Eat Your way to Better Health, and without popping a pill

Your body can throw you for a loop at any time. You wake up with a sore throat on the day of your office Christmas party, a seafood-salad sandwich leaves you with grumbling indigestion, or you overdo it at the gym and arrive home with a stiff neck. Wouldn't it be great to have a live-in doctor/therapist/trainer to tend to your everyday aches and pains?

There's a pill to cure anything, anymore, right? Well, no doubt about it- countless numbers of patients have healthy lives thanks to their doctor-prescribed medications. But, sometimes...well, sometimes maybe it's worth a try to cure your body of what ails it without popping a pill first. Prevention magazine helps to open nature's medicine chest you might find in your kitchen pantry! And the best part? These remedies are surprisingly effective, and inexpensive!

Stomach nausea:

Try frozen ginger chips. Add pieces of fresh ginger to hot water. Strain, then freeze the infusion in ice cube trays. Crush the cubes and suck the icy chips throughout the day to provide your tummy with a steady soothing treatment. Ginger's anti-nausea properties are particularly effective during pregnancy or after surgery.

To soothe a sore throat:

Gargle twice daily with a solution of six pressed garlic cloves mixed into a glass of warm (not hot) water. Follow the regimen for three days. A recent study shows that fresh garlic juice has antimicrobial properties that fight pain-causing bacteria. The warm liquid soothes inflamed tissue.

To curb a cough:

Indulge in a square or two of dark chocolate. Researchers found that chocolate's theobromine compound is more effective than codeine at suppressing persistent coughs without the side effects of drowsiness and constipation. To calm a nagging cough that keeps you awake at night, take 2 teaspoons of honey (1 to 2 teaspoons for kids; don't give to children younger than 1), along with 500 mg of ester C 30 minutes before bed. The vitamin C boosts the immune system in the early stages of your cough, and the non-acidic ester type won't upset your stomach. Recent research shows that honey works better than either a cough suppressant or no treatment at all for relieving children's nocturnal coughs and promoting sleep.

To cool a fever:

Sip linden-flower tea, which works in two ways: It stimulates the hypothalamus to better control your temperature, and it dilates blood vessels, inducing sweating. Steep 1 tablespoon of dried herb (available in health food stores) in a cup of hot water for 15 minutes, then sip. Drink three to four cups a day. If you still run hot after a day of sipping tea, seek medical attention. For a high fever (above 102°F), take a tepid bath, which simply cools the body to match the water temperature. Bathe until your temperature decreases to 101° to 102°F, then sip linden flower tea to help lower it even more.

To cool a burn:

If you grazed your skin with a hot-from-the-oven holiday cookie pan, apply aloe vera gel to the burn as needed. The soothing and anti-inflammatory gel creates a second skin to protect it from air, which irritates nerve endings.

To quiet flatulence:

Take two enteric-coated peppermint capsules (500 mg each) three times daily. Peppermint kills bacteria that cause bloating and relaxes gastrointestinal muscles for smoother, spasm-free digestion. Enteric coating prevents capsules from opening in the stomach and increasing discomfort by causing heartburn and indigestion. The peppermint then releases and goes to work lower in the gastrointestinal tract, where gas-plagued people need it most.

To stop foot odor:

Soak feet nightly in one part vinegar and two parts water to eliminate odoriferous bacteria. Or take a daily foot bath in strong black tea (let it cool first) for 30 minutes. Tea's tannins kill bacteria and close the pores in your feet, keeping feet dry longer; bacteria tend to thrive in moist environments. You'll see results in a few days to a week. One caution: Only do the soak when your feet are free of cuts.

To sweeten bad breath:

Gargle with a small cup of acidic lemon juice to kill odor-causing bacteria. Then eat a bit of plain unsweetened yogurt, which contains beneficial lactobacillus bacteria. These so-called probiotics compete with and replace the reeking bacteria. The lemon-yogurt combo instantly neutralizes odor and lasts 12 to 24 hours.

To soften chapped lips:

Rub on anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, moisturizing olive oil two or three times a day to soothe, soften, and lubricate. Your lips will feel immediately better, but it will take a few days before they start to heal on their own. Preliminary research on mice shows that applying extra virgin olive oil to skin after sunbathing may prevent skin cancer.

