the median nerve that runs through your wrist, CTS refers to a specific group of symptoms, including tingling, numbness, pain, and weakness. The symptoms are usually only in the thumb and first three fingers, but can (in severe cases that are left untreated) spread as far as the elbow and shoulder and result in permanent numbness and weakness in the affected hand.
