Herbal Remedies for Winter Illnesses

Cold and flu remedy.
No matter how great your immune system is, no matter how careful you are about hand washing and not touching your face, you will - at some point - get a winter sickness. At our house, my husband often brings germs home from work - and usually at this time of year. (Blegh!) But there are several natural medicines you can take to either help prevent illness or to shorten the amount of time you are ill.*

Apple Cider Vinegar

If taken as soon as the very first sensations of illness are felt, Dian Dincin Buchman's cold and flu remedy really works! I've never had it fail...unless I waited a day or more to start taking it. The remedy includes raw apple cider vinegar, cayenne pepper, and sea salt. You'll find the entire recipe is here.

Quite popular right now is something called the fire cider remedy, which is also said to wipe out sickness if you take it at the first sign of being illness. I've not tried it yet, but here is a good recipe. (Recipes do vary, but should usually contain raw apple cider vinegar, garlic, horseradish, cayenne pepper, and turmeric.)

Now let's assume you didn't catch your illness early on. You can still use raw, organic apple cider vinegar as a remedy. It is an antimicrobial (meaning it's generally considered antibiotic, antifungal, antiprotozoal, and antiviral), and I've been using it for years to help clear up mucus and prevent sinus infections (which I used to get with every cold). Here is a good recipe.

Honey

Raw honey has anti-inflammatory properties and is also antimicrobial. It makes a sore throat feel better and might even help you fight off a cold or the flu. You can simply place a tablespoon or so of raw honey in chamomile or Fight the Flu tea, or you can pour some on a tablespoon and eat it all by itself. Read more about honey as medicine here.

Mullein tea.
Mullein

If you have cough or chest congestion, you'll definitely want to take some mullein. Although you may not have heard about this common weed, it's powerful, traditional medicine. (In fact, I was shocked to discover I haven't blogged about it before. I promise to give mullein it's own post very soon. You can learn more about it here.) The leaves of this plant have long been used to treat coughs, bronchitis, pneumonia, sore throats, tonsillitis, and fevers.

If you haven't gone out in spring, summer, or early fall to collect and dry mullein leaves, you can purchase them over at Mountain Rose Herbs. The easiest way to use the leaves is to make a simple tea: Crumple up some of the dried leaves, put them in a tea ball, and place the tea ball in a cup. Bring some water to a boil. Pour over the tea ball and cover the cup with a saucer. When the tea has stopped steaming, remove the saucer and drink the tea. The tea may make you feel sleepy.

Garlic

Some studies show that taking raw garlic can prevent colds - and certainly raw garlic is a well known as an antibiotic. But most studies indicate consuming garlic doesn't do much for colds you already have. Nonetheless, if you have swollen glands, or want to use garlic to prevent a cold, peel a garlic clove and cut it into small pieces. Swallow like a pill.

Salt

Here's one natural remedy even conventional doctors recommend: Gargling with salt water, or using salt water along with a neti pot. Natural salt (without iodine) is best. (You can buy special salt water packets for your neti pot, or use this recipe.) Also, when using a neti pot, be sure to use only distilled or sterilized water.

Black or Green Tea

Both black and green tea contain catechin, which some studies show may have antimicrobial properties. Plus, warm drinks feel comforting when your sick and can help break up congestion.




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