At this time of year, most people are thinking about the upcoming cold and flu season. Below is Your Cold & Flu Toolkit. In it, you’ll find tips for prevention as well as ways to reduce the length and severity if you do get sick.

Have you ever woken up with a slight scratch at the back of your throat, a tightness in your chest or a sniffy nose and you know that a cold is about to come on? Before you reach for over-the-counter medication, try the tips in your Cold & Flu Toolkit.  These natural approaches help boost your body’s immune system and either knock out a cold/flu or reduce its duration and severity.

There are many key herbs, therapies and lifestyle adjustments that you can do when you feel the onset of a cold. The earlier you catch it and take care of yourself, the easier it is for you to overcome it.

Too often people see a cold or the flu as a nuisance in their daily life and routines. We’ve lost the idea of rest and recovery when it comes to the common cold or flu.

Instead of taking action to support our body’s immune system, we take action to suppress it. Over-the-counter medications for colds and the flu suppress the symptoms. 

Yes, they get rid of that annoying headache, muscle aches, chills, runny nose, etc., but they aren’t helping to boost your immune system to fight off the infection. 

Instead, focus on prevention and if you do get sick, boosting your body’s immune system with natural remedies. 

Your Cold & Flu Toolkit

Hydration & Healthy Eating

Staying hydrated

Having healthy moist nasal, sinus and throat tissues helps keep germs at bay. This is your first line of defense against colds.

Once you catch something, keep your body flushing by staying hydrated. This may be in the form of water, teas, broths, clear soups, or other healthy beverages.

A favourite at our house is homemade bone broth.

Eat Real Food

Reduce stress on your body so it can focus on fighting off the infection:

• cut out all sugars (everything except a little raw honey) and simple carbs – white pasta, bread, crackers, cookies, etc.
• remove dairy or reduce the amount
• cut out processed foods and alcohol.

These all add stress to your body’s systems. Something that it doesn’t need when it’s fighting a cold.

Focus on adding in:

• Pungent, warming antimicrobials to your meals such as ginger, garlic, onions, curry, and cayenne.

• Medicinal mushrooms.

Mushrooms are high in polysaccharides which are potent antivirals and immune-enhancing. Try adding shiitake or maitake to your meals, put some reishi powder into your morning beverage or try favourite cordyceps elixir.

1. Warm Teas

Comfort in a cup. Herbal teas are a great way to stay hydrated, warm and give your body a little boost. My favourites are peppermint, cinnamon, homemade ginger & honey or hot water and lemon.

2. Vegetable-Filled Soups

Add carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, kale, etc. to a simple broth. This will keep you hydrated and provide many important vitamins and minerals needed for immune power.  

3. Eat the Rainbow

In order to get a good supply of vitamins and minerals, eat food that are colourful from all the hues of the rainbow. Try this Hearty Carrot, Cabbage and Beet Soup or this comforting Zucchini & Basil Soup. 

Lifestyle

It’s easier said than done but stopping, slowing down and resting is a HUGE part of beating a cold/flu or at least reducing its length.

TRY THIS: Next time you get a cold or the flu, let yourself be in the experience.

It’s time to bring back the word and idea of convalescence.

convalesce verb

con·​va·​lesce

“: to recover health and strength gradually after sickness or weakness”

The origin of convalescent is the Latin root valescere, which means “to begin to grow strong.”

What do I mean by this?

Instead of fighting being sick, embrace it and see it as an opportunity to retreat, rest and do nothing.

Clarification: This does not mean staying home to rest but ending up doing the laundry, cleaning the bathroom, tidying the house, or decluttering.

It means, staying in bed, watching a movie, reading a book, listening to music, going for an easy walk in the sunshine, or simply doing nothing.

Why do you think there’s a whole sleep revolution going on?

Rest, sleep and taking it easy will allow your body to do what it’s supposed to do – build up its immune system and fight off the infection.

Taking one day off at the beginning could save you a whole week off from work. Trust me, I know. I have huge feelings of guilt when it comes to staying in bed for the day and taking care of myself. I’m still working on it but I’m learning that one day off in bed saves me many days off the following week.

Sleep

Sleep as much as you can. Spend the day in bed and allow yourself to drift in and out of sleep.

Put on those blue-blocking glasses as soon as the sun sets, put away the screens, grab a book, a cup of tea and let your body get ready for a good night’s sleep.

If you have trouble sleeping, you can get some good tips in our article on restorative sleep.

