Natural Wart Remedies

No one wants to look at pictures of warts - so here's an image of ACV

A fan requested this one as her daughter has a wart and she wanted to know if the common home remedy of Apple Cider Vinegar would work.

This proved to be harder to research that I originally thought it would. There currently isn't any published research on this (note to researchers: Get on it!) and the results I found online were mixed. Interestingly enough though, so were the professional treatments, with many people saying after several treatments either with lasers, freezing, or acids, that their warts remained.

The thing about warts that makes them so hard to treat is that they are caused by HPV--yes the same thing that causes genital warts. However there are over 100 different strains of HPV, and being a virus it's not like antibiotics will work on it. On top of that, once you have that strain of HPV, much like the herpes virus, it remains with you forever. And much like herpes, it has a high sexual stigma, though not all strains are transmitted sexually.

So the warts might fade or go away, only to return later. You can get them cut out, but that is extremely painful and leaves scarring.

ACV aside, the list of other home remedies is long, ranging from duct tape, to the really weird ones like rubbing an onion/potato on it, and burying said veg in the garden at midnight over a full moon (I wish I was joking). However things like duct tape have actually been tested, and research is still out on that. There's a lot of conflicting studies on it, though it seems to work only slightly for children, and not at all for adults. The other thing to remember with warts, much like cold sores, is that they will go away on their own given time. How long that is depends on your body, though it seems children with warts tend to heal faster than adults do.

Personally, from the research I've done, it seems that apple cider vinegar may help. It may not always work though, so if that fails you're best bet would be to see a doctor (note that the options of doctors are as varied as the list of home remedies).

I'm filing this one under "Mixed Results" - not enough data is in for me to say this is true, but it's one of those things that wouldn't hurt to try.

Activated Charcoal to Prevent Hangover

"Simply take 2-4 pills of charcoal after a night of drinking to prevent a hangover!" 

I ordered a bottle of charcoal for another pinterest project to test out, but when looking things up online I found there are actually many different remedies that call for charcoal. One was to use it to prevent hangovers. Sound enough idea, if it's good enough to use in a hospital for absorbing chemicals, surely it'll work on alcohol too right?

So I decided to take one for the team this past Saturday and test it out. One bottle of wine later, I took 3 charcoal pills and went to bed. Come morning, I was hungover. In fact I was SUPER hungover. Far worse than I would normally be after having a bottle of wine.

So what went wrong? Well research actually shows this isn't a good remedy to prevent a hangover. There's a great write up done on this by Mark Rucker, who wrote about the science behind why this doesn't work. The short of it is that charcoal seems to have ZERO affect on the blood level of alcohol in your system, so it won't really prevent a hangover.

The best way to prevent a hangover is still the old standby of not drinking too much, and making sure you are staying hydrated; try having a glass of water for each alcoholic drink you have.

And if you DO find yourself with a hangover, the best remedy in treating it is hydration, and eggs. Not only is the protein in eggs helpful, they contain a large amount of cysteine, which helps break down the hangover causing toxin called acetaldehyde.

Home Remedies for Stretch Marks

"Uncover Stretch Mark Remedies with Things Already in your Home: Its unbelievable the simple stuff that are stretch mark remedies." 

I could narrow this down to one of the dozens, if not hundreds of home remedies for stretch marks, but instead I'll make it easier on everyone.

The truth is: there is no home remedy for stretch marks. Not.a.single.one. Not coconut oil, not vinegar, not mustard oil, shea butter, or drinking a lot of milk.

You see, it all comes down to what stretch marks are. They are essentially tears in your skin, causing thick, discolored scar tissue to build up between. Stretch marks occur in the the resilient middle layer that helps the skin retain its shape. They come in various sizes and degrees, and the truth is, pretty much every single person on the planet has them (yes, even men). When they first form they are dark hues, often red and purples, but after they heal they will fade to become closer to your normal skin tone, often times lighter, and possibly shinier than the surrounding skin, depending on the severity of the marks.

