Are you sick?

Sickness is an all too common occurrence in our world. Praise the Lord we have natural remedies that we can use to combat illness. It is a rare occurrence for a Bracker to go to the doctor (not unheard of...thank the Lord for doctors...but rare). When the children get ill, instead we head to the kitchen.

Normal remedies:
1. Cod liver oil taken immediately upon symptoms of ANY kind.
2. For urinary tract infection symptoms, we add an ounce of Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar to 4-6 ounces of water and add a tablespoon or two of honey (which is itself antibiotic).
3. For cough, we use homemade cough syrup made of an onion simmered in an inch or two of honey for ten minutes and then strained.
4. For sore throats or any deep cough, we use a mixture of a couple tablespoons of honey, a sprinkling of cayenne pepper (great for circulation!), and a couple cloves of smashed garlic.
5. For ear aches or sore throats that feel ear related, we lay on our sides and fill the ear canal with hydrogen peroxide. Let sit for a minute and feel it bubbling! This takes away the pain and fights the infection. Do both sides!

We haven't had to see the doctor for throat or ear ailments for years!

Now if you'd like to read further, I got this from "Herbal Antibiotics" by Stephen Buhner.

Garlic: Antibacterial, antiviral, antiseptic, antiparasitic, antiprotozoan, antifungal, anthelmintic, immune-stimulating, hypotensive, diaphoretic, antispasmodic, cholagogue.

Garlic has been used medicinally for some five thousand years. This is the most powerful herb for the treatment of antibiotic resistant disease. No other herb comes close to the multiple system actions of garlic, its antibiotic activity, and its immune-potentiating power.

When the bulb is bruised or crushed, garlic produces a byproduct compound called allicin. The odorless, sulfur-containing amino acid in garlic, alliin, comes into contact with an enzyme, allinase, and produces a conversion to allicin, which is the primary compound responsible for garlic's strong odor. Allicin and several additional compounds in garlic have all shown antibiotic activity. Extracts made from the whole clove of garlic or separate individual compounds have consistently shown a broad-spectrum antibiotic range effective against both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria and most major infectious bacteria. Garlic juice diluted to as little as one part in 125,000 has been found to inhibit growth of bacteria. Clinical studies have repeatedly shown that garlic is active against strains of bacteria that are highly resistant to antibiotics. Unlike many herbs, garlic is dirctly effective against viruses. Garlic is perhaps the most extensively tested herb in the world and human trials have shown its powerful effectiveness against bacterial and viral infectious agents.

April: The article continues to tout the benefits of garlic and ends with this sentence:

If only one herb could be used to combat an epidemic spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria, garlic would be it.

Preparation and Dosage:

Eat 1 clove up to 3x a day for prevention. The cloves may be diced and mixed with honey for palatability and to reduce nausea. The best way to intake fresh garlic is to juice and entire bulb and drink with carrot or tomato juice. Take 1/4 to 1 teaspoon mixed with 16 ounces of tomato or carrot juice once an hour upon symptoms. Garlic capsules can also be used: 3 capsules 3x a day as preventative. During acute episodes: up to 30 capsules a day.

Be aware, garlic usage makes a person smell like garlic after a while, but to my thinking, if you have the beginnings of the flu, it's better to smell like garlic and stay away from antibiotics.