Fresh ginger root has a long history of use in herbal medicine.
Ginger root helps control temporary nausea, which makes it useful in morning sickness during pregnancy, as well as in intestinal activating and detoxing formulas, and in liver cleansing programs.
Ginger root is also a strong COX 2 inhibitor. In the Far East and India, ginger root is renowned for its aphrodisiac properties.
In the 1950's Dr. Albert Schweitzer used garlic to treat cholera, typhus, and amebic dysentery while working as a missionary in Africa. During both world wars, before the widespread availability of antibiotics, garlic was used on the battlefield to disinfect wounds and prevent gangrene. In fact, the soviet army relied so heavily on the benefits of garlic that it earned the name "Russian penicillin."
Garlic is one of the best infection fighters available for both bacterial and viral infections. One of its many ingredients, allicin, is a natural antibiotic that does not appear to create resistant bacteria strains. In addition, fresh garlic extract has been shown to be virucidal to many viruses.
Garlic possesses the ability to stimulate the immune system. It can stimulate the activity of the macrophages (white blood cells), which engulf foreign organisms, such as: viruses, bacteria, and yeast. Furthermore, garlic increases the activity of the T-helper cells (immune cells which are central to the activity of the entire immune system). The benefits of garlic may be particularly effective in treating upper respiratory viral infections due to its immune-enhancing properties and its ability to clear mucous from the lungs.
The same component that gives garlic its strong odor is the one that destroys, or inhibits various bacteria and fungi. The component is allicin, and when crushed, combines with the enzyme alliinase and results in antibacterial action equivalent to 1% penicillin. The benefits of garlic are also effective against strep and staph bacteria and anthrax.
And finally, garlic is anathema to most parasites and drives them from the body. For example, they release from the liver and pass out through the bowel, into the colon, and on out.
Everything that's been said about the benefits of garlic can be said about onion. Onions and garlic share many of the same powerful sulfur bearing compounds that work so effectively as anti-viral and anti-bacterial agents, especially needed for immune system support.
Horseradish root contains volatile oils that are similar to those found in mustard. These include glucosinolates (mustard oil glycosides), gluconasturtiin, and sinigrin, which yield allyl isothiocyanate when broken down in the stomach. In test tubes, the volatile oils in horseradish root have shown antibiotic properties, which may account for its effectiveness in treating throat and upper respiratory tract infections. At levels attainable in human urine after taking the volatile oil of horseradish, the oil has been shown to kill bacteria that can cause urinary tract infections, and one early trial found that horseradish extract may be a useful treatment for people with urinary tract infections.
Olive leaf extract has a long history of being used in health supplements to help fight against illnesses in which microorganisms play a major role. In more recent years, a drug company discovered that in vitro (test tube) olive leaf extract (calcium elenolate) was effective in eliminating a very broad range of organisms, including bacteria, viruses, parasites, and yeast/mold/fungus.
Habanero works as a stimulant that quickens and excites the body. It also energizes the body (helping it to marshal its defenses against invading viruses). In addition, habanero helps to carry blood to all parts of the body.
And finally, habanero is a diaphoretic that helps raise the temperature of the body, which increases the activity of the body's immune system.
Like colloidal silver, liquid zinc is anti-bacterial and anti-viral, but without the potential toxicity issues found with silver. Zinc is found in all body fluids, including the moisture in the eyes, lungs, nose, urine, and saliva. Proper zinc levels offer a defense against the entrance of pathogens. In the 1800's, surgeons used zinc as an antiseptic/antibiotic after surgery; they noted its amazing healing properties. Wounds would heal, at times, as quickly as 24 hours after an operation, without swelling, and scarring was barely noticeable after a short period of time.
Numerous studies have shown Wild Mountain Oil of Oregano (not to be confused with the oregano found in your kitchen) to be a potent antimicrobial. It has been proven useful as an antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal agent rivaling even pharmaceutical antibiotics such as streptomycin, penicillin, vancomycin, nystatin, and amphotericin in its ability to eliminate microbes. Remarkably, Oil of Oregano accomplishes this without promoting the development of drug resistant strains and other problems often attributed to the use of standard antibiotics. In addition to this already impressive list of abilities Oil of Oregano is also a powerful parasitic expellant.
At low concentration, Bryonia alba (also known as white bryony) is commonly used by healers and homeopaths to help relieve the symptoms of coughs, bronchitis, pneumonia, overall weakness, headache, and deep muscle ache.
Also known as Pasque flower, pulsatilla is used at low concentrations by natural healers and homeopaths to relieve the symptoms of colds, sinusitis, coughs accompanied by thick phlegm, and thick nasal congestion.
Wild crafting is the practice of harvesting plants from their natural, or wild" habitat, for food or medicinal purposes. It means the plants are uncultivated, and harvesting takes place wherever they may be found. Ethical wild crafting means that the harvesting is done sustainably.
ACV (Apple-Cider Vinegar) serves several functions in the garlic tonic formula: