Self-Reliance Tip of the Week - Garlic Can Ward Off More Than Vampires

(I hope..) We all know that vampires don't exist. But, they make for a great story...if you are into that kind of thing. So, according to legend, you can kill a vampire with a with a wooden stake, silver, sunlight, or to remove its head (gross! What the?), but you are supposed to be able to ward them off by sprinkling mustard seeds on the roof of a house, or hanging garlic around your neck.

Garlic has way more properties than making you so stinky a vampire will find someone else, but it is a great immune booster and antibacterial wonder. I recently found an article addressing a Super Garlic Immune Formula. I would like to share some of it here. As an introduction, I would like to explain who Dr. Christopher is. Dr. Christopher is a botanical doctor who in between helping people, he gave many, many lectures on empowering yourself with the use of herbs. These are his own words:

“While lecturing in Snowflake, Arizona one night, one of the students asked if we had an Super Garlic Immune formula, and after saying a quick prayer I was prompted to give them a certain combination of herbs to use.

“The people there were very impressed to go right to work and prepare this liquid, having it ready for use. We had told them that plagues come at unexpected times and it could be tomorrow or maybe even years away, but expect the unexpected and be ready now.

“These good people made it up in gallon lots and had it on hand. Months later while speaking in Tucson, Arizona, someone asked for the ‘Super Garlic Immune remedy.’ I was surprised and asked where they had heard of it as we had only given it out once. We were informed that a plague-like condition or flu had hit the Snowflake area and when other aids failed, this combination of herbs in liquid form performed its job with amazing speed.

“At our next series of lectures in Snowflake, sometime later, we heard one testimony after another about the many different types of ailments that were given quick relief by using this formula. The formula has now spread in many areas from coast to coast and is being used with good results. A man picked us up at an airport on the west coast a short time ago, and on the floor of his car was a bottle with liquid in it. When asked what it was he said, ‘Oh, that’s your Super Garlic Immune remedy.We never travel without it as it works good on about any sickness that comes up while we are traveling. We are also never without a bottle of it at home."

Source: http://www.herballegacy.com/Garlic_page2.html

This formula can be purchased online or locally at Indigo Mountain and is easily found online. But, if you want to make it yourself like the people of Snowflake did, here is the recipe and instructions. 

Super Garlic Immune Formula

8 oz juiced garlic (about 1 lb of garlic bulbs)

32 oz Organic apple cider vinegar

20 oz vegetable glycerin
20 oz raw honey (unpasteurized - NCE Security or Lee's locally)
8 oz comfrey root concentrate
4 oz wormwood concentrate
4 oz lobelia leaf concentrate
4 oz marshmallow root concentrate
4 oz oak bark concentrate
4 oz black walnut hull concentrate
4 oz mullein leaf concentrate
4 oz skullcap leaf concentrate
4 oz uva ursi, hydrangea or gravel root concentrate

How to make a concentrate for this recipe:

• Take your 4 oz (by weight) of each single herb and add just enough water to cover the herb.  You will do this 9 times for each individual herb. Some herbs are more thirsty than others, so the amount of may vary slightly. Remember Comfrey is double 8 oz herb.
• Let it soak over night
• In the morning, add enough water to make the "sludge" 16 oz (you can check this by pouring it in a glass measuring cup about the 2 cup line - 32 oz for comfrey)
• Bring to a gentle boil 
• Continue boiling covered for 30 minutes
• Strain the liquid using cheese cloth or clean towel into a clean pan
• Simmer again until the liquid is 4 oz (liquid measuring)
• Set aside in a jar until all are ready
• This process can take about 2 days to complete...depending on how many pans you have :) 

After all the concentrates are ready, add all of your ingredients in a pan and warm it gently until all the honey is melted and everything is liquid. DO NOT BOIL because this will kill all the good in the honey. Pour into dark jars and keep in the fridge. This will last for many years in a cold environment, but if it is not refrigerated, it will last about one year.

Where to get the ingredients:

• The herbs alone will run you about $50 and up (unless you can find some of them on our mountain *wink wink*)
• Mountain Rose Herbs has everything but oak bark - but I easily found that on Amazon. https://www.mountainroseherbs.com/catalog/herbs
• This site has all of them ready for you to buy in a kit, but it will run you about $100...twice the price, but convenience sometimes is worth it. http://herbsfirst.com/mixformula.html

Some might be thinking "That is really expensive and time consuming!" Yes, and no. If you think about it, where else can you get around a gallon of something that can kick just about any flu bug etc that comes into town for $50? I think that is a great value.

The vinegar, honey and glycerin, will be easy to get here, all of them can be found at Lee's Riteway Market. Indigo Mountain carries some of the dried herbs. You wouldn't have to pay shipping for them. 

If more than one family in our ward makes it, we will have more to share, like they did in Snowflake. "When other aids failed, this combination of herbs in liquid performed its job with amazing speed." - I think that says a lot. What's the double benefit? If there are any vampires, they will steer CLEAR of our ward and pass us by.