- Guess what? There are some natural
remedies that actually work, and we utilize them all
the time in the hospital. Today I'm gonna give you 10 natural cures that absolutely have evidence behind them. Bee whoop! Honey. Not only is it absolutely delicious, but it actually has true medical uses. Now I'm a little biased here because I absolutely love my
Manuka honey with green tea, but the American Academy of Pediatrics actually recommends honey
for a nighttime cough for children over the age of one. When they compared it
in scientific research to over-the-counter cough suppressants, it actually performed
as well or even better than some of these cough suppressants. But we have to make sure
that it's given to children over the age of one because
of the Clostridium bacteria that can be found in honey, which is potentially lethal for children under the age of one. I really wanna hammer that home. - [Voice Over] I really
wanna hammer that home. - Melatonin supplements. And I know you're probably like, "Whoa, Dr. Mike's talking
positively on a supplement." There are certain uses for supplements, especially when it comes
to the hormone melatonin, which is naturally secreted
by the pineal gland inside your brain. This hormone actually induces
a state of drowsiness, sleepiness, and it's
released late at night, when your circadian rhythm begins to drop. In fact that's why I tell you to not use devices before bedtime, because when they release blue light, you actually have a decrease of melatonin secreted naturally inside your brain, thereby making it more
difficult to fall asleep. Now melatonin supplements can
work in several conditions and I use them regularly
with my patients for jet lag, when traveling to a new country, and you want to reset
your circadian rhythm. Supplements, great way to do that. Second, in delayed
sleep-wake phase syndrome, where you have an
individual who constantly cannot fall asleep
before two to four a.m., and then they're waking
up really late in the day. Melatonin supplements
can play a role here. Now I'm not suggesting that
you start self-medicating in all of these instances, but it's definitely a good idea to bring up melatonin with your doctor if you're suffering from
one of these two conditions. Saline nasal sprays, also
known as good old salt water. And I can't believe
some of these companies are charging what they charge
for a little bottle of water. Granted they buffer it
so it's not as irritating to the nasal passageways and it's in a great delivery system so I won't hate too much. That being said, nasal saline
is an absolute godsend. Whether we're talking
about sinus infections, colds, allergies, it does a great job at washing
out your nasal passageways, thereby clearing your nasal passageways so that you can breathe. I wish we could all just swim in the ocean and clear our sinuses and
passageways like that, but not all of us have an ocean near us, so for those who don't:
nasal saline spray. (slow, sad music) Sugar, sugar, sugar. I bet you did not think I would say sugar has a medical utility because it does cause a
lot of medical problems. I'm gonna be honest. Well, the overeating of sugar. Let's not villainize a single ingredient. It's like added sugar to
something that's already sweet or it doesn't need to be sweet where sugar becomes a problem. In this case, sugar for
hiccups actually works. And there's no like
definitive scientific research as to how it works, but there is a theory. If you let the sugar sit on your tongue, dissolve on your tongue, it
will stimulate the vagus nerve, one of the main nerves of the parasympathetic nervous system. The rest and digest nervous system that also goes to the diaphragm. The spasming of the diaphragm
is what causes the hiccups. And now with the sugar
relaxing the vagus nerve, thereby relaxing the diaphragm,
cure yourself of hiccups. Little spoonful of sugar
makes the medicine go down. Helps the medicine go down.
(hits table) Oatmeal. Another one that's also
delicious and a medical remedy, specifically for eczema. But we have to make sure that
we're using colloidal oatmeal, which is when you take the oat grain and you grind it down into a fine powder. Then that powder can actually
be used as a skin protectant because it prevents the loss
of fluid from your skin. Aloe vera. It has actually a lot of uses for skin, but one that gets me most
excited is for burns, specifically sunburns. Man, do those hurt. And the office of NCCIH actually
has shown this to be true. Putting aloe vera on burns speeds up their healing
and decreases pain. The reason all this happens
is because aloe vera contains chemical compounds
known as anthraquinones, which decrease pain, speed up healing, and is a natural way to do so. If you have an aloe vera
plant, just cut it and apply. Also be sure if you had multiple sunburns throughout your life, even as a kid, it does increase your risk for skin cancer and you should be getting
yearly skin checks with your dermatologist
or family medicine doctor. Prunes. For those who never had them, prudes can actually aid in
the treatment of constipation. (record scratch)
What's wrong? You were like looking at me. - [Sam] I think you said
prudes instead of prunes. - Really?
