Traditional Greek Folk Medicine
78TRADITIONAL GREEK FOLK MEDICINE
Inspired by PGrundy’s excellent Hub about the increasing cost and declining quality of healthcare in the US, here are is some traditional Greek folk medicne, hopefully saving you all some money. Some of these have been tested scientifically, most I have tried myself, and some I am not sure about. They certainly will not harm a healthy person, and I am not out to make any money! However, I am not medically trained, so seek professional advice if you have any doubts.
Many areas of Greece are a long way from civilisation and medical aid, even in the modern age, with MedEvac and paramedics often far away. Over the centuries, the Greeks have developed many traditional Greek folk remedies, designed to cure without the need for visiting the doctor. The Greeks have one of the longest average lifespans in the world and, whilst much of that can be attributed to good diet and low stress, some of these old medicines do work.
1) Olive Oil - The Mainstay of Traditional Greek Folk Medicine
The Greeks use olive oil by the bucket load and, as well as tasting good, it offers a whole raft of health benefits. Aside from fulfilling many nutritional and dietary requirements, it contains compounds for thinning the blood, reducing cholesterol and it is recommended for cardiac patients.
Apart from this, extra virgin oil has some other welcome benefits. Before moving to Greece, my partner suffered badly with a stomach ulcer. This flared up often, especially when she was stressed. A diet containing olive oil has completely stopped the condition, so, if you are prone to ulcers or acid reflux, take a couple of spoons of olive oil, morning and night. If you are constipated, drink a small glass every day until things start moving again.
2) Alcohol - Greek Ouzo as a Folk Medicine
In the hot summer, I often suffer from thick blood, leading to frequent nosebleeds, despite drinking lots of water. I questioned my pharmacist about this, and he told me to drink two glasses of Ouzo or Whiskey every day. Just to be on the safe side, I drank five or six, but the nosebleeds stopped and I felt a lot less lethargic. The Greeks often refer to Ouzo as ‘To Farmako’, meaning ‘The Medicine.’
The Greeks have a drink called Tsiporou, or Raki, which is a fiery spirit distilled from the leftover mash left after making wine. If you are suffering from a cold or flu, mix in a little honey and cinnamon, warm up and enjoy. It certainly clears the head and alleviates the worst of the symptoms. Whiskey and Brandy are good substitutes for those living outside Greece.
3) Aloe Vera - An Ancient Folk Remedy
Most of us are used to after sun lotion containing Aloe-Vera juice. In Greece, if you get sunburn, you simply find the nearest plant, break off a leaf and rub the pulp onto the burn. This is very nice and soothing, although not getting burnt in the first place may be the best solution.
4) Garlic - Tasty and Healthy Traditional Greek Folk Medicine
Most people are aware that garlic has many beneficial effects within the body, as well as tasting good. Garlic is also excellent for keeping mosquitoes away, although eating vast quantities will keep everybody away. Another great use for garlic is as an antiseptic. If you have a cut or puncture, rub cut garlic onto the wound or crush and make a poultice. Onion also works but hurts a hell of a lot more.
Read Sandy's great Hub about garlic as a cure for acne.
5) Greek Mountain Tea - A Unique Greek Herb
The mountain herbs found in Crete and the Taygetos Mountains are world renowned for their healing properties, detoxifying the body and relieving the symptoms of colds. They are also the best hangover cure I have found. Whilst they may be difficult to get hold of outside Greece, there is evidence that an infusion of the herb Sage is effective.
6) Tomatoes - A Greek Salad a Day
According to the Greeks, a tomato a day reduces the chances of a man developing prostate cancer. Whilst evidence shows that Greek men are less likely to develop the condition, this has never been directly linked to tomatoes. Personally, I love the Greek breakfast of tomato, feta cheese, bread and olives all drenched in extra virgin olive oil and herbs, so it is no great hardship.
7) Greek Thyme Honey - Sweet Antiseptic
Honey has some wonderful antiseptic qualities, and is increasingly used as a first line treatment for minor burns. I have a friend who was an ex-medic in the RAF, and the British Military now use honey as a treatment for burns. It is also a good ointment for minor wounds by preventing infection, always a danger in a hot climate.
8) Grapes - A Sight For Sore Eyes
For tired and dry eyes, instead of eye drops, the Greeks use the sap from grapevines. It is wonderfully refreshing and just as good as any commercial drops.
9) Diet - Live Long and Prosper
It is impossible to write a Hub about Greek health and traditional Greek folk medicine without mentioning diet. Whilst the Greeks are starting to suffer the same problems as the rest of the world, with a growing obesity epidemic caused by meat and processed food, the traditional diet is one of the healthiest on earth. Forget Low Carbs, Atkins and Alkaline balance. Buy a Greek recipe book and learn how to eat a healthy Mediterranean diet, nutritious, tasty and simple.
