Garlic Breath – It’s Enough to Scare Away a Cold

Tomato marinara sauce, veggie stir-fry, homemade soup, cold & flu prevention …what is the common ingredient here? Garlic! Garlic is a potent anti-microbial with many other beneficial actions. Garlic was recognized by Louis Pasteur and Albert Schweitzer, and was utilized during both world wars as an anti-microbial agent. In studies, garlic has been shown to reduce the frequency of the common cold.

Garlic can be taken as a supplement, which extracts its powerful virus fighting components. The way a garlic supplement is made will determine its potency and effectiveness for a specific health concern. Aged garlic contains only 3% of the compound allicin found in fresh garlic. Aged garlic has been studied for health benefits, such as thinning the blood. However, raw garlic remains most effective in cold & flu prevention.
To keep it simple, use the whole food approach. Add cloves of organic garlic to your food – dips & spreads, soups, veggie bakes, salad dressing and anything else you can think of. Crushing the garlic prior to use allows a chemical conversion, producing the health beneficial enzymes such as allicin, alliin and ajoene. Garlic is the most used culinary herb and boasts vitamin B6, manganese and vitamin C which help to stave off cold and flus.

Other uses for garlic
Keep these medicinal benefits in mind:
- Reducing cholesterol
- Protecting against age-related changes in the arteries that lead to heart disease
- Blood thinning activity
- Lowers blood pressure
- Prevents food poisoning
- Prevents certain types of cancers (gastric & colorectal)

What if You are Sick?
If the sniffles start or you do happen to come down with a cold, try the following Garlic Tea recipe:

Garlic Tea
Ingredients
o 4 cups of boiled water
o 5 medium-sized cloves of garlic, crushed
o juice of 1 lemon, freshly squeezed
o 1 teaspoon raw ginger, grated

Preparation
1. Boil 4 cups of water.
2. Remove the water from the heat.
3. Add crushed cloves of garlic, lemon juice, and grated raw ginger.
4. Let it steep for 20 minutes.
5. Strain and drink 4 cups throughout the day for at least 7 days to treat respiratory ailments.

Drink it hot or cold. It can be kept on very low heat to keep it hot. It keeps well in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
Garlic can interact with medication and cause side effects, so before indulging in your daily preventative dose, please consult your naturopathic doctor.