Wash Your Hands

This is an easy one to do and I think a key in preventing illness. Make sure you wash your hands as soon as you arrive home and get your family and friends to do the same.

Herbs – Nature’s Medicines

There are many herbs that you can take to help support your body before or even during a cold.

For prevention look towards:

• Elderberry syrup
• Medicinal mushrooms – as mentioned above, they enhance your immune system and are great tonics for the whole body.  Try adding four sigmatics reishi or turkey tail powder to your morning coffee.
• Astragulus – add pieces of the root to your soups or broths on a regular basis.

Feeling Run Down

Feeling run down, start taking care of yourself immediately.

If you aren’t taking elderberry, now’s the time. Take it as a syrup, add a scoop of elderberry crystals to a glass of water or enjoy elderberry gummies. 

Get those medicinal mushrooms into you.

Enjoy licorice root tea throughout the day (remember to let it steep covered for 15-20 minutes to get the medicinal compounds).

If you are stressed, add chamomile or holy basil to your tea to help relax your nervous system.

Experiencing Cold Symptoms

At the first sign of a cold coming on, you know that ‘oh crap’ moment. I’ve had good success with frequent doses of herbal tinctures. Any of the following will help:

• elderberry
• echinacea
• reishi
• bee propolis

For 1-3 days, I’ll take 1/4 teaspoon 6-8 times per day.

Now’s the time to tune in to your body. As your symptoms reduce, so should your need for a tincture.

Drink Lots of Water

If you want some warm comfort while you’re feeling unwell drink herbal teas and infusions (simmering herbs at low heat for 20 minutes).

Of course, water is great as well as broths. You want to keep your system flushing.

My favourites herbal teas are:

• Peppermint
• Spearmint
• Elderberry
• Licorice
• Reishi

Eat Easy to Digest Foods

Now’s not the time to add roughage or a variety of raw vegetables to your diet. Give your digestive system a break with easy to digest foods:

• Bone or vegetable broths
• Cooked vegetables
• Smoothies

Vitamins & Minerals

I’ve found Dr. Tierona Low Dog’s recommendations to be very effective: 

“200 mg of vitamin C twice daily. Take it more frequently if you start to catch a cold. Take 15 mg of zinc every day (this is usually the amount in most multivitamins) and if you start to get sick, suck on lozenges containing 5-10 mg of zinc every 3-4 hours for 2-3 days. Note: High doses of zinc should only be used for short periods of time.”

It’s also a good idea to get your vitamin D levels tested this time of the year. According to  Dr. Mark Hyman, optimal blood levels of 25 hydroxy vitamin D at between 75 to 125 nmol/L. 

If you are sufficient, he recommends supplementing with “5,000 to 10,000 IU of vitamin D3 a day for 3 months — but only under a doctor’s supervision. For maintenance, take 2,000 to 4,000 IU a day of vitamin D3.”

You can also incorporate eating fatty wild fish like mackerel, herring, and cod liver oil into your diet too. 

Stock up Your Cold & Flu Toolkit

Keep these items on hand during the cold and flu season for prevention and to use if you do get sick:

1. Elderberry – syrup, crystals, gummies.
2. Bone or Vegetable Broth – keep either store-bought or homemade in your freezer.
3. Herbal teas such as peppermint, licorice root, holy basil, chamomile, ginger, etc. 
4. Medicinal mushrooms – powders of reishi, maitake, turkey tail, cordyceps, etc.
5. Tincture of elderberry, reishi, bee propolis or echinacea (be cautious using echinacea if you have an autoimmune disease).
6. Vitamin C
7. Zinc and zinc lozenges 

When you feel a cold or the flu starting:

1. Stay hydrated with water, herbal teas, broths, or any other healthy beverage. 
2. Ramp up the elderberry. 
3. Take 200 mg vitamin C twice daily. 
4. Take 15 mg of zinc daily. 
5. Try a herbal tincture (elderberry, reishi, bee propolis, echinacea) to help immune cells proliferate. 
6. Avoid sugar and dairy.
7. Get to bed early. 
8. Give yourself time to rest and recover.

Wishing you a healthy winter season. Start preventative care now and if you do get sick make sure to use your Cold & Flu Toolkit. 

 

 

* We recommend that you consult with a qualified healthcare practitioner before using herbal products, particularly if you are pregnant, nursing, or on any medications.

*This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. For educational purposes only.