A cold always takes a person by surprise. A runny nose, watery eyes, a slightly elevated temperature, slight malaise are signs that force urgent measures to be taken to restore shaky he alth. How to quickly cure a cold? Each patient chooses his own path of treatment. A certain percentage gives preference to traditional medicine and its methods, time-tested and people. Does garlic help with colds?
Garlic as a natural medicine
An ingredient in many restaurant dishes and home cooking is also a home doctor, always at hand and ready to help at any moment. This product has antibacterial, antiviral, antiseptic and tonic effects.
Able to increase the body's resistance to colds and infectious diseases, so it is recommended to use it without waiting for the onset of mass epidemics. A few cloves of garlic a day will easily destroy existingbacteria in the oral cavity and will not allow them to spread further through the body.
Composition of garlic
Garlic helps with colds, as it contains a lot of useful trace elements that have a positive effect on improving human he alth. This is:
- Phytoncides are active biological compounds that suppress the spread of pathogenic microorganisms (fungi, bacteria, microbes). In a short time, they are able to destroy any viruses dangerous to humans. For example, garlic phytoncides can kill a tubercle bacillus in 5 minutes, while carbolic acid will do it in a day, and sulfuric acid in half an hour.
- Volatile substances (terpenoids, metabolites and others). Thanks to them, there is an extract and application of garlic esters, which act on the immune system in a strengthening way.
- Allicin is a sulfur compound, a powerful antioxidant released during the process of crushing garlic cloves and has antibacterial properties. An ardent opponent of cancer cells and microbes. It has the ability to thin mucus, and therefore can easily cope with the problem of its accumulation in the pharynx and bronchi. During heat treatment, allicin evaporates, so it is advisable to take the product fresh.
Useful properties of garlic
The unique composition of garlic, appreciated by man since ancient times, has made it popular in folk medicine. The product has a lot of useful properties for the body:
- normalizes the functioning of the respiratory system;
- stimulates digestion;
- reduces blood sugar;
- effectively heals wounds;
- relieves fatigue;
- has a vasodilating, choleretic and diuretic effect;
- highly active against herpes and influenza viruses;
- strengthens small vessels and capillaries.
Garlic helps with colds
How to properly treat with garlic? When using it for medicinal purposes, you need to know that the slices should be pre-crushed and left in this form for 10-15 minutes.
During this time, allicin will be released, which at this stage can maximize its healing properties. Chopped garlic must be chewed thoroughly; from swallowing cloves in general, recovery will have to wait a long time. When crushed, garlic will show its healing properties for colds, even if it is sprinkled on a sandwich with butter or added to a vegetable salad. If you are embarrassed by the specific aroma that comes out of your mouth, you can chew a slice of lemon, a sprig of parsley, cinnamon, dry tea or cardamom, and then rinse your mouth with water.
When you have a runny nose, it is recommended to place a few cloves of garlic in a saucepan with a thick bottom, pour a glass of water, hold on low heat for 20 minutes. Add 1 tsp to cooled garlic tea. lemon juice and stir. Breathe over this vapor until the infusion cools.
Honey Garlic Medicine
There are a large number of medicines based on garlic, but the product most fully manifests its beneficial properties in the compoundwith other natural ingredients.
So, the garlic-honey mixture will easily get rid of a cold, for the preparation of which you need to grind a few cloves of garlic on a grater and combine them with a teaspoon of honey. Mix the components thoroughly. Before going to bed, eat a spoonful of the prepared remedy and drink it with warm water.
Warming Garlic Compress
In combination with pork fat, chopped garlic for colds will serve as an excellent warming compress. To do this, several chopped slices of a garden product and a couple of tablespoons of uns alted pork fat need to be stirred. Apply the resulting mass on the soles of the feet, carefully rub into the skin, wrap with polyethylene, put on woolen socks over it. This procedure is recommended to be done at night. Instead of fat, you can use mustard powder, taken with garlic in equal proportions. At elevated temperatures, such a compress is not recommended.
