Tonics

Book excerpt: As modern medicine has begun to appreciate the wisdom behind traditional healing foods and beverages, restorative elixirs have moved to the forefront of natural remedies. The science of phytochemicals, or plant compounds, has shown that many components of everyday foods have significant medicinal potency. Robert A. Barnett, distinguished food and health journalist and an early proponent of the long-term health benefits of ordinary foods, brings tonics into your kitchen with this comprehensive guide. Learn how a spring tonic made from fresh dandelion helps cleanse the liver and why for centuries the Chinese have used angelica root as a soup ingredient to improve circulation. More than 100 recipes for healthful tonics include both the familiar and the arcane, from chicken soup for colds to the antiviral properties of shiitake mushrooms. Sweet cabbage juice can soothe the stomach and a traditional Indian fennel tea recipe will help treat a sore throat. Home-brewed celery tonic, sold in New York delis for generations, contains natural ingredients that have been shown to lower blood pressure. Not all tonics are in liquid form. Barnett recommends a little onion and chili pepper to clear sinuses, and a delicious red wine sorbet to ward off heart disease. A salad of baby artichokes dressed with extra-virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice, capers and garlic stimulates bile secretions, lowers cholesterol, inhibits blood clotting and, when served with some crusty bread and goat cheese, makes a tasty main course. From curing colds to lessening depression, your refrigerator and kitchen cabinets are full of simple ingredients whose restorative powers can improve your health and well-being today. No longer dismissed as mere folk wisdom, tonics are drawing increasing attention from medical professionals. So get out your blender and let Bob Barnett show you how to mix up a tall, cool and healthy one.