When Allium Sativum saves the world

Allium Sativum, also known as garlic, is one of the best selling herbal supplements in America and has been the subject of thousands of medical, pharmacological, and chemical studies. A variant of the lily family, it has a rich history of medicinal use. Its popularity as a healer is recorded as far back as the Egyptians, who fed it to the pyramid builders to keep them healthy. In 1550 B.C. in the Ebers Codex there are 22 Egyptian medicinal recipes involving garlic. Hippocrates (460 B.C.) prescribed garlic to treat pneumonia, digestive disorders, and to regulate menstrual flow. In 1858, Biologist Louis Pastuer, chemist and microbiologist known for his medical breakthroughs, tested garlic by putting it into a petri dish filled with bacteria only to discover that the garlic could kill harmful microorganisms. During both world wars, when antibiotics were often unavailable, garlic was used on the battlefield to prevent gangrene and treat battle wounds. Most recently garlic is proven to be toxic to some tumor cells and is being researched by the National Cancer Institute for its cancer inhibiting properties.

Garlic cloves contain the amino acid alliin, which reacts with a naturally occuring enzyme allinase. When a clove is crushed or damaged, Allinase then acts as a catalyst and allicin is formed. Allicin is the major medicinal compound rich in antifungal, antiviral, and antibiotic properties. This means garlic strengthens your immune system, helps fight infections, and even treats athletes foot! Garlic lowers blood pressure by relaxing vein and artery walls and increases blood flow, therefore reducing the risks of stroke and heart attack, and it is good for your cholesterol by lowering low-density lipoproteins (bad cholesterol) and increasing high-density lipoproteins (good cholesterol). Garlic’s versatile resume also includes metabolic stimulant, a digestive aid and gas relief, and having a historical reputation for maintaining a healthy respiratory system, as well as a relief for phlegm.

To maintain health and use garlic as a preventative measure, it is recommended to consume 1-3 cloves a day. Obviously fresh is best, but 500 to 900 milligrams of dried garlic powder is also effective. You can also find it in capsule form or as an extract though it is recommended that if you take it as an extract you follow it with peppermint extract, for reasons that are more social than medicinal. You can also put a few drops of garlic oil in the ear to aid in an earache.

Excess of any good thing can cause it to be harmful, and as much as I know you are all dying to rush out and eat as many raw garlic cloves as you can lay your fingers on, eating ten or more raw cloves can be toxic and trigger allergic reaction. So try to limit it to 1-3. Also garlic should not be consumed by women breast-feeding because it can pass into the breast milk and cause colic in infants.

Cure Athlete’s foot with Garlic!

• Soak a few cloves of chopped garlic in rubbing alcohol overnight. Strain the garlic cloves. Fill a basin with warm water and add the rubbing alcohol. Soak your feet for 30 minutes or so.

• It if also said to be effective if you dust your feet with garlic powder twice a day.

• A Chinese remedy is to soak cloves of chopped garlic in olive oil for a couple days and then strain out the garlic pieces. You can then apply the oil topically.

Cold Concoction

• 1 cup of unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar

• 1 cup of unpasteurized honey

• 8 garlic cloves

Mix ingredients in blender on high for 60 seconds

Add 2 tsp. to pineapple or orange juice daily during cold and a few days after symptoms disappear.

Store in sealed container in fridge for up to 4 weeks

It is best to ingest garlic raw! My favorite method is to make vinaigrette to toss in a salad, or sauté vegetables in olive oil and then drizzle with the garlic vinaigrette.

Honey Garlic Vinaigrette

• 1 cup of vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 2 cloves of chopped garlic

Mix vinegar, honey, and garlic. Whisk as you slowly pour in oil. Set aside for 45 minutes to allow flavors to blend

Garlic Basil Vinaigrette

• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh garlic
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 2/3 cup olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Combine the basil, garlic, balsamic vinegar, and Parmesan cheese in a blender. Blend until ingredients form a paste. Slowly pour olive oil into the mixture and continue to blend until smooth.

Add pepper to taste

Kick the cold!

Given the season upon us, when noses runneth over and scratchy throats are in abundance, the most appropriate herbal remedies to share are those that can help relieve colds and sinus infections. It should be noted that each of us are built differently and some remedies are more effective for certain types of constitutions than others. One aspect of natural health is being aware of what is happening in your body and becoming familiar with what energizes, soothes, and heals you.

