Autumn has a lot of different names – fall, back to school and of course, the one that makes us miss school and work – the cold and flu season. We at Healing 4 Soul want to share some simple tips that will boost your immune system and help you stay healthy or provide relief as you nurse yourself or your family back to health.
1. Increase your water intake. According to the CDC, increasing the amount of water you drink helps fight cold and upper respiratory symptoms[1] Drinking extra fluid prevents dehydration caused by fever, loosens mucus, and keeps your throat moist.
2. Boil water with freshly cut ginger and add lemon & honey. Ginger will break down and expel mucus and studies show that it helps to reduce inflammation[2]. In addition to the antibacterial and antiviral properties found in Honey; it is also effective in soothing the sore throat. Lemon has loads of vitamin C which will increase your immunity.
3. Drink hot water with apple cider vinegar and sprinkle with a dash of cayenne pepper. Sip throughout the day. You can also gargle with this to help ease sore throat pain.
4. Eat fresh garlic if possible. You do not need to chew on the garlic, you can just swallow one clove every day. Garlic has antimicrobial and immune-stimulating properties and provides relief from congestion[3].
5. Echinacea purpura helps to fight infection. This particular type of Echinacea was found to be the most consistently useful variety and was found to be effective in 5 of 6 trials[4].
6. Goldenseal helps to inhibit mucus formation. It is especially good to use when you are around people who are ill. It is best taken prophylactically to help prevent colds and flu. In addition, studies suggest that a combination of goldenseal with the herb berberine is very helpful against Influenza A and the H1N1 virus[5].
7. Avoid bananas which are mucus forming.
8. Consuming too much sugar suppresses immune system cells responsible for attacking bacteria. The impact is astounding – sugar compromises your immune system by 50% for up to 4 hours after eating. A diet high in saturated fat has a similar effect.
9. Take the homeopathic remedy influenzinum once a week during the flu season as a prophylactic. Treating colds and flu with homeopathic remedies was shown to be very effective and less costly than just treating these conditions with traditional medicines[6]. You can schedule your appointment by calling our office at (310) 738-8878 so you can start your prophylactic treatment.
10. Notatum is one of those homeopathic remedies that is called nature’s antibiotic and has a profound healing effect without any side effects and it is a great first aid remedy. It can be used for any recurrent, chronic or latent bacterial conditions and is available in ointment, capsules, tablets, suppositories, and ampoules. We have Notatum available in our store.
11. Quentans has been used in my practice for my pediatric and adult patients and supports all types of acute, latent and chronic viral infections with no side effects. Quentans is available in our store.