Home Remedies
Better Diet for Poor Americans Is Not a SNAP
Poor diet may underly a wide range of undesirable health problems, from obesity to diabetes and heart disease. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) was designed to help very low-income…
Can Women Lower Breast Cancer Risk with Vitamin …
Vitamin D levels may be important as a way for women to lower breast cancer risk. That is the conclusion from an epidemiological study (PLOS One, June 15, 2018). Which Women Had a Lower Breast Cancer …
Will Chiropractic Care Help You Recover from Bac…
Back pain is common, but doctors disagree about the best treatment. Often, physicians recommend that sufferers take pain relievers and let nature take its course to recovery. Patients sometimes consid…
Will Raisins in the Evening Help You Stay in Bed…
Have you ever had to get up at night to urinate? Most of us have. Going once or even twice in the course of the night may not be much of a problem, but having to trek to the bathroom multiple times ca…
Why Won’t the Vitamin Wars Ever End?
Experts still cannot agree about vitamin and mineral supplements. Many health professionals maintain that they are a total waste of money and could be dangerous. Others say that vitamin insurance is e…
How Much Beet Juice Will Lower Your Blood Pressu…
People with high blood pressure are more likely to experience heart attacks and strokes. That is why doctors emphasize blood pressure control. They often prescribe medication to achieve this goal. Som…
Can You Boost Your Bone Density with Exercise?
Weakened bones with low bone density put a person at risk for fracture. When an older person breaks a hip, the consequences can be devastating. As a result, it makes sense to look for ways to boost yo…
Can You Fight Bacteria with Viruses?
Antibiotic resistance has become a global concern. But Mother Nature has come up with a fascinating option for overcoming bacterial infection: viruses that fight bacteria. Using Viruses to Fight Bacte…
Make Sure Your Vegetarian Diet Is High Quality
A vegetarian diet can be beneficial, but even vegetarians need to pay attention to the quality of the food they eat. Harvard researchers who have tracked the dietary habits and health of more than 125…
Natural Ways to Get Your Cholesterol Down
Cholesterol is only one of numerous risk factors for heart disease. However, physicians can't do much about some of your other risk factors, such as your family history. They can prescribe medications…
Should You Have a Blue Thumb to Be Pain Free?
Gentian violet is an old but versatile medication. It was created in the 19th century, and although it is a bright blue dye, it was never used to color cloth or products. Its applications were strictl…
How Can You Find Quinine for Leg Cramps?
When a common remedy becomes unavailable, people often become creative. They find new ways to address the problem. That is what many folks have needed to do once the FDA took quinine for leg cramps of…
How to Ease Migraine Pain without Prescriptions
I truly sympathize with those who suffer from chronic migraines. While I occasionally have a mild headache, only once do I think I may have experienced something even close to migraine pain. When I ha…
Should You Try Yogurt to Combat Constipation?
Anyone who has suffered from constipation would be grateful for advice on preventing this troublesome problem. Avoiding medications such as opioid pain relievers or even supplements like calcium that …
Will Dandruff Shampoo Ease Your Jock Itch?
Human skin is home to an amazing array of organisms that are too tiny to see with the naked eye. Most of the time, these microbes get along well enough. But occasionally, their ecological system gets …
Is Stevia a Safe Sugar Substitute?
Artificial sweeteners have been controversial for decades. In the 1960s, when the idea of low-calorie substitutes for sugar was still fairly new, animal studies suggested that saccharine and cyclamate…
Show 1124: Should You Be Taking Vitamin Suppleme…
What is the value of vitamin supplements? There is no consensus on whether most people would benefit. Much of the research on multivitamins does not show a strong effect in preventing cardiovascular d…
High Protein Diet Is Linked to Heart Failure Ris…
Many people striving to lose weight turn to a low-carb diet to try to jump-start the process. Instead, they try to get most of their energy from fat or protein sources. But does this increase their he…
Will Vitamin Supplements Prevent Heart Problems?
Does it make sense to take vitamin pills? A new systematic review looked at 179 recent studies of commonly used supplements to see whether any of these pills helped ward off heart problems (Jenkins et…
Will Your Hiccups Go Away If You Reach and Sip?
