I’ve been having fun with Beet Root Powder the last few days. First I used it in my blueberry kefir smoothies – and it added some serious nutrients and color! Instead of looking like a homemade smoothie, it looked like something that belonged in a pretty photograph. A warning though – don’t mix spinach and beet powder in the same smoothie if you are wanting a fancy outcome (tastes good still). Then tonight I made couscous and added in fresh tomatoes, fresh broccoli, lemon juice, salt, feta cheese…. then last minute thought “Hmm… purple couscous would be cool too”. My 2 year old sous chef agreed…….So, in went 2-3 tablespoons of beet root powder. Here is a word about why you want to use this beautiful powder:

Beet roots are a healthy food and are a rich source of natural sugar along with containing sodium, potassium, phosphorus, chlorine, iodine, iron and various important vitamins. The high nutrient value of beet root makes it an invaluable food in terms of health benefits it provides and it is thus used for therapeutic purposes. The powder can be used to flavor carrot, celery, and other vegetable juices, and also to color a variety of foods.

Beet powder provides a wide range of nutrients, but its most significant phytochemical is betaine. Betaine helps the liver process fat. This prevents the accumulation of fatty tissues in the liver (steatosis), especially in heavy drinkers, and it also prevents excessive triglycerides and LDL cholesterol in the blood. According to the American Heart Association, beet juice can help lower blood pressure and due to the high content of iron in beets, it is good for anemia.

Beet root naturally cleans the kidneys and gall bladder. The potassium present in it helps in providing nourishment to the body for daily functions while chlorine organically cleans the liver and kidney. In addition, it has positive effects on one’s digestive system as it helps in the treatment of digestive disorders and problems like jaundice, nausea and vomiting due to dysentery or diarrhea. Beet root combined with carrot juice can prove extremely beneficial in building the red corpuscles thereby helping in treating low vitality and anemia. Being an excellent solvent for inorganic calcium deposits, beet juice helps in the treatment of hypertension and other cardiovascular disorders. It is also extremely beneficial for women as it aids in the regulation of menstruation. Along with having numerous health benefits, beet root is also beneficial for the skin.

The root contains about a tenth portion of pure sugar, which is one of the glucoses or fruit sugars and is very wholesome. Cane sugar has to be converted by the digestive juices into fruit sugar, before the body can absorb it, but the sugar present in the beet root is already in the more easily assimilated form, thus making the beet a valuable food. Its sugar is a force-giver and an energy creator, a source of vitality to the human body. Besides its tenth portion of pure sugar, beet root has as much as a third of its weight in starch and gum.

The red pigment in beets raises antioxidant enzyme levels in the liver and may promote detoxification in the intestines, blood and liver. Colon cancer research has also shown that consumption of beet fiber may increase colonic CD8 cells, which detect and remove abnormal cells.

Folate is considered an important aid in maintaining a healthy pregnancy. It is critical at times of rapid cell development as it is necessary for creating DNA and RNA. The high level of folate (up to 136 grams per cup) in beets makes them a valuable food for pregnancy. Spina bifida and anencephaly are two birth defects which may be prevented by the consumption of folate rich foods.

Magnesium is an important mineral in healthy bone production and maintenance. Without appropriate levels of magnesium, calcium cannot be utilized effectively. Beet root is high in magnesium, making it a good vegetable for women concerned with preventing osteoporosis.

Typical Preparations – One or two teaspoons added to water or juice, 2-4 times daily. One teaspoon of powder provides the nutrition in one beet.

The above is the description from More Than Alive (where you can also buy Cane Creek Coffee – which is what I use).
My personal stash of beet powder came from Bulk Herb Store, which is a good source too for herbs and such (AND where you can see me in the new video Making Herbs Simple Volume II). Okay, enough for promotions…. It doesn’t matter where you get your beet root powder – cause it’s a great source of nutrients, creative cooking, and fun!

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This morning I found three Black Walnut Trees on my property!

