When In Rome...

Around the time I was leaving the US, I frequently heard "There's an App for that!"  Well, here I am hearing "There's a yuyo (sounds like jew-joe) for that!"  Paraguayans as a whole seem to really like natural remedies--and I'm willing to try them.  Since it generally just means drinking what we might call weed-water, I'm okay with trying things out.  (I have a friend in Asia who had a friend scrape her back with a coin...she left with 33 stripes!)

Cola de Caballo=Horsetail 

This week I've had a urinary tract infection, and my friend suggested I drink cola de caballo.  She gave me some today to try, and said to boil it in a liter of water for 1-2 minutes.  I can drink it hot or cold (I'm going with cold tomorrow because it's 74* outside...and I did some research--it's a diuretic.  Definitely not drinking it before I go to bed!)

According to Wikipedia, "The plant contains several substances which can be used medicinally. It is rich in the minerals silicon (10%), potassium, and calcium. The buds are eaten as a vegetable in Japan and Korea in spring time."  It also came with some long-term use warnings, so despite the many benefits, looks like this is not a daily thing I'll be drinking.

The list of illnesses it treats were quite diverse:

• Kidney and bladder stones.
• Edema
• Weight loss.
• Hair loss.
• Gout.
• Frostbite--definitely not an issue here
•  Fluid retention.
• Urinary tract infections.
• Incontinence.
• Tuberculosis
• Jaundice
• Hepatitis
• Osteoarthritis and osteoprosis
• Use on the skin for wound healing.
• Strengthen fingernails
• Polish pewter and wood--yikes!
• Other conditions.

 And my favorite use I found:
It was used by Hurdy-Gurdy players to dress the wheels of their instruments by removing resin build up

Everyone hates a resin-chunked Hurdy-Gurdy.