When you start to feel a cold sneaking up on you it is best to start pumping up your immune system. Vitamin C, and Echinacea are the most popular cold combatants and are most effective when taken within 24 hours of your first symptoms. Echinacea can be found in the natural living section of your pharmacy or at any health food store. It comes either in a capsule or as an extract. To take as an extract mix 15 drops with water four times a day. Sometimes it is easier to take in extract form because capsules often require taking with food. To boost your vitamin C, an effective preventative food is grapefruit. Grapefruit helps detoxify the liver, therefore building your immune system. Even though other citrus fruits, such as oranges, are also good sources of vitamin C, they are too sweet to promote proper liver damage.

Zinc is also often suggested, but some studies show that while it can shorten your length of illness when taken at the first sign of symptoms, it has little to no effect once your cold in underway. I find that natural honey lozenges enforced with Zinc and Echinacea are very helpful to soothe that scratchy throat, as well as help suppress coughing. In fact according to the Mayo Clinic, studies show that honey appeared to be as effective as the cough suppressant dextromethorphan in typical over-the-counter doses.

For the duration of your cold in addition to lozenges, drink as much peppermint tea or lemon tea sweetened with honey as you have time for and access to. Peppermint tea can help relieve congestion and a lemon tea sweetened with honey will soothe your throat and ease coughing.

Also effective as a tea and high in vitamin C is Cayenne pepper. Capsaicin, the compound that gives the spice its kick is an anti-inflammatory and Cayenne helps break up congestion. It is also effective in capsule form, found in any health section or at a health food store. I knew someone who, whenever he got a cold, would take 2 cayenne pepper capsules with lots of water every couple hours throughout the day, take a hot shower, wrap himself in as many blankets as he could find, and then allow himself a good 8 hours of sleep wrapped like a burrito on the couch. Then top it off with one more hot shower in the morning. It made him sweaty and smelly with quite a bit of laundry, but it would relieve congestion, help build his immune system, and break his cold every time.

According to New Choices for Natural Living, pure pineapple juice is also said to be effective. Drink 4-6 ounces of juice diluted with the same amount of water four times a day. It is less acidic in the stomach than citrus, it is higher in vitamin C, and it helps break down mucus better.

A lot can be said about herbs and other remedies, but the best treatments for any infection are lots of water and plenty of rest. We all have busy schedules that can wear down our bodies’ natural defenses. When you start to feel yourself getting sick try to go to bed an extra hour or two, and set a bit of time aside during the day to nap or just relax to allow your body to recharge. Also when you are utilizing any of these natural remedies continue with the care a couple days following the decline of your symptoms. You may feel better but the illness could be lingering.

Of course the best care is preventative care. While we are all prone to illness, you can minimize the amount and duration of your sick time when you exercise regularly, have a healthy diet, and minimize the amount of stress in your life, or find positive outlets to ease stress.

At the threshold

Every person has the desire to be healthy. No one enjoys a runny nose, headaches or chronic pains. However, so often we do not take the time to truly examine what healthy living means. The methods with which we use to pursue good health affect not only our bodies, but also affects the lives of those around us and the world in which we live. Even decisions as simple as from whom we buy our groceries, or the type of food we choose to ingest have long-term repercussions that we are often not even aware of.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary describes holistic as “relating to or concerned with wholes or with complete systems rather than with the analysis of, treatment of, or dissection into parts. “Holistic health treats the individual as an integrated system and assesses as well as treats physical, psychological, and mental conditions. Every choice we make affects all aspects of our life. Our personal lifestyle choices affect our communities and our environment. For myself, holistic living means eating and living in such a way that demonstrates the respect I have for myself. It also is a reflection of the value I have for all life on this planet and the respect of that which nourishes and sustains life.

The purpose of this blog is to share with family and friends my passion for healthy living. I intend not only to record my own journey through holistic health, but also to inform and encourage others. Hopefully you will be inspired to pursue your own research. I believe we are all connected and for myself, holistic means my acknowledgement and participation in the reality that my decisions and actions can cause change. Whether that change is massive or slight, I want that change to be for the better.