The tiny barberries and other foods that cleared my chest
From Cold to Cough
I just bragged to friends how I haven't had a cold in a long time. I am so strong! Then - boom - it stroke. I came down with fever and chills, and in a few days I was back on my feet, but coughing like there was no tomorrow. Lozenges worked well to keep my throat from tickling, but I'd wake up in the morning and cough my way to the bathroom so loud, it sounded like I was actually yelling at someone.
After taking herbal expectorant syrup, my coughing stopped sounding like a war drama. But deep inside my chest there was this feeling of liquids moving up and down with my breath. I honestly prefer air in there, rather then liquids, and wasn't quite sure what to do about it.
The Tiny Healing Fruit
I stepped into the convenience store owned by an Iranian family. They have the freshest nuts in town, roasted to perfection. They also have foods so exotic to me, that I feel like Alice in Wonderland walking about the store. Chatting with the owner, he notices my cough. He brings me a container of these tiny dry red berries that look like very small cranberries, and tells me that in Iran they drink their tea to clear the chest. “Tell me what you think in about a week” he says.
The berries are called barberries. I cooked about half a cup of barberries in a medium size pot of water. I let them simmer for 10 minutes, and then let them sit in the hot water for an hour and a half. Later in the day, I drank a cup of the berry tea. It had a pleasant tart-sweet taste. In a short time after drinking that cup, my chest was clear! I was amazed. I expected it to clear in one week, but it cleared immediately. I continued to drink a cup of the red thick tea every morning and evening, and my chest has cleared completely.
More Healing Food
Early during the cold, I opened my kitchen cabinets and fridge for natural antibiotics and remedies. Here's what helped:
Garlic
Needless to say, it put a halt on my social life. But raw garlic took care of a lot of the infection. I had 1-2 raw cloves with my mealsChicken Soup
It does work! When I had a fever, chicken soup was all that I wanted to eat.Turmeric, Mixed with Honey and Lemon
I made it into a paste, kept it in a jar, and had a teaspoon several times a day. I learned this from an East Indian woman whose family has a tradition of Ayurvedic healing practices - the ancient medicine of India. In Ayurveda, food is the medicine.Ginger
I drank ginger lemon tea from scratch, with fresh grated ginger, and lemon squeezed and dumped in the hot water with the peel. I drank the tea instead of water - and lots of it - for a few days.
I don't know about you, but I like to eat. Nothing beats curing a cold with tasty food.
