Granny’s Secret Drawer

I have written several articles on home remedies from my granny’s secret drawer and will share a few more with you today.

Every now and again, people seem to develop coughing fits. If you find this happens, especially for no apparent reason, simply lift your arms over your head and presto, the coughing will cease.

Eating chocolate is one of my favourite past times. What helps justify this craving is, eating chocolate helps your brain retain new information easily. Bring it on!

Another favourite food of mine is eggs. Are you aware, eggs contain every single vitamin except C; who knew?

Many of us are now using earbuds on a regular basis. I am not sure if they affect your long-term hearing, but I do know, wearing them for an hour will increase the bacteria in your ears 700 times; hello, hello?

If anyone near you has smelly shoes, throw a dry teabag in them, as it will absorb the odour. Make sure to steep and drink the tea before using the bag for this purpose.

If you suffer from too much acid, Gaviscon is the obvious relief. Sucking on a clove after a meal also reduces acid. Personally, I prefer the taste of Gaviscon.

Bay leaves, readily available anywhere, can help relieve anxiety, reduce inflammation, boost your immune system, increase alertness, open your respiratory system and increase mindfulness. You have to burn the leaves and inhale the vapours for them to be effective, so maybe wait until the fall, when the risk of fires is less.

Thirsty? Cucumbers are made up of 96% water. I guess you can squeeze one into a glass and drink it, yuch!

If you suffer from summer headaches, drink a glass of watermelon juice every day. It should help a great deal.

I will rummage through Grannie’s secret drawer for more remedies, and if you know of any, please send them to me.

Before I go, I should mention, this is my 200th episode of this column, and I would like to thank the Standard Media Group for their support and all of you for your kind comments, emails and social media posts. Without readers, there would be no column.

Jonathan van Bilsen is a television host, award-winning photographer, published author, columnist and keynote speaker. Watch his show, ‘Jonathan van Bilsen’s photosNtravel’, on RogersTV, the Standard Website or YouTube.