10) Low Stress - The Key to Traditional Greek Folk Medicine
This, more than anything, is the key to why the Greeks are so healthy. They enjoy life, and celebrate every day, rather than seeing it as a burden. Even the poorest Greeks manage to eat out once a week, enjoying the company of family and friends. Having a more relaxed lifestyle helps, but everybody can make sure that they leave a little quality time for themselves and their loved ones. This, more than anything, is the very foundation of traditional Greek folk medicine.
Hope that some of these tips help, and do not be afraid to ask around. Some folk medicines are just as effective as modern methods, and are much cheaper.
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Comments
Fascinating hub!
As well as the other uses for olive oil you mention, warmed oil is great for clearing out blocked ears.
Wow, I had no idea that olive oil help ulcers and acid reflux. I started using olive oil a few years ago because I need a little more "fat" in my diet and I rarely notice reflux anymore. Very intersting. I believe it.
I tend to use and eat all of those minus the whisky (me and alcohol don't get along anymore) and I am generally in pretty good health now if I could only quite smoking...naaa!
Another handy dandy use of garlic is for acne or blotchy skin. When I was a kid I would get white spots on my face from the sun. So crush some garlic and rub it on your face. It stings like a bitch but it works.
Great hub.
Nicely done! I like the part about your liberal application of the alcohol cure. :) I used to get nosebleeds in high school, but they stopped when I went to college and now I know why...
I haven't tried the teas you mentioned, but I'll be on the lookout for them. I've discovered some delicious herbal teas lately and now my day doesn't feel complete without a cup of tea.
Thanks for sharing all this great information!
Hey Sufi,
Great Hub, I eat all that stuff minus the Feta cheese, we don't make that where I am from. My Grandmother is 104 and can attest to the benefits of a good diet of real food, stress free life with lots of laughs, and a good dose of whiskey here and there to help with the laughs.
TMG
Hi, Sufi-Good info.... I'm curious what the Greeks eat as far as grains or starches? (Yeah, me and my pasta obsession--but it is weird, I've gone 4 or 5 days just eating protein and vegetables and I begin to feel weird!)
I swear by olive oil for everything... And I see you are not kidding about your alchohol, are you?? :)
Thanks for the comments, folks. Sorry about the delayed response, but I was picking olives today:)
BDazzler - It is perplexing how something can be Extra virgin. It either is or it isn't.
LondonGirl - That is a great use. If I remember rightly, the nurse insists that you have used olive oil for a couple of weeks before she syringes your ears. The next hub may delve a little more deeply into the uses of olive oil.
Anna - With you on the smoking. I should give up but I love cigars so much :( Olive oil does help reflux and also helps to keep things nice and regular. Never heard the acne use for garlic, but I could believe it. Probably not recommended just before a date.
Melissa - I did find a website selling Taygetos Tea and will try to post a link. We hope to sell our own, at some point in the future, but we need to grow the herbs first!
TMG - Well done to your grandmother. Sometimes, the simple life works best. If you write a hub with some of her remedies, let me know and I will insert a link. You must know some great folk medicines.
Lita - The traditional Greek carbohydrate is bread, eaten with every meal. They also use rice, potatoes and pasta. Greeks and Italians have swapped reciped for hundreds of years, so pasta is common. Interestingly, very little is wholemeal. I guess that if you get plenty of fibre and nutrients from the rest of your diet, then it makes little difference.
The alcohol is for purely medicinal purposes ;) The Greeks drink a lot, but rarely get extremely drunk. They drink slowly, with food, and the climate means that you sweat it out. Personally, I believe that food dilutes the alcohol too much.
Ain't it grand to live in a Mediterranean country! :-) All in all, if I replace Mountain tea with Chamomile, you could have been talking about Spain! A Spanish recipe book, or an Italian one, for that matter, will do the trick in 9, too!
Extra Virgin Olive Oil: I admit, one has got to be familiar with olive oil, pure olive oil, and virgin olive oil to recognize the "extra" variety, but it is different, it has an intenser taste. The difference is in acidity, the quality of the olives it's produced with and the way the olives are pressed.
Hi Elena - thanks for dropping by.
I have not tasted much Spanish food, but my Aunt lives over there and raves about it! We have chamomile here, and it is a refreshing drink.
The main problem with the extra-virgin is the price. In the UK, it is extremely expensive. Over here, we have 12 olive trees and that gives us enough extra-virgin to last for the year. Beautiful stuff, containing all of the flavour and goodness. Totally organic, too.
