February 11, 2009
I was hurtin' earlier this week. Thanks to good old fashioned rest, prayers, garlic and heavy doses of vitamin C I'm on the mend. No doubt most of you have heard or read the wonders of garlic. I'm not going to go into all the great evidence that points to the efficacy of garlic. My intention is to share what works for me and some other information I've come across.
My SIL was my inspiration for eating garlic at the first sign of infection (this ain't no sissy garlic pills, this is the real thing). Watching her got me thinking, "hey why not?" Sure, you'll smell but eating raw minced garlic is great for your immune system, if not your social life. And I have no social life so this isn't a problem.
Fresh garlic can be a bit harsh (or spicy as my kiddos say) going down so you can mix it with raw honey. We're not big into refined sugars around here but I make an exception for a spoon of raw honey.
There's a lot of recipes out there for preparing garlic oil. I'm not sure what my problem is but I tend to be exact measurement-phobic so I prepare my oil kind of like this:
Mullein variation: On the second day of this recent ear infection I tried to make a more potent "potion" by steeping dried mullein leaves in the garlic oil I prepared the day before. I poured the oil back in the pan, added 1/4 cup of mullein, a couple more garlic cloves and more oil to cover it all. I simmered and strained it as with regular garlic oil.
Ingredients:
Directions:
To Use:
Hold glass eye dropper under hot water for 1 minute, dry well (quickly) and suction up oil from bottle. place two drops in ear every half hour or as often as needed.
Post Script: This post is part of the Home Remedies Carnival at Keeper of the Home.
Gotta love the garlic cures!!! Food really is the best medicine, ain't it?
wow, thanks so much for putting all this info together! I have been avoiding the dreaded neti-pot as a home remedy for colds & such--I'd much rather try some of these instead!
Glad to hear you're feeling better! Here's another natural cure that has always worked for us for ear infections - tea tree oil mixed with olive oil 1:1. One drop in the ear a few times a day for a day or so and it's gone! I've always treated our stuff successfully with vitamin c, echinacea, cod liver oil (vitamin A) etc, and it's saved us from antibiotics lots of times...Jayden has been on antibiotics once when he had bronchitis, eye and ear infection all at the same time, that I just couldn't get on top of, but that's it for our kids...I love having an alternative!
thanks for this! i also read something recently about turmeric being a great natural remedy. nicola http://whichname.blogspot.com
nicola's last blog post... how much do i love thee?
Garlic was great medicine in kitchen That really true May be you can visit my blog for more benefit of eating garlic
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~kristina~ on Feb. 12, 2009, 1:19 a.m.
I'm glad you're starting to feel better! I love garlic.