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People everywhere are hungry for clear, practical, scientifically-validated information about how to make safe and simple use of herbs in their day to day lives. I too was once hungry for this kind of information. I discovered that working (and playing) with herbs did not need to be complex and confusing. It could be sheer pleasure. For me it was like walking down a path where a wonderful surprise is revealed at every turn. |
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Take a walk in the country - no matter what country - any month of the year. Look around you. Even in the depth of winter, provided the ground is not covered with snow, you will find healing plants.
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GARLICAccording to both traditional practices and recent scientific experiments, the right plants can work wonders on the human body.
Garlic protects. The ancient Greeks, including Pliny in the first century AD, insisted that it banishes worms and coughs. By now there have been more than 2,500 studies that confirm its anti-microbial properties and its usefulness in warding off flu and colds not to mention its ability to reduce blood pressure and cholesterol levels which are too high, and to help clear yeast infections. |
Garlic Earns A MedalWhen it comes to anti-viral and antibacterial power, there is no plant in the world like garlic - nothing anywhere. Everything that antibiotic drugs can do, garlic does better, safer and cheaper. It may take a little longer but, in the process, using garlic regularly will build your strength and balance your body instead of leaving you exhausted and in a mess as many drugs do after treatment. So make garlic a day to day part of your life. Cook with it, prepare garlic vinegars and garlic oils for your salads. Eat chopped garlic on your baked potatoes. Use it any way you can think of. It helps safeguard health and youth. |
Make a friend of garlicBuy it fresh, juiced, in tablets, capsules and tinctures. There are plenty of garlic products which don't give off the characteristic odor if you can't handle its smell.Garlic is most effective eaten raw and is really enjoyable crushed or minced in salads or pasta. If you worry about the smell, chew a sprig of parsley after your meal and never drink cheap red wine with garlic. It sours the breath badly. Take one or two cloves (not bulbs) of garlic every day in your foods.Garlic OilMince a large bulb of fresh garlic and put in the top of a double boiler. Pour in enough olive oil to cover the garlic by an inch. Warm gently for an hour. Cool, strain through muslin or cheesecloth, and keep in a sealed bottle or jar in the fridge. Use it on your salads; it's delicious. |
| !Caution: Garlic acts as a blood thinner so it is wise not to take with anticoagulant drugs. Taking large daily doses - more than 10g - can cause stomach irritation or indigestion. |
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The classic definition of a herb is a non-woody plant which dies down to its roots each winter. This definition is far too limiting. It was probably made up by 19th Century European botanists who had never seen the rainforest in which, of course there is no winter to die back in. Neither had they ever heard of woody trees and shrubs such as hawthorn and ginko and elder which are some of the best selling herbs on the market these days. I define a herb as a medicinal plant. It can come from any climate and be a leaf, a bark, a flower or a root. It can be home-grown or wild, a weed, a spice, a plant which is used for its healing or culinary or beautifying properties. Once you discover the power of herbs it is easy to become so enthusiastic about them you go overboard trying to use them for everything. It is not wise to take lots of different plants all at the same time. Or you might start to think that since a small amount of something is good for you, taking twice or three times that amount will be even better. It isn’t. If you want safe and sane herbal help here are a few guidelines to follow:
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