Growing up in a Haitian-American home, the home remedies for sickness were pages and pages long. My mom would reach for the spice cabinet as much as a medicine cabinet when I caught a cold.
As a kid, I couldn’t wait until I was a real adult so I could stop downing cod liver oil during flu season at my mother’s request. But, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that there is some method in the madness for some of these remedies.
Shout out to the time my mother gave me a shot of warmed up rum, honey, and lime to revive me from a cold.
If you are anything like me, you know these remedies have been passed down through conversations (in person and/or on WhatsApp).
Maybe you’ve laughed at them? Scoffed at them? Rolled your eyes?
But, when you are really suffering, you’ll do anything to feel better again.
Plus, the truth is that most of these home remedies have science and research to back up their effectiveness.
So, the next time your mother, father, or elder sends you a random remedy for *insert condition here* over WhatsApp, you may want to copy it down and research the ingredients later.
Don’t you feel like that is what our ancestors would want us to do anyways?
Rum, Lime, Honey, + Tea
So, speaking with some of my fellow friends from all over the Diaspora, this remedy kept popping (which only shows that we are truly all one people). When my mother gave me this remedy, she made it heavy on the rum and light on the tea. It knocked me out. But, I guess that’s the point? (Also, be kind to your body. Don’t mix medications with alcohol. That’s never the wave).
Honey is actually one of the oldest known antibiotics. It contains hydrogen peroxide, which may explain its bacteria fighting power. Limes are full of Vitamin C, which helps to take those cold symptoms down a notch.
Onions
I can’t personally vouch for this one. But, when I asked around, the onion remedy came up a whole bunch. From drinking onion pureed mixed with honey to boiled onions with Coca-Cola and honey, the combinations were endless.
Onions are also a great source of Vitamin C which helps to support your immune system.
Beloved Vick’s VapoRub
If you are Black, there is a very high chance that your elders used Vick’s Vapor Rub as the holy grail of all medications. Vick’s is used for headaches, backaches, stomachaches…whatever you have, Vick’s Vapor Rub was able to cure. So, why does this magical concoction work so well?
Vick’s is made up of three main ingredients: camphor, eucalyptus oil and menthol. Now, I swear this stuff helps me breathe better but it’s actually all a lie! These ingredients trick your brain into thinking that you are breathing easy. But, you are really just as congested as before. But, hey, if you can sleep, then you can rest and get well. I see no problems there.
So, there y’all have it!
Three remedies that we maybe gave the side eye to as kids. But, we should have trusted our elders. They knew what they were doing.
What remedies does your family use to keep those sniffles away?
Comments
Loading…