"Modern medicine versus traditional medicines"

Is the old way still the best way? Should men be using Viagra? Have you tried Olestra yet? That's the "new" oil now used to fry those fancy potato chips that come in a can. Warning! After eating the chips, you've got about eight hours to stock up on toilet paper.

But what about the medicines that our grandmas and aunties gave us? Remember how mama would take us to the only house in the village that didn't have electricity to get something "to fix us up right"? I can remember tasting real bitter medicines that weren't sugar-coated at all. I'm sure my face was all scrunched up for hours by that awful taste!

So grab a cup of tea and I will share some of the information tidbits passed on to me or that I've picked up in my travels -­ although I must caution you that I have not personally tried them all.

Making a tea out of marjoram and drinking it before you retire will help women who wake up in the middle of the night for no reason.

Got a headache? Make some tea out of rosemary; or chew on a couple or pussy willows. (This helps too if you can't sleep).

For toothache, place a clove directly on the affected tooth.

For colds, flu or kidney infection, use echinacea (the cone flower, bright purple in colour) as an antibiotic. The cone flower stimulates--white blood cells - only when needed.

For bee stings or infections, use plantain (place on the affected area) to draw out the poison of bee venom or infections from an injury. You can also make a tea to use as a digesting remedy.

Use dandelion root or young leaves to make a tea that is good for the liver, a purifier of the blood. This helps to kill bacteria in the blood.

For cataracts make drops out of black twin berries (cook, cool and strain). Use as you would eye drops, dropping into one eye at a time.

For arthritis, use a raw parsnip (which is poisonous if ingested). Take the root which is shaped like a turnip, cut it in half, heat it up, and place on the area that aches.

Use the fall root of the wild strawberry to make a tea to cure diarrhea. Also you can use this root at any time of the year to help with heart aches.

Yarrow is good if you rub it on your skin to repel mosquitoes. Also if you use it to make a tea, it is good for colds, bladder infections and toothaches.

Making a tea out of blueberry leaves and roots, combined with yarrow and taken daily, is good for maintaining blood sugar levels.

Labrador tea is used for a good system cleanout. Use about 10 to 13 leaves (depending on their size) for each cup. Steep, then drink.

For high blood pressure, make a rosebush. This is also good for women who have just given birth to strengthen their blood.

For aches and pains from a cold or bronchitis, make a tea from the prickliest spruce you can find. This works just like aspirin.

To strengthen the blood, mix seven parts of wild raspberry branches with four parts of chokecherry branches to make a tea in about two quarts of water. Cook for two hours in a glass or enamel pot. This tea will ruin your stainless steel pot. Drink a cup a day.

Use the roots of fire weed to make a tea for asthma.

For hair loss, boil blueberry leaves, let them dry until they crumble. Take bear grease that has been taken from the bear in the fall (when he is fattest); mix with the crumbled blueberry leaves and rub on the afflicted area. Leave this mixture on till it comes off on its own. Repeat weekly until you see results.

If these remedies don't help what's ailing you, then I would recommend that you increase your smudging and praying.

Maybe you are not doing it often enough.