Constipation

Soak 4 senna pods in water, mince with 1lb (454g) raisins, 1lb (454g) dry figs, and 1oz (28g) glycerine. Mix well. Take 1 teaspoon in the evening.

Source: Die N.C.V.V. Resepte Boek

Baked Apples

Bake them in a tin roaster, as iron discolors them; pour molasses over them and bake until soft. This is good for opening the bowels of patients who are a little constipated.

Source: La Cuisine Creole

Ingredient: Onion

The uses of the onion are many and varied. Fresh onion juice promotes perspiration, relieves constipation and bronchitis, induces sleep, is good for cases of scurvy and sufferers from lead colic. It is also excellent for bee and wasp stings.

Onions are noted for their nerve-soothing properties. They are also beautifiers of the complexion. But moderation must be observed in their use or they are apt to disagree. Not everyone can digest onions, although I believe them to be more easily digested raw than cooked.

A raw onion may be rubbed on unbroken chilblains with good results. If broken, the onion should be roasted. The heart of a roasted onion placed in the ear is an old-fashioned remedy for earache.

Raw onions are a powerful antiseptic. They also attract disease germs to themselves, and for this reason may be placed in a sickroom with advantage. Needless to say, they should afterwards be burnt or buried. Culpeper, the ancient herbalist, says that they “draw corruption unto them.” It is possibly for this reason that the Vedanta forbids them to devout Hindoos.

Garlic possesses the same properties as the onion, but in a very much stronger degree. Leeks are very much milder than the onion.

Source: Food Remedies: Facts About Foods And Their Medicinal Uses, Florence Daniel

Ingredient: Brazil Nut

Brazil nuts are excellent for constipation. They are also a good substitute for suet in puddings. Use 5 oz. nuts to 1 lb. flour. They should be grated in a nut mill or finely chopped.

Source: Food Remedies: Facts About Foods And Their Medicinal Uses, Florence Daniel

Uses of Bran Water

Few housekeepers know the value of bran water in the household. Its uses are manifold and its cost but a trifle. As an effectual and harmless dirt remover it cannot be surpassed. In preparing it for use, place in a cloth bag some bran, upon which pour boiling water; let stand for several minutes; squeeze the bag out and remove, when the water is ready for use.

In washing woodwork, be it hardwood or painted, it will be found invaluable. The dirt is quickly removed and the original finish of the wood is retained.

For washing printed fabrics it has no equal, for it will not injure the most delicate colors.

If one would use bran water when washing the hair, she would find it not only cleanses the scalp thoroughly, but also imparts to the hair that beautiful luster so much desired.

Another important consideration is that the water does not injure the hands, like so many cleansing preparations; on the contrary, it has long been known that bran is an excellent skin whitener and beneficial when used in the bath.

Lastly, it will cure chronic constipation, by drinking anywhere from three to five cups of bran water at intervals before breakfast. A few drops of lemon juice make it more palatable to some people. For this purpose it is well to soak the bran over night in a covered receptacle and strain in the morning.

Source: 1001 Household Hints, Ottilie V. Ames

Rhubarb

The primary action of rhubarb is that of a mild purgative, but it has also tonic and astringent properties, so that its secondary effects are to confine the bowels; hence it is well fitted for use in diarrhoea, but not in constipation, or any affection in which a continuous aperient action is necessary. It is not fitted for inflammatory or febrile cases, although it seldom acts as an irritant; its stimulating, combined with its aperient properties, render it valuable in dyspepsia. Generally speaking, it suits children and aged persons best. Where the bowels are sluggish, combined with ginger and a little extract of dandelion, it makes an excellent dinner pill. The ordinary dose of the powder is from 20 to 36 grains. Some persons have no objection to chew the root, and to such as have not, this is a very good way of taking it. There is an immense variety of medical compounds of which rhubarb forms an important ingredient. Mixed with an equal proportion of carbonate of soda it is an excellent remedy for the irritation of the bowels, common with children when teething. As a common aperient for the young, it is best given combined with magnesia. With both children and adults it has the property of communicating a deep tinge to the urine — this should be known, as the change of colour in the secretion of the kidneys may occasion alarm and misconception. Garden rhubarb when used as food has a slight aperient action upon the bowels In some cases this may be beneficial, but not in all; those who have a tendency to relaxed bowels should not take it. Generally speaking, it is a wholesome and cooling article of diet.

Source: Baldwin’s Herbal Guide To Health, G. Baldwin

Costiveness

From whatever cause it may arise, frequent exercise in the open air, and abstinence from heating liquors, will be found very beneficial. To those who are afflicted with this complaint, it is particularly recommended that they should visit the customary retreat every morning at a stated hour, that nature may in this respect, by perseverance, acquire a habit of regularity. In obstinate cases, three drams of carbon may be taken two or three times a day, mixed with three ounces of lenitive electuary, and two drams of carbonate of soda, as circumstances may require. Half an ounce of Epsom salts, dissolved in a tumbler or two of cold water, and drank at intervals, will have a very salutary effect.

Source: The Cook And Housekeeper’s Complete and Universal Dictionary, Mary Eaton

Constipation

Chop fine one-half pound of the best prunes and one-half pound of figs. Add one-half ounce of pure senna and enough molasses to make a thick paste. Simmer on the stove about twenty minutes. Take a piece of this paste about the size of a hickory nut. Repeat in four hours if necessary.

Source: The Inglenook Cook Book

Senna Prunes

24 prunes.
2 tablespoonfuls of senna leaves.
1 pint of boiling water.

Steep the senna in the water, where it will keep hot for two hours; then strain the water. Wash the stewpan, and put into it the senna water and the prunes, well washed. Cover, and place the stewpan on a part of the range where the contents will just simmer. Cook until the prunes have absorbed all the water; then put them in a jar, and use as required. This is a mild and pleasant remedy for constipation. The prunes are delicious, and will keep for months. They are convenient to take when travelling.

Source: Miss Parloa’s Young Housekeeper, Maria Parloa

Health Gems for Constipation

One quart unsifted wheat bran, 1 pint entire wheat flour, 1 pint milk, 6 tablespoons molasses, 2 teaspoons soda, salt. Makes two dozen gems.

Source: Cook Book, Woman’s Association of the Church of the Evangel, Congregational