Garlic

Garlic may be the undisputed champ in your spice cabinet. Garlic- known as Russian penicillin or poor man’s penicillin, this herb has one of the longest known use as an herb to treat most any  number of illnesses. Historians uncovered use of it in Ancient Egypt for everything from stamina to increasing milk production in nursing mothers. You can follow the use of it as a medicine as you follow the history of civilization through Greece, China, India and all of Europe. 
It is a wonderful herb to increase in your diet or medicine cabinet all year but especially during the winter months or a global pandemic.  Garlic is effective after the air has worked it’s magic with the Allicin in the plant so I recommend that you chop, mince or grate it and let the air do it’s work on it for 10 minutes, then cook or eat it in order to get the most bang for your buck so to speak. 
Garlic contains high levels of vitamin C and has a  high potassium content so it helps with the absorption of essential nutrients. Thanks to the pungent smell that garlic emits, our body reacts by a signal that travels to the brain to release watery fluid in the lungs to counter the pungent property, thereby helping clear the lungs.


In WWII, Louis Pasteur proved it’s antibacterial properties to the mainstream science by using it to successfully prevent gangrene and blood poisoning. Finnish researchers have shown that taking garlic nasal spray prevents air born illnesses and researchers in both England and Russia have had wonderful results against everything from the common cold to all sorts of viral health issues. 


Garlic is one of the best herbs for cardiac health. It protects us against antherosclerious, a disease of the arteries characterized by the deposition of plaques of fatty material on their inner walls. It lowers high blood pressure and total cholesterol. Studies  in New Zealand have shown that it has more effects than both aspirin and statins on keeping your arteries flexible. 


Garlic is kinda like kryptonite to a varieties of cancers such as colon cancer, stomach cancer, endometrial cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer and even brain cancer. 


Most herbalist will recommend a single clove of garlic a day as a preventative and 3-5 a day as treatment. Find creative ways to eat it. This is one of my favorite ways to incorporate the healing mojo of several plants.
        1 cup of local raw honey
        3  or more garlic cloves, minced and aired for 10 minutes
        1 tablespoon dried Thyme leaves
        2 tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar
Throw everything in a a pot and simmer over a stove for about 2 minutes, leave it be to steep BUT  y
ou do not want to cook the herbs, it’s only to infuse the honey so stir often. You can strain or leave the herbs in there. I always leave them in the honey and eat it off the spoon but you can add it to marinades or soups. It’s yummy over bread or a grain like rice. 




**** fresh garlic is the best to use for medicine but I’d say dried and powdered would be next. NEVER use the stuff that is preserved in oil. It has little to no healing properties.