Home Remedies for Winter Illnesses

I'm sure you've heard "it's cold and flu season." Are there more cold and flu bugs flying around during this time of the year than at other times? Do they migrate to somewhere else in the summer? Are there less bugs around at one time of the year than another? Of course not! Bugs and germs are constantly around. However, "cold and flu season" happens to coincide with the holiday season and shortly after.

Germs and viruses can only grow in a weakened environment. When the body's immune system is working strong, there are few, if any, bugs, germs or bacteria that can overcome it. If the body is run down and full of toxins, that is a prime environment for you to succumb to getting sick. And what does the holiday season include? Baked goods, candies, treats, alcoholic beverages, and extreme stress that lowers the body's natural immune response. "Cold and flu season" has nothing to do with more bugs; it has to do with all the over-indulgences at the holidays. So, what can we do to help avoid that?

Watch what you put in your body! The saying "everything in moderation" holds true for the holiday season. Enjoy some of the treats, just not all of them. Know when to quit. Drink plenty of water, make sure you're taking your daily supplements to maintain that healthy immune response, and get plenty of quality sleep, which is essential!

If you happen to come down with something, limit what medication you take. Let low grade fevers run their course - don't take anything to lower it. Germs cannot live in a heated environment. That's why the intelligence of the body creates a fever to kill those germs and viruses. For colds and the flu, make sure you're taking plenty of vitamin C, Zinc and Elderberry. If you happen to have a sore throat, get a bottle of iodine and paint the inside of both wrists with it (about an inch wide across). Gargling with salt water will help kill off a sore throat because the iodine in the salt that will kill the germs causing it. Your circulatory system is closest to the surface of your skin at your wrists, so the iodine gets absorbed at a more concentrated level. If you've never tried it, do so!