I have had an annoying cold all weekend and found myself thinking about the things my mom would do when I got sick when I was a kid. So I decided to list the ones I have been using all weekend.
My mom's cold and flu remedies:
1.
TEA - The first thing my mom would do when the first sniffle would start was to shove tea with honey and lemon down my throat. I always associated Tea with being sick after that. And still drink Tea when I am not feeling great for whatever reason. Here's why it works: The lemon gives you Vitamin C which you need to fill up on. The honey coats your throat to prevent sore throats. The tea well it is just a way to get more liquids down unless you use a really good organic herbal tea that has all kinds of medicinal properties. I have been drinking Green Detox Tea mostly.
2.
CHICKEN SOUP- My mom's other stand by was always something that I always had when I was sick. My mom always called it Jewish Penicillin. Why it works: There seems to be some sort of magical properties in boiling down the bones of a chicken mixed with vegetables like onions, celery and carrots which all have different health properties that are all distilled into a clear vitamin boosted broth that clears out your system while loading up on detoxifying, antioxidant, vitamin boosting vitamins. If you add ginger and garlic to the broth you can boost your immune system even more.
3.
VASELINE - while it's not a food it is something you don't take for granted when you have a cold and blow your nose so much that you look like your nose was under a magnifying glass in the sun. I went down to the drug store in my building because I put some cream on my nose that burned and wondered if there was a non greasy alternative to vaseline. The pharmacist said probably not because the Vaseline adds a protective coating so that your skin doesn't dry out.
5.
WATER - This one is a no brainer. The more fluids you can get into your body the better to flush out all the toxins that have built up and you rid your body of all the excess of mucus and other gross things.
6.
HONEY - I have found that honey has been working better than throat losenges for coating my throat. The losenges kind of leave a pasty and burning effect while the honey just coats the throat with a nice smooth sweet flavour bonus.
7.
HUMIDIFIER/VAPOURIZER - While it's not food either it takes your basic H20 and puts it back into the air in the winter to get rid of the dry air that is caused by the extreme cold and the dry indoor heaters. My throat and skin have been so dry that it's been uncomfortable. So I finally broke out the vapourizer and added a couple of drops of Eucalyptus oil into it. It's one of those subtle things that works and you only notice it when you don't have enough moisture in the air. The one thing about keeping the room humid is that I heard that it is the skin in your nose drying up and cracking that will open up and let your nose suck in the airborne germs. Sounds gross but true. I know that our extreme cold and dry winter has probably contributed to people around town sneezing away. I noticed it the last couple of times out on the subway and in stores. That's probably how I got sick. Everyone is getting sick right now.
8.
REST - Getting proper rest is hard when you try and sleep and your nose starts running and you have to sit up and blow your nose. But the more rest you get the more your body can heal itself. The body regenerates when at rest. Unfortunately my body doesn't seem to like to rest at night so I am trying to get whatever rest I can get when it is ready to rest.
9.
EGGS - This one is a maybe on whether it's good or not. My mom used to always make me a fried or hard boiled egg. And she used to concoct this thing she called "guggle muggle" which was an egg yolk beaten with sugar and vanilla, I always loved the taste but I don't know where that came from and if it worked but it tasted good. I don't know if I would have it today with the chance of salmonella from raw eggs but it seems like when I was a kid you could eat raw eggs and raw meat without it being as big of a concern as it is now.
10.
TOAST - I think the toast mostly was given to me because it was a safe thing to eat most of the time. She always made me toast when I had the flu. I guess maybe just to soak things up and have something to prevent dehydration or who knows why but it's also something easy to make when you are home alone sick and don't want to make anything but need to eat.
Anyway. The fact is that all of these things are simple things that have been around for generations and are basically things that have stood the test of time. I am not a big drug person and got some syrup from the pharmacist but found that the tea and honey worked just as well and I know what's in it.
The most important thing is what I haven't been very good at is building up your immune system with loads of antioxidant rich fruits and vegetables so that you can fend off these little annoying colds and flu's during our long winter season.
I suppose some of this stuff is working because I have enough energy to write this blog post now and couldn't even stop for less than 10 minutes without blowing my nose the first couple of days.
I hate being sick, My skin is pale, chapped and my nose is red. My hair is dry and lifeless and it just makes me look and feel old. So anything that will help me look and feel better quicker is well worth it. These are the things that have been worth doing for me.
I am sure everyone has their own home remedies and some people just load themselves up with drugs. I don't like going the drug route because it always leave some sort of residue that you have to detox later. Skip the drugs and find a more natural alternative if you can.
Stay Well and Skip the Kleenex Box.
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