Unlike some scars which are only on the top layer of skin, these run so deep that nothing you apply--from creams to oils--is going to fix that. The only proven way to treat stretch marks is with various medical procedures ranging from prescription retinoids, to lasers treatments, to surgery to literally remove the damaged skin.

But what about prevention? I'm sure any woman who has been pregnant has been given various solutions to preventing stretch marks. Unfortunately not a single study has been able to prove any of these actually aid in preventing stretch marks. At the end of the day, rubbing a bit of shea butter in you skin might not help, but it won't hurt. Just don't be surprised if you end up with stretch marks by the time those 9 months are up.

Spoon To Prevent Pots From Boiling Over

I'm sure we've all seen the pin on how a simple wooden kitchen spoon, when placed over a pot, will prevent it from boiling over. Unfortunately it's not true. I made a video demonstrating and explaining why that doesn't work, as well as showing a few methods that do.

So why doesn't this work? Simple. Starch. If you place a pot of water on the stove, crank it up to high and walk away, its not going to boil over. It will boil dry (and possibly ruin your pan) but it won't boil over. What causes pots to boil over is what you're cooking in them, usually high starch foods like pasta. A spoon isn't enough to break the sticky, starchy bubbles that form, and it still allows it to boil over. Images showing this working are likely done by bringing the pot to a lower, more gentle boil, rather than a full, rolling boil, so the chances of the pot actually reaching the point of boiling over are much lower.

So what are the two best methods to prevent this? Use a large stock pot (filling it no more than half way with water) or simply turn the heat down to a medium to medium-high heat. What you're looking for is a gentle boil, just the top of the water moving, not forming large bubbles. It's enough to cook the food, but without forming starchy bubbles. Another method involves a kitchen gadget such as a silcone lid, which allows the foamy mess to collect on top with out pouring all over your cook-top. I personally love mine, but it's not a necessary to prevent pasta from boiling over.

Alka Seltzer to Cure Urinary Tract Infections

This is one of those ideas that I'm sure we've all seen on pinterest, it's combined with a lot of other pretty bad ideas so I figured I would focus on them one at a time and explain why this is a really bad idea.  I can not stress enough that this is a bad and potentially dangerous idea. I hate dragging myself into the doctor's office and paying co-pays and prescription fees and the whole 9-yards over something like an UTI, and I'm all for home remedies for things like your basic cold or flu or second degree burns (my oven is out to get me I swear).  But certain conditions are nothing to play around with, and UTIs are one of them.

The idea behind this is that Alka Seltzer is alkaline in nature, so it will help balance out the pH of your urine, eliminating the infection. But it also contains aspirin or other pain relievers, so whether it actually helps with the infection or not, what it definitely does is help with the symptoms. So in a day or 2 of taking it you may feel better, but the infection may persist. This can be extremely dangerous because UTIs that are left untreated can move into your kidneys, causing kidney infections which are far more painful and difficult to treat and can lead to kidney failure.

Some doctors say alkaline can help with UTIs, whereas others say more acidic things (such as cranberry juice) can help. But the truth is that the pain relieving properties of Alka-Seltzer is going to mask any pain or discomfort that the UTI is causing, so it's going to be a lot harder to gauge if you're cured, or just no longer in pain. If you really want to give it a try before you can get into your doctor's, dissolving some baking soda in water would give you the same pH level changes as Alka-Seltzer would. The thing to remember is that it isn't just one strain of bacteria that causes UTIs, it's a dozen different kinds. One strain my respond better to acid, another to base. On top of that, your own personal pH level may even affect what works and doesn't, if it's going to work at all.

If you're looking for a home remedy, You can always try unsweetened pure cranberry juice, and up your water intake. There have been studies done on cranberry juice and though the studies are mixed, it does hold some weight to actually working, unlike Alka-Seltzer. Though if it lasts more than a few days, I can't stress enough the importance of seeing a doctor for UTIs. The longer you let it go the more likely it is going to move into your kidneys, and that is something no one wants to mess with.

Penny to Preserve Flowers

"Add a penny with a pinch of sugar into the vase of cut flowers to have them last twice as long!" 

