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Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Tonic Water is TRULY a Tonic!

I could blog angrily about the many atrocities going on today, and I was tempted, but I'm short on time to provide a properly researched rave. And I can't really expound upon the satisfaction of grocery shopping and meal planning, which I've decided to start doing again. It's very easy for me to take us and our friends out to meals daily, but it's not as healthy or as fufilling as doing it at home.

And, don't get me wrong: Eating out is grand. But eating out TOO much simply COSTS grands. However, let's stop talking about this subject. Grocery shopping and meal planning is too mundane for THIS blog.

So, let me tell you about a little interesting factoid I learned on my trip to North Carolina last week. Staying with my parents for a week was remarkably like staying with them when I was only a child. It seemed as if nothing had changed much, although we all are older. I suffer from regular neck pain due to my neck surgery and the continued bone deterioration, and my parents suffer from their individual aches and pains, too.

But during the first day there, Mom and I took SaurKid off the mountain and into the valley to do some grocery shopping. Dad stayed behind, working (both of my parents are writers - it runs in the family, you see).

As we walked up and down the aisles, looking for what-nots, Mom remembered that Dad needed his tonic water. Now, my family is a bunch of teetotallers, so I had to ask why Dad had developed this unusual taste, as tonic water isn't exactly a popular soft drink.

It turns out that Dad's doctor had prescribed tonic water for his leg cramps. The quinine in tonic water has been proven to stop cramps very effectively. In fact, it is the ONLY known treatment for leg cramps and it gets to the source of the problem rather than masking it with other drugs. However, you have to drink some daily so that it can build up in order to effectively treat the cramping.

I thought it couldn't hurt to try this folksy remedy myself, and started having at least a glass a day (we tried the diet tonic and didn't notice a difference between that and the regular version). Although I had arrived with my standard ice packs for my neck, by the end of the vacation I wasn't using any of them.

Yesterday we went sailing, which has always meant a great deal of suffering afterwards, but the cramping was minimized!

Now, why haven't any of MY doctors told me about this tonic?!

7 comments:

M@ said...

The medical establishment also wants to conceal evidence that marijauna provides an excellent remedy for boredom and sobriety.

Anonymous said...

Who knew??? I have added it to my grocery list! Thanks.

Ed said...

I think there are a lot of home remedies that work that doctors would never tell you. I've always thought that maybe dosing is an issue or probably drug companies don't profit and thus doctors don't get free things from them.

The Lazy Iguana said...

I like my tonic water with a little gin.

Saur♥Kraut said...

Lazy, I have a good friend who agrees with you. ;o)

Ed, I suspect the same thing. And, doctors aren't always trained in remedies that wouldn't come out of a pharmacy, either. It's a shame that they aren't, however.

Kathleen, I know! Don't expect a miracle overnight, but I noticed a difference within days.

Matt, ah, but pot is illegal and tonic water isn't. And, there are studies that certainly indicate that pot is highly carcinogenic, and that makes sense since it's introducing unfiltered smoke into sensitive lung tissue. All that's another argument for another day but I'll leave you with this thought: If an alcoholic drinks to escape, what is a recreational drug user - an addict also? Such choices are unhealthy.

The Ferryman said...

Mrs. Fab sometimes has an eye twitch and it helps a great deal with that as well.

Anonymous said...

I agree with this completely, thanks for the post.