Doggone it, it seems to work!

[Talitha]

I'm talking about a folk remedy for arthritis... gin-soaked golden raisins.

The first time I heard about it was on a radio program called The Peoples' Pharmacy (NPR). Some online checking turned up quite a few people who swear by it, so I decided what the heck, I'll give it a whirl.

You need to use golden raisins because they're treated with sulpher dioxide. And you need to use Gin because it's flavored with juniper berries. Apparently those 2 ingredients are what supposedly makes this folk remedy work.

All reports said to soak the raisins in a glass jar, so I used an empty jar from a large candle. After dumping the raisins in, I filled the jar with enough Gordon's London Dry Gin to cover the raisins.

The reports said to fasten a piece of cloth on top of the jar so the alcohol would evaporate but I'm not a tee-totaler so I capped the contents with the glass top of the jar.

Then I checked and stirred the mixture every day. As the raisins soaked up the Gin, I needed to add a splash more. In about ten days or so, the raisins looked like plump little grapes and I figured they were ready.

Most of the online info specified to take 9 raisins every day. I counted them at first and found they fit comfortably in a teaspoon, so I just used that as a measure from then on.

I can't say the mixture deleted the arthritic pain in my back, shoulders and right knee, but it sure seemed to help more than the Blue Emu or AsperCream I'd been slathering on. It's easier to get out of bed in the morning, easier to brush my hair, and my knee doesn't feel as bad when climbing the stairs.

As an added bonus, the Gin turned into a wonderful raisin cordial.

[SheltieLover]

1. Glad you're getting relief!

I've also read that therapeutic doses of alfalfa capsules can help, & cherry juice is supposed to be really great, too.

[Talitha]

2. Thanks, I never heard of the alfalfa capsules.

But have heard of the Cherry juice. Seems like I used to see bottles of it (very expensive!) at the local grocery store years ago but haven't seen it for a while.

[SheltieLover]

4. A Shaklee distributor told me about alfalfa decades ago

I never tried it. I had been inquiring for an elder family member.

Yes, cherry juice is very expensive. Try a health food store?

[Talitha]

10. I'm out in the boonies so would probably need to shop online.

The nearest health food store was an hour away, in a huge shopping mall. Sadly the mall is now closed - mostly because of the Internet but the pandemic probably drove the last nail into its coffin.

[SheltieLover]

15. Shame about the mall

But I think you can get products online. As I recall, the man said dosage for arthritis symptoms was pretty high. Might want to check with your healthcare provider?

Seems like it was 20-30 capsules per day, but I might not be remembering correctly.

Btw, Shaklee does not sell in stores, but you can purchase a low-cost membership & get a sizable discount, or at least it was available back then.

[wnylib]

6. I've heard that cherries and cherry juice

work well, too. It is supposed to be tart cherries and juice. My problem is that I can't stand tart flavors of anything. I suppose sweeter cherries might have some value.

[SheltieLover]

7. Not sure

Maybe you could put it in tea or something?

[wnylib]

9. I would still taste it. I am what is known as a

"double taster." Double tasters are exceptionally sensitive to bitter and tart flavors. It's genetic. About 25% of the general population are double tasters. I was always aware of my distaste for bitter and tart flavors, but it wasn't until a college biology class that I learned why and felt validated.

The professor told us about it and did a classroom experiment. He had 2 sets of specially treated slips of paper that he placed on our tongues. The first one was neutral, a control. (But I thought it had an antiseptic flavor) Then we all sat at our desks with our tongues hanging out while he placed the "bitter" flavored strip on them. It barely touched my tongue when I rushed out of the room in search of a water fountain to rinse my mouth. That didn't work so I asked if anyone had gum on them. Nobody did. I left to find a vending machine with gum.

When I returned, the professor said, "We obviously have a double taster in the class."

Forget double. Bitter and sour flavors have a triple or more taste for me than they have for the average person. It's the reason why I never drink coffee, eat liver, or eat sourballs or tart fruits. I have gradually acquired, over the years, the ability to tolerate dark chocolate, but that's as bitter as it ever gets for me. Forget tart completely.

[Talitha]

12. That's a new one on me, I never heard of a double taster before!

[wnylib]

20. See my post #19.

[MLAA]

13. Interesting, I've never heard of double taster before. Live and learn. Thanks.

[wnylib]

19. Double taster is the term that the professor used,

but it's also known as super taster. Most articles on it focus on the bitter taste, but it also affects sour/tart flavors. It's an intensity of the sense of taste. I am also sensitive to salty flavors, but not as bad as to bitter and tart. If I eat pretzels, I always scrape off the salt. The residual flavor on the pretzels after scraping them is enough for me.

Yet, strangely, I like spicy foods, as long as the hot spices (like jalopeno) are not too strong.

[soothsayer]

3. They're delicious

[wnylib]

5. I've heard of this, too, but I suspect that the gin just kills

the pain. Have you tried a gin and tonic drink? Quicker and easier.

There are other remedies that take less effort. Some foods have anti oxident properties that relieve arthritis, like fresh or frozen blueberries. You can add them to breakfast cereal, mix them into vanilla or plain yogurt, or make blueberry muffins.

Having the right balance of calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D also helps. I take vitamin D daily because of a tendency I have to be deficient in it without a supplement. Most diets have enough calcium, but magnesium might be low. Chocolate has magnesium and anti oxidrnt properties, especially dark chocolate, but it needs to be a good quality. Ghirardelli makes little dark chocolate squares filled with a small amount of caramel. One or two of those is enough.

But there are other foods that have magnesium. Adding them to a diet, with calcium and Vitamin D, helps keep joints limber and reduces pain. Magnesium foods are nuts, seeds, legumes, whole grains, and green, leafy vegetables.

[SheltieLover]

8. Ty for info

I take magnesium citrate for restless legs & muscle spasms.

But, are a couple of squares of chocolate ever enough?

[wnylib]

14. Well, I confess that I am a chocoholic. But since

I know that about myself, I don't keep much of it around. In another post here, I mentioned that I am a double taster. The caramel filling in the Ghirardelli squares makes them tolerable to me, but the bitterness of the dark chocolate helps me restrain myself.

Milk chocolate, OTOH ... well, I have little resistance to it, so I never have it around.

[Talitha]

17. Does the sourness of, say, lemonade bother you?

[wnylib]

21. Yes, absolutely. Never drink it.

Strange thing about the bitter and tart flavors for me is that nothing disguises them.

When I was in my teens, I thought it would look sophisticated to drink coffee like some of my peers had started doing. I tried adding milk, cream, tons of sugar, but all I tasted was bitterness.

As an adult, I read that liver was a good source of some nutrients so I tried umpteen different recipes for it, but nothing made it tolerable to me. Just as well, I guess, because it's also high in cholesterol.

I can't even eat sweet, blue grapes because the skin on them is too tart. But I am fine with the big, red or black grapes, and with raisins..

[Talitha]

16. If it was just the Gin killing the pain, it wouldn't last all day like it does.

So it must be the sulpher dioxide and the juniper berries.

Hmmmm - - I wonder if the raisins actually need to be soaked in the Gin?

Most of the online comments said to cover the jar with a cloth so the alcohol would evaporate. But if you don't mind the alcohol, maybe you could just have a shot of Gin and eat a teaspoon of golden raisins.

[MLAA]

11. I'll have to give it a try! Thanks.

[Talitha]

18. You're welcome!