Do Home Remedies Work?
04-Jan-2006


Who uses home remedies—and do they work as well as something you can get from
your doctor or the drugstore? While use of home remedies is common among people
65 and older, Blacks and Native Americans tend to make much greater use of them
than Whites. A common mother's home remedy for a tummy ache or nausea has long
been a glass of ginger ale. It turns out mom was right.
The difference in who uses home remedies is NOT due to income or access to
health care. Psychologist Joseph G. Grzywacz says, "Ethnic [and cutural]
differences…may explain why black and Native American elders are more likely to
use home remedies."
He discovered that Blacks view conventional medical treatments "less
favorably" than Whites and believe that home remedies are a viable form of
treatment for minor ailments.
We’ve all heard about using chicken soup to treat a cold (which DOES help,
because the steam from the hot soup opens the nasal passages), but what about
ginger ale to help a tummy ache? Researcher Suzanna Zick says, "Ginger does
appear to have several medicinal qualities." Zick is researching whether ginger
can be used to prevent nausea from chemotherapy. Ginger has also been shown to
warm the body, settle the digestive tract and relieve some types of arthritis.
It causes the blood vessels to dilate, explaining its warming effect.
Its main constituent is a substance called gingerol, a cancer- fighting
antioxidant which DOES reduce nausea. It also blocks the serotonin receptors in
the stomach that cause nausea. "What it actually does is blocks those receptors
so serotonin can’t go into them and cause more nausea," Zick says.
Fresh ginger root appears to have the most medicinal qualities. Zick
recommends buying fresh ginger at the supermarket and grinding or chopping it to
add to foods. The dried form of ginger may work well too. Ginger is available in
capsule form, or you can get benefit from ginger tea, ginger ale and even things
like ginger snap cookies, as long as they are made with real ginger.
Zick says, "People really need to be aware that there are a lot of products,
especially ginger ales these days, that put in a synthetic form of ginger or
hardly any real ginger. So if you really wanted the medicinal effect, you would
have to make sure that that brand had actual ginger in it."





Alicia Mary Smith. Journeys to Inspire Ltd

tel: 44(0)1223.504792 www.journeystoinspire.com

Advanced Practitioner. Electro-Magnetic Field Balancing

tel: 44(0)1223.504792 www.journeystoinspire.com/emf.htm






















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