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Kourtney Kardashian Goes Alternative: Test Your Knowledge!

Heather Dale — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 18:10:43 PST

The new season of Kourtney and Kim Take New York kicked off with a bang as fans everywhere watched the relationship woes between Kim and her now-ex Kris Humphries unfold. But aside from the arguments between Kim and Kris, one thing I can't help but focus on is Kourtney's new health regime, which includes lots of alternative therapies - perhaps for her now-revealed pregnancy? Have you been paying attention to her new healthy lifestyle? Let's test your knowledge to see how much you know about the following wellness practices!

Take the Quiz

Bizarre Home Cures That Work

Prevention — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 03:13:50 PDT

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Prevention here on FitSugar!

Ease pesky health issues with vodka, duct tape — more
From the Editors of Prevention

Of course there are some health staples you should never be without - bandages or OTC pain relievers come to mind. But you can treat or cure a surprising number of minor ailments with these unexpected household objects and foods.

Home cure: Vodka
Use it for: Foot odor
If your feet smell less than swell, wipe them down with a vodka-soaked washcloth to get rid of the stench. It's the same principle as rubbing alcohol (which works equally well if you'd rather drink your Grey Goose). Vodka contains alcohol, which is antiseptic and drying, so it destroys odor-causing fungus and bacteria and dries out the moisture that lets these organisms grow.

Surprising Reasons Why You Smell

Home cure: Licorice
Use it for: Calluses and corns
"Licorice contains estrogen-like substances that soften the hard skin of calluses and corns," says Georgianna Donadio, PhD, director of the National Institute of Whole Health. Make this homemade licorice paste: grind up a few licorice sticks, mix them with 1/2 teaspoon of petroleum jelly, and rub the mixture into the rough areas of your feet.

How to Get Soft and Sexy Feet

Home cure: Baking soda
Use it for: Urinary tract infections
At the first sign of symptoms, drink a solution made with 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda mixed in eight ounces of water. Continue this once a day until you can get a culture done at a doctor's office and start antibiotics. Baking soda makes the bladder environment more alkaline, which reduces bacteria's ability to multiply, says Larrian Gillespie, MD, a retired assistant clinical professor of urology and urogynecology in Los Angeles.

Keep reading for more home cures.

5 Natural Scents to Energize You

Heather Dale — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 15:15:10 PDT

When Spring arrives, the air is instantly filled with the smell of sweet blooming flowers. That smell alone motivates me to get outside and enjoy the nice weather. How do scents influence your mood and feelings? Does the smell of lavender relax you while the smell of eucalyptus promotes alertness? If you need some assistance getting your Spring training started (don't forget about cleaning your closet!), have a peek at five of the following natural scents that will boost your energy levels.

Do You Use Alternative Medicine as a Form of Treatment?

Michele Foley — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 04:00:50 PST

More people are turning to alternative methods of healing: things like massage-, meditation-, and yoga-therapy are all on the rise, says a new study. While some seek use of these therapies to complement an existing form of traditional medicine, many are turning to it because they can't afford conventional treatment. The study, which was published in the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, says that in 1990, 1/3 of all Americans had tried some sort of alternative medicine, by 2002 that number had doubled, and has since grown at a rate of 14 percent.

While I do see a regular physician, I did seek out acupuncture and yoga to treat a back injury I suffered rather than use the pain pills that were prescribed to me. How about you?

DrSugar Answers: Adrenal Fatigue?

DrSugar — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 09:00:39 PDT

DrSugar is in the house! And she's answering your health-related questions.

Dear DrSugar,
I was researching my recent increased PMS symptoms and discovered they are a symptom of something that naturopaths call adrenal fatigue or adrenal exhaustion. Is this condition or something like it acknowledged in the medical community? Could it be a source of my problems?
- Tired and Confused

Well, I must admit this was a very interesting topic to research, as I had never heard of it before since it was not a subject that I learned of in medical school or residency training. So just what is adrenal fatigue? To learn more about it, keep on reading!

Have You Ever Tried Cupping Like Jessica and Gwyneth?

FitSugar — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 13:30:51 PDT

The value of Eastern medicine must have left a big impression on Jessica Simpson while filming The Price of Beauty earlier this year. On Sunday, the actress sent out several tweets about the work she was doing with healer Master Wang, founder of the Medicine Buddha Temple in San Francisco.

"Shocked my system with a vegan diet, special Pu-erh tea from China, and cupping since friday! Who am I right now? This might be too clean!"

