ANEMIA:

Avoid drinking tea (regular, not herbal varieties) and coffee immediately after meals, as the tannin present in these interferes in the absorption of iron from the food.

Drink a cup of herbal tea mixed with 1/4-cup blackstrap molasses each day. This provides 80% of the iron needed in one day.

Foods high in iron: lean beef, lean pork, skinned poultry, shellfish, fish, liver, organ meats, egg yolks, pinto, kidney, lima, navy, chick peas, black-eyed peas, lentils, split peas, green peas, spinach, kale, collards, beet greens, chard, broccoli, raisins, prunes, figs, dates, dried peaches, dried apricots, nuts, peanut butter, whole grain breads.

Your body absorbs iron from meats easier than fruits and vegetables. To aid in the absorption of iron from fruits and vegetables, eat them with a good source of vitamin C.

ARTHRITIS:

A daily serving of fresh fish or fish oil capsules helps to give relief of arthritis and other joint pains.

3-4 walnuts eaten daily, on an empty stomach, will help.

ASTHMA:

Mix 1 tsp. honey with 1/2 tsp. cinnamon and take it at night before going to bed.

Avoid taking aspirin, as this may invoke an asthma attack.

BLADDER INFECTION:

Take a bag of fresh or frozen cranberries and boil them in water (they will fall apart). Cool and drink. Don't add sugar! This remedy is also useful for people with kidney problems.

BLADDER STONES:

Boil 2 figs in 1 cup of water. Drink daily for a month.

BRUISES:

Slice a raw onion and place over the bruise. Do not apply this to broken skin.

COLD AND FLU:

Here is a delicious recipe for a cold and flu soup: Sauté 6 crushed cloves of garlic in 1 tsp. vegetable oil until golden. Pour in a quart of beef or chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and whisk in 2 egg whites. Beat together 2 egg yolks and 2 Tbsp. distilled white vinegar; pour this mixture into the soup. Season with salt and pepper and top with croutons, if desired.

CONSTIPATION (IN ADULTS):

Eat a few black licorice sticks.

Take apple pectin.

Make sure you're getting enough Folic Acid in your diet.

Drinking ginger tea will help start a bowel movement.

CONSTIPATION (IN SMALL CHILDREN):

Soak 6-8 raisins in hot water. When cool, crush well and strain. When given routinely even too little infants, it helps to regulate bowel movement.

COUGHS AND ASTHMA:

Steep 3-4 cloves of garlic in a cool, dark place for 2 weeks. Use several drops at a time, several times a day for coughs or asthma. Garlic is an exceptional cleanser for the body and has anti-microbial action similar to other antibiotics.

DEPRESSION:

3/4 cup of cooked spinach a day is enough to give dramatic relief from depression if you are deficient in B vitamins.

DIARRHEA:

Eat boiled sweet potatoes seasoned with salt and pepper before bedtime to cure chronic diarrhea.

EARACHE:

Steep 1-2 tsp. chamomile flowers in boiling water for 10-15 minutes. Strain out the water, and apply the hot flowers in a cloth for alleviation of the earache.

ECZEMA:

Rub a whole nutmeg against a smooth stone slab with a little water and make a paste. Apply on affected parts. (Note: It is believed by some rural, old fashioned practitioners that instead of water, one's own early morning saliva can be used for better results.)

ENERGIZER:

Simmer 1-cup honey and 3-cup water together slowly. Allow 1 cup of the water to evaporate. Strain off the top surface, and put the remaining liquid into a stoneware crock or dark bottle. Put a towel over it so it can breathe, yet be free of dirt. Place in a cool place. You can add cinnamon, clove, or the juice of 2 lemons, if you like.

FATIGUE:

Take a glass of grapefruit and lemon juice in equal parts to dispel fatigue and general tiredness after a day's work.

HANG-OVER:

Eat honey on crackers. The fructose in the honey will help to flush out the alcohol in your system.

