Well, darn it anyway. Despite your best precautions, you caught the flu or cold or strep throat from you petri-dish child who brought it home from his/her petri-dish classroom. Now what?
Read on for some tips to help you and your little one get through the cold or flu faster and more comfortably.
EARTHCLINIC.COM
One of the first things I do when encountering a “Darn it, what now?” moment is go to www.earthclinic.com to see what other holistic-minded people recommend. Whether it’s a sickness, bug bite, poison ivy, headache or numerous other conditions, I find value in sifting through the various responses and adding any nuggets of wisdom to my own medicine cabinet.
MEDICINE MAN – HERBALIST & NATUROPATH
The next thing I do is go to a source I trust for additional advice. Michael McCammon, a.k.a. Medicine Man, is one of those sources for me. He has 40 years of experience as a naturopath and professional herbalist, and I have learned SO MUCH from his podcasts over the years. And it doesn’t hurt that he has quite a charming New Zealand accent. 🙂
Many of the tips below are from McCammon. He has a genuine passion for getting people well and I absolutely love that about him.
McCammon’s Favorite Remedies for Cold & Flu
Lemon Garlic Elixir – Not only are lemons rich in Vitamin C, but they also have antibacterial, anti-viral, immune-stimulating, and mucus-cutting properties. Whenever possible, use the whole lemon. The peel contains even more vitamins and enzymes than the rest of the lemon. And garlic is one of the most potent antimicrobial foods known to man. Combing these two together creates quite a force. Add to this the antibacterial properties of honey and the pungency of ginger and you’ve got a powerful healing tonic.
Serving Suggestion: Peel several cloves of garlic and crush with a garlic press. Let the crushed garlic sit exposed to air for a few minutes to activate the allicin, which is the active healing ingredient. Wash one organic lemon and cut it into quarters. Place the lemon wedges and crushed garlic into a Vitamix or other powerful blender and add 2 cups of hot water, one teaspoon of raw honey and an inch of fresh ginger. Sip on this throughout the day. Alternatively, you can double the recipe and store it in a glass jar in the fridge. Take a shot glass full of this elixir each day.
Onion & Honey Combo – Peel and chop a white or a red onion and place in bowl. Pour raw honey on top (manuka honey has powerful healing properties) until the onion is completely covered. Sprinkle a little bit of chili pepper on top of that (optional), then mix it all together and leave it overnight in the cupboard. The next day, nibble on it throughout the day until it’s gone. McCammon says the sulfur of the onion and the antibiotic properties of the honey work together to get deep into the lungs and knock the daylights out of the flu.
Ginger – Ginger is a natural pain reliever and is helpful with those pounding headaches that often accompany the flu. It also has anti-nausea effects and is a good stomach tonic if you have the stomach flu. Ginger is a body cleansing herb and its pungency opens up your pores so you can sweat out all the toxins. It is also a wonderful immuno-stimulant.
Serving Suggestion: Cut a one-inch piece of ginger into thin slices and infuse it in hot tea. Serve with honey and lemon. If you can handle it, sprinkle in some cayenne pepper and drink it throughout the day. The mucus will start to heat up and dissolve and that will help eliminate some of the bacteria/virus.
Echinacea – This is a natural antibiotic and also an adaptogen. If you’re too hot, it will help bring your temperature down. If you’re too cold, it will help bring your temperature up. Echinacea also has anti-viral properties and is a diuretic, so it makes you sweat. (Good way to eliminate toxins!). It has has immuno-stimulant properties and its pungency helps dissolve excess mucus.
Serving Suggestion: If you feel cold and shivery, you can add echinacea with ginger to heat you up. If you’re hot with fever, you might combine echinacea with lemongrass or aloe vera to cool you down. As McCammon says, herbalists look at the signs and symptoms and choose their favorite herbs to match the actual conditions. You can combine these in a hot tea with honey and lemon.
Lemongrass tea – Lemongrass has astringent and expectorant properties and it helps to cool a fever. It’s a popular remedy in China for colds and pain from headaches as well stomach problems & abdominal cramps.
Serving Suggestion: McCammon suggests adding lemongrass to your ginger to help discharge the mucus better, especially in respiratory conditions. Lemongrass also tastes good! Make a tea using both!
