I've been considering taking the supplement Bromelain for the swelling that's settled in my lower tummy region -- a temporary side effect of my recent tummy tuck surgery. Bromelain, made right from the pineapple -- maybe I should just down a bunch of the actual fruit -- is known for aiding in the digestion of protein. It's also believed to have anti-inflammatory properties, which is why I bought a small bottle of pills at the health food store the other day. The pills cost me $10. I took one.

I've never been a fan of supplements. Desperation, I guess, is what motivated my purchase, which clearly was a waste of money. Because I don't plan on swallowing any more pills. Here's why.

• How will I know if the remedy really works? In good time, my swelling will subside, says my surgeon. If I'm taking Bromelain at the same time as my tummy deflates, what will I credit for the result: nature or the supplement? This is how people get roped into supplements, says my oncologist. They have success and attribute it to the supplement when it may have been nothing more than good old fashioned healing.
  
  

• Bromelain has not been scientifically tested for use with inflammation. It's not even its primary function. Nope, digestion is its number one task and that hasn't been tested either. I have no idea what this stuff will do to my body. I took a bunch of echinacea at one point in my life for the common cold. An eventual skin reaction made me realize that while maybe my cold symptoms got better, a skin condition was not a great trade-off.
  
  

Science does support a few natural fixes for what might ail you -- see gallery below. But Bromelain is not one of them, which makes it so not for me. If you think it might be for you, you ought to consult this article before popping any pills.

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I'm skeptical of supplements, alternative remedies, herbal fixes, and the like. I'm holding back, in fact, on purchasing something called Bromelain, a mixture of enzymes found in the juice and stems of pineapples. Bromelain is believed to help with the digestion of protein and believed to help combat inflammation. But does it really? Will it perhaps help reduce the swelling of my post-tummy-tuck belly? I'm not sure. Science isn't sure either.

Science is sure about these 10 natural cures, according to this St. Petersburg Times newspaper article.

• Tea tree oil for dandruff

• Acupuncture for migraines

• Yoga for insomnia

• St. John's Wort for depression

• Echinacea for the common cold

• Aloe vera for sunburn

• Chiropractic treatment for back pain

• Peppermint for indigestion

• Glucosamine and chondroitin for joint pain

• Chasteberry for premenstrual syndrome

Take a tour of the following gallery for the lowdown on these tried-and-true treatments. And don't forget to consult your physician before embarking on any medical journey.

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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.

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Turning to medications to treat sickness is always an option (believe me, drug companies aren't going away any time soon). However, there are sometimes more natural ways to help remedy what ails you. Here are two examples:

1 - Weight Loss. Instead of trying out Alli or any other popular weight loss drug on the market, try this little weight loss tip. Whenever you go out to dinner, eat a cup of broth-based soup (i.e. chicken, tomato) as an appetizer. New research into people's restaurant eating habits shows that people who consume a cup of soup as an appetizer tend to eat 20-percent less of their entree. The key is to stay away from cream soups of any kind, and to opt for a cup rather than a bowl. You may also want to add a little chili powder, especially since capsaicin, the compound found in chili pepper, has been shown in lab tests to actually kill fat cells.

2 - Lower Blood Pressure. While there are many trusted medications available to treat high blood pressure, you may also want to consider eating pistachio nuts. Penn State nutritionists discovered that eating one and a half ounces of pistachios daily for one month helped keep test subjects' blood pressure down. What's more, eating three ounces per day also showed signs of arterial relaxation, allowing for better blood flow and making the heart's job that much easier.

My grandma was a sucker for vinegar. She used it for everything, even had a listing of how to fix just about any ailment with a touch of the stuff.

While modern medicine may not endorse my grandma's practices, vinegar does have a long history of alleged healing. Believed to help cholera, urinary infections, heartburn, brittle nails, and more, vinegar has quite a reputation.
Among its powers, it can potentially reach those stubborn aches and pains. Here's how.

Backaches: A tub full of hot water, two cups of vinegar, and 30 minutes is all you need to relieve a minor backache. It will soothe sore muscles too.
Headaches: Lie down, apply a compress dipped in a mixture of half warm water and half vinegar to the temples, and feel that headache slip away.

Leg Cramps: A soft cloth soaked in full-strength vinegar and used as a compress can ease the pain of a leg cramp.

Muscle Sprain: A paste of white wine, vinegar, and bran can help a recent sprain.

Of course, if any such health issues persist beyond your vinegar treatments, please see your physician. If they do not persist, however, perhaps vinegar is all it's cracked up to be.

For more vinegar cures, click here.