HAY FEVER:

Steep 1 tsp. fenugreek seed in 1-cup water, covered, for 10 minutes. Drink 1 cup a day to help hay fever symptoms.

HEADACHE:

Eat 10-12 almonds, the equivalent of two aspirins, for a migraine headache. Almonds are far less likely to upset the stomach.

HICCUPS:

Drink 1/2 glass of water, slowly. Keep a tsp. of sugar in your month and suck slowly. Suck 2-3 small pieces of fresh ginger. This helps in hiccups, which keep occurring again and again. OR Take a large mouthful of water with out swallowing, plug both ears, and slowly begin to swallow the water. Unplug your ears and you're hiccups free!

INSECT BITES:

Mix water with cornstarch into a paste and apply. This is effective in drawing out the poisons of most insect bites and is also an effective remedy for diaper rash.

MORNING SICKNESS:

Mix 1 tsp. each fresh juice of mint and lime, and 1 Tbsp. honey. Take 3 times a day.

MOSQUITO BITES:

Apply limejuice diluted with water on bites with cotton ball.

MUCUS IN COUGH:

Pour 1 cup boiling water over 1/2 tsp. each of ginger, ground cloves, and cinnamon. Filter. Sweeten with 1 tsp. honey and drink.

MUSCLE CRAMPS:

Apply clove oil on the affected body parts.

NAUSEA:

Boil 1/2 cup of rice in 1 cup of water for about 10-20 minutes. After it is boiled, drain the water into a cup and sip at the rice water until symptoms are gone.

OBESITY:

Mix limejuice with honey and water; drink a glass of this every morning.

Mix 3 tsp. limejuice, 1/4 tsp. black pepper, 1 tsp. honey, and 1-cup water; drink a glass a day for 3 months.

Mix 1 tsp. lime juice with 1-cup water and drink each morning.

Eat a tomato before breakfast.

OVERWEIGHT:

Effective for getting rid of fat, drink up to 3 cups of green tea daily. Regular tea can also be used with a lesser effect.

PAIN RELIEVER:

Mix 3 Tbsp. of honey in boiled water and drink. Honey has natural pain-relieving powers.

SMELLY FEET:

Soak feet in strong tea for 20 minutes every day until the smell disappears. To prepare your footbath, brew two tea bags in 2 1/2 cups of water for 15 minutes and pour the tea into a basin containing two liters of cool water.

SMOKING HABIT:

Lick a little salt with the tip of your tongue whenever you feel the urge to smoke. This is said to break the habit within 1 month.

SORE THROAT:

Mix 1 tsp. limejuice and 1 Tbsp. honey. Swallow tiny amounts slowly 2-3 times a day.

SPLINTERS:

Lay scotch tape over the splinter and pull off.

Soak the area in vegetable oil for a few minutes before removing with tweezers.

STOMACH ACHE:

A simple cure for a stomachache is to dissolve 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon in 1-cup warm water, cover and let sit for 15 minutes, and then drink it like tea. This remedy can also ease diarrhea and flatulence.

STOMACH ACIDITY:

Drink coconut water 3-4 times a day.

Have a plateful of watermelon and/or cucumber every hour.

TOOTHACHE & MOUTH PAIN:

To ease toothache or other mouth pain, make a tea by boiling 1 Tbsp. fresh peppermint in 1 cup water and adding a little salt. Peppermint is an antiseptic and contains menthol, which relieves pain when applied to skin surfaces.

VARICOSE VEINS:

Take 2-3 tsp. black strap molasses orally daily. This also treats all kinds of circulatory ailments.

VOMITING AND NAUSEA:

Sucking a piece of ice controls vomiting.

Eat 1/2 tsp. ground cumin seeds.

Cinnamon and sliced ginger work by interrupting nausea signals sent from the stomach to the brain. If you are an herbal tea drinker, simply sprinkle cinnamon on the tea and drink. To make ginger tea, simmer a few slices of ginger in hot tea water.

WARTS:

Try taping a slice of garlic to the wart. Be sure to first protect the surrounding skin with petroleum jelly