Natural Remedies from Your Kitchen – Part Two

By Dr. Michelle Decker, ND and Dr. Kyle Maynard, ND

Garlic & Turmeric

To finish up our natural remedies from the kitchen, we will be discussing garlic and turmeric. These are two of the most powerful herbs you may have in you kitchen at can be used as natural remedies. If you missed out on Part One, we discussed fennel, ginger and cinnamon.

Again, here are a few of rules that are important to remember:

• Natural doesn’t mean healthy
• Natural doesn’t mean safe
• To be an effective medicine, regular dosing is required
• See a naturopathic doctor if:
  1. The remedies aren’t working for you
  2. You are relying on them too much or too often
  3. You have an adverse reaction (rash, heartburn, worsening of symptoms etc.)

Garlic (Allium sativum):

Medicinal Uses:

Most people know that garlic is really good when you are sick. What you may not know is that garlic has an influence on the cardiovascular system by lowering cholesterol, blood lipids and blood pressure. Topically, garlic can be used for toe nail fungus and as a suppository for yeast or bacterial infections.

How it works:

Garlic has sulphur-rich chemicals, including allicin and dialyl disulphide, that are strong anti-oxidants. These sulphur molecules bind metabolites which supports liver detoxification, and prevents the oxidation of LDL cholesterol. Molecules in garlic also relax the arteries, which lowers blood pressure. The volatile oils in garlic are directly toxic to bacteria and fungus to help during infections.

Directions:

For heart health and immune support, you need at least two cloves per day. In order to get the full benefits of garlic, raw garlic must be chopped or crushed and left for 10-15 minutes before use. This allows the release of alliinase, an enzyme that converts alliin to the active form, allicin. Allicin is sensitive to heat, so when garlic is added at the beginning of the cooking process, there will be minimal active ingredient left by the end. So, if you want to add garlic at the beginning to develop the flavour, go ahead, but add more at the end of the cooking process to preserve the health benefits.

When using garlic as a natural remedy for toe nail fungus, crush 2 cloves of garlic and mix with 2 Tbsp of olive oil. Apply this to the affected nails, cover with gauze or a bandage and leave over night. Wash it off in the morning with equal parts warm water and vinegar which will neutralize the garlic odor.

Directions:

For heart health and immune support, you need at least two cloves per day. In order to get the full benefits of garlic, raw garlic must be chopped or crushed and left for 10-15 minutes before use. This allows the release of alliinase, an enzyme that converts alliin to the active form, allicin. Allicin is sensitive to heat, so when garlic is added at the beginning of the cooking process, there will be minimal active ingredient left by the end. So, if you want to add garlic at the beginning to develop the flavour, go ahead, but add more at the end of the cooking process to preserve the health benefits.

When using garlic as a natural remedy for toe nail fungus, crush 2 cloves of garlic and mix with 2 Tbsp of olive oil. Apply this to the affected nails, cover with gauze or a bandage and leave over night. Wash it off in the morning with equal parts warm water and vinegar which will neutralize the garlic odor.

 “Killer” Tzatziki

Ingredients:

• 500 mL yogurt (soy, sheep, goat or other)
• 1 cucumber
• 5-10 cloves of crushed garlic
• ½ lemon, juiced
• 2 Tbsp dill
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• Crush garlic and let sit for 10-15 minutes
• Peel (optional) and shred cucumber into a strainer with salt to remove excess liquid, let drain for 10 minutes
• Mix crushed garlic, drained cucumber, lemon juice and dill into the yogurt
• Add salt and pepper to taste
• Optional: Add sour cream (regular, soy or other) to thicken