GARLIC FOR COLDS & ONION FOR EAR INFECTIONS

I can't remember if I've posted about garlic before or not, so I apologize if I'm repeating myself. I have been trying garlic as a natural remedy for a long enough time period to really believe this works. This winter, we've had a few bugs, but compared to everything being passed all around us, I feel we've had a very healthy winter, and I attribute it to God's protection, and to garlic, which is also a gift from Him! :D

At the first sign of a cold or virus, we load up on it. About a week ago, Aden was getting a runny nose, and I could tell his throat was bothering him. I diced up a clove of garlic, added it to a couple spoonfuls of his breakfast cereal, and I never again noticed the symptoms. It doesn't always work this fast, but I do think the trick is to take it as soon as you recognize any symptoms. Three days ago, Evan mentioned he had a sore throat. Again, I diced up a clove, he added it to a spoonful of raw honey, and never again complained. I asked him 2 days later how he felt, and he said great! Sometimes I'll even give my kids a clove after we've spent a day running around stores doing our shopping just to boost their immune systems a bit. The times we have gotten sick this winter were times that I wasn't faithful with giving garlic.

The best method: Dice up a raw clove, very small. Put it on a spoon, and heap either with applesauce (which I think works the best), yogurt, honey, or whatever you can swallow without chewing. Put it in your mouth, and swallow. I HIGHLY recommend NOT chewing! :D If you're already not feeling well, do it twice a day until you feel better. I believe it helps you heal up more quickly!

Now, for those of you with little ones who suffer from ear infections. Cut a small part off an onion. Get the juice from it any way that you can. (I use my hand food chopper.) Add a little olive oil to it and warm it up to a comfortable temperature. Drop it into the child's ear with a dropper and put some cotton in to help it stay there. I also try to keep my kids' heads tilted the other way for several minutes if possible. Repeat this process several times a day. I am convinced this has saved me from antibiotics for both Joel and Kiana this winter!

MSG

I've been doing a little research on MSG and learning how terrible it is for you...really... it's poison. Cancer thrives on it. I am trying to cut all things that may even contain small amounts of it out of our diet, but am still finding things that we eat somewhat regularly that contain it under a different name. It's in almost everything. Soups, spices, dressings, you name it! I even found a seasoning I use that says "No MSG!" on the label, but in very small print it says, "except the small amounts found in Autolyzed Yeast." Here is a website I found that gives hidden names for it. I hope to keep studying this, and will pass along information as I can that I learn!

ONE MORE GARLIC REMEDY

I'm learning that garlic is just good for everything! AJ was a bit constipated today. He ran a bit of a fever this afternoon, and I read that often times they go hand in hand. (I haven't ruled out his ear yet, though, but he hasn't seemed to be bothered by that.)



So, I mixed 1 clove of fresh minced garlic and 2 cups of warm water in my blender. I poured it through a coffee filter to get out the chunks and I gave him an enema with it. Yes, I did it. I used a lubricated bulb syrenge and was very gentle. Because I was a little uncertain about what I was doing, I don't think I put as much in as what the people do that I read this from, but it was enough. About 1/2 hour later, he had one nasty diaper! Yeah! I did give him tylenol, so I really won't be able to tell if that affected his fever or not, though. I'm just hoping the fever doesn't come back! They say these enemas are good for almost any kind of sickness in a child because cleansing the colon helps so much in the healing process. Fever, colds, stuffy noses, etc.



In case you're wondering I read this information in The ABC Herbal. I've also read it other places, but this gave good instructions on how to do this.

NATURAL HOME REMEDIES

This past month, we have been fighting some viruses. Though I have a lot to learn, these two simple things have helped us through this time.

Garlic: At the first sign of a cold (or even once you have it), dice up a garlic clove. (I wouldn't recommend mincing, just small diced pieces.) Scoop it onto a spoon and heap the spoon with applesauce. Swish and swallow. You will regret chewing... :) It's kind of a natural Zycam, which I can't take b/c I'm nursing. Do this up to 3 times a day. My kids actually have been asking for their dose of garlic!

Onion: Joel complained of a sore ear in the middle of a nasty virus. To avoid an antibiotic, I took the juice from part of an onion, mixed it with olive oil, heated it up just enough to make it warm and dropped 3-4 drops in his ear. I did this a couple times a day for several days. We never had to make a trip to the doctor. I also just did this to AJ. He was at the doctor for a checkup on Friday and she said he had some fluid in his right ear, but she wasn't concerned and thought it would clear up. Saturday night he started a fever, so on Sunday I started the same thing. His fever has never come back.