A hundred years ago, doctors found that cod liver oil and sunshine could straighten the bowed legs of children with rickets. Twenty years later a dentist found a mysterious "Activator X" in spring butter. Here's why people now take vitamin D3 and K2 together, what the studies actually show, and the one medicine that makes K2 a serious matter.
In 1618 an English farmer found that cattle on Epsom Common wouldn't drink from a bitter pool. The salt left behind became one of the best-known home remedies of the next 350 years. Here's how people use magnesium today for sleep, muscles, headaches and regularity, what the studies found, and the safety limits that matter.
People have used vinegar as a kitchen remedy for thousands of years, from Hippocrates' wound care to the honey-and-vinegar tonics of Persian medicine. Here's what tradition says, what the small modern studies found, and how to take it without hurting your throat.
A tropical fruit tree whose leaves have been brewed as a folk tea across the Caribbean, Latin America and Africa for generations. Here's what tradition says, what the research has (and hasn't) shown, and the safety points every user should know first.
A red seaweed from rocky North Atlantic shores that Irish families boiled into a soothing drink for coughs and colds, and that Caribbean kitchens turned into a thick, spiced milk drink for strength. Today it's a popular gel and gummy sold as a mineral-rich "superfood".
A small creeping plant from the carrot family, prized in Ayurveda as a "medhya rasayana", a tonic for the mind, and across Asia for skin, wounds and longevity. Sri Lankan tradition held that eating the leaves helped people live longer.
A hardy Arctic and mountain root that Scandinavian, Siberian and Russian folk medicine have long used for endurance, cold winters and recovering strength. Today it's one of the best-known "adaptogens" for everyday stress and tiredness.
An ancient, jointed plant that looks like a little green bottle brush, horsetail is so rich in silica that people once used it to scrub pots and sand canoes. Here's what tradition and research say about it, and why it should be used carefully.
The silver-green leaves of the olive tree, one of the oldest cultivated trees on earth, have been brewed into a bitter tea around the Mediterranean for centuries. Here's what tradition and research say about them, and who should be careful.
Smoke, pollution, mould and seasonal congestion all land on your lungs. Here are the herbs and old-school habits traditionally used to support them, from mullein to steam to simple breathing.