Last night I was reading a friend’s blog and she made her Black Walnut almost exactly one year ago – which means the time is ripe NOW to make this tincture (which I just realized). Then, this morning a young girl stopped by wanting to pick some of my Walnut to make a tincture! haha Good timing, since I was literally heading out to door to pick. We found a tree at the end of the driveway that had already started dropping the green balls. Good thing I knew to pick the green ones (not black) and how to make them. It was so fun!

Here are the (copied) directions on how to make your own homemade Black Walnut Hull tincture (store bought it is very expensive):

Black Walnut

The medicine of the Black Walnut tree is found in it’s fruit — mainly the HULL of the fruit.  The walnut hull is a thick, hard, rough, green skin that surrounds the actual walnut (shell and all).   When it falls off the tree the hull begins to turn black.

The medicinal properties of the Black Walnut hull are mainly anti-fungal and anthelmitic (kill parasites), and these properties are not mild, if I do say so, myself.  …Yowza!

A tincture is a great way to draw out and preserve the properties of Black Walnut hull.  Don’t bother trying to make this into a syrup or otherwise improve the taste.  It refuses to be improved without LOTS of sweetener, and if you’re going to be using this to help kill off something like Candida albicans (yeast), lots of sweetener is just what you don’t need.  So when you  take some of this tincture, just dump it down the hatch and follow up with ginger kombucha (what?  what is kombucha?  …that news will break later)  or some other equally good goodness.

Below I’ve spelled out a recipe (from Hulda Clark) for making a Black Walnut hull tincture.  When you are collecting the walnuts for this recipe, it’s important that the hulls be at least 50% green in order to get the most out of them.  Don’t peel the hulls off of the walnuts.  This tincture is made with the whole “walnut ball” intact — hull and kernel.

Happy tincturing, and may your parasites shake in their boots.

Black Walnut Hull Tincture Extra Strength

Your largest enamel or ceramic (not stainless steel, not aluminum) cooking pot,

Preferably at least 10 quarts Black Walnuts, in the hull, each one still at least 50% green, enough to fill the pot to the top

Grain alcohol, about 50% strength, enough to cover the walnuts

1/2 tsp. vitamin C

Plastic wrap or cellophane

Glass jars or bottles

The black walnut tree produces large green balls in the fall. The walnut is inside, but we will use the whole ball, uncracked, since the active ingredient is in the green outer hull.

Rinse the walnuts carefully, put them in the pot, and cover them with alcohol. Sprinkle on half the vitamin C. Seal with plastic wrap and cover. Let sit for three days. Pour into glass jars or bottles, discarding walnuts, and divide the remaining vitamin C amongst the jars. If the glass jar has a metal lid, first put plastic wrap over the top before screwing on the lid. Potency is strong for several years if unopened, even if it darkens.

(taken from page 543 The Cure For All Diseases by Hulda Clark)

Take 2 tsp., all together in 1/4 cup water. Sip it, don’t gulp it. Get it down within 15 minutes. (If you are over 150 pounds, take 2 1/2  tsp. Do not take more than 3 tsp. because no additional value has been observed.)

**************

A couple extras:

– Instead of ceramic/enamel pot, I used a glass gallon jar for the tincturing process.

– The vitamin C is to preserve the green color of the tincture.  If you don’t care what it looks like, you can make it without.

– The less oxygen in the tincture, the better.  The jars in which the tincture is stored should be filled almost to the brim, leaving very little air-room.

– The storage jars, if possible, should be amber glass.  Store in a dark, cool place — refrigeration not necessary.

– If you don’t want to ingest 2 tsp. vodka every day, put the tincture in some warm (110 degree)  water to get rid of some of the alcohol.  Make sure the water isn’t too hot or it could damage the parasite/yeast killing properties.

– Black walnuts are a great source of iodine, so there’s lots of iodine in this tincture.

–  Black walnuts stain like crazy.  Be warned.

