natural remedies

I am very grateful for all of the wonderful medical advances we have today. I am amazed at what science can do, and I can't wait to see what the research of tomorrow brings us. I am fully convinced that God used a fetal monitor to save Sarah's life when I was in labor with her, and that without that technology she would not be with us today.

But I also think there is something to be said for some of the natural remedies that our ancestors used. The medical community acknowledges the healing power of chicken soup, for example, and we can vastly improve our health when we improve our diets. Food and herbs as medicine definitely have a place, even in our modern world. Use common sense, of course; natural is NOT synonymous with safe or effective. But don't be afraid to branch out and try some of the natural cures.

Along those lines, I have a couple of books that I use as resources. They give herbs, treatments, and recipes for various ailments. In the past couple of days I have had occasion to try two very effective natural remedies, and I thought I'd share those here. Maybe you'll find them useful as well!

The first one came about Thursday. Most of my readers know that Sarah was diagnosed with acid reflux at the ripe old age of 3 months. She has been on daily doses of Zantac ever since. The doctor also said she could have Mylanta when the reflux got so bad that even the Zantac was not enough.

When the reflux is particularly bad, you can hear it churning up her throat. Thursday morning she woke up in such bad shape that not only could I hear it, she could hardly talk. I gave her the dose of Zantac, and added the extra dose of Mylanta, but to no avail. Sarah continued to writhe in misery.

So I turned to one of my books. It suggested combining a tablespoon of cider vinegar and a tablespoon of honey in a cup of warm water and drinking it. I made the concoction and gave it to Sarah. Her stomach settled. Later in the day, we repeated it when she got bad again, and again the homemade remedy worked. So try it the next time you have indigestion or something; maybe it will work for you too!

The second "recipe" I have to share is for homemade cough syrup. Sarah's cold relapsed, and she has not been able to quit coughing. We've given her commercial cough syrup, we've given her Benadryl, we've run the humidifier. And still she coughs. So I whipped up some of this cough syrup, and the coughing has eased. It really worked! (As a side note, my dad used to give me honey and lemon as a kid if I had a bad cough, so this one really didn't surprise me).

To make the cough syrup, combine the juice of one lemon, a cup of honey, and half a cup of olive oil. Cook on the stove for five minutes (make sure you use a large pot; mine kept boiling over), then stir vigorously. Pour mixture into a jar. Dosage is one teaspoon.

Disclaimer: Do NOT give syrup to infants (infants are NOT supposed to have honey!). Also do not give to diabetics or those allergic to honey (or any of the other ingredients). Covering my bases here!

Sarah is feeling quite chipper today. ;) Very little coughing at all!

I haven't forgotten my promise of video; it is coming. We are also going to take pictures of Sarah dyeing Easter eggs, and of her wearing her Easter dress. Just stay tuned!