Licorice Root – McCammon uses licorice root in nearly every herbal mixture. It is about 30x sweeter than sugar without the harmful side effects. It boosts the adrenal glands and helps to increase energy levels. Your adrenal glands work really hard during the flu to pump out extra cortisol, so adding an adrenal stimulant like licorice root is helpful. Note that this is not licorice candy! You want to get real licorice from the licorice plant.
Serving Suggestion: Licorice root is very soothing for sore throats. Infuse the dried herb in a cup of tea. I buy dried licorice root at Natural Grocers.
Cinnamon – Cinnamon is an ideal spice because it has anti-viral, antibacterial, anti-fungal, and astringent properties. It reduces fevers and help you sweat out the toxins. It’s also a natural fungicide for people with candida overgrowth.
Serving Suggestion: You can add cinnamon to your lemon and honey tea.
Don’t Eat Too Much! – Although this last one isn’t a “remedy”, it’s good advice from McCammon when you have a fever. The fever is a sign that your body is already working very hard to try to fight something. Eating too much requires your body’s energies to go toward digestion rather than toward empowering the immune system. Certainly don’t starve yourself, but be mindful of not taxing your body with heavy, hard-to-digest meals during this time.
MY TWO CENTS
Here are some of the favorites in my household when one of us gets a bug:
Spoonful of Raw Garlic, Honey, & Cayenne Pepper – At the first sign of a sore throat, I grab the raw garlic, honey, and cayenne pepper. Yes I know, pretty hard core. I crush a clove of garlic and let it sit exposed to air for a few minutes to activate the allicin. Then I put it on a spoon, sprinkle cayenne pepper on top (about 1/8 tsp), and cover it all with raw honey. A squeeze of lemon on top will help cut the heat a bit, and then down the hatch. For my kids, I leave out the raw garlic and instead sandwich the cayenne pepper in between two small blobs of raw honey. As healing as the garlic is, the strong taste is a bit too intense for my kiddos.
Oscillococcinum (Boiron) – My kid’s pediatrician office (Shine Pediatrics — a wonderful integrative medicine practice!) turned me onto Oscillococcinum and we now always have it in the cupboard. It’s a homeopathic remedy and preventative for the flu. As Shine Pediatrics advises, it can be safely taken by children and adults alike and is most effective if started within 48 hours of developing a fever. It helps relieve the common symptoms of the flu as well as shortens the duration of symptoms. I have found it at Sprouts, Whole Foods, and Natural Grocers.
Vitamin D3 – Many of us are chronically low on Vitamin D and research suggests that vitamin D deficiency may be a major contributor to influenza. You can buy Vitamin D3 in liquid form for kids. Shine Pediatrics recommends the following dosage amounts to help fight the flu:
Sick Dosage:
1600 I.U. (Kids age 7 and under)
8000 I.U. (Adults & Kids 8 and up)
Daily Dosage (age 7 and under):
400 I.U. (Spring/Summer)
800 I.U. (Fall/Winter)
Daily Dosage (Adults & Kids age 8 and up):
2000 I.U. (Spring/Summer)
4000 I.U. (Fall/Winter)
Maximum Safe Dose for Kids is 10,000 I.U. and for Adults is 50,000 I.U.
Dr. Joseph Mercola recommends that if you are coming down with cold or flu-like symptoms and have not been taking vitamin D regularly, or you know you have low levels, take 50,000 IUs a day for three days to treat the acute infection. This is the adult dosage. Modify for children.
ClearLungs Liquid Herbal – Cough? Lung congestion? We like this homeopathic remedy in my house.
Zinc – Zinc is an essential trace mineral that plays an important role in the immune system. We increase our zinc intake when illness hits. My kids like these zinc lozenges, and I like them because they don’t have added sugars or artificial flavors. I buy them at Sprouts.
Gargle with Warm Salt Water – Old school, right?! Don’t forget the simple but powerful common sense steps when the body is in healing mode. When your throat is sore and inflamed, a warm salt water rinse really does help kill the bugs. Do it several times a day.
Elderberry – Research has shown that elderberry can stop the flu virus from replicating. A favorite in my house is this elderberry extract which also contains echinacea, zinc, propolis, & Vitamin-C.
Be well my friends! And don’t forget REST and SLEEP – possibly the best remedies of all.
What are your favorite cold and flu remedies?
Please leave a comment below and share your experience!