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If you follow my Facebook page you might have read that I need to lose some baby weight! I had my third child five months ago and have still not lost the extra. I had no trouble with the first two kids. But, now I realize what people mean when they say “with three kids everything changes”. Things aren’t all that much harder….. just totally different. Every minute feels like it’s filled with something, and then trying to walk with three little children is quite different than walking long distances with one or two even in the stroller.

Most people when they want to lose the extra think “how can I cut calories and fat?” Well, cutting calories can ultimately help… but NOT cutting the fat. You don’t want to cut the fat. Good fat is good for you. I’ll scream it again! Good fat is GOOD for you.

Whole fresh milk (more information about what is “fresh milk”? link to The Untold Story of Raw Milk), fresh butter, coconut oils, olive oils, fish oils, and animals fats are all foods I try hard to incorporate in our diet. Did you notice canola oil, margarine (read more from Body Ecology, 20 Reasons Butter Is Better) , low fat butter, and soy (yuck yuck) are not included on that list? Here is a really good article from the Healthy Home Economist about the important fats we need in our kitchen – Five Fats You Must Have In Your Kitchen and WHY you need them.

Okay, so what am I going to do – other than not cut out the fats?

1. Eat a good breakfast and no food after 7pm, unless I forget to take my vitamins during the day (then I’ll have to eat a little something – hehe)

2. Drink loads of water

3. Walk 2 miles a day – 4-5 times a week

4. Do about 20 pushups and 50 sits ups a day

5. Do this Dr. Schultz wieghtloss package called “Super Slim” for 30 days. I get this in the mail in a few days, and I’ll let you know how it goes.

6. Not have too high of an expectation. Just hope my clothes fit a little loser in 30 days.

I am still nursing, so I can’t be crazy about anything. I also hold onto a little bit of weight while I nurse…. but I’m about 10lbs over that heavier nursing weight.

There, I wrote it in my blog. Now I have to do it. *wink*

I’ll let you know in 30 days if I’ve been successful and what I think worked and what didn’t.

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My husband and I are in the final stages of production for our second DVD with Bulk Herb Store – actually it is already at the “presses”. Making Herbs Simple  II is a fabulous addition for anyone’s herbal collection, especially beginners. It’s funny, but everyone time I watch it, whether to edit, spell check, or some other project – I learn something and am inspired all over again!

I’ve uploaded two excerpts from the video for you to see – and really excited about it.

Herbal Art Project – Excerpt from “Making Herbs Simple: Volume 2 (HD)

Poison Ivy Remedy – Excerpt from “Making Herbs Simple: Volume 2 (HD)

It really was a fun project to work on, I remember shooting the Mullein Steam segment and the sun being so incredibly bright and then my husband added a light reflector, which only makes it more bright! My eyes were tearing and I could hardly open them. All while he is impatiently saying “No, you can’t wear sunglasses in a video…..if you can’t do it that’s fine, we’ll just get someone else.” Have you ever worked with or for your husband before? Do you notice how it doesn’t quite mesh when he treats you like a minimum wage worker? Well – it only fired me up, thinking “If someone else could do it, then I’m definitely going to have to do it, even if my eye makeup is totally smudged.”

But, seriously this is a great DVD because it incorporates herbs into our daily life; like cooking, the perfect brew for women, making salves, homemade cards, what herbs you can find in your yard. Oh – and I forgot the extras of the video – they are absolutely hilarious. At one point the ladies on camera (Debi and Shoshanna) did not know we were rolling and we just let them go at it – so so so funny! Can’t wait for everyone to see it.

Coming Soon!

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Canning – the idea used to intimidate me MAJORLY! I saw pretty canned jars at my grandmothers house and in old-timey stores and thought there was some sort of magic involved in getting vegetables and fruit to look so pretty and stored properly. Well, I was wrong! After doing this interview with Sarah about Basic Canning I tried it and it wasn’t so bad. I did apple sauce, plum sauce, pear sauce, and peaches! It was much easier than I thought.