Have you ever tried to make hiccups go away with a home remedy? There are dozens, at least! Some sound entirely plausible, while others appear quite improbable. They all have one thing in common: a fe…
Will an Elimination Diet Help You Avoid Migraine…
News that the FDA has just approved a new medication (Aimovig, generic name erenumab) to prevent migraine headaches has attention focused on prevention. While some patients will doubtless welcome this…
Why Papaya for Heartburn Is Surprisingly Helpful
Papaya was once considered an exotic fruit. You had to visit a tropical country to find it. Now, fresh papaya can be found in most food markets. You can purchase papaya enzymes in tablet form in healt…
Easy Ways to Prevent Swimmer’s Ear
In many parts of the country, Memorial Day marks the beginning of summer and swim season. Avid swimmers can't wait to jump into the pool, lake or river. But this activity can lead to infections in the…
How Can You Reduce the Impact of Air Pollution?
Air pollution is harmful to health, with bad effects on the lungs, heart and cardiovascular system. But even if you can’t completely avoid air pollution, you can soften its impact. Lowering the Impa…
Is Cooked Oatmeal Better for You Than Instant Oa…
Oats have been a dietary staple for many centuries, and they have a reputation as a healthy whole grain. Eating cooked oatmeal on a regular basis (daily or several times a week) can help control chole…
Can You Improve Blood Sugar Control by Cutting C…
A century ago, before insulin was discovered in 1921, the way people with diabetes controlled their blood sugar was by not eating carbohydrate-rich foods. Could cutting carbs help improve your blood s…
What Is the Best Time to Eat?
A small study shows that the timing of meals can have a profound impact on blood sugar, insulin secretion and blood pressure. But what is the best time to eat? Finding the Best Time to Eat: Many Ameri…
Is Fish Oil Really Useless for Dry Eyes?
Fish oil has a reputation for helping ease the symptoms of dry eye, but a recent study found it was no more helpful than the olive oil placebo the scientists used. (Both groups–those taking fish oil…
Will Zinc Help Woman with Unwanted Facial Hair?
What can you do about unwanted facial hair? Many women struggle with this problem. One reader did some online research, but the results were confusing. Could a supplement help solve this problem? Zinc…
Will Spices Help Protect Your Memory?
Dementia is as frightening to most people as the prospect of heart disease or cancer. You probably know that to avoid heart disease you want to control your weight, eat a healthful high-vegetable diet…
Diabetes Diet Smackdown | Richard Bernstein, MD …
Dr. Richard Bernstein has had type 1 diabetes since he was a kid. That was a long time ago. He will soon be 84. Because people with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) can’t make insulin they have to in…
Can People with Diabetes Really Eat Eggs?
For decades, Americans were warned not to eat eggs for fear that their blood cholesterol levels would rise. After all, egg yolks are high in cholesterol. Even after data showed that there was no link …
Raw Onion to Quell Pain of Sting
You may have simple ingredients in your kitchen cupboard that can ease pain in an emergency. Perhaps you have read about using soy sauce or yellow mustard to cool the pain of a burn. No doubt you are …
Should Reader Worry About His Anticancer Supplem…
Once cancer patients finish treatment, do they put that entire episode behind them and just move on? Some do, but most find that periodic checkups to make sure the cancer has not returned remind them …
Can You Lower Your Blood Pressure with Food?
When the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association collaborated on new blood pressure guidelines in 2017, the cut-off numbers for hypertension got lower. That means a lot more …
Will a Mediterranean Diet Fight Frailty?
Is a Mediterranean diet the secret to longevity in Italy and Greece? We don’t actually know, but doctors are collecting evidence that a Mediterranean diet can help older Americans avoid frailty (Voe…
How Could a Cold Mouth Stop Your Migraine?
Anyone who suffers from migraines would go to great lengths not to have one. Some people are very conscientious about following a migraine diet (see below). Others are careful to stick to a strict sch…
How to Manage Your Heartburn Without Drugs
The American diet seems designed to create digestive problems. We love fast food, which is low in fiber and high in processed carbs and fat. We also eat on the run. As a result, many people suffer fro…
Skeptic Discovers Benefit of Soap for Neuropathy
Do you suffer from nerve pain? This type of pain can be quite difficult to treat. Medications such as gabapentin (Neurontin) or pregabalin (Lyrica) may ease the discomfort, especially at first. Howeve…
Will Dark Chocolate Help You See Better?
The cocoa flavanols in dark chocolate have been credited with lowering blood pressure, increasing blood flow and improving mood and memory. Studies have suggested that they may reduce the risk of stro…