Prevent Colds and Boost Your Immune System With Natural Remedies
You feel that tell-tale tickle in your throat. Oh no, another cold! Do you get frequent colds and illnesses that typically last a week or more? Here’are some some natural remedies which can not only shorten the duration of colds and illness but with consistent use, can even cut back on the number of colds and illnesses you get in a typical year.
For those who are not yet sick, prevention is easier than treatment but if you do get sick, these natural remedies will also treat your illness.
Natural remedies are inexpensive, easy to find, easy to use:
- Drink lots of water- It keeps all the toxins and impurities flushed out of your body.
- Nasal irrigation -To ward off colds, try nasal irrigation-Use a small bulb syringe and a cup of warm salt water or baking soda. Squirt water into one nostril and let it flow out the other. Repeat on other side. Do this until the water in your cup is gone. This will reduce allergies also by keeping pollens rinsed out of your nostrils. It will also help reduce or eliminate sinus infections by keeping the germs rinsed out of the nasal cavities.
- Take vitamin supplements to start each day. A good multi-vitamin is important as well as Vitamin C (500 to 1,000 mg) and Zinc (10 to 25 mg) help boost the body’s immunity to all the germs floating around.
Boost your immune system by taking the herbal extract Astragalus. Astragalus can be put into juice, a smoothie or water daily to help ward off illness.
Natural remedies include foods and teas to boost the immune system:
- Berries - all berries are good sources of antioxidants which help boost the immune system but blueberries are especially good.
- Ginger-use ginger tea or candied ginger-also an anti-inflammatory and a great remedy for an upset stomach.
If you do get sick or are exposed to someone who is ill,
Try these natural remedies for a few days to boost your immune system:
- Echinacea herbal extract. Extracts or liquid form hold their potency better than pills which vary in potency and can sit on shelves for months. Don’t take Echinacea for more than a week at a time or it will lose its effectiveness.
- Elderberry extract can kill a virus before it gets hold of the body-be sure and take elderberry with some food as it may upset the stomach
- Garlic-fresh garlic fights and defeats virus’ in your body. Make some toast and butter. Put one clove of garlic through a garlic press and spread on the toast.
- Cayenne pepper-Chinese medicine says if you have a cold you should heat your body. Make a bowl of soup and put as much cayenne pepper in it as you can tolerate.
Here’s a good recipe to try at the first sign of a cold:
Warm lemonade:
1 cup boiling water
Squeeze in the juice of 2 lemons
Honey to taste
2 dashes of cayenne pepper
Drink several times a day until your cold is gone or you have averted it.
Ginger tea can also be used to clear sinuses and treat any respiratory complaint.
Recipe for Ginger Tea:
Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan. Peel a two inch piece of ginger and slice into thing strips. Once water is boiling add ginger. Reduce heat to simmer for 20 minutes. Strain ginger from the liquid and drink. Strain the tea. Add honey and lemon to taste.
Homeopathic Remedies for the Immune System
Homeopathic remedies have been around for 100 years and if taken at the first sign of sickness, they can lesson the severity of symptoms. These natural remedies contain no harsh chemicals or anything for people to be allergic to, Since flu can strike without warning, it's good to have an arsenal on hand, just in case.
One homeopathic flu remedy is Oscillocococcinum, which comes in small vials of powder. Try also homeopathic cough syrups. A knowledgeable health food store associate can help you choose one to fit your needs.
For those on a budget, purchase dried herbs by the ounce and make tea. Boil some water and steep two teaspoons of herbs for 3 minutes. Strain and drink. Fresh ginger can also be steeped this way.
Remember, medications only mask symptoms and often produce side effects and toxins which must be filtered by the liver. Natural remedies allow the body to heal itself.
Those who are ill frequently, who seem to catch “everything that passes around,” should take a look at their overall health program. Rest, exercise and proper nutrition are the core of any wellness and immune boosting regimen. Happiness and a positive attitude also helps the body maintain good health.
Relax and Renew: Yogic Cold Remedies - From Yoga Journal
Yoga is a great immune booster, but for extra protection during cold and flu season, try these natural remedies, too. You might never get sick again.
Over the past few years, scientists have traced a plausible connection between meditative practices and good health. "When the stress hormone cortisol is elevated for long periods, it wears down the immune response," says Timothy McCall, M.D., Yoga Journal's medical editor and author of the forthcoming Yoga as Medicine. Researchers suspect that mindfulness-based stress-reduction techniques, including yoga, can improve the immune system's functioning by lowering cortisol levels.
Yoga also has a rich anecdotal history of reinforcing the immune system, says Larry Payne, Ph.D. In the Krishnamacharya lineage, he says, every asana is said to either increase or reduce energy in the body. "People with immune problems need to bring in more energy," he says.
Smoothie Recipes for good Health
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