For my herbalist class, I am studying a unit on the Respiratory system. I have learned in previous chapters of the benefits of using foods to heal my body and have tried different remedies to counter allergies. As much as possible, I eat foods that will boost my immune system and heal my digestive system.

One of the biggest changes over the past year has been the effect that honey has had on my seasonal allergies. They are basically gone. I rarely have colds, sinus infections and the respiratory diseases that plagued me in the past.  I have honey in tea, or just by the teaspoon when I feel the old allergic symptoms starting. I also believe that not eating any gluten has majorly contributed to the lack of respiratory problems. I was on an inhaler daily, and barely use it now. I only had one illness over the winter that required a doctor visit and medication.

So, for this unit – I made a trio of recipes: Garlic Honey, Echinacea Tincture and Fire Cider.  I have made Fire Cider before and it’s amazing, but I needed to make some more. The other two, I have not made. Each is an immune booster and my focus right now is to keep healthy and continue to repair my digestive system.

The recipes are very simple and can be found in many places online. The best thing about the course I am taking is the confidence I have in studying recipes and discovering that, not just food – but nutrition is what is helping me most in losing weight (10 lbs. since January) and in restoring health to a body that has been on so many different medications through the years that I can’t remember them all. Every person’s experience is different – the path to restoring health will be different for everyone, but what I know is that nutrition is good for all of us. Our bodies are miraculous and heal themselves of many symptoms – given the right fuel.

Best of all – we planted horseradish and potatoes in our garden this year and hopefully will be able to use fresh horseradish of our own in the future jars of Fire Cider ! =)