An Onion a day…

When flu-season comes around to any city it brings with it coughs and sniffles, tired faces, and red-rimmed eyes but this year these signs are possibly the harbinger of something worse: Swine-Flu. Blic newspaper estimated over 20,000 cases in Serbia earlier this week.
 
As this is the Balkans, fighting Swine-flu is not just simply a battle launched by Health Officials and a vaccination campaign, but a fight that involves something a bit more mystical.

Folk remedies here tend to carry as much, if not more weight, than conventional medicines, and everyone and their ‘granny’ has a few tricks up their sleeves to avoid getting sick this winter.
 
We took a trip around to some markets in the city and dug around in the kitchens and cupboards of some locals to check on their preparations for the new flu bug.

It was reported this week in the local media that Swine-flu had caused a surge of garlic sales in the country, and that garlic prices have gone up in local markets.

We hit Kalenic and Zeleni Venac markets to find out, and discovered that the price had indeed gone up by a few dinars. As we bought a few bulbs, we were inundated with advice on how to use it, how much to eat, and also told how smart we were for buying it. A

As you look around you notice that alongside the garlic, ginger and lemon and one or two more interesting items are being pushed as a ‘cure all’ for what ails you, and most of these items are staples of an already hearty and organic Serbian diet.

So far, face masks are not too evident, but there do seem to be a worried shoppers searching for ingredients to boost their immune system. In the Balkans, garlic has long been seen as a charm against evil, a ‘blood cleaner’ and a cure-all for an endless list of strange illnesses.
 
Belgrade’s public transport system is never the most fragrant of places but it’s become more of a challenge of late as more people, it seems, are carrying around the aroma of the little white cloves on their person.
 
Raza, a market trader, told us that vaccines can’t be trusted, that his ancestors had been treating sicknesses with local produce and herbs for centuries. He says he has never been ill, and that the only side affect is his ‘oniony’ breath, which he says, laughing, his wife never gets tired of complaining about.

In times like these, Serbians cannot stay away from the white onion. Guaranteed to clean the blood, and make you strong as an ox, the further south you travel in the country, the more onion appears in local dishes, often just raw and chopped as a side dish.
 
Among the many the medical claims for the onion are its use as an antiseptic, a pain reliever, a hypertension cure, to regulate blood sugar and help with elevated cholesterol.That’s a lot for a little vegetable that usually brings you to tears.

Petar Jelic, a Bosnian footballer who currently captains the Serbian Superliga club OFK Beograd told the media this week that the reason no one gets sick in his team is that they always eat onion and ajvar in their club restaurant: “Our national remedies are our best defence”.

Garlic and onion, along with the ultimate Serbian cure, sljivovica, many in the market told us, would make us untouchable by the virus - if I consumed them every day.
 
Rakija is celebrated nationally as a medical treatment for everything from constipation to indigestion, from insomnia to respiratory problems, and even as a cure for depression.

One stall keeper from a little village outside Cacak told us that in that her area, ginger and garlic laden meats are ritualistically chased down with beer and rakija, particularly sljivovica as plums are the mainstay in this Sumadian region. “No one seems to have Swine-flu there” she told us.

Deciding that perhaps some rakija might help us at least combat the inevitable halitosis that would come from trying the other folk cures, we grabbed a little bottle, but not before we’d been informed about the benefits of another cure-all - kiseli kupus - pickled cabbage.

Locals swear by it and one promi¬nent doctor recently recommended drinking the juice its stored in to ward off the H1N1 virus. We asked the market traders about its supposed health benefits, and almost unanimously it was declared to be a ‘super-food’.
 
If you live in Belgrade you must have heard of ‘promaja’ - catching a cold from winding blowing through an open window A drafty room, driving with an open car window, or sitting on cold surfaces such as stone or metal can cause the flu.

I have been told a thousand times not to wash my long hair and then go out into the night, and to avoid the winter rain at all costs.

The most persistent admonishment I get from locals is when I am a guest in their house, and I decide to walk around without shoes or socks - I am told my ovaries will shrivel up inhib¬iting my ability to bear children, and imme¬diately slippers are forced onto my feet.
 
Serbia’s Health Ministry has placed an order for 3 million vaccine doses from the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis To date, the Serbian Government has officially announced 300 cases of H1N1, and has confirmed 12 deaths, and as the numbers continue their upward trend.

Health officials haven’t been so happy to jump on the bandwagon of home remedies, they still urge the public to use more considered precautions, such as washing hands, wearing face masks, or, eventually, getting vaccinated. But no one seems to be listening.

Which part of the folk advice are the hypochondriacs taking in the Belgrade Insight office? Soup (with garlic, of course), and hot tea seem to be the most sensible things they suggest, so we’ve recommended some teas. As for the other remedies, ask your Grandma - at your own risk.

Caj od Lipe - made with the bark of the linden tree. Long used in folk medicine to sooth anxiety. During World War II Caj od Lipe was prescribed for its mildly tranquilising effect.

Caj od Uve - an infusion from the tea rose is apparently excellent all kidney problems, disinfecting and cleaning out the urinary track.

Caj od Zove - Elderflower tea is an old fashioned remedy for colds and throat trouble to be drunk before bedtime. Touted as a cure for the flu in its early stages.
 
Caj od Belog Sleza - Hollyhock tea is, they tell us, a sure fire cure for bronchitis, and respiratory problems and is a excellent expectorant.

Caj od Sipurka - or Rose Hip tea is an excellent source of Vitamin C but make sure to add some sugar, it’s also very tart.