Reduce Mosquito & Bug Bites
When living in the jungles of Guyana South America as a child, preventing mosquito bites was one of my mom’s top priorities. When we arrived in the city of Georgetown before going into the interior, she began giving us children a very bitter herbal mix to drink. It was terrible, especially for children accustomed to candy; we put up a fight as best we could but she made sure we got it down. We still were getting bitten so I didn’t fully understand. However, when our cousins came to stay a few months later, had not prepared with the bitter tea and refused to drink it, they got eaten alive. The light bulb in my head went off - “Damn that bitter tea is doing something! We are not getting bitten like that at all.”
Mosquitos have a wicked sense of smell. Choosing what you do and don’t eat can affect how often you are “tasted” by these blood sucking insects. Many people say it is the sweat that mosquitos & insects smell. What you eat shows up in your blood and sweat so no need to nit pick how insects choose you.
Have you ever had the experience of eating a good amount of garlic and it coming out of your pores? You can use this same concept to deter insects bites particularly if you will be in naure hiking, camping, canoeing, etc.
1-2 days before time in nature DON’T consume:
Cakes, candies, cookies, chocolates, smores, fruit drinks, sodas…you know all the sugary processed treats.
Beer, Wine, Spirits (esp sweet sugary mixed drinks). This can be a tough one for some, as summer is a festive time and alcohol is often included. I am just here to share the facts. These substances turn into sugar in the body.
Once on a camping trip, after getting our tents pitched, a friend happily began eating Oreo cookies. When offered some, I kindly declined “no thanks my friend, I don’t want to attract bugs”. She gazed at me weirdly as I explained that eating those right now is a sure way to get bit up. For sure that weekend the Oreo munchers complained of getting bit up all weekend, while my instances were few and far between.
It is beneficial to CONSUME:
Plenty water to flush out sugars
Drink Bitter herbal teas (I generally do not blanketly recommend herbs to the public, but these are generally safe, with little known side effects). Drinking bitters not only reducing the incidences of being bit by insects, but they also cool the blood, an added benefit in the midst of the summer. These two are common:
Caribbean folks may know of Cerasee bush tea, a very bitter drink that has long been used to cleanse the blood and reduce the incidence of insect bites. Cerasee has also been known to lower blood pressure, a plus for some people. Be mindful of this if you already have low blood pressure. There are reports of using this tea to prevent cancer in addition to it being antibacterial and fungal.
Chrysanthemum flower aka Ju Hua - is not as bitter as Cearasee and much more palatable. It has been enjoyed & revered for years in the Asian community. It is like green tea and drank most in summer becasue of its cooling effect. It clears heat and is used in many herbal formulas to clear what we call wind-heat pathogens (any icky pathogen that causes sore throat, fever, redness, etc). It is also in most formulas that help with vision. The flowers can be placed over the eyes as a topical to soothe and nourish eyes.
Eat bitter foods like Dandelion & Mustard Greens, Arugula, Chicory, Bitter Melon, Broccoli Rabe.
Research shows that O blood types get bitten more as compared to others. However, as a blood type O, I do not find this to be the case when I put the above practices to use.
Happy summer all. I hope this helps 😘
