Should green onions be in your medicine cabinet? Heck yeah!

This delicious and beautiful garnish is a big help to your immune system. The white bulb and the little rootlets or fingers can be washed, chopped up and boiled for five minutes to make a tea to treat the cold stage of the common cold (the cold stage means symptoms like a stuffy and runny nose with clear or white drainage, more chills than fever, sneezing and wheezing, aching joints, sore muscles or stiff neck, and maybe a headache, but no sweating). To make a tea at home try six bulbs in three cups of water.

Green onions, also known as scallions or spring onions have a hot and pungent nature so they will make you sweat a little. They can help expel an external pathogen like a cold virus, and have antiviral, and antibacterial properties.

When an East Asian Medicine Practitioner refers to a body system by the name of an organ they are talking about a collection of functions and associations that work together and are characteristic of that system. Colds impact the lung system. The nose, throat, and pores are parts of the lung system. White is the color associated with the Lung.The white part of the scallion encourages the functions of the lung system, including opening the pores so that sweat can remove the pathogen. This prevents the pathogen from entering deeper into the body. Like an unwanted visitor can be held in the parlor (houses used to have parlors for that reason) and then escorted out when the door is reopened rather then getting further into the home

When making the tea at home add Basil for even more delicious flavor and effect. Don’t substitute pesto - the richness of the oil and cheese could increase the phlegm and heaviness you might be feeling.

Do not use this remedy if you have a fever or green or yellow drainage since those are signs of heat and you don’t want to add to that.