Living Healthy

There are so many things I really do appreciate about life in Latvia. I love the fact that many people are very careful about trying to live healthy and eat healthy.

Today  I was at a local seasonal market. There were all kinds of stands: food, crafts, clothes, plants, etc. I enjoyed looking at the food and other things. I like seeing new vendors, and the fact that they are appealing to the "Made in Latvia" and "Natural" taste of their buyers. I was able to buy wonderful cheese, without all the fake preservatives, as well as naturally cured smoked meat and sausage.

I was recently pondering the home remedy approach that many Latvians tend to take towards illnesses here. I was wondering if families in America would do some of the things we do here to mend a cold. I will share a few and you can give me your ideas or feedback.

It is common in Latvia to eat LOTS of garlic when one is sick. It is usually eaten before bed, on bread with butter.Several cloves are usually consumed. Garlic is also sometimes hung around the neck or near a child's bed to give them it's healing vapors. I would highlty recommend eating garlic if you have a cold!! Knowing the popularity of the use of garlic I once did a research paper on the topic of garlic for health. It is amazing the things garlic can help, due to its large dose of antioxidants!

A lot of hot beverages are consumed as well. We usually give Daniel black currant tea, which we make using black currant jam from the berries of our bushes. He loves the tea, and eating the berries in the bottom of the cup. Black currants have a lot of vitamin C. Crushed cranberries are also used in a tea. Sea-buckthorn berries are also extremely healthy and they are prized for their juice with its high vitamin content. They are VERY sour or bitter.

Honey is another highly prized health food here, it is used liberally, especially when sick.

Rest!! I know everyone knows you should rest to get well. But in Latvia you can get a whole week off (sick leave) even for the most simple cold. It is said  that one should be allowed to be really sick and let ones body completely heal so as to avoid getting sick again soon. Rather than hurriedly getting well and returning to work half well and getting sick again shortly.

Just now this is all that comes to mind on this topic. So I shall end my story here, and just be thankful for a wee bit of a chance to live a little bit more naturally over here in LV.