Canning your own food has a lot of nutritional benefits. With home canning you avoid things like  MSG, salt, added sweeteners, and artificial coloring–Yuck! There are also some major economical reasons to can. If you grow your own food, it’s a free way to store it through the winter months, and it’s safe from power outages (freezing foods is subject to constant electricity). Also, foods can be much cheaper if you buy them in season and from a local farmer. The extras you buy can be canned and enjoyed all year long.

Canning really is an important skill – one missed by too many in my generation. I’m thankful I finally learned – and you can too.  Just listen.

I also talk to Shoshanna about how to properly store your herbs – so they retain their medicinal values and stay fresh and tasty. Great info there too!

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As with almost all store bought baby products…. there is a cheaper, natural, and healthier alternative. Baby powder is no exception.

Here is a recipe for natural, homemade baby powder that my friend mailed to me. I LOVE the scent and how soft it can make our skin!

Baby Powder
1 1/2 C arrowroot
1/2 C. baking soda
1/2 cup calendula, chamomile, elder, or lavender flowers, finely powdered
1/2 cup rice flour
20 drops(or more if desired) chamomile, lavender, sweet orange, and or TTO essential oils

Combine all ingredients well except oils. Stir in essential oils a few drops at a time, until well mixed. Put in a container with a tight lid. Use within one year.
My sister enjoyed it when I used an empty plastic salt container (Redmond sea salt), because she could “sprinkle” the powder on.

One thing I always want to know is: What’s wrong with the product I could just buy? Well, for baby powder it’s all the chemicals. Talcum powder is a common ingredient in baby powder (but not all), and Talc is NOT something you want getting in your lungs as it can cause pneumonia and/or cancer.
So, check the ingredients on your makeups and powders around the house! And even if it doesn’t have Talcum Powder… why not try something that smells a little better and is homemade!? It also makes great gifts – I know first hand.

For more information about Talc.

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Better late than never…. this is what I used in strong teas (mixed with honey for taste):
-Red Clover, which is known for it’s anti-coughing agents (was the choice herb for Pertussis), and because my kind neighbor brought it over for me.
- Double E Immune Booster Tea
- Extra Elderberry
- Extra Echinacea

Non-Herbal Tea Actions:
The BEST cough syrup
Vitamin C (pill form)
No sugar/ Corn Syrup (it decreases your body’s capability to fight disease)
No processed foods
Lots of fluids (water & tea)

The cough didn’t go away immediately (I should have started treatment at first sign), but it did decrease and in a few days was gone!
Others, who had the same virus, eventually developed Bronchitis or had a cough that lasted 3-4 weeks-Terrible!

You really can avoid many illnesses through the use of high quality foods (including herbs)….. and I am thankful that we have access to the knowledge and the herbs all around us available for use – Red Clover, Elderberry & Echinacea all grow within walking distance to my front door.

ABC Herbal is one of my favorite books to get you started in taking care of your family- naturally.

This post is linked over at HeavenlyHomemakers (a blog I enjoy) for Gratituesday!

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Nettles are more than an herb (or weed) that grow in wastelands, gardens, and hillsides….. they are rich source of nutrients and healing capabilities. Whenever I see myself retaining water (especially while pregnant) I drink some tea with Nettle in it and I notice how my swelling decreases! Pregnant or not though, I drink it mixed with Red Raspberry and a few other herbs most everyday. It is such a versatile herb, there is even a recipe for Nettle Soup!

Stinging Nettle Facts:

• Grow 1-2 meters tall.
• Stalks are fully of hairy stingers. Ouch!
• Cooking, crushing, or drying disables the stingers.
• It is a diuretic. So, don’t drink right before bed!
• Historically, has been used for inflammatory diseases, such as arthritis.
• Nettle is FULL of vitamin K (vitamin K helps helps stop profuse blood flow)
• Is full of important minerals, vitamins AND protein!…. So, you can throw the nettle leaves in a soup and have a free ingredient! I’ve heard you just replace Greens (like spinach) in soups and it turns out great.

