Natural Home Remedies for Colds
Get all the Vitamin C you can, as when illness strikes in drains the body of the vitamin and it is not something natural reproduced. Fresh fruits and veggies give the richest source of Vitamin C and there are lost of juices that combine fruit and vegetable juice with high levels of it. Some of the highest Vitamin C amounts can be found in sources like Rose hip, Wolfberry, Blackcurrant, Red pepper, Parsley, Guava, Kiwifruit, Broccoli, Redcurrant, Persimmon, Papaya, Strawberry, Orange, Lemon, Melon, Cauliflower, Grapefruit, Raspberry, Tangerine, Passion fruit and Spinach. Fall colds can be tricky, as it’s still warm weather, so a green smoothie with a combination of those fruits and veggies (add some Echinacea too), can satisfy that conflict.
Although, hot beverages do more than just warm you out of the sensation of cold, in gets nasal secretions flowing to help flush out the system. This may be why hot tea or hot chicken soup is often the first thing people think of with a cold. While some research has shown that chicken soups do have ingredients that sooth sickness, the larger placebo affect is having someone make it for you as a caretaker. Over time if someone gets used to a hot bowl of chicken soup with a cold, the association has a strong presence. Adding something spicy to soups can help to clear up nasal passages and give a kick of flavor where there is none during a cold spell.
Toss some Garlic in there too. As an immunity booster, garlic has a natural antibiotic called Allicin. Though Garlic is most effective when you drink fresh juice or take garlic capsules. Onions share some of the same antiviral effects as garlic and used together in cooking will give a large boost. Remember that vegetables retain their vitamin and mineral content best when eaten raw or lightly cooked, so don’t fry or boil them to oblivion. Steam garlic and onions lightly or add it to a cooked batch of miso or chicken soup to keep them strong. If you can stand it, stick a peeled Garlic clove in your mouth like the Roman’s did before battle, hold it like candy and bite down lightly to release the juices. Just like a lozenge, pop in a new clove every few hours and “Bam.”
It’s also helpful that we lose our appetites when a cold comes on, as it takes vital energy to digest foods. With hot soups and teas colds are fended off without using too much of the energy needed to digest. A popular hot tea for colds is Echinacea and has been used since Native Americans roamed the plains and as the plant was grown around the world.
Echinacea is sometimes contested as a placebo for colds, but it has been shown to build up levels of properdin, an immune system chemical that fights viruses and bacteria. Results are usually best when taken at the onset of a cold and Echinacea has noted powerful effects that should not be used for more than 10 days. Echinacea can be teamed up with garlic in teas or capsules, as well as goldenseal extract capsules, to create dynamic cold fighters.
Fresh ginger root tea is another favorite. With about an ounce of freshly grated ginger root put into a pint of water and simmer for up to 10 minutes, add a little honey and lemon to take the bite of the ginger away. Lemon has high levels of Vitamin C to boot and honey also does its part to help the immune system. Here is a great link to recipes and methods to making ginger honey lemon tea. You can also use an orange in place of the lemon for a sweeter taste with about the same Vitamin C content. If Ginger is not your cup of tea, the sweet zing of liquorice is a soothing agent that has anti-viral properties. It can be in tea form, often sold bagged in stores and is great for heavy coughs and soar throats.
Zinc lozenges are a good way to suppress a severe cold and stop viruses from hooking onto your throat, under 50mg per day. The most effective Zinc lozenges will have Vitamin C in them, or take them together. Another good way to prevent a viral sore throat attack is by taking Black Elderberry as syrup or lozenges. Some other herbs to look for when using natural cold remedies are Lemon Balm, Borage, Cinnamon Oil, Juniper, or Fenugreek. For soar throats there are several tried home remedies to use in conjunction with cold fighting. The gargle method is the most direct and adding pure tea tree oil to water can aid soothing. Kava kava can also be used in a gargle for sore throats. Sage is a good all around herb of colds and sore throats and can be gargled, but also aids as an antiviral. Oregano oil, though not as commonly found in the U.S. can be used for sore throats
It also helps to avoid certain foods and drinks to help end a cold, such as the obvious caffeine, (Black Tea, Green Tea and Coffee) and alcohols. For the few days of your cold skip the dairy too, as Milk, cheeses and yogurts produce excess mucous that will just add to your misery. Good healthy naps are essential, but if not totally wiped out it helps to get a little spurt of exercise to get the respiratory system flowing. Stick to the basics of methodical hand washing and don’t let that pile of tissues sit by your bedside all night. The germs will sit right there and wait for you to get better.
