Archived News of the Week

Bug Blaster, Colds and Flu's, Germy Places and Kitchari

Bug Blaster: It's time to make Bug Blaster. This is used for gargling and swallowing in case of sore throats, colds, flu's and/or exposures to same. It's not rocket science, just start throwing the following into your blender.

• 1 very large white onion, roughly cut up
• 1 handful of very hot peppers (jalapeno, habanera, etc,) washed and cut up
• 1 big piece of horseradish root (5" long) washed, unpeeled and cut up
• A couple heads of garlic, unpeeled, separated
• A big piece of ginger (maybe 5-6 inches long) washed, unpeeled and cut up
• All this goes into your blender.

Add organic apple cider vinegar, enough to cover what's in the blender. (I have a Vita-Mix which holds a lot and is very powerful) Blend it all up until it's a slurry. Pour this slurry into a huge jar (I use a 2 qt. Mason jar), put a lid on it and let it sit on your kitchen counter for about a month, turning it upside down and swishing it about every day or so. When it's done, strain and decant just the liquids into whatever containers you want to use. Throw the solids away. At the first sign of a cold, start swigging, swishing gargling and swallowing. Bug Blaster will last you two or three seasons, refrigerated.

In addition to the usual Cold Combo that I recommend during the cold and flu season (Congaplex, Phytogen and Thymex) Medi-herb from Australia produces extraordinary liquid herbals and putting three of them together for the cold and flu season are dynamite: 8 oz of Echinacea, 8 oz. of Gingko and 8 oz. of Licorice. Echinacea fights germs and helps your immune system; gingko dilates your cells so that the good stuff can get in and it also makes you smarter at the same time while licorice boosts your adrenal glands. I'm calling it Immune Tonic. It's a totally fabulous product, but the downside is - it's a little expensive.

If any of you follow Dr. Schulze from California, a maverick naturopath who sells his own products, you will know that he sells something called Cold&Flu "Shot." It's pretty good, but ours is better. And cheaper. His latest missive indicates that he is selling twelve 1.5oz "shots" for $134, a "deal". But here's what you could do: You could make your own Bug Blaster, get the Medi-herb Immune Combo from me, combine them all (in a certain ratio which we can talk about) and get way over 24 oz. of unparalleled herbal remedy for less money. If you are interested, let me know and I can explain this further.

The 9 Germiest Public Places:

1. Restaurant Menus: Have you ever seen anyone wipe them off?
2. Lemon Wedges: Over 70% contain disease-causing microbes.
3. Condiment Dispensers: Again, no one wipes these off.
4. Restroom Door Handles: Not everyone washes their hands like you do.
5. Soap Dispensers: 25% are contaminated with fecal matter.
6. Grocery Carts: Well known bug place. 2/3's are contaminated.
7. Airplane bathrooms: Try and hold it.
8. Doctor's offices: Except for mine since I have ozonators all over the place. BUT: if you have a tiny bit of a Howard Hughesian tendency, avoid the books and magazines, stay away from coughers (see the photo of a sneeze in the waiting room), and be careful what you touch in the bathroom. Wash your hands.
9. Gas Pump Handles: Wear gloves when you pump.

So, you got unlucky and sucked on a germy lemon wedge. You feel like you are coming down with something. The first thing you do is start swigging the aforementioned Immune Tonic. Usually, I take about 1 T. per day - when I am not sick, for prevention - and I take it neat. It's powerful stuff and will make your tongue tingle and you will find yourself making involuntary noises, like Oooh, Ahhh and @##*&%. All good. You are also taking large doses of Congaplex, Phytogen and Thymex. You will also go to handouts and read my cold and flu handout. Do the stuff it says there plus make the Red Hot Chicken Soup for dinner.

Kitchari: Since more than 70% of your immune system resides in your gut, it's also very important to make sure you are digesting well so that you may fight off the bad bugs. Use HCL or plant enzymes if you feel your digestion is not up to snuff or let me check you out for an errant stomach bug. Another good thing to do is to eat kichari every now and again. It's a cleansing, purifying, tridoshic and highly nourishing Ayurvedic dish which is actually quite good. There are many recipes for kitchari, but here's one to get you started.

2 T. or more ghee or regular butter
Couple teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1 t. cumin seeds and 1 t. mustard seeds
2 C. cauliflower florets
1 C. white basmati rice
1 C. split mung beans
¾ t. turmeric
½ C. frozen baby peas, defrosted
4C water
S&P

First, soak the mung beans over night in plenty of water just to soften. Discard the water. Heat the ghee in a saucepan. When the ghee is hot, stir in the ginger and the mustard and cumin seeds and don't get splattered. Sauté for a few seconds until the spicy aromas are released, then add cauliflower and stir-fry for awhile, until cauliflower is partially cooked. Stir in rice and beans and sauté for a minute. Add 4 C. water and turmeric and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for about 40 minutes or until rice and mung beans are quite soft. Add peas and S&P and continue cooking for about 5 minutes or until everything tastes done. Stir in some extra ghee before serving. It will resemble risotto in texture.

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