I have been asked recently, “What can I do for a cold to decrease the severity and duration of it?” So, here are a few tips that you can try that I like to do at home for myself and my family.
- Drink the juice of a fresh squeezed lemon and orange daily. It’s a bit tart, but a wonderful source of vitamin C and helps to make your body more alkaline.
- Eat garlic as often as possible. Raw garlic is best, but hard to do. Sometimes, I crush it and mix it with raw honey, or I eat roasted garlic and cook with it. Ideally, you want a few cloves per day.
- Eat Manuka honey. Manuka honey is honey from New Zealand that has powerful antimicrobial properties. I aim for 1 TB per day. It is especially soothing in tea.
- Drink teas to boost your immune system. Pau D’arco is a favorite of mine, but I also make teas from Traditional Medicine’s Seasonal Sampler that I bought from the local health food store.
- Take extra vitamin A, C, and zinc. For infections, I recommend Vitamin A 50,000 IU twice per day for 3 days, then once per day until symptoms reside. Vitamin C 1000 mg every other hour or so (too much can cause diarrhea, so be careful). Zinc 30 mg with each meal (It must be taken with food or it may make you feel nauseated).
- Increase probiotics and fermented foods. Good bacteria helps to fight off the bad.
- Drink fresh green juice daily.
- Rest as much as possible.
- Take hot showers to clear congestion.
- Add eucalyptus oil to boiling water and breathe it in to reduce congestion.
- Rub menthol over your chest.
- Cook with lots of herbs, especially curcumin (curry), ginger, parsley, oregano, and thyme.
- Consume lots of homemade chicken soup.
Hopefully you don’t get sick, but now you have some tricks up your sleeve too. Enjoy the holiday season!