Before you reach for an over-the-counter drug, try the all natural way. Nutritionist Peggy Kotsopoulos shows us some of her favourite fixes for common ailments.

Upset Stomach & Indigestion

Pharmacy fix: Antacids

Peggy's fix:

For an under-active stomach:

• If you have an upset stomach or indestigion immediately following a meal, it's most likely do to low stomach acid. Raw sauerkraut can help deal with this, as it's rich in probitoics and digestive enzymes to help breakdown your meal
• Miso soup is also rich in probiotics to aid in digestion.

For an over-active stomach:

• If you have too much stomach acid, you'll feel the fire in your belly a couple of hours after a meal, in between meals, on an empty stomach, or first thing in the morning.
• The remedy for an over-active stomach is raw cabbage juice, which helps soothe and increase the stomach's lining, making it resistant to acid attacks. (It also helps prevent ulcers)
• You can also try aloe vera, which is an anti-inflammatory and soothes and treats acid reflux.
• Finally, chamomile tea soothes the line of the esophagus and reduces incidence of acid reflux.

Headache

Pharmacy fix: Ibuprofen

Peggy's fix: Peppermint

• Rub peppermint essential oils onto your temples. For a migraine, even just holding the peppermint oil close to your nose and sniffing can provide relief. Peppermint helps relax blood vessels, nerve endings and tense muscles in general, providing pain relief.

Muscle Aches & Pains

Pharmacy fix: Topical ointment/creams

Peggy's fix: Cayenne pepper.

• Mix cayenne pepper with a carrier oil (like olive oil or coconut oil) and massage directly onto the skin. Capsaisin, the active incredient in cayenne pepper, can help supress pain at the local site. This is beneficial for chronic, long-term pain (including arthritis and joint pain) rather than accute injury.

Nausea

Pharmacy fix: Anti-nauseant

Peggy's fix: Ginger

• Ginger is the most effective and widely researched food when it comes to treating and preventing nausea. It can help prevent motion sickness, morning sickness and nausea from chemotherapy. Ginger supplements, fresh ginger, ground ginger, ginger juice and ginger chews are all effective.

Wounds & Cuts

Pharmacy fix: antibiotic ointments or hydrogen peroxide

Note: Be sure NOT to use hydrogen peroxide on a wound. It can cause more damage to surrounding skin cells and slow down healing.

Peggy's fix: Lavender oil.

• Apply to the cleaned wound. Lavender oil is a gentle antiseptic that can prevent infection and soothes.
• Raw honey will help speed up wound healing. It's anti-microbrial andanti-bacterial. While getting rid of pain, it also moisturizes, speeds up the healing process and prevents scaring.