It must be understood & accepted in the world that Greek medicines are derivatives of the black Africans and the black Asians from the Arabian peninsula. The Moors concurred Europe and by during so resulted in the European Renaissance. African culture, medicine & arts were all imported to Greece and other part of Europe. Black Africans had been called Maures meaning dark by the Greeks. So when you talk about natural medicine, I can relates because our history connects.
READ MORE
http://yeyeolade.wordpress.com/2007/07/29/the-moor
Hi Coolbreezing.
Thanks for stopping by - your insight is always welcome.
Interesting article - I have always been a keen scholar of Islamic History, so you are preaching to the converted! Whilst I tend to concentrate upon Greece, the Mediterranean has always been such a cultural melting pot. Lying at the crossroads of Africa, Europe and the Spice Road, there have been so many influences.
I have always felt that Africa has been dealt a bad hand by historians. It tends to be dismissed as 'The Dark Unknown Continent'. The Dogons, the Nubians and Greater Zimbabwe show that there were many interesting things going on in Africa. I am convinced that many great civilisations rose and fell, but the ruins have been covered by the jungle, savannah and desert. One day, I hope that archaeologists find an 'Ankhor' in the Congo or 'Acropolis' in Chad. If you have any interesting sources, I would love to read more.
The Greeks still use Mavro (pl. Mavres) to describe dark skin - normally it means 'black', but 'dark skinned' when referring to people.
Amen, you have no clue how hard it is to find intelligent people in the US who knows that part of history. Most of them don't even know who the Moors were. It is as if that part of history never existed, it is not taught in school or in any University for that matter. This is why one of my greatest historian is Dr. John Henry Clark who wrote the Great and Mighty Walk. Dr. John Henry Clark take us from Babylonian times to modern American history. In his quest for knowledge, he offered us in his own word a vivid description by connecting the dots. He explain to us Africans that our history does not start with slavery. Slavery was only the beginning of our hardship but it doesn't even beget to explain the rich history that we have left behind which the world is now continuing to ponder on. Dr. Clark history is not just a history for black people, it is more than that, it is the world history. As you continue to watch this video you'll see why.
John Henry Clark said “ History is a campus that people use to find themselves in the map of human geography” remember this before we're anything else, we are all human first.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bN1KYkeBYTk&feature
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rc-uYW13I0
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-578475681
-Great hub, Sufidreamer. I love extra virgin olive oil and add it to everything I make, even a tiny bit to chocolate chip cookies (shh, that's a secret!).
Thanks, Constant Walker - My partner is the sweet stuff specialist, and she is a convert to olive oil cookery. I prefer cooking savoury dishes, and the quality of the oil makes such a difference.
Coolbreezing - my internet connection is too slow to watch the videos, but I may have a look when I visit Sparta. I have some theories about the supression of black history pre-slavery, and look forward to discussing them with you. :)
-Coolbreezing, I know who the Moors were. I learned through my fascination of "sword vs. sorcery" lore.
lol - I was into sword and sorcery lore too!
Great info. I'm always looking for more ways to build up my health.
Coolbrezzing- Our schools are really good at telling us what they want us to know. There is much history that we all could benefit from if true education were not hindered by government and big business.
I enjoyed this hub. I would love to hear more about the mountain tea and herbs you referenced.
Sufi, you might enjoy this: http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Sword
Steve, you're preacing to the choir! The best (and only) ways to learn real history is by learning it on your own, and watching History Channel.
And, surprisingly, I learned alot of fascinating historical details from reading Anne Rice's vampirenovels. That woman DID her homework!
Hi Nick - Thanks for stopping by, and for the kind words.
I have a little work to do, but I found a couple of online sources for you to look at. The tea here is usually this ironwort plant mixed with mountain sage.
http://www.greekherbsonline.com/greek-mountain-tea
http://greekfood.about.com/od/mezethesdrinks/a/tsa
It is a wholesome drink. The herbs we have for cooking are oregano and basil, full of flavour - Greek cooking is very similar to Italian in that they use strong and pungent herbs.
ConstantWalker - Thanks for the tip. I love swords, so will work my over that in the next few minutes!
I LOVE Italian food. I substituted the "very-American" salt and pepper long ago for herbs, spices and especially Mrs. Dash.
Hi Constant Walker.
I love Italian food, too. There are a couple of good Italian places in Sparta, so it is nice to go for pizza, pasta and ice-cream. As a kid, I went to Naples, and the pizzas there were sublime - hope to visit again one day!
Ok, this is a bit off topic but olive oil is great for dogs with digestive problems as well. Just add a few tablespoons to their food and no more mad dashes outside! Thanks for all the information Sufidreamer.