When harvesting Nettle try these steps:

1. Harvest in early/mid spring when Nettles are young- use gloves!
2. Gently snap off in mid to low part of the plant.
3. Place in a collecting bag.
4. Take home to dry or cook (the stinging properties will cease with drying, crushing, or cooking)

Here is a recipe I found for Stinging Nettle Soup:

GNOCCHI WITH PESTO D’ORTICA (Gnocchi with stinging Nettle pesto)

Kristen’s note: I’m not sure how to measure these ingredients, but I would use to scale.

150g Fresh, boiled nettle leaves (to make Pesto d’ortica)

600g Potatoes

4 Sun-dried tomatoes

50g pistachio nuts

2 tablespoons olive oil

200g Wholemeal flour

1 teaspoon of sea salt.

Boil potatoes, cut into pieces and pass them through a vegetable filter. Paste in the flour until well mixed, then separate the mixture into thumb-size lumps, or “gnocchi”, cover them in sieved flour and leave them to sit for an hour or so.

In the meantime blend the tomatoes with the cooked nettle leaves, pistachio’s and oil until creamy.

Drop the gnocchi into boiling, salted water and when they rise to the surface they are cooked.

Add the mixture to the gnocchi, decorate with a few pistachio nuts and enjoy!

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A little less than four years ago I was home from a sadly typical hospital birth experience, tired, sore and having a *lot* of trouble nursing my precious newborn girl. After a few helpful phone calls with a lactation consultant, she recommended  the herbs Blessed Thistle, Fennel, and Alfalfa to increase my milk supply. I thought to myself “What!? She is not recommending an FDA approved drug to help me? This probably won’t work…..” 

But, I decided to try it and the herbs DID help! I was able feed my baby without both of us ending up in tears at the end of the nursing session. At that moment I became a true believer in herbs! it’s amazing how one comment can turn your life upside down, for after that experience my husband and I began to see all the resources God gave us through His wonderful creation!

Just the other day I took some photos of 3 “weeds” in our yard that are edible and healthy. Oh- I could go on and on about our quest of researching and successes we’ve had with whole foods, natural birth, baking, gardening, animal husbandry…. but wait, this is a post about herbs  

There are hundreds of herbs, many right in your yard, that are useful for nutrition and healing. But after some careful consideration I decided that if I HAD to limit my herb cabinet to 5 items Echinacea, fresh Garlic, Eucalyptus Essential Oil, Elderberries, and Red Raspberry Leaf would be the keepers. Here’s why:

Echinacea

Recent research has shown that Echinacea boost T-cell production (or your “disease fighter” cells), it also has antibacterial and antiviral properties. Surprisingly enough, you have probably seen this herb in your neighbor’s flower garden, people call it Purple Cone Flower. It tall, beautiful, and considered the King of Herbs!

I use this herb in teas, tinctures, and salves. And I truly notice a difference in the length and severity of illness – The more echinacea I take, the less the virulent the virus is, it’s amazing! My favorite way to take echinacea is mixed with peppermint, rosehips, elderberry and ginseng- THAT is a super immune tea!

Eucalyptus Essential Oil

Sprinkled in the shower, the steamy scent of Eucalyptus opens plugged nasal passages and airways, helping my kids (and me) breathe better whenever they get stuffy. For sore throats and colds, I drop a few drops on a washcloth and place it near the (sometimes loud) breather.

Eucalyptus oil is also known to kill the bad bacteria in our throat and lungs. What could be better- Kills the bad stuff, opens the passages, and soothes the throat. Definitely a keeper!

Warning! Eucalyptus oil can burn the skin, so keep it out of reach of the kiddos.

Elderberry

If you live anywhere near creeks, you have seen the Elder Tree! It’s small and shrubby with stems that have wart-like bumps. It ranges from 5-12 feet in height and blooms a white flower from about June to July. These blooms mature into a purplish black berry- that is Elderberry and the part of the tree you want to use (the roots, bark, and leaves are toxic).

