FOODS AND THEIR MEDICINAL USES Part 2

Barley

Barley is excellent food for the anæmic and nervous on account of its richness in iron and phosphoric acid. It is also useful in fevers and all inflammatory diseases, on account of its soothing properties. From the earliest times barley water has been the recognised drink of the sick.

Barley Water

When using pearl barley for making barley water it must be well washed. The fine white dust that adheres to it is most unwholesome. For this reason the cook is generally directed to first boil the barley for five minutes, and throw this water away. But in this way some of the valuable properties are thrown away with the dirt. The best results are obtained by well washing it in cold water, but this must be done over and over again. Half-a-dozen waters will not be too many. After the last washing the water should be perfectly clear.
When barley water is being used for curative purposes it should be strong. The following recipe is an excellent one. A ½ pint of barley to 2½ pints water (distilled if possible). Boil for three hours, or until reduced to 2 pints. Strain and add 4 teaspoonfuls fresh lemon juice. Sweeten to taste with pure cane sugar.
Fine Scotch barley is to be preferred to the pearl barley if it can be obtained.

Blackberry.

Fresh blackberries are one of the most effectual cures for diarrhœa known. Mr. Broadbent records the case of a child who was cured by eating an abundance of blackberries after five doctors had tried all the known remedies in vain.

Blackberry Tea

In the absence of the fresh fruit a tea made of blackberry jelly and hot water (a large tablespoonful of jelly to half a pint water) will be found very useful. A teacupful should be taken at short intervals.

Blackberry Jelly

To make blackberry jelly get the first fruit of the season if possible, and see that it is ripe or it will yield very little juice. Put it into the preserving pan, crush it, and allow it to simmer slowly until the juice is well drawn out. This will take from three-quarters to one hour. Strain through a jelly bag, or fine clean muslin doubled will do. Then measure the juice, and to every pint allow ¾ lb. best cane sugar. Return to the pan and boil briskly for from twenty minutes to half an hour. Stir with a wooden spoon and keep well skimmed. To test, put a little of the jelly on a cold plate, and if it sets when cold it is done. While still at boiling point pour into clean, dry, and hot jars, and tie down with parchment covers immediately.

Black Currant

Black currant tea is one of the oldest of old-fashioned remedies for sore throats and colds. It is made by pouring half a pint of boiling water on to a large tablespoonful of the jelly or jam. To make the jelly use the same recipe as for blackberry jelly.
The fresh juice pressed from the fruit is, of course, better than tea made from the jelly, but as winter is the season of coughs and colds the fruit is least obtainable when most needed.

Brazil Nut

Brazil nuts are excellent for constipation. They are also a good substitute for suet in puddings. Use 5 oz. nuts to 1 lb. flour. They should be grated in a nut mill or finely chopped.

Beans, Peas, and Lentils

Beans, peas, and lentils are tabooed by the followers of Dr. Haig, the gout specialist, on account of the belief that they tend to increase the secretion of uric acid. But this evil propensity is stoutly denied by other food-reformers. For myself I am inclined to believe that their supposed indigestibility, etc., arises from the fact that they are generally cooked in hard water. They should be cooked in distilled or boiled and filtered rain water. The addition of lemon juice while cooking renders them much more digestible.
According to Sir Henry Thomson haricot beans are more easily digested than meat by most stomachs. "Consuming weight for weight, the eater feels lighter and less oppressed, as a rule, after the leguminous dish; while the comparative cost is greatly in favour of the latter."

Lentils are the most easily digested of all the pulse foods, and therefore the most suitable for weakly persons. A soup made of distilled water and red lentils may be taken twice a week with advantage. Lentils contain a good percentage of iron, and also phosphates.

Beet

The red beet is useful in some diseases of the womb, while the white beet is good for the liver. It is laxative and diuretic. The juice mixed with olive oil is also recommended to be applied externally for burns and all kinds of running sores.

Cabbage

All the varieties of the colewort tribe, including cabbage, cauliflower, brussels-sprouts, broccoli, and curly greens, have been celebrated from very ancient times for their curative virtues in pulmonary complaints. And Athenian doctors prescribed cabbage for nursing mothers. On account of the sulphur contained in them cabbages are good for rheumatic patients. They may be eaten steamed, or, better still, boiled in soft water and the broth only taken. The ordinary boiled cabbage is an indigestible "windy" vegetable, and should never be eaten.

Caraway Seed

Caraway seeds sharpen the vision, promote the secretion of milk, and are good against hysterical affections. They are also useful in cases of colic. When used to flavour cakes the seeds should be pounded in a mortar, especially if children are to partake thereof.
When used medicinally 20 grains of the powdered seeds may be taken in a wineglassful of hot water. But for children half an ounce of the bruised seeds are to be infused in cold water for six hours, and from 1 to 3 teaspoonfuls of this water given.

A poultice of crushed caraway seeds moistened with hot water is good for sprains.
Caraway seeds are narcotic, and should therefore be used with caution.

Carrot

Carrots are strongly antiseptic. They are said to be mentally invigorating and nerve restoring. They have the reputation of being very indigestible on account of the fact that they are generally boiled, not steamed. When used medicinally it is best to take the fresh, raw juice. This is easily obtained by grating the carrot finely on a common penny bread grater, and straining and pressing the pulp thus obtained.
Raw carrot juice, or a raw carrot eaten fasting, will expel worms. The cooked carrot is useless for this purpose.

A poultice of fresh carrot pulp will heal ulcers.
Fresh carrot juice is also good for consumptives on account of the large amount of sugar it contains.
Carrots are very good for gouty subjects and for derangements of the liver.