The best all-natural remedies for common family ailments

Mother Nature is pretty remarkable. There’s also a lot that nature’s medicine cabinet can offer when it comes to remedies for common ailments.

So the next time a family member gets sick, why not try out these remedies first?

1. Ginger

Ginger is a mainstay in most Filipino kitchens. Aside from tasting good in a number of dishes, it’s also a great all-natural remedy for sore throat, dizziness, and tummyaches.

To use ginger, you just chop up the root, and then steep it in hot water just like tea. You can add a little bit of sugar or honey, since it tastes a bit strong. It has a soothing effect on your throat, and soothes an upset stomach. Plus, you can just drink ginger tea instead of regular tea as a healthier (and cheaper) alternative!

2. Oregano

Oregano aside from being a great addition to spaghetti sauce, also has a lot of health benefits all on it’s own. Oregano has vitamin K, and is also rich in antioxidants which fight against infection.

Oregano also has anti-inflammatory properties, as well as antibacterial properties. That makes it great for colds, muscle pain, dandruff, and toothaches.

To prepare oregano as a remedy, you can just boil the fresh leaves in water, and wait until the water gets infused with the oregano. You can then drink it as tea, or use it as a wash to treat dandruff, or wash wounds. Make sure to wait for it to cool down!

3. Garlic

Garlic, another common ingredient that’s found in almost every Filipino household has a lot of amazing properties! It’s been touted as a cancer fighting food, and it also has a lot of antioxidants that fight against infection.

Garlic helps relieve cough and cold symptoms when consumed in a tea (it’s a bit strong!), and using garlic oil can relieve psoriasis and other skin ailments. For toothaches, placing a piece of raw garlic on the aching tooth should help with the pain since garlic has an analgesic effect.

Regularly eating garlic also helps lower cholesterol levels, and helps in weight loss!

4. Lagundi

Lagundi is popular as a cough remedy in the Philippines. But did you know that aside from being a cough remedy, it also helps treat rheumatism and boils.

Just like with oregano, you can boil the leaves and drink it to help soothe your cough, or use it as an antiseptic wash for boils.

5. Guava leaves

Guavas have the benefit of being a tasty and healthy fruit, and having leaves that have amazing anti-bacterial properties.

If you don’t have any antiseptic at home, and you need to treat or wash a wound, then you can just boil some guava leaves and use the water as an antiseptic wash.

Guava leaves also work well when it comes to dealing with skin problems such as psoriasis or eczema, and it also helps with dandruff and acne. So make sure you have a guava tree planted in your home! It’s such a wonderful and useful plant to have.

Source: eatingwell.com, motherearthnews.com, filipinoherbshealingwonders.filipinovegetarianrecipe.com

READ: Natural health remedies that are safe for children

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