<a href="#">Not Now, I Have A Headache</a><br>
Doug Smith<br>
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<p><p> Copyright 2005 by Doug Smith<br><br>Home Remedies - Facts or Quacks?<br><br>That's what I recently asked myself. Myths and legends often<br>have their basis in a grain of truth. So I wondered if home<br>remedies, alternative treatments, and folklore cures might<br>also be based on truth. A little research provided this<br>unusual perspective on one of our most frequently-used<br>medicines.<br><br>Barking Up The Wrong Tree?<br><br>Not if it's a willow tree! Chewing on willow bark to reduce<br>fever and inflammation dates back to the time of Hippocrates<br>(400 BC). Willow bark was used as a medicine in China and<br>Europe for centuries because of its ability to relieve pain<br>and lower fever. Early American settlers even found Native<br>Americans gathering bark from willow trees to treat the same<br>conditions.<br><br>What's So Special About Willow Bark?<br><br>Willow trees, including the white, black, purple and violet<br>species, contain a chemical called salicin. Chewing or pulping<br>this bark releases the salicin, which the body converts to<br>salicylic acid. Salicylic acid is still used today to treat<br>fevers, decrease inflammation, and even help heart disease.<br>There's no need to gnaw on a tree like a beaver every time you<br>have a headache. Today this chemical is produced synthetically<br>as acetylsalicylic acid. Perhaps you know it by its more<br>common name...<br><br>Aspirin!<br><br>That's right - centuries of chewing on willow bark led to<br>the creation of one of our most widely-used medicines: aspirin.<br>This is definitely one home remedy I would classify as a fact,<br>not a quack.<br><br>It makes me wonder though: how many trees did they have to<br>chew on before they found the right one?<br><br>(You may reuse this copyrighted article provided no content<br>is changed - other than line length - and the author's box is<br>intact. All links must be active hyperlinks or made active.)<br><br>================================================================<br>Doug Smith is a Chemical Engineer and the webmaster of<br><a href="http://www.SuperHomeRemedies.com">http://www.SuperHomeRemedies.com</a> You get free & natural home<br>remedies for fungus, lice, acid reflux, cold sores, yeast & more<br>at <a href="http://www.superhomeremedies.com">Home Remedies</a><br>Stay up to date with our Home Remedy News Blog at <a href="http://www.superhomeremedies.com/blog/">Home Remedies News</a><br>================================================================<br><p> About the Author 
<p>Doug Smith is a Chemical Engineer and the webmaster of<br><a href="http://www.SuperHomeRemedies.com">http://www.SuperHomeRemedies.com</a> You get free & natural home<br>remedies for fungus, lice, acid reflux, cold sores, yeast & more.<p><p><p><p><p> 
 

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