Jessica went on to ask her Twitter followers if any of them have tried the 3,000-year-old acupressure therapy of cupping, saying "the meditation creates intense visions." Traditionally in cupping, glass cups are heated with fire to reduce air pressure and create a vacuum on the skin. The heated cups are placed onto the skin's surface and as the cup cools down, the skin is sucked up inside. More modern cupping does away with the flames and uses a mechanical suction pump to remove air from inside the cup. Cupping is believed to stimulate and/or restore blood flow to specific areas of the body to encourage balance and healing.

Jessica made a point to say that she wasn't doing any of this for weight loss. She tweeted that it was to understand her "body through hydration and alkalinty." She's not the only celeb to try cupping. In 2004, Gwyneth Paltrow showed up to a film premiere with a series of telltale bruises that are typical following a cupping procedure. Tell me . . .

Hypnotherapy For Tummy Troubles

FitSugar — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 03:00:24 PDT

Hypnotherapy has been used to help folks quit smoking and lose weight, and now the alternative therapy is gaining ground as a treatment for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which causes abdominal pain, bloating, and sometimes diarrhea or constipation.

A prominent British gastroenterologist has found hynotherapy improved symptoms in nine out of 10 patients. After auditing the first 100 of his IBS patients that used hypnotherapy, the doctor found that in four in 10 cases, the symptoms disappeared entirely. This alternative treatment worked most successfully on young women with typical symptoms who had only been dealing with IBS for a short time. It is believed that hypnotherapy eases symptoms by relaxing the patients, which makes sense since stress is a contributing factor.

Treat a Cold: Make Your Own Ginger Tea

FitSugar — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:40:43 PST

My aunt is from Thailand and when I'm sick she'll use her arsenal of Thai herbs and spices to concoct a cold remedy for me. When I was younger my uncle would look at her cautiously as she mixed her treatments because he was so used to popping a pill when sick. Now that I'm an adult I find it funny that many of my aunt's "crazy cures" have made their way into mainstream culture, like ginger.

Whenever I have a cold I make my aunt's fresh ginger tea (and so does the rest of my family now!). It's a surefire way to clear up congestion or a sore throat. It also works great at soothing an upset tummy.

Ginger Tea
original recipe

For an extra kick of endorphins, add a teaspoon of chili powder to the mix.

Ingredients

2-inch piece of peeled, thinly sliced fresh ginger
2 stalks trimmed, cut lemongrass
6 cups water
3 tablespoons honey

Directions

Bring ginger, lemongrass, and water to a boil in a saucepan.
Remove from heat and add honey, stirring until dissolved.
Let mixture steep partially uncovered for about 15 minutes.
Strain lemongrass and ginger from tea and serve immediately.

Print recipe with images | without images

Do You Use Herbal Remedies?

FitSugar — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:00:56 PST

I ran into a friend this week who was on his way to an herbal medicine shop to bulk up on tinctures and teas because his wife is sick.

I've dabbled a little bit with herbal remedies - ginger for an upset stomach and echinacea for a cold - but not to the extent that he and his wife do. He said that for minor illnesses they only use herbal remedies, and that they're more effective than drugstore meds.

I'm still dubious about herbal remedies because the research is a bit spotty, but I think there may be some benefits to their use. What do you think of them? If you've had any experiences with using herbal remedies, share your thoughts in the comments section.

Relax Already: Try Reiki

FitSugar — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:30:36 PDT

After being laid off and collecting unemployment for a few weeks, an amazing career opportunity has just fallen into your lap, and you have a job interview tomorrow. Needless to say, you're anxious and stressed, and it's nothing a hot bath or cup of tea can handle. A Reiki session could be just the thing to calm your nerves and release tension from your tight muscles. Reiki is a type of Japanese healing therapy. The word Reiki translates to "spiritually guided life force energy." It's based on the idea that life force energy flows through us and around us (our aura), and it's what nourishes our organs and cells. When the flow of energy is disrupted, that's when emotional and physical issues arise.

A Reiki treatment feels somewhat like getting a massage, although there is minimal touching if any at all. As you lie on a comfy table, the practitioner will place her hands on various areas of your body, but often holds the hands a few centimeters above the body. The hands are kept still for a few minutes before moving to the next position, usually involving the head, front and back of the torso, knees and feet. A session usually lasts about an hour or an hour and a half.

I know it doesn't seem like much is going on, but Reiki practitioners are believed to have the ability and intuition to balance a person's life force energy. Not only does a Reiki session completely relax you (like you've just slept for 12 hours straight), but it can also be used to heal the body. I've experienced Reiki when I broke my thumb, and I swear, it helped relieve my pain.

Have any of you ever tried Reiki?

Wikipedia