The Ancient Tibetan Garlic Cure

A few months ago a colleague of mine told me that her grandmother makes her own garlic potion to stay healthy. She marinates garlic in alcohol for up to six weeks and when the potion is ready, she drinks few drops a day for few weeks. She repeats this cure every year and never gets sick.

Organic garlic

I wondered if anyone else knew about the garlic cure and started an online search. To my surprise the search produced "Tibetan garlic cure." The post showed up on several blogs and some bloggers claimed that this ancient garlic recipe was discovered in Tibet in 1970s by an UNESCO commission. 

Unfortunately I do not have any better information and cannot verify this claim, but I know that the therapeutic properties of garlic were known in many cultures for centuries, and that many cultures use alcohol to prepare herbal liquors, tinctures and medicinal wines. The Chinese used therapeutic liquors for centuries; so did Hildegard von Bingen in Medieval Europe. Herbs, flowers, fruits, roots, and even small animals (such as snakes) or animal parts were preserved in alcohol. Alcohol potentiated the healing properties of used ingredients and allowed better preservation from spoilage. To this day Chinese pharmacies in Hong Kong and everywhere where Traditional Chinese Medicine is practiced, sell therapeutic wines. You can see a coiled snake or a ginseng root that has been preserved to extract the its highest healing potential. 

Garlic (Allium sativum) is a plant native to Central Asia. For thousands of years garlic has been used not only in cooking, but also as medicine. The Sumerians, Egyptians, Chinese, Tibetans, Indians, Ancient Greeks and Romans, all valued garlic's therapeutic qualities. They discovered garlic's potential to kill germs and used it as medicine to cure various infections, including typhus, dysentery, influenza, and cholera.

Modern research confirms what the ancients knew for ages. Garlic not only kills germs, it is also an effective herb that can be used modulate and strengthen the immune system. Scientists also found that garlic can also prevent cardiovascular disease and reduce blood pressure.

 Miron glass jar

Garlic seems to be a very healthy herb all by itself. Is it possible that preserving it in alcohol enhances its healing potential even more?

To make the garlic solution you will need about 12 ounces (350 g) garlic, 3 ounces of 96% pure, food grade alcohol, and a tight closing jar.

I decided to use a violet Miron glass jar. Miron glass blocks the complete spectrum of visible light with the exception of the violet part. At the same time it allows a certain part to be permeable for radiation in the spectral range of UV-A, and infra red light. This unique combination offers optimal protection against the ageing processes that are released by visible light, thus lengthening durability and potency of products. Scientists in Germany found that Miron glass enhances the therapeutic strength of products stored in it. 

Making of the Ancient Tibetan Garlic Cure:

• Wash and dry the jar. Set aside.
• Peal the garlic cloves. You may want to wear rubber gloves.
• Roughly chop the garlic cloves and transfer them into your clean jar.
• Slowly pour the alcohol into the jar making sure that the garlic is well covered. Add more alcohol if you find it necessary. 
• Tightly close the lid and place the jar in a cool, dark place. Allow the garlic to marinade for 10 days.
• After 10 days carefully open the jar and strain the garlic tincture through a sieve pouring it into a clean measuring jar. 
• Pour the clear liquid into a clean dark glass bottle and close it with a pipette stopper.  (I used Miron glass bottles)

This is how the Tibetan garlic should be made according to various websites. I changed the method a bit remembering that my colleague's grandmother kept her garlic in alcohol for at least three weeks. I allowed the tincture to mature even more when I transferred it into two small Miron glass bottles. I stored the bottles for another three weeks before I began the cure.

Miron glass bottles with garlic tincture

There is a suggested way to administer the garlic cure beginning with one drop at breakfast on the first day and increasing the amount with each meal up to 25 drops on day eleven. Continue taking 25 drops per meal until the tincture is finished. Remember to shake the bottle before each use.

I am not sure that such "schedule" is necessary, although some homeopathic or alchemistic principles might be involved here. I decided to take two drops with each meal, three times a day and I take it in a spoon of yogurt to neutralize the strong garlic odor. 

The tincture is said to have incredible healing potential: 

• it may help decrease blood pressure
• it may improve blood circulation
• it may help regulate and balance blood lipids
• it may prevent the LDL cholesterol buildup in arteries
• it may help prevent thrombosis
• it may help speed up metabolism and stimulate fat burning in the body
• it may help detoxify the kidney and improve the kidney function
• it may help improve the function of the immune system
• it may help eradicate candida 

November is a perfect time to start caring for the immune system. If the cure works I should be infection free till the end of winter. 

By Dominique Allmon

*A word of caution: The tincture contains alcohol and is not recommended for children, pregnant women, and people who have alcohol addiction problem. 

