HOME REMEDY: Kitchen cupboard
At this time of year, when most of the berries have gone and there is little to find of homeremedy value in the hedgerows, I turn to my kitchen store cupboard. I mean this literally – my standard kitchen cupboard – not my cupboard of dried herbs and conker tinctures (yes, I really do have one of those, too).
There are a few excellent everyday cooking ingredients that can be used as home remedies. My favourite is sodium bicarbonate, which is in use at this time of year for baking – it is an excellent indigestion remedy when your stomach is too acidic. It’s also a good cystitis remedy and, if added to a bath, helps soothe chickenpox and shingles, too.
Any curry lovers among you may also have turmeric in the cupboard – it is an excellent remedy for colds. It is antibacterial, anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory, and not expensive. A teaspoon of this in a hot drink with cinnamon, cloves, honey and cardamom can keep winter colds at bay.
Most cooks will have garlic and onions in the kitchen. Next week I’ll give you a recipe for an expectorant for the lungs.
Sof McVeigh: www.thehomemadecompany.com
There are a few excellent everyday cooking ingredients that can be used as home remedies. My favourite is sodium bicarbonate, which is in use at this time of year for baking – it is an excellent indigestion remedy when your stomach is too acidic. It’s also a good cystitis remedy and, if added to a bath, helps soothe chickenpox and shingles, too.
Any curry lovers among you may also have turmeric in the cupboard – it is an excellent remedy for colds. It is antibacterial, anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory, and not expensive. A teaspoon of this in a hot drink with cinnamon, cloves, honey and cardamom can keep winter colds at bay.
Most cooks will have garlic and onions in the kitchen. Next week I’ll give you a recipe for an expectorant for the lungs.
Sof McVeigh: www.thehomemadecompany.com