By Margarita Alcantara, M.S.Ac., L.Ac., Reiki Master/Teacher, Medicine Woman +
October 28, 2013 | Acupuncture, Chinese Medicine, Events, Healing, Healthy Living | 2 Comments
As we enter the thick of the Fall season, we start to celebrate Halloween (my favorite holiday!), Samhain, Day of the Dead, All Saints’ Day, and All Souls’ Day, to name a few. We also honored Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine (AOM) Day this past Thursday, October 24th, to build awareness on the benefits of this wonderful art and medicine! In fact, I held a free community acupuncture earclinic that day, which helped patients, friends, colleagues, and new faces tap into their inner zen for a time. Scroll down for my iPhone panoramic pictures and the lowdown on that special day!
Also, as we start donning the heavier coats and scarves, we become more susceptible to what we acupuncturists call “Wind-Cold Invasion” (don’t you love the poetic terminology?), when our immune systems weaken, and we need to fortify our Qi to guard against cold and flu. And in the New York Metro Area, this is a time where we are remembering when Hurricane Sandy ripped through our area,one year ago. Being that Fall is the season of the Lungs (& Large Intestine), and, as you learned in my previous postings on “The Gathering Energies Of Fall” series, the Lungs aid us in releasing grief, among other things. So, the Lungs are getting a lot of action right now!
To help your Lungs stave off any oncoming colds and flu, I want to share an easy garlic honey recipe, designed to nip these pathogens in the bud! All you need is some garlic, honey, and a jar.
Honey is considered an herb (Feng Mi) in Chinese Medicine. And not only does it taste good, but it has numerous health benefits in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM):
- It helps with digestion by strengthening the abdomen (we call it the Middle Jiao), particularly in cases of abdominal pain or to help increase appetite.
- It moistens the Lungs, and stops dry chronic coughs.
- It moistens the Intestines, and addresses constipation.
- It reduces toxins, is used topically on ulcers, sores, and lesions, and can be taken internally after ingestion of mild poisons.
In addition, I recommend using raw honey, instead of regular honey, since raw honey still has the propolis, vitamins, and enzymes that haven’t been pasteurized out, hasanti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal properties, and is a strong anti-oxidant! There are some raw honey brands that are thicker, and must be scooped out, and others that are more fluid, which you can easily pour. You want the latter kind for your garlic honey recipe.
Garlic is also a Chinese herb (Da Suan), and besides tasting absolutely delicious in various dishes, or spread on toast after being roasted, it has medicinal properties as well. It has strong anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, and anti-bacterial properties. In addition, in Chinese Medicine:
- It kills parasites, such as hookworms and pinworms, and can be used in conjunction with other herbs to kill intestinal parasites
- It relieves toxicity in the system, and is useful for diarrhea, dysentery, consumption, and sudden coughing.
- It is used to prevent influenza and for treating food poisoning from shellfish.
On a Western Medicine level, it addresses blood and heart issues, including atherosclerosis(hardening of the arteries), highcholesterol,heart attack,coronary heart disease,andhypertension. It is also beingused today by some people for the prevention oflung cancer,prostate cancer,breast cancer,stomach cancer, rectalcancer, andcolon cancer.
So, without further adieu, here is my version of the garlic honey recipe, adapted from Healthy Green KitchenandSusun Weed.
ingredients:
– 3 heads of garlic, peeled and separated into cloves (about 24 cloves)
– raw honey to fill your glass jar of choice (I chose a mixture of Acacia honey and White honey)
directions:
1. Fill jar with garlic cloves and then pour the honey over the garlic. After closing the lid, label the mixture with contents and date. Allow mixture to infuse for several days before eating the garlic or honey. As it ages, both the honey and the garlic darken. After a couple of months, the garlic is even more suffused with honey and is even lovelier to eat. Some people refrigerate the garlic honey, but it is fine to store at room temperature, and cankeep for a year.
2. At the first sign of illness, start eating a clove every hour or two. Aim for about 6 cloves per day. You can replace the cloves with new ones to keep a steady supply going. The honey can be taken on its own by the spoonful as a cough syrup. You could also mix a teaspoon of the honey with some raw apple cider vinegar and hot water and drink this as a tonic when you’re sick; feel free to add a dash of cayenne pepper, too, since it is excellent for your sinuses.
Here’s to your health!
AOM Day ear clinic in progress. Photo by Margarita Alcantara.
Another view of the clinic. Photo by Margarita Alcantara.
Thank you to everyone who participated in making my Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine (AOM) Day a success this past Thursday, October 24th! In honor of AOM Day, I held a FREE Ear Acupuncture Clinic. Participants booked their time slots to receive ear acupuncture (NADA protocol) community style, and enjoyed the de-stressing and detoxing effects of the treatments. I’ve helped create ear acupuncture clinics, and served at them, for Acupuncturists Without Borderspost-Sandy and Audre Lorde Project’s Wellness Days, but this was the first time I’d held an ear acupuncture clinic at my office! Participants enjoyed the healing benefits, so much so that heads started to nod, and some gentle snoring ensued. Everyone emerged relaxed and thankful. There’s something magical about witnessing healing in process during a community acupuncture treatment. From my stool, I held space for all participants, channeling universal Qi/Reiki to everyone. Love all around!
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All information on this website is my own opinion, and not to be taken as medical advice. Reliance on any information provided on this website is solely at your own risk. Please refer to your medical practitioner before making any medical decisions.
