We’ve enter the cold and flu season again, haven’t we? Both Jacqueline and Danielle have been sick lately and this morning I awakened with a stuffy nose and sore throat- yuck! I thought it was timely for me to add a post about HEALING cold remedies. I say healing cold remedies because so many products on the market that are supposedly cold remedies are filled with chemicals and lots of ingredients that are not good for you and could actually make you feel worse than you already do! I remember I used to take Nyquil when I was a teenager. I woke up in the middle of the night the last time I took it, and my heart was pounding, I felt DRUGGED, I couldn’t sleep but I was so tired! I felt worse than before I went to bed. When I read the list of ingredients in Nyquil I was HORRIFIED, and I realized why I felt so drugged. There were so many different medications contained in it and they were all interacting in my body. However, when you are sneezing, coughing, and have a sore throat you need to manage your symptoms so you aren’t so miserable while your immune system is healing. With that in mind, I want to share our family’s go-to cold remedies that are not filled with chemicals and support our bodies while fighting off the viruses we get from time to time. Of course, please consult your trusted physician before taking anything, and if you’re really sick call 911 without hesitation. These products are listed in order of importance.

1. Transfer Factor- This product supports the immune system with all natural ingredients. It is the absolute best immune system support out there and it is so powerful it deserves it’s own blog post! I take 4 of them three times a day as soon as I feel a virus coming on and often I never even have any cold symptoms at all. It works so well! You can get this product online.

2. Oscillococcinum- Hard name to pronounce but wow does it work! It is a homeopathic and can be purchased at a health food grocery store. As the box says it helps eliminate body aches, headache, fever, chills and fatigue. I sent Danielle to the health food store on Wednesday to buy a box of this product and today she is feeling much, much better. You take it four times a day and I recommend you take it as often as you can. It makes a huge difference!

3. Imu-Max- Now don’t be confused, this is a children’s product, but it REALLY helps support the immune system of anyone at any age while healing. It is an alcohol free, great tasting syrup, consisting of Echinacea and Bee Propolis. Echinacea is an herb that has been used for many years to fight colds and their symptoms. Bee Propolis is collected from bees and has antimicrobial activity. It’s really effective for upper respiratory symptoms, and we use it as a cough syrup. It is wonderful! Can be purchased at health food store.

4. Mucolyxir- It actually contains wild Pacific Salmon DNA that helps balance mucus levels. You only use a few little drops of this and after I took it this morning, I am not stuffy nosed anymore! It’s all natural and again it really works. This product can be purchased online.

5. Xlear- One of my long time faves! It’s an all natural nasal spray and has xylitol in it which clears and moisturizes the nasal passages. You can get this one almost anywhere now, and can be used on people of any age. So helpful for a stuffy nose caused by viruses or allergies. Love!

6. Manuka Honey- I’ve written an entire post about this so I’m not going to go into this one in too much detail. Manuka honey is honey made from bees in New Zealand that pollinate the Manuka bush. It has very special antibacterial and antiviral properties and I take a teaspoon of it three times a day whenever I feel a cold coming on. I let it melt down my throat to soothe my sore throat and help calm my cough. It is so effective! I also took this wonderful honey this morning, now I have no cold symptoms at all! Yay for me!

7. Sambucol- This product is a black elderberry syrup that tastes really awesome and helps to support the immune system naturally. I ran out of it so I didn’t take it this morning which is a bummer. I’m making a trip to Whole Foods this afternoon to stock up on this and other products we’ve run out of! I highly recommend it for it’s immune boosting properties and it’s interesting black elderberry syrup flavor!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. Vitamin C products- I take both Emergen-C packets and Zand Orange C herbal lozenges the second I feel a cold coming on. I actually keep the lozenges in my purse during cold and flu season and suck on at least one every day. They are all natural and taste really good. I put the Emergen-C packet in water and drink it. Vitamin C is well known to help boost the immune system. Don’t buy vitamin C products that contain sugar or other unhealthy additives. I buy the Zand product at a health food store, but Emergen-C can be purchased almost anywhere these days.

 

9. Decongestant- You may be surprised that I included an over the counter decongestant in my list of healing cold remedies, and here’s why. Sometimes when my nose is SO STUFFY THAT I CANT BREATHE OUT OF IT OR EVEN SLEEP AT NIGHT, a decongestant can provide much needed relief. I only take 1/2 tablet and I make sure I don’t buy one that has all kinds of other ingredients in it that I don’t need. It can really help me sleep and sleep is the most important thing I can do to help myself heal.

So there’s my list of healing cold remedies. Now remember, I’m not a doctor and I don’t even play one on tv, but I am a lifestyle coach, a proponent of healthy living, and I’ve done my homework on this. I’d advise you to do your homework too and look into natural alternatives to not just cold remedies, but every other kind of remedy. I’ll write about more of them on my blog soon. Make sure to drink a lot of water when you’re sick, wash your hands, and get as much rest as you can. Refer to my earlier post for my chicken soup recipe. Research has shown that chicken soup has healing properties! Let others pamper you too, you deserve it! Let me know what your healthy remedies are and I hope you’ll try some of mine. They’ll help you live a life of vitality- like Valerie!