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Who doesn't love a tried and true home remedy? I know I for love knowing little quick cures that don't involve trips to the drug store and expensive purchases. eDiets has put together a list of household items that you can use on problem skin. Here are some tips:

• Apple cider vinegar will help take the skin out of a sunburn
• A mixture of buttermilk, vinegar and salt will help heal a poison ivy rash
• It's thought echinachea can help with eczema
• To fight acne and blackhead, break a vitamin E capsule on your face before going to bed. Then, in the morning, do the same thing with a vitamin A capsule.
  
• Use tea tree oil to nip a cold sore in the bud.
  

I have my doubts about these remedies, but I'm eager to try them. What about you?

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It seems the very things that keep us healthy and prevent illness and disease also elevate our moods, minimize stress, and energize us. That's why we see so many of the same action items appearing on so many checklists -- because they are comprehensive and all-sweeping remedies for all of our maladies. It's no coincidence the same tasks keep presenting themselves before us. It's a sign, a sign that we need to heed such repetitive advice.

In the spirit of redundancy, here's another basic to-do list for you health-seekers out there.

• Eat a healthy breakfast full of fiber-rich complex carbohydrates, like whole grains, vegetables, and fruit. Add some protein with eggs, meat, low-fat dairy, and a tad bit of healthy fat too. Olive oil or nut oil satisfy this category.

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Straight white teeth: a universal sign of beauty and good health. And thankfully both can be come by fairly easily if you aren't lucky enough to have them naturally, or if you've ruined them somehow in the process of living (smokers!). Of course you'll have to see your dentist to straighten out crooked teeth, and although you can go there for whitening too there are fairly effective ways to do it yourself at home. From cheap to expensive there quite a few options out there, like whitening toothpaste, whitening strips, and whitening gels -- and then of course the professional options available in the spa or dental office. What works for you? eDiets gives their opinions here, share yours in the comments!

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Ugh, summertime is the worst for me when it comes to taking care of my hair. In theory, winter should be rougher because of the dry air, but the constant indoors/outdoors of summer activities combined with sun exposure and humidity makes it practically impossible to figure out a good haircare routine and get through the season without some kind of hair damage or issue to deal with. Common summer hair problems include sun scorching, for which leave in conditioners or hair SPF products are best. Another mistake people often make is having chemical texturizing treatments done in summer, which when combined with chlorine and sun damage can leave you with locks like wheat sticks! Sadly, often the only remedy for this is a haircut and lesson learned.

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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.

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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?

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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.
  

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Recently, Maggie wrote a post about how natural ingredients like ginseng and flaxseed may help treat cancer patients. While I've heard stories about natural therapies and ingredients being utilized more and more to treat serious, life-threatening illnesses -- paired with more traditional drugs, for example radiation and chemotherapy to battle cancer-- I haven't thought much about how stuff from the earth can help heal some of the minor bites and cuts that irritate us on a regular basis.

If you're interested in finding out how to use herbal remedies to treat everything from sunburns to toothaches to bee stings, check out this article that lists dozens of natural cures. Various interesting ideas include ginger for motion sickness (I've tried this before on a boat trip and while I didn't feel great, I definitely felt better than some of the green-faced women losing their lunches into paper bags), cinnamon as a decongestant and olive oil for chapped lips.

While a lot of the ingredients will be familiar -- aloe for a burn and vitamin E for rashes are both fairly well-known -- there are bound to be a few new tricks for everyone as well. So take a look and be prepared when your next ear infection, sore throat or nosebleed strikes. For those of you into natural healing, do you have any of your own tips to share?

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Exercise feels great while you're doing it, but what about afterwards? For some that's when the sore muscles, stiff joints, and fatigue set in. It really shouldn't be like that, but thankfully if it is there are some things you can do to overcome negative post-workout after-effects. For example, caffeine can help reduce muscle soreness, wearing bright colors can give you more energy, and drinking cherry juice can cut back inflammation. Interested in more details? There's three pages of suggestions in the article, with something for every fitness ailment.

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Many women struggle with the uncomfortable symptoms otherwise known as PMS on a monthly basis, and are unable to find effective ways to deal. Of course there are numerous products you can buy at the local drug store designed to help with issues like bloating, pain, crankiness, etc, but not everybody is interested in taking medications. Many women would prefer to try natural remedies first, if possible.

And there are some natural things you can try for relieving PMS related symptoms, one for example is calcium. It has been shown to decrease bloating, depression, and pain in some women. But be careful, however, as too much calcium is not a good thing either. Always stick with the recommended daily amount of anything, unless your doctor advises you otherwise.

Click the link to get some other natural ideas, including fish oil, vitamin B6, and chasteberry.

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