by Jean Woolhiser First Published: April 16, 2002 Updated: September 21, 2020
7/16/2007: Jean Woolhiser from Franklin, WI writes: "I first sent in this tomato tea recipe to Earth Clinic in 2002, I think. I've been studying people's comments on it and have revised it accordingly. Thank you to everyone who has posted their comments. It really makes my day (and makes me cry! :) when I read how this recipe is helping others!
It works fast (in most cases) and tastes great!
These ingredients are well-known serious herbals for their medicinal properties... Used together they do wonders for sinus/ear infections, colds, coughing and sore throat. We've even found it to kill flu germs and strep throat (with no antibiotics).
2 cups V8 Juice
2-3 cloves Garlic crushed (use more if you can)
2 T Lemon Juice
Hot Sauce (the more the better, so as much as you can handle)
Mix and heat in a pan.
Sip slowly and re-warm as needed to get the full effects of the fumes. Let it sit in the back of your throat to bathe it. Suck the fumes through your sinuses and also down into your lungs. Its all natural and healthy, so drink as much of it as you want or need until you are SURE the infection is gone. This is past the time when you "feel better."
This appears to be the best recipe, but from the comments below, people often don't have the right ingredients. Don't let that hold you back. Use whatever you have available. Below are some substitutes that may not work as well or as fast, but will still help. I've listed them by their likely effectiveness:
Substitutes:
V8 Juice - tomato juice, vegetable juice, canned or fresh tomatoes crushed, tomato soup (if really desperate, try another kind of fruit juice, vegetable soup or even chicken soup. You're aiming for high Vit C content)
Garlic - garlic in olive oil, dehydrated garlic, garlic salt (aiming for the strong anti-bacterial/fungal effects)
Lemon Juice - Fresh lemons, bottled juice, limes, lime juice, oranges, frozen lemonade
Hot Sauce - ANY kind of hot sauce works, fresh hot peppers, cayenne pepper, dried pepper flakes (if really desperate, try horseradish, black pepper or even mustard. You're aiming for the highly anti-bacterial/fungal properties of capsaicin which is found in hot peppers, and its effectiveness at clearing out the sinuses.)
Notes:
1. Capsaicin (found in hot peppers) is actually soothing to the stomach. In addition, it's a pain killer (good for sore throats), and is also one of the main ingredients used in herbal recipes for killing fungal infections like Candida, which is closely related to all kinds of physical problems we have, including allergies.
2. You can add Worcestershire sauce and celery salt to make it taste just like a bloody mary mix.
3. Drink it just because it tastes good, and you probably won't get an infection in the first place. :)"
This remedy will build up your immune system, and in most cases, deals with the symptoms in a very short time. There is no limit to the amount you can have in a day... this isn't a pharmaceutical drug. These are natural ingredients... drink as much as you want as often as you want!"
6/21/2007: Wendi from Ft. Wayne, Indiana writes: "I came across an article on Tomato Tea (particularly for sinus infection). It really does work ! We have been using a similar recipe for 20 years. The recipe we have always used is as follows:
Simmer
1 can/jug of V8
2 cloves of GARLIC
2 LEMONS juiced
2 tbsp HONEY
pinch of CAYENNE
Tips :
* African Cayenne if you can find it
* Fresh Lemons
* Put the clove of garlic under a wide knife and smash it-this seems to release the properties better than chopping
* V8 or Tomato juice- we always used V8 because it has more flavor
* Keep the concoction simmering on low and drink through out the day
* Alter amounts of ingredients as you see fit.
Continue reading below for feedback from Earth Clinic readers who have treated their colds and flu with Jean's Tomato Tea recipe!
