Get your pots and pans ready because it´s time to make some home remedies. Not home remedies based on superstitions or hearsay, but effective remedies using methods which have been scientifically proven to have healing effects. 

........

One suggestion from Professor Abdülkerim Alpýnar is to rely on anise and fennel for problems involving the digestive system. If digestive problems are rooted in imbalances in the nervous system or with anger, he recommends herbs such as chamomile or lemon balm. But how are these herbs meant to be ingested? This is where the real secret lies. For herbs like chamomile or linden, only the flower should be used. Take 3 grams of dried chamomile and pour one cup of boiling water over this. After letting it sit and steep for a while, the hot water should be strained. This tea can be sweetened with honey. If you drink three cups of chamomile tea made this way each day, you will no doubt find that it really helps a digestive system frayed by nerves and stress. 

More: http://www.sundayszaman.com/sunday/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=158199

********

Rely on anise? That´s good news for raký lovers....

I love this thread Trudy

Herbal remedies are very effective.  I think some people forget that most of our medicines and illegal drugs are "herbal" derived.

Living in the country, using herbal remedies is such a natural part of life that we don´t even realise we do it!  Things like using dock leaves for stings (amazingly they can always be found growing close to stinging nettles, as if they are "on hand" for emergencies), parsley and mint for digestion, chamomile tea to help sleep and most importantly, we always take echinacea in the winter for the immune system (it is VERY effective).  Another example, St. John´s Wort, is such a powerful anti-despressant, that you need to inform hospitals/doctors that you are taking it as it can affect other medicines. 

We also use them for beauty products, when I was younger my sister and I would boil up chamomile flowers and put the foul smelling "soup" in our hair for an hour - it makes your blonde hair brighter, but smells like cat´s pee !!!!!

And....the best hangover cure ever - a cup of Peppermint tea (made with fresh peppermint leaves, NOT the ones you buy 

Be careful though.... Not everything ´natural´ or herbal is innocent! Digitalis is herbal as well but it can cause heart problems as a teacher once told me!

 Well, it can cause heart problems if you take it wrongly, but digitalis is the main ingredient for a drug called Digitoxin which is VERY effective in treating heart conditions like heart failure.

You are right that herbal potions can be potent!!  I am sure some people think that things are more effective when they are in nice packaging and bought in a shop, when in fact often they are weaker and less effective.

I know that Chamomile shampoos are no way near as effective as our "cat pee" smelling soup on blonde hair

Would be interested to know any traditional Turkish remedies ...

 I should try. I have to say that some camomile shampoos do help, but the products from John Frieda for blonde hair

Camomile or valerian as calming methods to sleep do not work for me though. I´ve been having chronicle sleeping problems for as long as I can remember, but it never worked

And echinacea, I remember as a kid my mom used to give it when I had a wound in my mouth (I don´t knowwhat it is called, you get it when you dont eat enough vitamins in winter for example). I remember the stinging pain that was actually kind of nice Now I just take a few droplets of it and it indeed seems to work!

 Dont use chamomile if you have any dye or bleach (it makes it a bit yellow), but if it is natural blonde then it is great (just so long as you dont mind smelling of cat pee for the rest of the day )

 Ehm.. I had my hair treated with ´water peroxide´ (again I dont know the english word ) about 4 months ago and most of it seems gone especially since I cut more than 20 cms of my hair 2 weeks ago. I don´t want to get it bleached that way again for at least a couple of months, because I have rather sensitive hair and though it didn´t die or become dry like people predicted it to be, I am afraid it will be if I do it too often. ýt will actually burn away till nothing is left So thought I should give this a try for keeping the summer in my hair. No I don´t really mind, maybe the people around me in the weekend will

I love this thread!

I have found sodium bicarbonate (aka baking soda more commonly in the US)  one of the best all around home remedies for a host of things. Instead of using a commercial antacid, a little baking soda in water works as well in most but the most dire cases. Vinegar also works well as an antacid and can be used to treat a host of other issues.

For tired or itchy eyes, a little tea works well.

I always keep some goldenseal as an antimocrobal, and myrrh around. For lung infections, myrrh can be burned as an inscense and inhaled.I even travel with them for emegencies.

I also travel with ginger  and cayenne for digestive "issues".

Anyway....this is a start.

Can anyone help my feeling crappy, stiff neck, headaches, off my food, tired and quite grumpy................................