To relax a stiff neck:

A stiff neck often results from slowed circulation and lymph flow to muscle tissues. Use contrast hydrotherapy—a quick blast of hot, then cold water—to get the blood pumping again. In the shower, first run hot water over your neck for 20 seconds to increase blood flow, then switch to cold for 10 seconds to constrict blood flow. Alternate three times, always ending with cold. When you get out of the shower, your body will send the blood back out to the skin, which results in a final dilation of blood vessels and—voilà!—a looser neck. OR- You can soothe sore joints with cooked vegetables. A recent Greek study found that people who ate cooked vegetables every day were 75% less likely to develop arthritis, compared to people who rarely ate them. Experts say the heat from cooking breaks down cell walls in the vegetables, allowing your body to absorb more of their valuable nutrients.

To end snoring:

If you snore mostly when on your back, put a tennis ball in a shirt pocket cut from an old T-shirt and sew it to the midback of your tight pajama top. The discomfort forces you to roll over and sleep on your side—without waking you up.***If your snoring is severe and persistent, check with your doctor- you could have sleep apnea, a serious medical condition.

To beat insomnia:

Before bedtime, eat a handful of cherries, which scientists discovered are jam-packed with melatonin, the same hormone created by your body to regulate sleep patterns. Then steep yourself in a hot bath to relax your muscles and your mind. In bed, rest your head on a lavender-filled pillow—the fragrance induces sleepiness.

To revive puffy, tired eyes:

Black tea is chock-full of astringent compounds called tannins that can help deflate and tighten the bags under your eyes. Activate the tannins in a tea bag by dipping in a cup of hot water for several minutes. Cool in the fridge, then apply the damp bag as a compress to the closed eye for 10 minutes.

To whiten stained teeth:

Crush a few fresh strawberries into a scrubbing pulp that you mix with a pinch of stain-removing baking soda and enough water to make a paste. Apply the mixture to a soft-bristled toothbrush and polish for a few minutes once every 3 or 4 months. (More often can erode tooth enamel.) The astringent malic acid in strawberries helps buff coffee and red-wine stains from teeth.

To prevent a headache:

Try relaxing magnesium (200 to 400 mg) to reduce the muscle tension and spasms that can cause your noggin to throb. But not any type will do. Make sure the supplement contains at least 200 mg of active elemental magnesium. Because magnesium is more preventive than curative, the treatment works best on, say, premenstrual headaches because you can predict when they're coming; take a dose a day in advance. Those with kidney problems should consult a health care practitioner before taking magnesium.

To heal dry skin, rashes and eczema:

Bathe in your breakfast. Although oatmeal is a centuries-old skin soother, researchers only recently recognized the avenanthramides in oats as the key compounds that calm inflamed, itchy skin. Put whole oats in a clean, dry sock. Seal the open end with a rubber band, and then drop the sock into a warm or hot bath. Soak yourself for 15 to 20 minutes.

Want a few more? We talked about these recently on the show.

• You can reduce bruising with broccoli! Registered dietician Cyndi Thompson says frequent bruising is a sign that your body isn’t getting enough Vitamin K. That’s a nutrient which helps strengthen blood vessel walls, making it harder for them to break and leave you black and blue. Eating two cups of broccoli each week should supply enough Vitamin K to keep your skin looking flush and healthy.
• You can cure hiccups with a spoonful of sugar. Dr. Maria Tobin is a physician who says sugar granules under your tongue will stimulate nerve endings in the back of your throat, and block out the brain signals causing your hiccups.
• You can ward off an asthma attack with fish. Experts say the magnesium found in one serving of seafood is enough to improve lung function, and reduce the frequency of asthma attacks! In fact, research shows that asthmatics who ate fish on a regular basis spent less time in the hospital, compared to patients who rarely ate seafood.
• You can lower your blood pressure with a daily glass of orange juice. High blood pressure is often a sign that you have too much sodium in your bloodstream. Studies show the potassium and Vitamin C found in one eight-ounce glass of O.J. may be enough to protect your kidneys from excess sodium, and lower your risk of heart disease by 40%.

Think that's enough to chew on for the weekend (and keep you out of the doctor's office!)? Have a great one!

John

Email John:  johnsblog@teshmedia.com

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