About this Remedy
Garlic is the most universally used home remedy in Mexican households — not a backup plan but the first thing your abuela reached for before you went anywhere near a doctor. The Florentine Codex (Sahagún, Book XI) documents allium plants in Aztec medicine; post-Columbian Mexican herbalism absorbed garlic into nearly every illness protocol within a generation.
Traditional Use
Raw cloves eaten at the first sign of gripa or catarro. Crushed and boiled in leche (milk) as a throat remedy. Rubbed on the chest combined with Vicks for congestion. Made into agua de ajo (garlic water) for ear infections. Worn around the neck in folk belief to ward off enfermedades. Trotter & Chavira (1981) list ajo among the ten most commonly used home remedies by curanderas.
Properties & Preparation
- Antiviral
- antibacterial
- immune-boosting
- decongestant
- anti-inflammatory
- expectorant