HERBAL REMEDIES
October 2001
Autumn good time for herbal cleansing
by Brooke Wagenheim
Autumn is as important a time to cleanse as spring. In this season,
however, your diet may be more full, rich and heat-producing than spring in order to carry
you through the chill of late autumn and winter. The bounty of autumn rivals summer in
abundance and beauty. As the days get cooler we feel the intuitive urge to enjoy the rich,
compact foods of fall. Allow extra time for storing and preserving foods from the garden
for winter. Gather your herbs and be sure to include garlic.
Metals
Metal is associated with autumn. It represents the mineral ores and salts of the earth.
The lungs and the large intestine are the two organs associated with the metal element,
and the tissues of the body governed by metal are the skin and body hair. Metal fortifies
the skin and the hair, and their health often reflects the health of the lungs and large
intestine. The skin actually acts as a third lung, absorbing from the environment and
expiring wastes into the air. Both Chinese and Western medicines see a close relationship
between lung and skin problems. The lungs and large intestine are the organs stimulated to
cleanse in autumn. So, to help strengthen the body and deflect winter illness, fasting for
the large intestine’s benefit is indispensable.
Breathe Right
Breathing involves both the intake of air during inhalation and the elimination of old air
during exhalation. The Buddhists see each in-breath giving new life and each out-breath as
a little death. Thus your deepest attitudes toward your living and dying may affect your
breathing process and the health of the metal element in your body. Asthma, eczema and
skin rashes are commonly associated with colds and lung infections, and dry or oily skin
might also suggest an imbalance. Just as proper food is needed for energy and health, deep
breathing and clean air are vital to life. A good daily practice that improves physical
and mental health is to inhale and hold your breath for four seconds, then exhale. Repeat
this for 10 breaths or more, increasing the number of breaths slowly. Another practice is
to plug your left nostril with cotton and breathe through the right nostril for one hour.
With every breath we take, we absorb etheric energy, which is what the yogis call prana.
Through the right nostril, we breathe in positive prana and through the left, negative
prana. Although both are needed for our well-being, it is very powerful to breathe through
the right nostril while centering your thoughts on the part of your body that needs
rebuilding or rejuvenating. I was surprised by the results.
Garlic: A Clove a Day…
An important herb for cleansing and feeding the lungs is garlic, an herb deeply rooted in
folk medicine and one that has been used for centuries. Early pyramid builders ate garlic
daily for endurance, while the Greeks used it to cure snakebite and pneumonia. During
World War I, garlic was used extensively to prevent gangrene and to treat typhus and
dysentery. Certain Slavic peoples still eat a clove of raw garlic with each meal during
the winter months to prevent colds and flu. In 1858, Louis Pasteur confirmed that garlic
juice killed bacteria, and modern research has confirmed garlic's ability to bolster the
human immune system.
Japanese researchers have found that garlic can prevent infection by the influenza virus.
Several studies have also shown that garlic destroys the virus that causes cold sores. A
1984 study at Georgetown University found that whole garlic extract halted the growth of
30 strains of bacteria, including six strains of tuberculosis.
Today garlic is known as an effective treatment for internal and
external infections; garlic reacts with harmful bacteria to stop their action and allows
healthful bacteria to proliferate. Specific applications for garlic include combating high
blood pressure, asthma, bronchitis, stomach ulcers, chronic colitis, influenza, urinary
tract infections, Candida albicans, cardiovascular problems and all respiratory
infections, including colds.
At the faintest sign of a sore throat, runny nose or achy bones, simply
peel a clove of fresh organic garlic, cut it in half and place one half in each cheek,
which allows the juice to be absorbed in the saliva and pervade the system. The odor can
be masked by use of anise, cinnamon or caraway seeds; chew these with a little parsley.
Both garlic tablets and capsules are available for those who cannot adjust to the garlic
odor, but fresh garlic is always preferred for the live enzymes it contains. Commercially
grown garlic may be treated with a variety of chemical sprays so organically grown garlic
is preferred. As a preventative, a good supply of garlic has no equal in the home.
If you have even a small garden, garlic is easy to grow and harvest.
Divide the bulb into separate cloves and plant them in the fall in a well-tilled,
well-drained, rich soil. The garlic will be ready to harvest the following July when the
tops begin to turn yellow. Cure the bulbs for two to four weeks in a dark, dry area where
the temperature is moderate.
When including garlic in a healthy diet, remember that boiling destroys
medicinal properties. Add it to soups, stews, vegetables and salads, just before serving.
Always use garlic and ginger with meats to counter the toxic acids meats create during
digestion. Garlic bread has long been considered a gourmet addition to a crisp green salad
or homemade soup.
Other herbs that can fight respiratory ailments include angelica, black
mustard, burdock, coltsfoot, comfrey, eucalyptus, fenugreek, hyssop, licorice, lobelia,
mullein, pine, sunflower, thyme, walnut, witch hazel and yerba santa.
Some other things to do with garlic include:
•Garlic oil–Peel and mince one cup of garlic. Put in a jar and cover with warm
olive oil. Turn the jar several times a day for four days, and then strain the oil. Store
the garlic oil in a cool place; use the minced garlic for garlic bread and in salads or
vegetables. The oil can be taken in one-teaspoon doses, three to four times daily, or used
in dressings for salads or vegetable dishes.
• Garlic cough medicine–Place one pound of peeled and sliced garlic in a jar.
Cover it with a mixture of equal parts apple cider vinegar and water. Let stand for four
or five hours, strain and add an equal amount of honey. Keep in a cool place and shake
well before using. One tablespoon may be taken three to four times a day. For bronchitis,
put two whole peeled cloves of garlic through a press; add to one cup of real maple syrup
or honey; take the entire cupful, a spoon at a time, during a 24 hour period.
• Garlic bandage–Fresh grated garlic or expressed juice may be put directly on
any external wound or infection. In World War I, the army discovered the efficacy of
garlic as a disinfectant for wounds, and it was credited with saving many lives.
• Garlic vinegar–Slice cloves of garlic and marinate in apple cider vinegar.
This famous combination has its roots as the "Four Thieves Vinegar," and is an
example of the immunity to disease that garlic gives. During the Plague of 1722, four
thieves in the French city of Marseilles achieved immunity through daily doses of garlic
vinegar, which allowed them to plunder the dead bodies of plague victims without
contracting disease.
The Skin
The thyroid gland, located at the base of the neck, controls all functions of the
body’s three layers of skin. The normal functions of the outer skin are to exhale
gases, sweat out water and certain toxic salty substances, oil the skin and hair with
special glands, and protect the inner body. The elimination, which results from forcefully
exuding gases, acid sweat and toxic oils through the outer skin, has conjured up numerous
diseases. Chronic eczema and psoriasis are common examples. Skin diseases, which are
really signs of toxic irritation, respond well to treatment, dietary and local, directed
toward neutralization and elimination of the offending poisons. A variety of skin problems
may indicate a major or minor nutritional deficiency. Here are some common deficiencies
and how they show up on your skin:
• Vitamin C shortage–bleeding gums, soreness of mouth and gums, or a rough scaly
rash around hair roots.
• Vitamin B complex deficiency–cracks and canker sores in the corners of mouth.
• Dry skin or brittle nails are often due to a lack of cold-pressed oils and
essential fatty acid oils such as omega–3 and omega–6, in the diet (good sources
are hemp seed oil or flax oil).
Namaste
Brooke Wagenheim
brooke@visi.com