Effective inhalations
In the treatment of colds, garlic inhalations are quite effective. Pour hot water into an enameled container, put a few crushed cloves of garlic and a spoonful of soda into it for a softening effect. Or brew 3 tablespoons of oregano, chamomile and mint. Before carrying out the procedure, you need to add a chopped clove of garlic to the hot herbal decoction.
Garlic fumes, the action of which is aimed at reducing the intensity of cold manifestations, it is recommended to breathe for 10-15 minutes. Thenyou need to wrap yourself in a blanket and go to bed.
Heal with garlic
What to do if you suddenly have a cold? Recipe: garlic in the amount of several chopped cloves should be placed in a glass and poured with vegetable oil (preferably olive oil). Leave for an hour. Take in small portions inside (a teaspoon), or externally, lubricating the wings of the nose. In the treatment of bronchial asthma, chronic bronchitis, colds, an ointment made from gruel of garlic, butter or lard is rubbed on the shoulders and chest.
The treatment of colds with garlic is effective when using the following recipe: small swabs should be made from cotton wool, moistened in an oil-garlic mixture and inserted into the nose for 20 minutes, into each nasal passage alternately.
When the first signs of a cold, weakness, malaise appear, garlic can be put in the ears. Adults are recommended to chew the natural product and drink it with juniper infusion. This will have an anti-cold, bactericidal and tonic effect on the body.
Garlic bath
Relieve the signs of a cold and speed up the healing process with a healing garlic-based bath. To prepare it, several heads of the product should be crushed, placed in a large saucepan and poured with 10 liters of water. Cover and leave to infuse for about 6-7 hours. Before bath procedures, heat to a comfortable temperature, pour into a bath and add hot water to the desired volume. The duration of the procedure is 20-30 minutes.
Milk with garlic for colds is goodimmunostimulator. A warm drink based on these two components is considered an effective tool that kills pathogenic microbes and increases the body's defenses.
One glass of liquid consumes 1 clove of garlic. Although such a drink does not have a pleasant taste, it acts quite powerfully on the body: it softens the airways, reduces coughing attacks, and relieves inflammation of the mucous membrane. If the ailment is accompanied by a cough, add a teaspoon of honey to a warm drink.
Garlic for colds during pregnancy
Colds do not bypass expectant mothers and overshadow their troublesome life with worries about a speedy recovery that would not harm the baby. Garlic is considered a product that can increase uterine activity, which in some cases poses a threat to the fetus. Also, treatment with garden crops can cause allergic reactions, which is not a good sign for pregnant women. Garlic intolerance may also occur, which is expressed in the appearance of stomach pain, belching, heartburn. Treatment with a natural remedy is especially dangerous in the last stages of pregnancy.
According to doctors, the use of garlic during the period of expectation of a child should be very dosed, no more than 1-2 cloves from time to time.
Garlic for cold prevention
You can enhance the effect of garlic by combining it with onions. When carrying out inhalations, the ingredients should be used in equalproportions. As a preventive measure, during the epidemic period, chopped garlic and onions are recommended to be poured with water and placed indoors. Inhaled phytoncides will be a barrier to the penetration of pathogenic bacteria into the body.
Garlic combined with honey, ginger and lemon has a high preventive effect.
Lemon is a natural source of ascorbic acid and a universal cold remedy. It is required to pour boiling water over it and remove the zest; cut the fruit itself into small pieces, while removing the seeds. Combine with pre-peeled and finely chopped ginger root (weighing about 150 grams) and 5 chopped garlic cloves. These components can be mixed with a blender. Add 5 tablespoons of honey to the resulting mixture. The finished composition, characterized by a rather sharp, specific odor, must be determined in a dry, hermetically sealed container and stored in a refrigerator. Take a teaspoon twice a day before meals. Drink warm water. The prepared mixture is enough for about a week. It is advisable to prepare the medicine more often, as it manifests its properties much better when fresh.
Like any product, garlic has a number of contraindications for colds. We are talking about diseases and conditions in which it is harmful to treat a cold with this product. These are epileptic seizures, cholelithiasis, hemorrhoids, disorders of the digestive system. It is also important to observe moderation in the treatment of garlic.
