I’ve been [knock wood] Wonderfully Flu-Free This Year
Could it be because I eat a lot of garlic?? We put it in our food, add it to our fresh veggie juices, make an and have it in teas when we do get ill…which isn’t often. Came across a great article from Ashland, Oregon herbalist, Julie Avena on this. If you’ve got a cough, flu or other inflammatory problem, listen up! This is great stuff:
Daily use of garlic has been known to prevent heart disease, balance blood pressure, lower cholesterol, and increase overall immunity. Eating raw or lightly cooked garlic is the best way to benefit from its healing virtues. Lightly cooking chopped garlic in olive oil helps to infuse the medicinal constituents into your meals. It is best to let the chopped garlic sit for ten minutes, adding it at the very end of the cooking process to preserve more allicin, the beneficial compound responsible for fighting disease. It is questionable whether encapsulated powdered garlic has any medicinal benefit at all.
When addressing an acute condition, only raw garlic will fight infections. Try it chopped and mixed in honey, juiced with vegetables (start with ¼ tsp garlic juice per 16 ounces of juice, up to 1 tsp garlic juice, every hour), sprinkled over soup or salad. Keep in mind that too much raw garlic can cause nausea, vomiting and irritation to the intestinal tract, so start with small doses. One should avoid taking raw garlic on an empty stomach.
Different solvents extract different constituents of garlic. Boulder herbal guru, Paul Bergner, shares this “Connoisseur’s Garlic Cocktail” in his book, The Healing Power of Echinacea and Goldenseal and Other Immune System Herbs: Blend together 3 cloves garlic with 1 tsp each red wine, vinegar and olive oil, add ¼ cup hot water and let sit 6 hours. Without straining, add 1/3 of the mix to a cup of hot water and drink up, repeating every 3-6 hours.
This sounds like a recipe for salad dressing, but this stuff really works. If you are still freaked out about the possibility of a bird flu pandemic, may I suggest a simple act to ease your conscious. Plant garlic! Simply take a healthy looking, fat clove off the garlic head and put it in the earth with the tip facing up; if you plant now you can have a harvest by mid-summer. Getting your hands in the earth and growing your own medicine is therapy in itself. Don’t let their fear tactics weaken you! Remember, prevention and peace of mind is the best medicine.
Julie Avena is a certified clinical herbalist, teacher, writer, mother, musician and dancer living in Ashland, Oregon. She creates a line of herbal body care products available at www.earthmamagoods.com. She can be reached for classes and consultations by calling 541-292-6062 or writing to mail@earthmamagoods.com.
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