Flu season is right around the corner, so it’s the perfect time to reveal my natural cold remedies. Natural health and wellness are very important to me, from eating all organic to making my own personal care products (check out my toothpaste and anti-aging eye cream recipes). Since I avoid over the counter and prescription drugs whenever possible, I have honed natural cold remedies that work – and I’m sharing my secrets.
Murphy’s Law means that you’ll always start to come down with something at the worst possible time. I’m in the query trenches and I’ll be pitching my debut novel, Sweet Redemption, to literary agents at two conferences in the next couple of weeks. And two days ago, the dreaded “golf ball in the throat that makes it hurt to swallow” struck at random.
I’m happy to say that my usual natural cold remedies have already taken the edge off – the golf ball has shrunk to a marble and I no longer feel like I’m seconds away from a ton of bricks falling on my head. When I can’t afford to lose any time and need to be at my best, I couldn’t be happier about kicking my cold to the curb.
When I was at my heaviest weight, it felt like I got sick every other week, especially in the winter. I was tired of being out of commission so often and needing to take antibiotics, so I not only lost weight, but became a pro at finding natural cold remedies that worked. I’m not against medication when required, but I feel it’s prescribed way too often and I needed to become a healthier person so my body could handle day-to-day contaminants.
Here’s how you can do it too! And if you need natural remedies for your canine pal, I’ve got you covered for that too!
Natural cold remedies
Hydrate. You should drink half your body weight in ounces of water every day regardless, but it’s especially critical to stay hydrated when you’re sick. Pass on the gingerale (try ginger tea) and gatorade (try natural, sugar free electrolyte powder or Emergen-C) and drink regular old H20 like it’s going out of style.
Take pure echinacea. I take echinacea in liquid form and you know that you have the good stuff if it burns and tastes awful (kind of like Buckleys, but worse). However, you can also get echinacea in pill form, so if you’d rather not have your throat burn and taste awful, but still want the incredibly fast-acting benefits, try it out! You can also get it in tea form if you need a break from ginger tea.
Take oil of oregano. Combined with echinacea, I’m convinced this dynamic duo has saved my life. Even I can’t stand the taste of oil of oregano, so I opt for soft gel form.
Break a sweat. I know, I know, you’re sick and you don’t want to workout. I’m not suggesting that you do a hardcore HIIT and strength routine, but taking the dog for a walk, doing some gentle yoga, or trying some low impact cardio can help you “sweat it out” and has always made a difference for me. You can see workouts recommendations for every fitness level right here and here!
Take a hot bath. Load the water up with epsom salt to relax and sweat out more toxins.
Go to acupuncture. If you’re open to Chinese medicine, I’ve cured many sinus infections with acupuncture needs and I can’t recommend it enough!
Use a neti pot. Combined with acupuncture, a neti pot is guaranteed to clear out your clogged face.
Sleep. Nothing beats good old fashioned rest when you’re trying to kick a cold to the curb.
What are your best natural cold remedies? Tell me in the comments below!
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