My Favorite Natural Sore Throat Cures: Sore Throat Remedy

This is an ancient Japanese remedy for quickly alkalizing the blood and is
useful for all sorts of conditions:Feel a cold, sore throat, or flu coming on?  Drink a cup
 of this.  I'm drinking it today on the couch with my kitty and sore throat:It makes a great hangover remedy too...I've heard.As odd as this drink may seem for us Westerners who didn't grow up eating ume paste (pulverized pickled plums),it works
well for upset tummies, sore throats, colds and more.Now, this recipe takes a few unusual ingredients, but you can find them all at Whole Foods or other health food stores.And you'll thank me for it...once you can talk again after your throat has healed up.Here's what you need:* 1 heaping teaspoon Kudzu:It usually comes in white chunks, so you'll want to crush it into powder with the back of a spoon (found in the macrobiotic section" of health food stores like Whole Foods)* 1 cup 
cold water* 1 teaspoon Umeboshi paste (found near the kudzu in the "macrobiotic section" of your local health food store)* Shoyu - you know, the naturally brewed, good kind of soy sauce (or tamari soy
sauce)* ¼ cup grated diakon radish (the big white radishes you usually stroll by in the store)* ½ to 1 teaspoon fresh Ginger Juice- Make fresh ginger juice by taking 1-inch piece of fresh ginger and grate it on a cheese grater or microplane.- Pick up the gratings and gently squeeze it to get the juice out Directions: 

1. Dissolve 1 heaping teaspoon of kudzu in 1 cup cold
 water in a small saucepan.
2. It will be 
easier if you dissolve it in some of the water and then add the rest. Then 
add the ume paste.
3. Stir over medium heat until the liquid becomes more clear in
color and
it is okay if it comes to a boil.
4. Add maybe 1/2 teaspoon of shoyu 
soy sauce and then turn off the heat.
5. Add ginger juice
and grated daikon and stir well. Drink hot.