(machine beeps) - Prunes work in two specific ways. Not only do they contain
fiber which helps you go, but they also contain sorbitol, which is a sugar alcohol that
your body doesn't digest. That actually hangs
around in your intestines and through osmosis sucks water in, therefore having a laxative
effect, helping you go. There's some studies that actually show that prunes work better than psyllium, which is one of the ingredients found in a lot of anti-constipation medications. Just be careful if you have IBS. Prunes can sometimes
make your symptoms worse. That's why I think it's always smart to discuss first with your doctor. Calamine lotion. It actually works on burns
itches and irritation. A prime example of a natural ingredient that once was labeled useless by the FDA and now has found to be
scientifically proven to work on minor skin irritations, specifically in cases of poison ivy. Probiotics. This one is a little bit
of a controversial one. If you walk into a supplement store and you read some of the
labels on the supplements, it looks like probiotics fix everything and anything inside your body, and that's just simply not true. The evidence we have for probiotics comes from antibiotic-associated diarrhea. And basically what
happens is when you take oral antibiotics for a skin wound, for an infection in your upper airway, it actually act everywhere
inside your body, including your gut, thereby killing the good
bacteria, the probiotics. In fact, that's what
probiotics actually means. Because inside of our
bodies, and on the outside, we have a ton of bacteria living on us. And this bacteria lives
in symbiosis with us. It actually helps us live, sometimes getting nutrients
out of certain foods, ones that we can't digest on our own. So it's usually a healthy relationship. But now when we take antibiotics to fight off the bad bacteria, we incidentally kill the
good bacteria as well. So by taking probiotics, you can actually help prevent antibiotic-associated diarrhea. As more evidence evolves, we're gonna find out more
and more about the bacteria that's living in our gut. Yummy. Duct tape. And I'm not talking about
fixing something in your home. I'm talking about warts, warts that are caused by a virus known as the human papillomavirus. You cover it in duct tape. Every six days you change it. And it potentially can help speed up the healing of that wart. This method actually has a scientific name called the tape occlusion method. And they found that
the stickier your tape, the more likely it is to stay
on for that six-day period, the more likely that
your wart is to go away. Now there are other
methods of treating warts like salicylic acid and cryotherapy, but those sometimes can be
uncomfortable and painful, especially for children. Teabags. And I'm not talking
about drinking the tea. Well I'm talking about drinking the tea because it's delicious, but once you're done drinking the tea, you can take the warm teabag, make sure it's warm and not hot. And use it as a warm compress on your eye if you have a stye. What do you know about those rhymes? A stye is actually a
blocked gland in your eye that causes a buildup of bacteria, potentially a mild infection. And when you put a warm compress on, you help open that gland
up and facilitate drainage. The natural remedy that I think has done the biggest disservice
to our society is soda. People say, "You have an upset stomach. "Have some ginger ale. "Have some Coca Cola." In fact that's how some of my
friends, when they were kids, got hooked on Coca Cola. And it's not that you
shouldn't drink soda ever. Evidence is there that children drinking gallons and gallons of
soda a week, maybe a month, actually have higher rates
of obesity later in life because the cholesterol plaques
that cause heart attacks start forming in your early teens. We're actually propagating two problems: not fixing the upset stomach, and two, increasing rates of obesity. To me, that's a big, big no-no. There's been research that actually tested these theories of drinking soda to help replenish electrolytes
or hydrate sick kids. And it doesn't work. In fact ginger ale was thought to work because ginger has some
anti-nausea properties helping relax the digestive system. But you're much better off
drinking a true ginger tea than you are a ginger soda because the traditional ginger sodas have barely any natural ginger in them. (sigh) I get frustrated
when those natural remedies try and trick you. Here's some natural remedies
that are absolutely absurd from Facebook health posts. Click here to check that out. And as always, stay happy and healthy. (upbeat music)
