A cold always catches a person by surprise. A runny nose, watery eyes, a slightly elevated temperature, mild malaise are signs that urgently take measures to restore shaken health. How to quickly cure a cold? Each patient chooses his own treatment. A certain percentage gives preference to traditional medicine and its methods tested by time and people. Does garlic help with colds?
Garlic as a Natural Cure
The ingredient of many restaurant dishes and home cooking is also a home doctor, always at hand and ready to help any minute. This product has antibacterial, antiviral, antiseptic and general strengthening effect.
It is able to increase the body's resistance to colds and infectious diseases, therefore it is recommended to use it without waiting for the onset of mass epidemics. A few cloves of garlic per day will easily destroy the bacteria in the oral cavity and prevent them from spreading throughout 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 health. It:
- Phytoncides are active biological compounds that suppress the spread of pathogenic microorganisms (fungi, bacteria, microbes). In a short time they can destroy any viruses that are 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 the use of garlic esters, which act on the immune system in a strengthening way.
- Allicin is a sulfur compound, a powerful antioxidant secreted in the process of grinding garlic cloves and having antibacterial properties. An ardent opponent of cancer cells and germs. It has the ability to thin the mucus, and therefore can easily cope with the problem of its accumulation in the pharynx and bronchi. During heat treatment, allicin disappears, so it is advisable to take the product fresh.
The beneficial 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 work of the respiratory system;
- stimulates digestion;
- reduces the amount of sugar in the blood;
- effectively heals wounds;
- relieves fatigue;
- has a vasodilating, choleretic and diuretic effect;
- possesses high activity against herpes and flu viruses;
- strengthens small vessels and capillaries.
Garlic will help with colds
How to treat garlic? When using it for medicinal purposes, you need to know that the slices should be pre-chopped and left in this form for 10-15 minutes.
During this time, allicin will release, which is able at this stage to maximize its healing properties. Sliced garlic must be chewed thoroughly; from swallowing cloves in general, you will have to wait a long time for recovery. When ground, garlic with a cold will show its healing properties, even if they sprinkle a sandwich with butter or add to a vegetable salad. If a specific aroma from the mouth is confused, you can chew a slice of lemon, a sprig of parsley, cinnamon, dry tea or cardamom, and then rinse your mouth with water.
With a cold, it is recommended to place several cloves of garlic in a saucepan with a thick bottom, pour a glass of water, hold over low heat for 20 minutes. Add 1 tsp to the cooled garlic tea. lemon juice and mix. Breathe over this steam until the infusion has cooled.
Honey and garlic medicine
There are a large number of garlic-based drugs, however, the product most fully displays its beneficial properties in combination with other natural components.
So, it’s easy to get rid of a cold garlic-honey mixture, for the preparation of which you need to grind several 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 product and drink it with warm water.
Warming Garlic Compress
In combination with pork fat, chopped garlic with a cold will serve as an excellent warming compress. For this, several chopped slices of the garden product and a couple of spoons of unsalted pork fat need to be mixed. Put the resulting mass on the soles of the feet, carefully rub into the skin, wrap with polyethylene, put on woolen socks. 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 inhalation
In the treatment of colds, garlic inhalations are quite effective. In an enameled container, pour hot water, put in it a few chopped garlic cloves and a spoonful of soda for a softening effect. Or brew 3 tablespoons of oregano, chamomile and mint. Before the procedure, add a chopped clove of garlic to the hot herbal decoction.
Garlic fumes, the action of which is aimed at reducing the intensity of colds, is recommended to breathe for 10-15 minutes. Then you need to wrap yourself in a blanket and go to bed.
We are treated with garlic
What to do if suddenly a cold catches up? Recipe: garlic in the amount of several chopped slices should be placed in a glass and pour vegetable oil (preferably olive). Insist for an hour. Take in small portions inward (on a teaspoon), or externally, lubricating the wings of the nose. In the treatment of bronchial asthma, chronic bronchitis, catarrhal diseases, ointment from garlic gruel, butter or melted lard rub shoulders and chest.
The treatment of colds with garlic is effective when applying the following recipe: you need to make small swabs from cotton wool, moisten in the oil-garlic mixture and insert into the nose for 20 minutes, alternately in each nasal passage.
With the first signs of a cold, weakness, malaise, garlic can be put in the ears. Adults are recommended to chew a natural product and drink it with juniper infusion. This will have an anti-cold, bactericidal and restorative effect on the body.
Garlic bath
It will relieve symptoms of the common cold and speed up the healing process of a medicated garlic-based bath. To prepare it, several heads of the product should be chopped, placed in a large pan and pour 10 liters of water. Cover and leave to infuse for about 6-7 hours. Before bathing procedures, warm to a comfortable temperature, pour into the bath and add hot water to the desired volume. The duration of the procedure is 20-30 minutes.
Milk with garlic for colds is a good immunostimulant. Warm drink based on these two components is considered an effective means of killing pathogenic microbes and increasing the body's defenses.
1 clove of garlic is consumed in a glass of liquid. Such a drink, although it does not have pleasant taste, but acts on the body quite powerfully: it softens the airways, reduces coughing attacks, and relieves inflammation of the mucous membrane. If the malaise is accompanied by a cough, a teaspoon of honey should be added to a warm drink.
Garlic for colds during pregnancy
Catarrhal diseases do not bypass future mothers and overshadow their troublesome life with worries about an early cure 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, gardening treatment can cause allergic reactions, which is not a good sign for pregnant women. There may also be intolerance to garlic, expressed in the appearance of stomach pains, belching, heartburn. Especially dangerous is the treatment with a natural remedy in the last stages of pregnancy.
According to doctors, the use of garlic in the expectation of a child should be very metered, no more than 1-2 cloves from time to time.
Garlic for the prevention of colds
Strengthen the effect of garlic by combining it with onions. When carrying out inhalation, the ingredients should be used in equal proportions. For preventive purposes, during the epidemic, it is recommended to add chopped garlic and onions with water and put indoors. Inhaled phytoncides will constitute a barrier to the entry of pathogenic bacteria into the body.
Garlic in combination with honey, ginger and lemon has a high preventive effect.
Lemon is a natural source of ascorbic acid and a universal remedy for colds. It is required to pour over boiling water and remove the zest; cut the fruit into small pieces, while removing the seeds. Combine with pre-peeled and finely chopped ginger root (weighing about 150 grams) and 5 minced cloves of garlic. These components can be mixed using a blender. Add 5 tablespoons of honey to the mixture. The finished composition, characterized by a rather sharp, specific odor, must be determined in a dry, hermetically sealed container and stored in the refrigerator. Take a teaspoon twice a day before meals. Wash down with warm water. The prepared mixture lasts for about a week. It is advisable to prepare the medicine more often, since in fresh form it exhibits its properties much better.
Like any product, garlic with a cold has a number of contraindications. We are talking about diseases and conditions in which treating a cold with this product is harmful. These are epileptic seizures, cholelithiasis, hemorrhoids, digestive disorders. It is also important to maintain moderation in the treatment of garlic .