Home Remedies From Around The World

These 13 folk treatments are proven to work

Many of us fall back on home treatments for ailments, whether they’re proven to be effective or not. We asked editors at some of our Reader’s Digest (RD) editions around the world to share those that work for them—and then we checked out which ones are backed by research. Here are our favourites.

FRANCE

VINEGAR

Fights Infection

FRENCH FOLKLORE has it that during the 17th-century plague, a gang of four thieves would rob corpses, yet never catch the plague themselves. Supposedly, anointing their bodies with a concoction of vinegar and herbs protected them.

The so-called vinaigre des quatre voleurs (four thieves’ vinegar) is used today in the belief it fights infection. Many of the ingredients steeped in it—garlic, rosemary, sage, lavender, thyme, juniper berry, black pepper and more—are proven to have antibacterial properties.

“I know people who consume this regularly as an antibacterial,” says Stéphane Calmeyn, Paris-based editor of RD. He adds that a friend of his with Type 2 diabetes credits it with helping regulate his blood sugar.

Though more research is needed, there is evidence that vinegar, particularly apple cider vinegar, can affect blood sugar levels: it delays the rate at which the stomach empties and starch is digested, which reduces the bloodsugar spike after a meal. But check with your doctor before adding it to your diet, particularly if you are taking blood-sugar-lowering medications.