Colds/Flu

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, broccoli, carrots, hot peppers, kale, leeks, onions, spinach, watercress
Wheat germ, dried peas and beans, seafood/fish
Garlic, ginger and shiitake or maitake mushrooms
Kelp, psyllium seed, brown rice
Yogurt, cinnamon, horseradish
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:
*If additional information or precautions are available, the links below will direct you that information. If not, you will be directed to Amazon for purchasing options.

Steam inhalation - add 5 drops of thyme and/or eucalyptus oil to a basin containing 2 pints of boiling water, cover head with towel and lean over basin, inhale the steam for 10 minutes.
For Cold: Ravensara, eucalyptus (on throat, chest, diffuse).
For Flu: peppermint, eucalyptus, raven, lavender, tea tree, thyme, ginger, myrtle, orange, rosemary (thymus, bottom of feet, chest, back, lung area, diffuse).
For excessive mucus: cypress, helichrysum, rosemary, eucalyptus (bottom of feet, lung area, diffuse).
Pepper Oil can be used for coughs, chills, digestive upsets, aches, and pains associated with a cold.

Natural/Herbal:
*If additional information or precautions are available, the links below will direct you that information. If not, you will be directed to Amazon for purchasing options.

Agrimony, astragalus, buchu, cayenne, cinnamon, elderberry, garlic, ginger, elderflower, echinacea, eucalyptus, hemp agrimony, lemon balm, licorice, linden, marjoram, nutmeg, parsley, peppermint, star anise, sumac, thyme and/or yarrow.
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.
- Mix juice from 1/2 a lemon with hot water. Sweeten with honey if desired.
- Make a tea of elderberry blossoms, and peppermint.
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).
Baths:
- Add several teaspoons of ground ginger or vinegar into bath water.
Other:
- For infants: 1 drop of caster 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.
- 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

Yoga Therapy:

Yoga For When You Are SICK (20 minutes - Yoga With Adriene)
Yoga For Colds (10 minutes - Christina D'Arrigo Yoga - ChriskaYoga)

Supplements & Homeopathic:

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.
Echinacea: 200 mg 3-5 times daily.
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).
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:
*Note: 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. Recipes naturally Vegan and Gluten-Free are marked as such (V=Vegan; GF=Gluten-Free).

Smoothies/Beverages:

Meals:

Sides & Salads: