This Week’s Edition: Natural Remedies for the Cold
By Gabriella Lozada
Around this time of the year, the cold is going around. Personally, I prefer to try natural ways to heal myself from sickness first, before reaching for the medicine cabinet. There are many ways to naturally heal yourself without the use of medicine and unneeded chemicals.
My first tip is to know when to not treat yourself. I know this sounds strange; however, lots of mucus and coughing are your body’s natural way of healing itself. When you immediately start treating yourself, you can stop your body from doing these natural processes. Staying warm and rested are a way to help your body complete these processes. The natural healing process can be very taxing on your body, so staying warm and rested support your body in doing this. Be sure to WASH YOUR HANDS and blow your nose frequently so that you don’t keep stiffing the mucus and germs back into your body. A neti pot is a great, natural way to rid yourself from mucus. If you don’t know what a neti pot, it is a pot that you pour warm salt water through one nostril and it goes through all your nasal passages and clears the mucus by going out the other nostril. It sounds super gross but it really does help. Also inhaling the steam from some hot water or using an air humidifier can help clear up congestion. I love, love, love essential oils, and I am a strong believer in aromatherapy. Some essential oils that help relieve the causes of the common cold are lavender, eucalyptus, peppermint, lemon, and tea tree oil. Some of these oils you can intake (make sure that they are 100% pure) or put them in a diffuser and fill the room with a wonderful aroma. Oh, I just love essential oils.
There are also many things that you can eat and drink that help relieve your cold. We’ve all heard it before, but chicken noodle soup is a wonderful natural remedy that you can eat to help your cold. It’s comforting to your body and full of nutrients. The hot steam from this and tea with honey (honey helps soothe your aching throat) are very good for clearing mucus. I cannot stress this enough, drink plenty of fluids. It is so important to stay hydrated! Drink, drink, drink lots of water. Also, Vitamin C is very helpful in healing the cold. Drink orange juice, eat oranges, Emergen- C, and Alive! You can also take the pill for Vitamin C and Iron. This helps boost your immune system. Lemon is a great tool for clearing mucus. Lemon water or the essential oil are two forms of good lemon intake. We all get that annoying cough so we immediately think, “need a cough drop”. Cough drops are very helpful, but they can also harm you even more. Many cough drops contain menthol. Menthol tricks your body into thinking that you’re better by numbing your throat so your continue using your voice. In the end, this harms your throat and vocal cords even more than prior to taking the cough drop. I recommend getting Vitamin C drops or finding a cough drop without menthol. Finally, Kombucha is so so so good for you in many ways. One way is it boosts and strengthens your immune system. You can find it in any health food store or make it at home yourself (that’s what I do).
There are many ways to relieve and treat your common cold. No need to reach for any sort of medicine because now you know many ways to naturally heal yourself from this sickness. That’s all for this week so I remind you to embrace your wellness.
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