Elderberries have been known throughout the ages as THE flu herb. You may even recognize the natural flu medication Sambucol, that is Elderberry syrup.
I most often use Elderberry in teas or syrups, and it tastes great! We’ll take a swig of a yummy Elderberry syrup anytime I know we’ve been exposed to a nasty cold or flu bug, and I think it works great!

You can make your own syrups or tinctures, or buy it. Here is a brand I’ve used with great success, and my kids really like it!

Red Raspberry Leaf

If there ever was an herb made perfectly for women- it’s Red Raspberry!

It’s use is known to:
-Strengthen and tone the wall of the uterus and entire female reproductive system.
- Decrease profuse menstrual flow.
Alleviates morning sickness and nausea.
Prevent hemorrhaging during labor (by strengthening uterus).
Assist labor, and relieve after pains. Increases and enriches milk for lactation.

Red Raspberry Leaf is also full of vitamins! Calcium, iron, magnesium, vitamin A, and vitamin C- just to name a few. I drink a cold mixture of Red Raspberry Leaf, Nettle, Peppermint, and Alfafa daily. I absolutely love it!

Garlic

You know the smelly root, but did you know it’s the ultimate natural healer? Currently, it’s being studied because scientists have found out it’s one of the only things that kills the dreaded Staph infections.

Properties: Antibacterial, antiviral, antiseptic, antiparasitic, antifungal, anthelmintic, immune-stimulating, hypotensive, diaphoretic, and antispasmodic. Whoa! 

It’s Active against: Tuberculosis, Shigella dysenteriae, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans, Escherichia coli, Streptococcus, Salmonella, Proteus mirabilis, influenza, and many many more. 

Uses: We use garlic anytime we start feeling run down….. you know how the beginning of a cold or virus feels! 

Eating it: I’ll chop up a clove into tiny pieces and just swallow it like a large vitamin. However, everyone else in the house prefers it on a spoonful of honey followed up by a swig of water. Come to think of it- I bet it decreases disease transmission simultaneous because people don’t want to get too close to the stinky family- HAHA! 

Poultices: Just like everything else, garlic soaks into your skin and gets into your bloodstream. To make a poultice, break off two or three large cloves and lay them on your counter. Get some hot water together, and place the cloves on a clean cloth. Smack the garlic cloves with the bottom of a heavy glass a few times till you can see the juices coming out- and you get hungry for homemade lasagna! Now fold the cloth over and pour warm/hot (but not boiling) water over it. Let it sit for a few seconds then squeeze out the excess water. Place the warm (not hot) poultice on the chest, the back, and the soles of the feet (rotate) for about a minute each. You can do this several times a day. This also works well for babies who won’t swallow fresh garlic.

Garlic Oil for earaches: Slightly warm a few tablespoons of olive oil with crushed (fresh) garlic in it. Let it sit a few minutes then thoroughly strain out all of the garlic. Now use as standard ear drops (make sure it is not hot!). You can also use a garlic poultice over or behind the ear for suspected mild infections. 

Warning: it can burn the skin, don’t leave on directly on skin for more than a minute or two. 

Important note: To utilize all the medicinal qualities of garlic it must be used within 15 minutes of the clove being crushed. chopped, or bruised. After that, the Allicin loses 90% or so of its effectiveness…. So sorry, you’ve got to remake that garlic oil and poultice each time.

Now it’s your turn! Comment and tell me the herbs you use most often!

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Three Herbal Healers
Have you ever started researching something new, bought a bunch of supplies just sure it would work out just right, then be disappointed and feel like you spent money carelessly? Well, if you haven’t – I know I have a few too many times!

Herbs, just like any hobby or new research area, can be a waste of money in the beginning if you don’t know what you’re doing. That’s why I’m going to share three Herbal Healers that cost next to nothing and you’ll find easy success with- I know I have!

Two of the three Herbal Healers can be found at most large grocery stores, and one right in your yard! They are: Aloe Vera, Plantain, and Garlic!!

