Strange solutions for smelly feet
Q. My 17-year-old granddaughter has a problem with smelly feet. My son uses strong medicine from a podiatrist, which is probably inappropriate for her. Any home remedies?
A. Readers of this column love to share their remedies for smelly feet. One woman reported that her boyfriend had good success rubbing a cut lemon on his feet.
An 89-year-old woman shared a remedy her aunt taught her when she was young. She soaked her feet in warm water to which tannic acid had been added. The same effect can be accomplished with tea soaks, since tea is high in tannic acid.
Other readers swear by an old Army trick: urinate on your feet. One mom shared: “My 17-year-old daughter has very smelly feet, and I convinced her to try the urine trick. IT WORKED! Her foot odor is completely gone!”
We are sending you our Guide to Smelly Feet with many other suggestions. Anyone who would like a free copy, please send a long (No. 10), stamped (59 cents), self-addressed envelope to: Graedons’ People’s Pharmacy, No. F-2, P.O. Box 52027, Durham, NC 27717-2027. It also can be downloaded for free from our Web site: www.peoplespharmacy.com.
Q. When you wrote about alternatives to Crestor for lowering cholesterol, you failed to mention oat bran. For about 10 years I’ve been eating 1/2 cup of oat bran every day.
I make it into a loaf using a bread maker. The recipe is on any box of Quaker Oat Bran, but I add 1 cup of raisins. The 2-cup loaf is cut into 12 pieces and lasts four days. My cholesterol went from 210 to 160 in a fairly short time and has remained there ever since.
A. Oat bran is rich in soluble fiber and can help lower total cholesterol (Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, March 1999). It takes quite a bit of oat bran daily to make a significant difference. We applaud you for finding a palatable way to consume this much oat bran.
Q. In your book “Best Choices From The People’s Pharmacy,” you said that the no-calorie sweetener Stevia rebaudiana was not approved for use in the United States. I have some great news for you! I found it in a nonsugar sweetener in the supermarket under the brand name of OnlySweet. It is made by Sunwin Stevia International Corp., and its Web site is www.onlysweet.com.
I am a type 2 diabetic with high blood pressure. Not only does this sweetener lower my blood sugar, it also helps reduce my blood pressure. I am enthusiastic!
A. Thanks for the alert. The Food and Drug Administration has just approved a stevia extract for use in soft drinks. Both Coca-Cola and Pepsi are expected to introduce drinks containing this product within a short time.
Unfortunately, the product the FDA approved, rebaudioside A, does not seem to lower blood sugar or blood pressure in animals (Review of Diabetic Studies, Summer 2005). A different stevia extract, stevioside, brought both blood pressure and blood sugar under control in rat experiments. We were not able to determine which extract is found in the OnlySweet product you are using.