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OPEN
DAYS
Sat 6th
March 2010
Rare and unusual food plants
Sat 24th
April
2010
S.A. Gardens
Fairy Day
Sat 5th
June 2010
Exhibition of our new cosmetics, soaps, creams, essential oils
Sat
28th Aug 2010
Spring Open Day - Lavender Festival.
Click for details...
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WORKSHOPS
Sat 8th May
2010
Tissue Salts and building wellness through winter
Sat
31st July 2010
Planting an organic medicinal and food garden - layout and plans and
plant lists for building wellness
Click for details...
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DVD's
"Building The Immune System"
"Arthritis and
Rheumatism"
"Menopause"
Click for details...
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BOOKS
All these
books are available from the Margaret Roberts Herbal Centre
Click for details...
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BUILDING THE IMMUNE SYSTEM
By Margaret Roberts
How do you prepare your family for winter and a wave of colds and ‘flu?
Start building up your immune system now! Long before the immune system
and its importance in medical science was recognised, our grandparents
were routinely and carefully using blood purifying herbs to build up
resistance to infections. They had to defend themselves against anything
from the common cold to chronic boils, from fevers and infections, to
outbreaks of acne. Many of the resistance builders used by our
grandparents are as effective today as they were then. And many of these
builders are endorsed by medical science. Now’s the time to use them
to build up resistance, not only to germs and viruses but fatigue,
chilblains, colds, flu and runny noses.
As with all home remedies, discuss them with your doctor, particularly
if your cold or ‘flu regularly turns into bronchitis and high fevers.
Here are the key immune builders.
VITAMIN C – taken
daily (after consultation with your doctor) should be added to the diet.
Fresh lemons squeezed over the food will build and restore the body to
health.
BARLEY – seeds
can be soaked and sprinkled onto cotton wool and kept moist. The tender
shoots chopped and added to salads and sprinkled on to all savoury
dishes are not only delicious, but also energy boosting, resistance
building and detoxifying all at once. I’ve grown barley in the garden
and made a tea of the leaves, but found the sprouts far more satisfying.
THE ONION FAMILY – All
varieties of Allium species are nature’s immune builders. They are
natural antibiotics and are tremendously beneficial to the whole system.
Chives, spring onions, flat leaf chives, garlic chives all fall under
this heading and all are so easy to grow. The stronger the smell, the
greater their healing power, it’s always been believed. Do you
remember how our grandmothers sliced thin rounds of onions, sprinkled
them with brown sugar and then in a covered dish allowed the pungent
juices to draw? Teaspoons of the juice could then be taken frequently
for a sore throat and blocked nose. We hated it – but it worked!"
PARSELY – is
one of nature’s most remarkable healing herbs. Parsley (Petroselinum
crispum) in all its varieties is enormously and increasingly important
in the daily diet. Apart from its detoxifying virtues, it is so rich in
chlorophyll and so abundant in minerals, vitamins and trace elements,
that it’s actually being "rediscovered" scientifically as
one of the herbs that build resistance to infection. In Britain,
nutritionists are trying to encourage school canteens to include parsley
in the sandwiches and fries the children eat at lunch time to fight
viruses. The best way of eating parsley is fresh, and a tablespoon is
needed daily, specially during the winter months, sprinkled over
everything and not taken all at once.
SAGE – There
are many sages, but it’s the common, old-fashioned sage bush (Salvia
officinalis) that is best for coughs and colds. Follow this recipe to
make sage tea: a quarter cup fresh sage leaves, pour over this one cup
of boiling water, stand for five minutes, strain. Sweeten with a little
honey.
Take this morning and afternoon at the onset of a cold and for 3
to 4 days. Thereafter, one cup two to three times a week helps to keep
the chest clear and ease the cough. This sage, honey and lemon cough
mixture recipe was my grandmother’s winter standby and I raised my
children on it too. Mix equal quantities of finely chopped sage with
honey and fresh lemon juice. Keep it in a small screw jar and take a
teaspoon at a time frequently.
THYME – Rich
in antiseptic properties, the common thyme (Thymus vulgaris) has long
been used to treat throat, ear and chest infections. To make thyme and
ginger tonic tea take a quarter cup fresh sprigs, pour over this one cup
boiling water, add three cloves and a slice of fresh ginger, stand for
six minutes, strain, sweeten with honey. Ordinary thyme tea can be made
with a quarter cup fresh sprigs. Pour over this one cup boiling water;
stand for five minutes, strain and drink.
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