Aloe Vera

My grandmother always had a few aloe plants around the property and whenever I got bit by a fire ant we’d quickly cut off a piece of aloe, open it up and rub the juices on my bites. Almost instantly the itching was better and I knew the healing process was started. That’s because aloe contains a pain relieving agent and is a contact healer!

Aloe vera is also used for burns, sores, circulation improvement, and expulsion of pinworms! Gross- but it’s true. Many people drink Aloe vera juice (you can find it at your Health food store), because it is anti-parasitic, promotes internal healing, and sometimes used in the treatment of diabetes and other auto-immune disorders. Aloe vera is truly one of the great healers. Go try it for yourself- it’s so easy!

Plantain

Unless you live in Antarctica, you have plantain growing close to you. Plantago lanceolata is one of the most common weeds that people complain about- Oh! If they only knew the healing powers of this little plant!

Plantain is THE first rate “First Aid” plant that is thankfully close at hand. A few fresh leaves chewed or crushed can be immediately applied to any wound to help stop bleeding, reduce the pain, remove the inflammation of stings, and relieve itching from rashes or bites.

Plantain is one of my three year olds favorite things to find. A few times she has been bit by a bug and we immediately found some plantain. I chewed it up (just like any good Mom) and slapped in on her bite. A few seconds later she’ll tell me “Momma! It doesn’t hurt anymore!” Just make sure the plantain you are chewing or using hasn’t been visited by the dogs or the herbicide sprayers first

Click here to watch a video of me making a Poison Ivy Rash Remedy using plantain and aloe vera gel.

Note: There are a lot of weeds that can look like plantain. Study some close-up images before you start using it.

Garlic

You know the smelly root, but did you know it’s also nature’s antibiotic? Currently, it’s being studied because scientists have found it’s one of the only things that kills the dreaded Staph infections.

Properties: Antibacterial, antiviral, antiseptic, antiparasitic, antifungal, anthelmintic, immune-stimulating, hypotensive, diaphoretic, and antispasmodic. Whoa!

It’s Active against: Tuberculosis, Shigella dysenteriae, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans, Escherichia coli, Streptococcus, Salmonella, Proteus mirabilis, influenza, and many many more.

Uses: We use garlic anytime we start feeling run down….. you know how the beginning of a cold or virus feels!

Eating it: I’ll chop up a clove into tiny pieces and just swallow it like a large vitamin. However, everyone else in the house prefers it on a spoonful of honey followed up by a swig of water. Come to think of it- I bet it decreases disease transmission simultaneous because people don’t want to get too close to the stinky family- HAHA!

Poultices: Just like everything else, garlic soaks into your skin and gets into your bloodstream. To make a poultice, break off two or three large cloves and lay them on your counter. Get some hot water together, and place the cloves on a clean cloth. Smack the garlic cloves with the bottom of a heavy glass a few times till you can see the juices coming out. Now fold the cloth over and pour warm/hot (but not boiling) water over it. Let it sit for a few seconds then squeeze out the excess water. Place the warm (not hot) poultice on the chest, the back, and the soles of the feet (rotate) for about a minute each. You can do this several times a day. This also works well for babies who won’t swallow fresh garlic.

Garlic Oil for earaches: Slightly warm a few tablespoons of olive oil with crushed (fresh) garlic in it. Let it sit a few minutes then thoroughly strain out all of the garlic. Now use as standard ear drops (make sure it is not hot!). You can also use a garlic poultice over or behind the ear for suspected mild infections.

Warning: it can burn the skin, don’t leave directly on skin for more than a minute or two.

Important note: To utilize all the medicinal qualities of garlic it must be used within 15 minutes of the clove being crushed. chopped, or bruised. After that, the Allicin loses 90% or so of its effectiveness…. So sorry, you’ve got to remake that garlic oil and poultice each time.

That’s the Three Easy Herb lesson for the day! I don’t know all the answers, but I can find the people that do! You can follow my videos, audio podcasts, and herbal, homesteading, and natural health adventures here, so keep checking in with me. Tomorrow I’m posting about my Five Favorite Herbs!

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