More Amish Home Remedies

Earlier this week I posted about a book of Amish home remedies that I picked up recently.  I thought it'd be fun to share a few more interesting ones I found  while flipping through the book written by the Wickey sisters.(disclaimer: I'm sharing these for fun and cultural insight, use these at your own risk, I assume no liability).

This first one is one I might have to try.  I feel like my memory is "fuzzy" and I am not sure why.  I can remember crystal clear things from elementary school, high school, and college, but if you ask me what I had for lunch yesterday, it's a real struggle.  Okay, what DID I have for lunch yesterday?  Leftover pasta from supper the night before. But it took me a moment to recall. But if you asked me something completely random like who sat in front of me in homeroom in the eighth grade I could tell you in a heartbeat (April Williams...hardly ever spoke to her, didn't crush on her, had the significance of a half a speck of rice in my life, but I can remember her from 30 years ago...go figure)

Anyway this is the Wickey sisters formulation for a "memory strengthener"

MEMORY STRENGTHENER

Eat hazelnuts for 9 days beginning with 6 and adding more each day.  Eat green pepper seeds for 9 days beginning with 1 seed and doubling the dose until it eaches 256 seeds on the ninth day.  Grind cloves, thin long peppers, dates, equal quantities.  Bet them with olive oil into a paste. Eat a little every morning before breakfast.

I think it probably helps memory because if you can remember all the instructions and remember to count out 256 seeds, if that doesn't strengthen your memory, nothing will!

This next one is so simple...not sure what the scientific basis for it is, but, sheesh I will tell my wife about it.  She gets motion sickness so easily.  Me, you can tie me up in a burlap bag, turn me upside-down and spin me in a dark room and I wouldn't get motion sick.  But maybe Rachel should try this...

MOTION SICKNESS
Pin a piece of brown paper (heavy) inside of shirt of underneath dress before going on a journey in a car.

I'll report back as to whether Rachel tries that or not.  Lastly, blood sugar.  My grandmother is always battling high sugar (so I probably shouldn't take Amish-made baked goods for her to sample!), I may have to pass on this remedy to her.  I tend give more credibility to remedies like these that might have medicinal value than a paper bag being stuck to one's shirt. But that is just me.

BLOOD SUGAR

To lower high blood sugar:  a tea made of huckleberry leaves..one heaping teaspoon of crushed or powdered leaves to one cup of boiling water.  When cool drink only one cup a day as this will lower sugar fast.

To raise low blood sugar:  Make a tea of grape leaves, tame or wild.  Tame leaves use 4 big leaves. Wild use 6 to 8 leaves to a quart of boiling water.  When cool drink 1 or 2 quarts a day until relieved.