Raisins convinced skeptic

Q. My sister had always pooh-poohed my use of alternative medicine, and when I told her about gin-soaked raisins for arthritis, she determined that was the height of idiocy. She decided to try it just to prove me wrong. She took these raisins for two months, looking for negative effects, until the positive effects were so strong that she finally felt compelled to tell me.

On the basis of her experience, I started on them, too. After years of hips too painful to sleep on, I was finally able to sleep on my sides again.

This does not cure arthritis, but puts it into remission. Stop the raisins and the good effects will wane. (An inadvertent experiment.) People are different, and some may get no help from this treatment. My sister and I are among the lucky ones.

A. We first started writing about gin-soaked raisins in 1994. Since then we have heard from hundreds of readers who find this remedy helpful for easing joint pain. Some think it is the juniper in gin that works the magic.

Others believe there is something special about golden raisins.

We offer this food-based recipe and dozens of others in our brand-new 174-page book, “Recipes and Remedies” ($14.95 plus $4 S&H), from Graedons’s People’s Pharmacy (Dept R&R), P.O. Box 52027, Durham, NC 27717-2027, or online at www.peoplespharmacy.com.

Q. I read about using turmeric for psoriasis in your column. I was having an outbreak at the time and decided to try it. I am absolutely amazed at the results.

My psoriasis comes and goes, but when it hits it drives me crazy with itching. I scratch until my skin bleeds.

I bought 300 mg turmeric capsules and started taking four spaced throughout the day. After the first day, the redness, heat and itching started to abate. It has been five days since I started taking it, and the symptoms are gone!

A. Turmeric is the yellow spice in curry and yellow mustard. It has anti-inflammatory properties and has long been used in both Chinese and Indian traditional medicine (Archives of Physiology and Biochemistry, April 2008).

Many other people with psoriasis have reported similar success, though we don’t know how long the benefits will last.

We suggest you inform your physician about this treatment.

In their column, Joe and Teresa Graedon answer letters from readers. Write to them in care of The Vindicator or e-mail them via their website: www.PeoplesPharmacy.com. Their newest book is “Recipes & Remedies From The People’s Pharmacy.”

2010 King Features Syndicate Inc.