Boy was I wiped out yesterday. I’m not sure if it was a stomach bug or something I ate (I did spend the morning munching on raw mint sprigs while composting a friend’s berry garden) but whatever it was put a hurting on me.

Seeing my pain, my Amish hosts whipped up a couple of home remedies. After trying the first with no discernible effect, I passed on the second and dragged myself to the car like a wounded soldier, heading to the pharmacy. A retreat of sorts.

My Amish friends stick with natural salves, only going with traditional medicines as a last resort. I’m hardly a pill popper (usually I’m loathe to take even headache medicine) but my first instinct when I really do need something is to beat a quick path to my legal drug dispenser. I’ll never be Amish, but if I were ever to try, I think this aversion to natural medicines would be one of my hang ups. I mean I’ll give them a chance if offered, but it’s always someone else’s idea.

But I find myself wondering, do I place too much faith in conventional medicine? My store bought stomach antidote did the trick after all. Should I have tried home remedy number two first? There are many true believers among natural medicine users (witness the boom in herbal supplements and other natural health products), and I have to say the idea of taking what God has provided in its rawest form does appeal to me, at least in theory.

This is really an informal survey but I’m curious to hear your thoughts on natural remedies vs. conventional ones.

(BTW, since my Amish friend’s internet still seems to not be working-that’s 8 times in a row now-I’m posting this using my kindle’s 3G internet connection, which takes 3 times as long…but looking forward to getting to the comments section as soon as I find some real internet supply around here somewhere)

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