Food Remedies | Page 6

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 diarrhoea
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