Kitchen Pharmacy: Kick A Germ Joy Juice
Dorothy Hall was a renowned Australian Naturopath and Herbalist. I “devoured” her books on natural medicine, Iridology and Herbalism way back in the early eighties. She was very much of the Nature Cure School, using fresh foods and every day herbs as our medicines.
This is my version of Dorothy Hall’s original recipe for a most effective food as medicine prevention and treatment of respiratory and viral infections.
Have smaller versions of this regularly as a preventative during the cold and flu season or take the full version as soon as you have the first sign of symptoms e.g. sore throat, sneezing, runny nose or muscle aches.
RECIPE:
In a large mug combine –
- The juice and grated rind of 1 lemon (clean & unwaxed rind)
- 1-2 cloves of fresh garlic crushed
- 1-2 teaspoons of grated fresh ginger or 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
- 1 pinch chilli powder or a tiny amount of chopped hot fresh chilli
- 1-2 teaspoons of powdered turmeric
- 1 tablespoon pure honey (Manuka if possible)
- Include 1 teaspoon thyme if you also have a cough.
Add hot water (just off the boil) stir and drink the lot (solids as well) as soon as it is bearably cool.
The whole lot can be blended e.g. with a Bamix /stab blender to make it easier to drink the “solids”.
Wrap yourself up and be in bed within 10 minutes.
Rationale for the ingredients –
- The garlic is a natural antibiotic as well as liquefying mucus.
- Lemon has an astringent and tonifying effect on mucous membranes as well as providing vitamin C.
- The lemon rind provides anti-inflammatory bioflavonoids and essential oil.
- The ginger is anti- inflammatory, increases temperature and calms the stomach if it is upset by the catarrh and mucus from throat & nasal passages.
- The cayenne and chilli increase temperature and provide vitamin C.
- Turmeric is a powerful anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and provides pain relief.
- Honey improves the taste and has antimicrobial properties.
- The heat supports the fever response (bacteria & viruses can’t survive a high temperatures) and the steam will warm and hydrate the respiratory passages again reducing viral and bacterial growth.
Why do you need to go to bed so quickly? Because you should sweat profusely. The heat, lemon, garlic, ginger, cayenne & chilli increase sweating and produce a strong excretory action through lung, nose, skin & possibly bladder and bowel.
Dorothy Hall says:
“If you have a bout of diarrhoea the next morning, praise the Lord! This means that your body has fought valiantly all night while you rested in sleep and has removed a large proportion of dangerous matter”.
Enjoy! And be well!