What Are Cuban Folk Remedies?

Healers in Cuba have used herbs and other plants throughout history for cures of disease and other ailments. These folk remedies were passed down through generations, consisting of more than 170 plant species. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Cuba has become "green" as traditional herbal medicine use dominates the healthcare industry, including doctors and pharmacies. Scientists and doctors today are researching and learning much from Cuba.

Herbal Remedies

• Cuban herbs used in folk remedies such as using the common oregano and Coleus amboinicus to cure coughs and more are being researched by scientists. Help heal diabetes with a type of basil called Ocimum sanctum. Treat cancer and other diseases of the immune system with the "nonni" fruit or Morinda citrifolia. The "Jamaica" Hibiscus sabdarifa is known in Cuba to help heal many health problems, including high blood pressure and stomach ailments.

  Externally apply a hot chile pepper rub after soaking the pepper pods to relieve a sore throat and laryngitis. Eat red chile peppers in salads or take pills made with a mixture of powdered chile and honey to cure hemorrhoids.

Reyita

• Black Cuban healer, Maria de los Reys Castillo Bueno (1902 to 1997), known as Reyita, became famous for her healing remedies. For example, to prevent pregnancy, place honey in the vagina--the sperm will stick to the honey and die. To get pregnant, Reyita says to "put four strips of charcoal wood into a jar, add seven spoonfuls of brown sugar and fill with water, tie a piece of gauze around the top to cover it and leave it be for 45 days in the sun and the dew. After this time you start to use it and each [husband and wife] takes a small glass on an empty stomach."

  Reyita also suggests a remedy to prevent menstrual problems, including acne. Prepare a mixture of senna leaves and brown sugar in a jar. Fill it with water and keep in the sun for 45 days, covered only in gauze. Drink a little on an empty stomach every morning. Also, take a spoonful of honey each morning to prevent many illnesses. Keep your skin clear and smooth by washing with a mixture of water boiled with sweet potato vines.

Cuban Water Cure

• According to a July 28, 2005 article in the Havana Journal called, "Folk Healing in Cuba", water is one of the cures some Cubans use to heal themselves. Although Cuba has a free, universal health care system, many choose to stick to water instead of using modern medicine. The people say it's all about belief and faith that God and the water will cure their ailments. A peasant woman, Antoica Izquierdo, started this folk remedy after a voice told her to bathe her son who had meningitis in a river and give him 3 teaspoons of water to drink. He was cured and she became a hero.

  This Cuban water cure has a basis in science also, although it is still not widely used. Fereydoon Batmanghelidj, M.D., an internationally renowned researcher, author and advocate of the natural healing power of water, studied for years how drinking water can cure illness and disease. His findings were published in many science journals and Dr. Batmanghelidj's first book is called, "Your Body's Many Cries for Water". Dr. Batmanghelidj says, "You're not sick; you're thirsty. Don't treat thirst with medication."