**This information is for educational purpose only. It is not meant to diagnose or cure a disease.

The Ancient Tibetan Garlic Cure by Dominique Allmon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

October - Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Like every year women around the world become a bit more aware of this deadly disease when October comes. Some might have developed the disease over the last twelve months; others may know someone who has.

The statistics are terrifying despite the growing awareness and health information available to us:

• About 1 in 8 U.S. women (just under 12%) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime.
• In 2011, an estimated 230,480 new cases of invasive breast cancer were expected to be diagnosed in women in the U.S., along with 57,650 new cases of non-invasive (in situ) breast cancer.
• About 2,140 new cases of invasive breast cancer were expected to be diagnosed in men in 2011. A man’s lifetime risk of breast cancer is about 1 in 1,000.
• From 1999 to 2005, breast cancer incidence rates in the U.S. decreased by about 2% per year. The decrease was seen only in women aged 50 and older. One theory is that this decrease was partially due to the reduced use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) by women after the results of a large study called the Women’s Health Initiative were published in 2002. These results suggested a connection between HRT and increased breast cancer risk.
• About 39,520 women in the U.S. were expected to die in 2011 from breast cancer, though death rates have been decreasing since 1990 - especially in women under 50. These decreases are thought to be the result of treatment advances, earlier detection through screening, and increased awareness.
• For women in the U.S., breast cancer death rates are higher than those for any other cancer, besides lung cancer.
• Besides skin cancer, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among American women. Just under 30% of cancers in women are breast cancers.
• White women are slightly more likely to develop breast cancer than African-American women. However, in women under 45, breast cancer is more common in African-American women than white women. Overall, African-American women are more llkely to die of breast cancer. Asian, Hispanic, and Native-American women have a lower risk of developing and dying from breast cancer.
• In 2011, there were more than 2.6 million breast cancer survivors in the US.
• A woman’s risk of breast cancer approximately doubles if she has a first-degree relative (mother, sister, daughter) who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. About 15% of women who get breast cancer have a family member diagnosed with it.
• In men, about 1 in 10 breast cancers are believed to be due to BRCA2 mutations, and even fewer cases to BRCA1 mutations.
• About 85% of breast cancers occur in women who have no family history of breast cancer. These occur due to genetic mutations that happen as a result of the aging process and life in general, rather than inherited mutations.  

For most people the diagnosis comes as a shock. To many it is a death sentence. And yet, breast cancer, like many other cancers, is a symptom of a life strategies gone wrong. It can be prevented! Prevention means a drastic change of lifestyle - a step that relatively few people want to take. At least not before they are diagnosed with a deadly disease. 

The importance of early detection of breast cancer cannot be stressed enough. It takes only a few minutes a day to perform self-exam. 

Healthy nutrition is vital in prevention of any disease. Just consider that a better health is only a meal away. It really is this simple!

Wishing everyone a magnificent time in October, in radiant health - Dominique Allmon

Dominique Allmon©2013

*This information is for educational purpose only. It is not meant to diagnose or cure a disease.

Health Benefits of Watermelon

Like no other fruit, watermelon is considered by many to be a perfect Summer fruit. Thanks to its high water and mineral content, water melon is a tasty thirst quencher. This quality was greatly appreciated as far back in history as Ancient Egypt and Ancient China.

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) belongs to the family Cucurbitaceae. It is a vine-like flowering plant that most probably originated in Southern Africa. The plant produces large fruits whose flesh is pink or dark red when ripe. The fruits are covered with thick, green rind. There are more than 1200 varieties cultivated all over the world.

Watermelon is rich in nutrients:

• vitamins, especially the vision supporting vitamin A, the immune system modulating vitamin B6 and the immune system boosting vitamin C 
• minerals, especially magnesium and potassium
• amino acid citruline 
• carotenoids lycopene and beta carotene
• flavonoids lutein, zeaxanthin and cryptoxanthin
• tripterpenoids

As mentioned before, because of its very high water content, watermelon is a wonderful thirst quencher. In Traditional Chinese Medicine the red flesh of the fruit is considered to be cooling and used to purify blood and dispel symptoms of internal and external heat. A very popular watermelon lozenges are prescribed to cure sore throat. To address different symptoms, Chinese doctors use all parts of the fruit, including the rind and the seeds.

Watermelon is a perfect anti-aging superfood. It has few calories, but is very rich in phenolic compounds that include flavonoids, carotenoids, and tripterpenoids. These compounds help fight inflammation and provide protection against free radicals.

The carotenoid lycopene that gives watermelon its red color, is a very effective free-radicals scavenger. In fact, watermelon contains higher levels of lycopene than any other fresh fruit or vegetable - 15 to 20 mg per two-cup serving. The content depends on the ripeness of the fruit.

