Papaya - a world class meat tenderizer, natural digestive aid, prevents ulcers, and also a soft contact lense cleaner.Rx for Garlic
You’re undoubtedly anxious to put garlic’s powerful infection-fighting action to the test. But how do you take it? For minor skin infections, garlic juice applied externally may prove sufficient. but unless you’re an experienced herbalist. it’s a mistake to rely exclusively on garlic to treat infectious diseases. No antibiotic, including garlic, kills all disease-causing microorganisms. The standard medical approach is to conduct what’s known as a sensitivity test in which several antibiotics are tested against the germ. The doctor then prescribes the one that works best. You might ask your physician to include garlic in a sensitivity test. Or simply take the herb in addition to standard medication.
Researchers have found that 1 medium-size garlic clove packs the antibacterial punch of about 100,000 units of penicillin. Depending on the type of infection, oral penicillin doses typically range from 600,000 to 1.2 million units. The equivalent in garlic would be about 6 to 12 cloves. It’s best to chew 3 cloves at a time, two to four times a day.
To help reduce blood pressure, cholesterol. and the likelihood of internal blood clots, 3 to 10 cloves of fresh garlic a day is recommended.
Garlic must be chewed, chopped, bruised, or crushed to transform its medicinally inert alliin into antibiotic allicin.
Using It in Cooking
Raw garlic has a sharp, biting flavor; some people experience a burning sensation on the tongue. Cooking eliminates the bite and softens the flavor.
In foods, season to taste. (The cloves’ papery skins peel easily if you smash them with the flat side of a cleaver.)
For an infusion, chop 6 cloves per cup of cool water and steep 6 hours.
For a tincture, soak I cup of crushed cloves per quart of brandy, shake daily for two weeks, then take up to 3 tablespoons a day.
Garlic may be given cautiously to children under age 2.
What about the Smell?
Since 3000 B.C., the main problem with garlic has been its odor. The stinking rose continues to bother some people, but in recent decades, garlic-rich Italian and Asian cuisines have become increasingly popular, and some of the nation’s finest restaurants now proudly serve dishes heavily flavored with garlic. We may well be entering the Age of Garlic Chic, but we’re probably a long way from appreciating garlic breath.
To eliminate garlic breath, try chewing traditional herbal breath fresheners: parsley, fennel, or fenugreek.