After years of suffering through various types of ailments, using traditional prescriptions from traditional Western doctors, and going through various procedures at Dr.'s offices and Out-Patient facilities, I felt like I was at a dead end... like nothing worked for some of these persistent problems. Then I discovered the magic of ACV, or apple cider vinegar, which has, in some cases, cured my problems and in other cases greatly reduced the issue. Now, let's be clear here, I am not a medical doctor and Neatorama does not suggest that ACV is an actual "drug" that contains "magic" properties. Nor are we in cahoots with any ACV manufacturer.
But I will say that it has changed my life. Without going into any great details of what the issues were/are, I can say that ACV has helped me with skin problems and stomach/intestinal problems. And you can read up on what others believe are the benefits of ACV here.
Soooo, my question this week is:
1) What persistent or otherwise irksome health issues have you cured or eased with non-traditional treatments, medicines or "magic potions" ? In other words: What works?!
Of course, if it feels like it works, for many mild conditions, that is all that matters as long as it can't turn into anything more serious if ignored, and this is being done just for yourself. The actual effectiveness when done in a blind study might not matter, unless you are paying any significant amount of money for your cure. In that case, if it turns out to be as effective as just doing nothing or something really cheap, might as well not waste money. Sometimes it is not so much that something doesn't work, but that it is just as effective as using water, etc.
Arnica did help some chronic pain issues I have, but I had some side effects that caused me to have to stop it.
I developed chronic migraines, and suffered for years while they tried all types of meds (I was desperate enough to consider the Botox injections). It turned out I was deficient in B12. I have to use the sublingual tablets that dissolve, but my migraines have nearly disappeared; I usually have no more than one a month.
After years of refusing (seemed like an "old fogey's" remedy and even though I'm in my 40s I don't feel *that* old) I finally tried it this year to alleviate seasonal allergies. Works great!
One of the chefs I worked for had a bowl of bananas in the kitchen--too spotted to serve-- not brown enough for banana bread. His rule? Help yourself to a banana a shift.
If so... "Consult your dr before trying any of these things."
Shredded organic white oak bark, boil in water and let steep until cool. Strain well and use as a douche (4x daily) for vaginal infections. They will be gone in 2-3 days if not sooner. Truly amazing.
Severe spring or hayfever allergies? The kind with an actual fever? Use Nasalcrom. I no longer have hay fever allergies.
Bee stings? (NOT wasp, hornet or yellow jacket stings) Scrape away the stinger and put 1 drop of REAL (local) honey on the sting and a band-aid for the sticky stuff to stay off your clothes. The pain will be gone in 5 minutes, if not sooner. At least it did for me.
FYI-lots of commercial honey is cut with corn syrup - up to 50% - and the FDA doesn't have to make the seller tell you that! My dad was a master beekeeper so that's how we found out about it.
The best known way to figure out if a treatment actually works, which we humans have perfected over the past 100 years or so, in the randomized controlled trial. (Having a plausible underlying physical mechanism also is a big plus.) Take a large group of people, randomly assign them one of two alternative treatments (or real vs fake treatment) and measure the results, without participants or researchers knowing which group is which. For example, you truly believe ACV or herb X or amber necklaces worked for you. How do you know it was that one single thing and not something else happening in your life at the time (or placebo effect, or random remission / cyclic nature of the condition)? How did you measure "working"? E.g., did you and 49 friends get 25 real amber necklaces and 25 fake amber ones, randomly draw them without knowing which was which, and then record a daily diary of the child's teething discomfort levels? Without a quality trial, then due to all the cognitive biases and effects mentioned above, we really have no clue whether it was effective. It's true that a collection of anecdotes is a great way of identifying treatments for further clinical testing; it's just not a substitute for testing.
Don't get me wrong, I know that many natural cures do in fact work, and I'm not some pharma-for-everything type of person. I just want people to remember how we really learn which treatments work: science! Not testimonials. So, I encourage everybody to re-pose the question in their minds: "What non-mainstream treatments are supported by strong evidence from high-quality clinical trials?"
Here's a nice, user-friendly starter: Snake Oil? Scientific evidence for popular supplements. And, The Cochrane Collaboration.
I have worked in the medical field for 15 years and for the majority of the doctors I've known, not many vitamins and minerals do much good (unless you are anemic and take iron)(although a good multivitamin can't hurt) except for glucosamine and chondroitin which does seem to help joint pain.
If you think something works for you, it could be a placebo effect. However, if you think it works and there's nothing harmful to it (i.e., drinking bleach could get rid of a headache but might cause a world of other problems), then go for it! Everyone is different in how they react to things!
I have remitting/recurring MS. I was suffering through increasingly serious and more frequent attacks each year from the age of 25 through 37. That last year I was hit with five attacks with some tough repercussions. That's when my neurologist suggested checking my vitamin D levels, and found them deficient.
50,000 units per week (overdose is considered 70,000/wk, so I'm good) and I haven't had a single symptom since. That's four years, symptom-free.
I am positive it is not the cure for everyone, but please tell those with similar issues to have their levels checked!