Thanks for the great tip, Mardi - certainly not off topic. Vets bills are even more expensive, so any folk remedies are good. We give our cats and the dog a little olive oil - it is good for digestion and their coats are sleek and glossy.
And all this time I thought olive oil was just for dipping bread into while waiting for the main course at Papa Vino's in Mishawaka, Indiana. Come to think of it, the decor does seem as much Greek than Italian. Hmmmmmm....
Thanks JamaGenee - That is certainly a great use for olive oil, but you can tuck in knowing that it is healthy!
I think that most Greek and Italian restaurants have the same interior designer - there appears to be a generic style. The only difference is that Italians have a tacky picture of Venice, the Greeks have the Acropolis 'painting'.
Great information, I found this fascinating about the Greeks. I love olive oil and will take these tips to heart. =))
Thanks, Marisue - I hope that it helps. Extra olive oil in the diet is little hardship!
Really nice hub! Some of these I knew about as I have a south Asian background and we too have used many of the alternative methods for healing and wellbeing. Good to know!
Thanks amreen - there is a lot of knowledge in Asia. The western world can learn a lot from some of the traditional remedies!
I heard a strikingly beautiful black woman in her 60s say that she rubs extra virgin olive oil over her entire body and it keeps her skin young. (I won't be taking any baths in it until the price comes down, though!)
You hit on the real key for good health, Sufidreamer. It's finding our way back to a healthy relationship with nature. When that happens, stress flies away and with it goes every sort of ill.
Thanks for the comment, Mindfield.
Low stress is the way to go - definitely the modern ailment.
I have been known to have the odd olive oil bath - very good for the skin!
I really enjoyed reading this hub again. I must confess I do love garlic and would not cook without it! I also gobble up onions, and my sister hates the smell when I cook. However, I do believe that eating onion, garlic, and spicy peppers helps to ward off colds when I feel one coming on. The other items you describe here are great as well. Diet is very important for certain health conditions as diabetes, which does run in our family. I just would rather be careful than risk it later on.
Thanks, SweetiePie - Love the new avatar BTW ;)
I love Garlic and onions too. I agree about the spices - Doctors now advise a strong curry to relieve the worst symptoms of a cold. Good diet is certainly one of the foundations of health, and the Western fast-food culture has a lot to answer for.
Hi Sufi,
Western fast food is just gross for the most part. I think it is cheaper and tastier to make your own food anyway.
Agreed - I love cooking, although some of the Greek tavernas serve lovely traditional food very cheaply. We try to get out once every couple of weeks :)
Great effort Sufidreamer,appreciatte a lot your tips and valuable information.I am from Albania and we somehow have a very similar diet with our neighbours.myself i live overses but The extra virgin olive oil and i must admit The greek variation is my favourite oilve oil,i use in cooking and that a part of my family's dietary fat,my 2 children must drink it every morning with hony in empty stomach:),they cant wait for it.nothing is like olive oil.i am a propagator of traditional medicine,actually food is medicine,a right balance of life,mentally,spirtually and eating moderately and pure foods(unprocessed)is the key to a healthy life.
May Almighty God reward your efforts for all your info and tips.
Thanks for visiting, Blessed Tree - I have a few Albanian friends here, and like them a lot. Glad that you like Greek oil - I sometimes have a spoonful of olive oil with honey, too. Very good for the stomach - you must have healthy children.
I like your way of thinking - the holistic approach is a good approach. Good luck with the traditional medicine :)
Great food for thought! I think destressing is number one.
Thanks, Darwin's - missed this one amongst the atheism thread hubtivity! You are bang on - a relatively stress-free live is the key to a long and happy life!
Hi again Sufidreamer!! Great info on the medicinal purposes of certain Greek foods and liquor. I do eat a lot of garlic, and always thought that was an Italian thing....guess I'm living true to my heritage.LOL!! Thanks for the interesting post! Peace ~ K
Thanks for dropping by, Kim - It might be the Mediterranean blood. I must admit that I eat far more garlic here - it does seem to keep the worst of the bugs away.
I also drink more Ouzo - it has its own benefits ;)
Traditional Greek Folk Medicine in the News
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Through Dec. 31: It's only the second year for this event, but with a half-mile of animated displays lit up for the season, the Holiday of Lights in the Park presented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers is on its way to becoming a holiday tradition. All proceeds benefit Second Harvest Heartland, Union Gospel Mission, St. Paul Parks Conservancy and UnderConstruction. 5:30-10 p ...
BDazzler says:
11 months ago
I've been thinking about this olive oil business .. Everybody talks about "Extra Virgin" ... but what about the "Fools around a little" and "Only with guys she likes" and of course the "mildly slutty" olivie oil?
Are these as good for the health or do they risk disease? ... well obviously the widly slutty olive oil is risky.