It’s that time of year again. Time for the sniffles. We were out of town recently and the people there was a bad cold virus going around, then we came home and a different one was going around in our town. Yikes! It seems that everywhere is sick right now. Growing up, I would get the Flu/Cold/Bronchitis/Upper Respiratory Infection/etc, every year and be out of commission for a week or two. As an adult, it wasn’t as bad, but I would catch a nasty cold at least once a year, and it would longer for awhile. Until last year.
In 2012, I was sick for exactly 2 days. And one of those days was more of an “oh no am I getting sick?” day than a full fledged sick day. I contribute this to juicing every day and eating a plant-based diet. It seems to help keep the symptoms and the progression low. Also, to some amazing herbal remedies.
So far this year – no sickness. But then again, it’s only January. Last week, my husband was traveling and came home with a bit of a cold. So we went into combat mode to help keep it from progressing too far.
Our top 5 Cold Fighters:
1) Lemon Ginger tea with Cinnamon and Raw Honey:
One year, I had a nasty cold when my sister was visiting. I decided to take a look in my Ayurveda home remedy book to see if there was any type of concoction I could make to treat my cold. Luckily, I found a delicious one. Steep hot water, fresh lemon juice, and grated ginger with raw honey and cinnamon. The lemon and ginger help to detoxify and stimulate digestion (to clear the toxins). The cinnamon helps to clear the sinuses and the honey makes it taste good 🙂
2) Kombucha/Probiotics: Kombucha is fermented tea that is full of probiotics. Probiotics also help digestion and balance out the good/bad bacteria ratio in the gut. The better your digestion, the better you feel.
3) Fresh Juice: There are two types of juice that I like when I am feeling under the weather. Green juice is great because it is full of so many vitamins and nutrients, as well as detoxifying for the body. I also love to add beets, carrots, turmeric root, ginger root, burdock root, and lime to a basic green juice. This combo helps to really cleanse the liver, which filters out the toxins in the body.
4) Elderberry Extract: This knocks out a cold. I love it. I took this when I had a terrible cold, then I took a nap, and when I woke up it was gone. Elderberry no only tastes pretty good, but it has historically been used to treat colds.
5) Warm Soup and Grounding Foods: When you feel sick, there is nothing better than warm soup to help you feel better. When you are sick, in Ayurveda, your vata (or airyness) is unbalanced. This can cause your digestion (aka elimination of toxins) to slow down, and you can start to feel cold, dried out, and frazzled. Warm foods can help warm you from the inside out. Grounding foods, such as root vegetables, can also help to reduce some of the frazzled feeling of being ill.
So give them a try next time you feel a cold coming on. At the least, they will help to pump up the immune system and give you a head start in shortening the cold.
Peace, love, and wellness to you all,
Jessi
