GARLIC LEMONADE
I start my Kitchen Apothecary workshop with an herbal remedy prepared with ingredients easily gotten at any supermarket: garlic and lemons. This garlic lemonade is a popular remedy, used often by herbalist and midwife Aviva Jill Romm. She says that children will often drink this comforting concoction, and even ask for it when they are not sick—but it may be an acquired taste.
For those of you who are curious, I find it much less tenacious than garlic oil capsules—and more effective, too, combined with the heat. {I will note here, that with garlic remedies, if it doesn’t stink, it’s not working.}
I am beginning with this remedy not only because of its common ingredients, but because I have often used it myself to great effect, in preventing or treating an infection—often a cold, in my case.
{GARLIC PROFILE}
The pungent root of garlic is a concentrated source of volatile oils and certain vitamins {A,B,C}. When garlic root is chopped, an enzyme converts the sulfoxide alliin into allicin, which is responsible for the distinctive aroma of fresh garlic. It has been used since antiquity as a therapeutic remedy for conditions now associated with oxygen toxicity. Garlic indeed shows strong antioxidant and hydroxyl-scavenging properties, presumably due to the alliin. Aliin has also been found to effect immune response in the blood.
Garlic is particularly valuable for the treatment of upper respiratory infections, sore throats, and lung and ear infections. Its powerful, respected antimicrobial and antiseptic properties also make it a useful remedy for ringworm, yeast infection, dysentary {intestinal infection, with severe diarrhea and blood and mucous in the feces}, and intestinal parasites.
Garlic is a reliable decongestant, clearing congestion occurring with colds, fevers, allergies and sinus congestion.
Garlic lemonade is indispensable for acute coughing {spasmodic, irritable} during colds and respiratory infections. It is a soothing expectorant, relaxing the muscles to allow the effective clearing of mucous. Easing a cough allows the irritated mucous membranes to heal, reducing the severity and frequency of coughing that is occurring because of irritation and inflammation.
Garlic aids digestion while lowering serum cholesterol levels. It also prevents hypertension and reduces high blood pressure. Eating garlic on a regular basis, raw or added at the end of food preparation, is one of the best protections against heart disease.
Garlic is a warming circulatory stimulant, excellent for those with a tendency to chills or cold hands or feet.
Roasted garlic is a tastier way to enjoy the medicinal benefits of garlic without burning yourself with a fresh clove or swallowing pills that stay with you for a week.
Take a full bulb of garlic and peel away the papery outer layers, leaving the skins of the cloves intact. With a sharp knife, cut off 1/4-1/2” from the top so that the tops of each clove are exposed. Place the bulb in a small oven-proof dish {perhaps several in a muffin tin}. Pour a bit of olive oil over it and use your fingers to coat the entire bulb. Roast for 30-35 minutes in an oven preheated to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, or until the garlic is golden brown and the cloves have begun to slip from their skins.
You can eat the garlic straight, as I often do. You might also mash and spread it on a thin slice of home-made bread. The garlic flavor is indeed strong, but without the raw burn of fresh cloves. I was asked whether fresh garlic was not more medicinally beneficial. An article I found online maintains that any cooking will ‘break down’ the allicin that is a likely source of garlic’s medicinal benefits. Other articles suggest that suggests chopping and roasting garlic ‘for a short period’ releases {makes available} the compounds that make garlic so beneficial. It is evident that more research is needed before making any definitive statement. Is breaking down the allicin ruining it or making it useful?
The bottom line: my gastrointestinal tract isn’t lined with rhinoceros skin, and raw garlic won’t have any medicinal benefit if I won’t eat it. I find roasted garlic quite tolerable—more palatable and gentle. The immediate improvement of symptoms has always been very clear in my case.
{LEMON PROFILE}
Sweet, fresh-tasting lemon juice is often an addition to cough formulas. It is high in bioflavonoids {antioxidants}, vitamin C and citric acid, making it a valuable support to the immune system. It helps break up congestion. It is one of the top home remedies for a cough, and for this purpose is often combined with honey, hot water, brandy or some combination of these.
{GARLIC LEMONADE}
Chop 3-4 cloves of raw garlic and place in jar. Pour 1 quart of boiling water over the garlic and cover. Steep for thirty minutes. Add the juice of one lemon, and sweeten with honey if desired. Drink hot or warm.
Give 1 cup daily for prevention, or drink freely during an acute infection.
{DISCLAIMER}
The author is not a medical doctor, nor is she a licensed medical professional. Any recommendations are to educate for consumer health awareness and should not be considered diagnosis or prescribed treatment for any medical condition. If you are experiencing symptoms that concern you, please consult your healthcare provider.
• fresh lemons •
July 23, 2014