There are a lot of myths out there on what you can do to prolong the beauty of cut flowers. Everything from vodka, bleach, even aspirin is said to help. This one here is an old wives' tale that has been around for so long that I doubt anyone knows where it came from. I remember my grandmother doing this when she bought fresh flowers. But can a copper penny prolong the life of your flowers? No, not really.

Let's start with the water. Tap water is regulated quite strictly; all tap water must maintain a pH level between 6.5-8.5, which is round about the center of pH levels. I've spent quite some time trying to research if copper can alter the pH level of water at all, with no luck of finding any data on this I turned to a chemistry-knowledgeable friend of mine who informed me "Copper does not react with pure water, so it should not affect the pH. If you're talking about tap water, that's a lot more complicated and dependent on the particular contaminants. I'm sure there are side reactions with the other particles that could slightly affect pH, but nothing major since the contaminants are in low quantities."

Why does this matter? Because most cut flowers prefer a higher acidic water. According to a great page by the Horticulture Department of Minnesota - "An acidifier makes the pH of the water more near the acid pH of the cell sap. Most water supplies are alkaline and can reduce the life of cut flowers. The acidifier also stabilizes the pigment and the color of the flower." (source)

Commercial flower preservatives are made up of basically 3 things: sugar, an acidifier to prevent the growth of microorganisms, and a respiratory inhibitor. If copper does not affect the pH levels, perhaps it acts as an antimicrobial in another way, but the results of copper as an antimicrobial are largely debated (source). In large quantities it looks like it might help limit the growth of microbes, but the small amount of copper found on a penny isn't going to do that. It's important to point out that most pennies in circulation today were made after 1982, and are not pure copper. Instead, they are copper-plated zinc and only contain a thin coating of copper on the outside. However, adding a pinch of sugar to the water isn't a bad idea, but it won't get you the same results as a commercial cut flower food will. You're best bet if you don't have any plant food on hand is to just make sure you change the water daily, keep any leaves or foliage out of the water, and a pinch of sugar can't hurt (but leave the pennies in the change jar).

If you're looking on more information on myths of cut flowers, here is a great article by Terril A Nell, PhD, who was chairman of the flower research program at the University of Florida. He touches base on pretty much every flower myth and explains why they aren't true.

Garlic to Repel Mosquitoes

"Swarms of Mosquitoes on my patio led me to an old home remedy - Did you know that chopped up garlic makes mosquitoes disappear? I buy minced, dried garlic at local Fiesta grocery stores and sprinkle it around on my patio. I have to stand back as I am using it - mosquitoes will literally swarm out of your plants and bushes to get away from the smell. Works like a charm!!"

Thanks to a fan who submitted this pin on our facebook page. So can something as simple as a jar of garlic save your outdoor time from bloodsuckers?

Not really. You see mosquitoes sense of smell isn't as strong as we tend to think it is. The scent of garlic DOES offer some protection from mosquitoes, but it only lasts about 30 minutes before the scent fades enough to no longer deter them. But to people, who sense of smell is stronger, we'll be smelling the garlic far longer than they would. Not exactly a smell anyone wants to spend their evenings on the patio smelling ether. 

The same goes for eating garlic.  Studies have been done on this and it's been proven to not be an effective means of putting off mosquitoes.  You can read a great New York Times article about it here. 

So what are you to do when you want to spend the evenings outside? Well you can go the chemical route with a DEET-laced bug spray, which can last hours. But if you're looking for a more natural alternative route you're best bet is a time tested classic: citronella. It's made from the oils of lemongrass and has been proven to work as a bug deterrent. Plus it comes in so many different forms, ranging from candles to sprays and oils, so a quick application to your skin, and then light a candle or oil burner and you should have a relatively pest free evening.

Oh, and in case you had planned to spend the evening outside sipping on a refreshing beer or crisp riesling, a word to the wise: mosquitoes are actually MORE attracted to people with alcohol in their system than they are to those without. So light a citronella candle if you plan to be enjoying your wine outside.