Foods that double as good medicine

We don't need a lot of fancy lotions and potions to look and feel our best. Many food products already in our homes can be used for medicine. Not "food as medicine" but external applications to treat everything from pimples to sweaty feet and from gray hair to itchy skin.

 Here's a quick look of what food products can double as good medicine:

Corn starch: A very common food addition, use corn starch as a medicine to soothe heat rashes and in the place of foot powder and baby powder. Mix a half teaspoon with a few drops of water in the palm of your hand and apply to your face for a soothing face mask. Remove with plenty of warm water after 5 minutes.

Corn meal: This common food makes a good facial or all over body scrub. Mix it with your favorite liquid soap for a real treat. Corn meal supposedly draws impurities from the skin.

Oatmeal: Itchy skin calms right down when you wash it with oatmeal. There are a couple of different ways to do this, but the simplest is to tie up a tablespoonful into a wash cloth. Get the cloth good and wet, then scrub your dry, itchy skin with it and rinse off with plain water.

Milk: Remember Cleopatra? She knew what she was doing when she took her bath in milk. Whole milk has fats, of course and that seals moisture into the skin. Food for your skin, it will help smooth out rough spots. Add at least a cupful to your bath or smooth some onto your face, leave on for five minutes and rinse with cool water.

Real Vanilla: Use on cold sores, pimples and as an air freshener. A dab on a cotton ball placed in a trash can will keep a bathroom smelling yummy... er, fresh.

Baking soda: It may not be an official food, but it's used in many foods. It makes an excellent tooth powder and a facial scrub that will leave your skin feeling as smooth as glass. Work up a little lather of your favorite cleanser in your hand and sprinkle a half teaspoon of baking soda in it, then work it up so it looks like a fine cream. Wash your skin with this and rinse immediately.

Vinegar: What hasn't been said about vinegar? Your hair will be soft and shiny if you rinse it with a quarter cup of vinegar to three quarters cup of warm water. Use vinegar to soothe a sunburn and keep your skin from blistering. Pat it on, don't rub it in. Soak your dentures in white vinegar and they'll be clean and white.

Honey: Food of the gods, Honey can be used as a medicine to promote healing of cuts and scrapes. Honey was used as an antibiotic before commercial ones became available and Roman soldiers used it to dress wounds from battles. Honey soothes cuts and abrasions and protects and moisturizes them so they heal faster. It works better than most medicine sold for the purpose.

Oh... about the gray hair? Make a very strong tea of sage and let it steep an hour or more, then rinse your hair with it. Don't rinse it out. It won't cover the gray thoroughly, but if you use it regularly, gray hair will seem to fade away.