Lycopene has the ability to inhibit many inflammatory processes in the body including:

• the production of pro-inflammatory messaging molecules
• the expression of such enzymes as the cyclo-oxygenase and the lipoxygenase that can lead to increased inflammatory response
• the activity of molecular signaling agents like nuclear factor kappa B (NFkB)

Another anti-inflammatory compound, the tripterpenoid cucurbitacin E, blocks the activity of cyclo-oxygenase enzymes and neutralizes reactive nitrogen-containing molecules or the RNS.

Watermelon is an amazing source of the amino acid citrulline. The flesh of a watermelon contains about 250 mg of citrulline per cup. Among others, citrulline is converted by the kidneys and the endothelial cells (cells that line our blood vessels), into amino acid arginine. An enzyme called nitric oxide synthase or NOS, takes the amino acid arginine and uses it to help produce nitric oxide (NO). NO is a muscle relaxant that tells the smooth muscles around our blood vessels to relax. When this happens, the space inside our blood vessels can expand, allowing blood to flow more freely. The relaxation of muscle tension and increase in blood flow constitutes the mechanism by which NO can improve the erectile function in men. Although consumption of watermelon significantly increases levels of arginine in the body, the amount of citruline is not enough to cure erectile dysfunction with one portion of watermelon alone.

Citruline also has the ability to flushe the kidneys and the liver of stored aluminum. Aluminum can be damaging to the cells. It not only enters our bodies from the environment, but is also a byproduct of protein breakdown within the body.

Latest research also demonstrated that citruline may affect the way fat is deposited in the human body. When citruline converts into arginine, arginine-related molecules called polyarginine peptides are also formed in the body. These compounds are able to block activity of an enzyme called tissue-nonspecific alkaline phosphatase, or TNAP. When TNAP activity is shut down, fat cells (adipocytes) create less fat. The less fat is produced, the less fat is deposited in the body.

Watermelon seeds are also beneficial to health. They contain B Vitamins; incredibly bio-available iron and zinc; magnesium; omega 6 fatty acids; and the cardiovascular system supporting amino acid arginine. They also contain lysine, tryptophan, and glutamic acid.

The nutrient content makes watermelon one of the healthiest foods available to us. Although a ripe watermelon contains sugar, the fruit has a law glycemic index which means that it will not cause rapid spikes in blood glucose levels. Some animal studies suggest that watermelon juice may even have a positive effect on blood sugar metabolism.

Watermelon is considered a natural diuretic. It helps increase the urine flow, but unlike caffeine it does not put any strain on the kidneys. Moreover, watermelon helps the liver process ammonia.

Watermelon is a good source of amino acids cystein, glutamate and glycine that are necessary for the synthesis of glutathione. Glutathione is the body own antioxidant, detox agent and immune system modulator. Glutathione helps the body effectively excrete mercury, aluminum and pesticides, and improves the efficacy of vitamins C and E in the body.

When fully ripe, watermelon is an alkaline-forming fruit. This fact alone makes watermelon incredibly beneficial to health as diseases such as cancer can only thrive in an acidic environment.

By Dominique Allmon

*Watermelon is a very versatile fruit that can be eaten in many ways. For raw recipe suggestions please click here



*This information is for educational purpose only. It is not meant to diagnose or cure a disease.


Health Benefits of Watermelon by Dominique Allmon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Good Health and Longevity - For Educational Purposes Only?

Since the pharmaceutical industry rules the world of the the healthy and the sick, no one is allowed to make certain statements about health and healing even if there were a valid research to back them up. People who are not "careful" enough are accused of quackery or even arrested and prosecuted. 

 

Interestingly enough, spectacular claims can be made by doctors and sales people when a molecule or a substance is patented and sold as a drug, even if that drug comes with a long list of side effects. The drug may eventually harm or kill a patient and law suits may follow, but for as long as nothing "drastic" happens the claims of "cure" can be made shamelessly.  

This is quite amusing, but also incredibly frustrating. If you made a claim that elderberry, ginger and honey cured flu like symptoms and started advertising and selling your "potion" to afflicted people, you would probably end up in court. But no one gets punished for selling drugs with similar curing power even if such drugs may cause drowsiness, liver damage, kidney failure and what not. At least not right away. Justice is done to patients only after some one's health has been damaged irreversibly by the drug. The liability lawyers find a real gold mine in cases like that and the pharmaceutical industry can afford to pay reparations. 

Do not get me wrong. I am not against pharmaceutical industry as such and I am not against allopathic medicine, but I despise a culture of arrogance and cynicism.

