Colds/Flu
*See also FEVER or COUGHS

FOODS TO EAT MORE OF
  • Fruits: Apples, avocado, black currants, clementines, cranberries, grapefruit, lemons,  limes, oranges, pineapple, strawberries, tangerines
  • Vegetables:  artichoke, beets, bok choy, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, fennel, hot peppers, kale, leeks, onions, parsnips, spinach, squash, turnips, watercress
  • Wheat germ, dried peas and beans, seafood and fatty fish
  • Garlic, ginger and shiitake or maitake mushrooms, wild mushrooms
  • Kelp, psyllium seed, brown rice
  • Cinnamon, horseradish, cayenne, green tea
  • Fermented foods (yogurt, kefir, kimchi, sour kraut, tempeh, etc)
  • Honey (avoid for children under 1 year)
  • Plenty of fluids
 
FOODS TO AVOID OR MINIMIZE
  • Alcohol and refined carbs (sugar and white flour)
  • Red meat & dairy products (except yogurt)
 
ESSENTIAL OILS 
 
NATURAL/HERBAL
 
  • Teas (in addition to any of the above):
    • For nausea: drink tea's containing peppermint, chamomile, ginger, and/or cinnamon.
    • For Flu: tea made from wild raspberry and/or strawberry leaves (1 teaspoon per cup of hot water).
    • For feverish chills, try tea made of fresh ginger root with a little cinnamon, or tea made with equal parts elder-flower, meadowsweet, and hyssop.  
    • For fevers: sage, catnip or ginger tea
    • Mix juice from 1/2 a lemon with hot water.  Sweeten with honey if desired. (Can also add 1/2-1 teaspoon baking soda if desired)
    • Make a tea of elderberry blossoms, and peppermint.
    • Add 1 ounce of  brandy, 1 Tbsp butter and 2-3 cloves to any of the teas mentioned above.  Have a cup before bed.
    • Matcha tea
    • Yarrow Tea: Cover 1/4 cup fresh (or 1/2-1 Tablespoon dried) herb with boiling water.  Let steep for 5-15 minutes. Strain & drink. Sweeten with honey if desired.
 
  • Gargles:
    • For sore throats try gargling with strained and cooled infusions/teas of sage or raspberry leaf, or with lemon juice.  Or try echinacea tincture added to warm water (gargle). Add a little bit of chili powder to all gargles.
 
  • Chest Pastes/Poultices:
    • Mix 3 Tablespoons dry mustard, 1 Tablespoon flour, 1 egg white and 1 Tablespoon melted lard into a paste.  Spread this on a cloth and over whole chest area. 
    • Make a poultice of onions by slicing them very thin (about 3/4 cup).  Place in a skillet with hot lard (just enough to moisten).  Simmer until onions are heated through but not brown.  Put onions on cloth and place on chest.  Make it as hot as tolerable.  (can substitute leeks for onions). 
 
 
  • Runny Nose:
    • Push tongue against the roof of the mouth for 5 seconds. Then relax the tongue and use index finger to apply pressure to the spot between the eyebrows for 5 seconds.  Repeat and continue to alternate for 20 seconds.
    • Steep 1 teaspoon ground mustard seeds in 8 ounces of boiling water for 15 minutes.  Strain and drink (add milk and honey if desired).
 
  • Other:
    • For infants: 1 drop of castor oil in each nostril. (can be effective for adults as well).
    • Clove or Zinc Lozenges: 1 lozenge every 3-4 hours as needed (do not exceed 150 mg zinc daily from all sources). Ingredient list of zinc lozenges should contain zinc gluconate, ascorbate and blycinate.  Avoid those that contain sorbitol, mannitol or citric acid.
    • Fennel, Fenugreek or hyssop for a chesty cold and to encourage coughing, clear phlegm.
    • Mix 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger in 1 cup warm water and drink once daily. 
    • Mix 1 Tablespoon baking soda in a glass of water.  Take 1-2 times a day for 3 days MAX.
    • For Flu specifically: Elecampane tea - add hyssop if there is a lingering cough.
    • Put 1 cup boiling water into quart jar.  Add 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 2 teaspoons red pepper and 2 Tablespoons honey.  Cover and let sit until cool.  Add 1 cup apple cider vinegar and shake/mix.  Take 1 teaspoon as often as every hour. 
    • Pepper can be helpful for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea associated with a cold.  
    • Warm up tomato juice and add juice from 2 cloves garlic, juice from 1/2 a lemon and a dash of cayenne pepper and drink.
    • For coughs: layer slices of onion or leek with honey or sugar and leave overnight (covered). Suggested doses range from 1/2 teaspoon every 30 minutes to 1 teaspoon every 3-4 hours.  
    • For post-nasal drip: hyssop or fennel.
    • Cough Syrup: Chop 5 onions and place them in a double boiler with 1/2 cup honey and the juice of 1 lemon. Cook on very low heat for 3 hours.  Strain and take 1 Tablespoon every 30 minutes, or as needed. 
 
YOGA / MEDITATION THERAPY
 
SUPPLEMENTS & HOMEOPATHIC
  • Take cayenne and golden seal supplements every 3 hours. Gradually reduce dosage as symptoms subside (take at least 1 day after symptoms disappear).
  • Aconite 30c
  • Allium cepa, for runny nose
  • Echinacea: 200 mg 3-5 times daily.
  • Euphrasia 6c
  • Garlic: 400-600 mg 4 times daily with food (should provide 4,000 mcg allicin potential).
  • Goldenseal: 125 mg extract 5 times daily for 5 days (don't use if pregnant or with high blood pressure).​
  • Kali bichromicum 6c
  • Magnesium: As directed
  • Natrum muriaticum 6c
  • Rhus toxicodendron 6c
  • Vitamin A: 50,000 IU twice daily until symptoms improve; if needed beyond 7 days, reduce dose to 25,000 IU daily (pregnant women should not exceed 5,000 IU daily). 
  • Vitamin C: 2,000 mg 3 times daily until symptoms improve; if needed beyond 5 days, reduce dose to 1,000 mg 3 times daily (reduce if it causes diarrhea). A different source says up to 500 mg daily but combine with a zinc supplement.
  • Vitamin D: As directed
  • Zinc: 25 mg daily
 
MIND-BODY CONNECTION​​
  • A cold can represent mental confusion - you have too much going on at once.  
  • A flu can represent a response to extreme negativity or having too much faith in statistics.
 
RECIPES/FOOD MEDICINE 
Not all recipes are nutritionally perfect, but the options below are a great way to start incorporating beneficial foods into your diet in delicious ways.  Always try to buy organic, and feel free to make substitutions to accommodate gluten-free, vegan, etc diets. 
Abbreviation Definitions:
LC = Low Calorie (under 400 for breakfast, 600 for lunch/dinner, and 200 for beverages/snacks)
GF = Gluten Free
KT = Keto / Low Carb
VG = Vegan
VT = Vegetarian
 
BEVERAGES
 
MEALS
 
SIDES/SALADS/SNACKS
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