Fight the Flu Naturally

Tis the season to get sick. The flu and colds are abundant right now. It seems like half the people I know are sick with something and feeling miserable. Besides getting your annual flu shot or remaining isolated from human contact, the odds are decent that you will catch something this year. Personally, I am a vitamin junkie….I religiously take garlic pills (odor free), fish oil, cinnamon, green tea, extra vitamin C and of course a daily multi-vitamin too. I rarely get sick, I’m talking maybe once every year or two. I don’t think I have had the flu for five years or so. But, not everyone is as fortunate as I have been in regards to fending off the various bugs that make one sick. So, when you get down or start feeling under the weather, there are a few things you can do that will ease you through your sickness and make it as short of an ordeal as possible.

One very important thing you can do is stay hydrated. Drink plenty of soup broth! It goes easy on an upset stomach and will help liquefy any mucous secretions you might have. Do you or a family member have a hacking cough? Honey and hot water are the answer to easing your throat pain. One or two tablespoons of honey in a coffee cup of hot water will help out. Honey has been used for centuries for it’s medicinal properties. It also acts as a natural expectorant, which promotes the flow of mucus. Juice is good too because it helps with the whole “keeping hydrated” thing and it provides some extra vitamins to your weary immune system. While we are talking about juice, lemons are absolutely wonderful when it comes to combating the flu, even the Romans used a cup of hot lemonade when they were feeling ill. The acidic lemon coats your mucus membranes making them an unpleasant place for bacterium and viruses to hang out. When making yourself a hot cup of lemonade, don’t use the stuff that comes in a packet. A real lemon chopped up….. Yes…. skin, pulp…everything goes into a cup or so of boiling water and steeps for five minutes. Strain into a cup and add a tablespoon of honey to taste and drink this several times a day while you are sick. It will help you feel better!

Running a fever is a miserable thing to have happen to you. A good way to help cool your head down is with a cup of peppermint tea. Peppermint is wonderful because it contains menthol, which will help un-stuff that nose of yours and it also has antispasmotic properties that will help with the hacking and coughing. Thyme is another miracle herb that works as a powerful expectorant and antiseptic. Breathing in the steam from a hot cup of Thyme tea will inhibit those nasty bacteriums from wanting to settle down in your lungs and set up house. If you want to really go crazy, I would suggest making an herbal steam broth of both peppermint and thyme! Combine 1 ½ to 2 quarts of boiling water and two and a quarter tablespoons each of dried thyme and peppermint into a big pot or bowl. Place your head under a big towel and set up over that steaming bowl of healing power for fifteen to twenty minutes and breathe in all that wonderful vapor.

Finally, another key ingredient to helping yourself feel better and recover faster is rest. Even after a few days when you are starting to feel better, continue with the fluid intake and take it easy until your immune system can make a full recovery! As always, thank you for reading my article and until next time, take care and God bless.

- MotherThumper