I am a healthy individual, but I do not necessarily attribute my health to my genes. There is much more to it. The genes carry an information that may work for you or against you. If there is a history of disease in your family you may be the next in the line to develop it as well. But genetic information is not necessarily a sentence or a curse. Unless you are living with congenital, manifested genetic disorder, your lifestyle is contributing to your overall health and you may never get sick or morbidly obese even if everyone in your family is. If you live a healthy lifestyle, genetic traits remain what they are - potentialities, not death sentences. 

Good health is a precious gift and it is a gift you can give to yourself. I advocate active prevention of disease rather than a cure of existing one. Simple changes in lifestyle and nutrition may have very dramatic changes on your overall health. You can lose weight, reverse chronic disease, slow the aging process and prolong your lifespan. But this does not come as a pill. You will have to change established bad habits and invest some money in your nutrition. And most importantly, you will have to consider yourself worthy of such a change. But once you do, you will be amazed. Your body has the potential to heal itself. You just have to give it a chance. 

Changes to be made include:

• exercise
• stress control
• detoxification
• diet and nutrition
• supplementation with high quality nutritional supplements
• self-perception and attitude 
• health education - ignorance may kill you! 

The changes may be quite overwhelming and should be made gradually. You may have to consult a certified fitness coach who will help you devise a fitness plan that suits your current needs, but once you gain the knowledge and develop your own intuition you will be able to take care of yourself without any help. Empower yourself. You will not regret it.

In radiant health - Dominique Allmon

By Dominique Allmon ©2013

*This information is for educational purpose only. It is not meant to diagnose or cure a disease.

To Your Health!

Many people promise themselves to lose weight when the New Year comes, especially after they managed to gain some during the Holiday Season. 

The beginning of a New Year seems to be a perfect time to make some important changes in one's life and weight loss is an issue that is becoming acute for more and more people.

As we age, our metabolism slows dawn considerably and it becomes more difficult to lose weight now than it was when we were younger. In order to lose weight we must understand these physiological changes and adjust our nutrition accordingly. We may have to supplement with digestive enzymes to help our system digest the foods we eat. We may have to add herbs and spices that will enhance our digestion and increase metabolism. And we definitely need to exercise more and eat less than we used to if we want to keep the weight off and stay fit.  

There are many reasons why people are overweight:

• unhealthy diet that consists of white flour, too much fat, sugar, artificial coloring and preservatives
• overeating 
• emotional overeating
• extreme stress
• lack of physical activity
• genetic predisposition to obesity
• pre-diabetic state or the diabetic disease itself
• under-active thyroid gland
• intestinal parasites and candida
• food intolerance

Going on a strict diet may be necessary in some cases. Diet pills and drinks are perfect to jump start an effective loss of excess weight, but I do not advocate any long term food deprivation or meal replacements. Initially, you may be able to loose some weight with diet pills and drinks, but more often than not, you will gain it back as soon as you revert to your regular diet.

In order to achieve any durable improvement you need to change your lifestyle and the way you perceive yourself. Any drastic change is ineffective because sooner or later you will sabotage it. The changes you implement must be gradual and should not add stress to your life. 

Remember that you eat to nourish yourself and choose your food accordingly. Your food must deliver energy, proteins, vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, enzymes, and other vital nutrients that will help your body function properly and stay healthy. Add fruit and vegetable to your diet and eat them raw as often as you can. Eat smaller portions and choose fish and poultry over red meat, olive oil over butter, stevia over sugar... 

Additionally you will need to supplement with high quality vitamin and mineral supplement, L-Glutamine and Omega-3 essential fatty acids.

Healthy, balanced nutrition and sufficient physical activity are essential if you want to reduce your weight and improve the overall health. But if you feel that, despite all these  lifestyle changes, you are not loosing any weight, you may suffer from an under-active thyroid or from intestinal parasites, including candida. You may also have undetected intolerance to some foods. Very often hidden allergies are responsible for the unexplained weight gain. Weight loss is almost impossible unless the allergens are removed from the daily diet. 

It is important to find out the reason for weight gain and a difficulty in losing it. Unless you do, you will struggle from one diet to another without much success but rather a serious damage to your health. 

You may have to consult your health care provider before you set out on an exercise or a diet plan.

Two very important aspects of a successful weight loss program are your determination and motivation to lose weight. If you failed before, you may want to find a health coach and a support group. You could join an exercise group or a healthy-cooking class to get all the support you need. Sharing your success and experience with like-minded people will help you stay on track well beyond January 8th.

Whatever you decide, make the 2013 the healthiest year in your life!

In radiant health - Dominique Allmon

Please, also read  How to Successfully Lose Weight and Keep it Off

*This information is for educational purpose only. It is not meant to diagnose or cure a disease.