The article below is full of interesting and unconventional pieces of advice, herbal and otherwise.

Via: Star-Telegram.com

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?

Here’s the next best thing: all-natural, expert-recommended ways to treat ailments quickly, safely and effectively at home. So clear some space in your bathroom cabinet, refrigerator and kitchen cupboard for these surprisingly effective (and inexpensive) remedies. They’re like having a doctor on call 24 hours a day.

See Their List of Household Remedies

Via: Oregon Healthy Living

For Sandi Thompson, proof of cranberries’ healing power is in her liver.

When Thompson’s liver faltered — the consequence of consuming cocktails of prescription drugs — a doctor suggested cranberry juice. Once Thompson started drinking it — and lots of water — her lab tests improved.

That was 17 years ago, but the experience cemented Thompson’s preference for natural remedies administered in her own home.

“Let’s start natural,” Thompson says. “Let’s start simple.”

Thompson’s liver problems followed a urinary-tract infection for which she was prescribed several medications. When side effects — including hair loss, aches and pains — cropped up, Thompson was given yet more prescriptions.

“They were medicating all these different things,” she says. “When they took me off all the medications, I returned to normal.”

Now a 37-year-old mother of five daughters, the Shady Cove resident has adapted numerous home remedies from “Natural Child Care” by Maribeth Riggs to treat scrapes, nausea, sore throat, warts and other minor health conditions. A 4-H advisor, Thompson has conducted classes on the topic of natural living for the Southern Oregon Research and Extension Center’s annual Carnival of Learning.

Proven home remedies

1. A saltwater bath for a stuffy nose

2. Chewing gum to relieve heartburn and speed healing from abdominal surgery

3. Chicken soup for colds

4. Yogurt for belly aches (look for those that contain live, active cultures or are labeled “probiotic”)

5. Honey for a cough (do not administer to children under 1 year of age)

6. Cranberries for a healthy bladder (look for drinks that list cranberry juice as the first or second ingredient)

7. Staying warm to prevent a cold

— Source: Consumer Reports on Health, June 2008 issue

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