A Wonderful Spice

I found the spice Ginger to be marvelous to reduce the time that kids are sick from school. It is a spice that anyone can use. There are several different forms of Ginger. There is Ginger Root, Ground Ginger, and Crystalized Ginger. All three forms of this spice have their benefits.

When I was raising my kids, I used Ginger many ways. I used to serve up Ginger Cookies, Cakes, and other treats that were not so abrasive as sitting down munching on the dry spice. My grandmother worshipped the spice for colds and flu. The grandchildren would start showing signs of a cold or a flu and grandmother would grab the ginger and start boiling water. I always wondered why until I tried her method myself. Here is the recipe for a ginger toddy.

For an adult, you take 1 teaspoon of ginger and place it in a cup. Boil water like you were going to steep tea. Once the water is at a good boiling temperature, pour the hot water into the cup with the ginger. Because the ginger has sort of a bitter taste when not mixed with anything, it's always best to put some sugar, syrup, or honey into the cup with the ginger.

For a child, you take 1/2 teaspoon of ginger and place it in a cup. Boil water like you were going to steep tea. Once the water is at a boiling temperature, pour the hot water into the cup with the ginger. Because children really don't much care for the taste of ginger, there are a few things you can do to get them to drink it. Since, most children like chocolate, you can add a spoon of sugar, syrup, or honey then add hot chocolate mix in with it.

After preparing the ginger toddy, it is recommended that they drink it all down as fast and as hot as they can. Please be careful that they don't burn themselves. Very hot liquids have a way of burning all the way down. We don't want to make this process a nightmare, we just want our loved ones to be healthy. After drinking this elixir is a good time to curl up in bed and cover up with as many blankets as they can.

The result of this ginger toddy is to burn the fever that creates a cold out of the body through the pores of the skin. Once the fever breaks then the person who is sick is actually on their way to recovery. This process may have to be repeated in order for the ginger to actually do it's job.

I used to give this mixture to my children. The average school year would pass. My children were lucky to be absent from school for one day due to colds or flu. I think that one day out of a year is not bad at all. There is never really a total cure for any illness. The best we can do is try to keep our kids and the ones we love as healthy and happy as possible. Kids are miserable when they are sick. With my experience, Adults are even worse.

There are other things that can be added to this ginger toddy. Lemon juice is something that can be added if you prefer a more tart flavor. Cinnamon and sugar can be added. Mint flavoring can be added. The benefit of adding mint to the toddy is that mint helps clear the passages of the nostrals. Mint sort of works like euciliptus or a menthol effect. Sort of like menthol throat lozengers for sore throat.

There is a warning with the Ginger method that I need to pass on to you. If the person drinking this elixir does not cover up with a lot of blankets to be able to sweat the fever out, there is a good chance that they may develop neumonia. Because the ginger opens up the pores of the skin, there are several bacteria that can enter the body through the pores. They also need to remain covered up until morning. Once they start sweating they are open to several different micro bacteria that can indeed make them a lot more sick. So they really have to stay covered up with all those blankets until the fever breaks. Bathroom calls of course are fine. Meals are also fine. As long as they cover back up with those blankets afterward.

Thank you for your time to read this article. I hope that this method will help you and your family stay good and healthy when the cold and flu season is upon us.