While the internet is buzzing about elderberry syrup and elderberry powder capsules, this will not be yet another article listing reasons to use it. Although it does help to reduce the sore throat of a cold and helps reduce congestion, it simply isn’t the champion that my Rebel House needs. Elderberry may be helpful as a preventative against colds or the flu, but each time that I have given it a try after the virus has already taken hold, it seems to have actually reduced the potency of my tried and true herbs. This fruit is a pretty strong immune system stimulant, which you might assume is a good thing in this case, but overly stimulating the immune system can increase your symptoms at a time when you really want them to go away. I’ve definitely experienced this with elderberry in the form of excessive mucus production that has even lingered long after it would normally have subsided had I not used the the syrup/powder. Also, because of the immune effects, those who have autoimmune disease will want to steer clear of elderberry syrup.
Before I reveal my cold and flu secrets, I need to tell you that even when you experience relief and you feel great, make sure to continue your natural cold/flu regimen for 5-7 days after the initial infection. This is important because the virus can still be present, even in small amounts, and waiting for a perfect opportunity to get the best of you all over again. Also, of extreme importance, you must get plenty of rest and you absolutely must eat. These are most necessary when you have the flu. If you have to work, take it as easy as possible. If you don’t have an appetite, this is a sign of very low zinc, and you must eat all meals no matter what. Chicken soup is great. I also have to emphasize the importance of using whatever you have in your arsenal at the FIRST sign of a cold or flu. The first sniffle, sore throat, slight wheeze, sneeze, cough, etc. should be granted absolutely no mercy. You want to wake up in the morning feeling good, so it’s time to go war!
All of the herbs discussed here are things that you will want to have on hand, in your Rebel House at all times. The last thing you want is to be in need and not have what you need.
USE POTENT ANTIVIRAL HERBS AND FOODS
One of the most important herbal supplements that you can ever use in this fight is our W.A.R. (Wellness Above Replication) formula. It’s great to have it at the first sign of any issues, but it rescues very well even when in the full throws of whatever viral ailment attack you’re under. The main ingredients, olive leaf and chinese skullcap have a wonderful synergistic effect, and the addition of moringa and camu camu further the support the body’s defenses with their high antioxidant counts and high amounts of essential nutrients like magnesium and vitamin C.
Chinese Skullcap is the absolutely amazing! There simply is no competition. I say that as someone who has no time for playing around. I have to have my relief right away. There’s simply too much to get done in my day to hope for something to work. Compared to any other remedy floating around on the internet, whether its echinacea, elderberry, or whatever, they just can’t compete as well as chinese skullcap.
It’s important to know that there is another herb with the name skullcap. American skullcap sounds similar, but it’s completely different. You’ll usually see this one with simply the word ‘skullcap’ on its packaging. If you don’t see ‘chinese’, don’t bother. It may be difficult to find in stores. I buy it in bulk and keep it on hand. You can find the brand that I buy here. This is the brand that I’ve found without harsh fillers or without fillers at all. Chinese skullcap has a very strong, bitter taste.
Garlic can be of great help also, but you don’t want to overdo it. Eating a garlic clove or a spoonful of minced garlic once a day in your bowl of soup or in a salad is a good idea.
I also suggest drinking rooibos tea, which has a mild antiviral effect that can be very complimentary to the chinese skullcap. When making rooibos tea, a strong infusion is best. I steep mine for 2 or more hours. If needed right away, I will steep for 10 minutes and prepare another infusion with the longer steep time for later.
USE POTENT ANTI-INFLAMMATORY HERBS
With any viral infection, fighting off inflammation is important, but it’s extremely important when it comes to the flu virus, especially for small children, for the elderly, and for those with weaker or compromised immune systems. Some of the worst outcomes of the flu are due to excess inflammation. Don’t overdo these. Once a day should be sufficient.
Some great anti-inflammatory herbs are:
–Thyme
I suggest making a tea or strong water infusion with thyme. 1 tbsp of thyme leaf for every cup of water. Steep for a minimum of 10 minutes, but one hour is best.
Unsweetened thyme tea with lemon juice can make a great gargle, that I suggest using at the very first sign of viral attack and following up 2-3 more times throughout the day. Thyme tea and chamomile tea make a super combination for any antiviral regimen. If you’re also drinking rooibos tea, make sure not to mix it with thyme.
You can drink the two within close succession of each other, but they can’t be mixed together. Mixing them can cause stomach upset and dizziness.
–Chamomile
If making chamomile tea, I suggest steeping for one hour, but at least for 10 minutes. You can also get chamomile capsules here. Chamomile also has a mild antiviral action.
–Olive leaf
Olive leaf has a mild antiviral action as well
–Osha Root
Osha root has the added benefit of helping to reduce chest congestion.
DRINK ALOE VERA JUICE
Drinking aloe vera juice with your herbs helps to enhance absorption of the herb and increase its effectiveness. I would drink 1/4 cup twice a day with my antiviral herb and/or immediately after my tea. You want to make sure that your aloe vera juice bottle says ‘inner fillet’, instead of ‘whole leaf’, and make sure that it doesn’t have sweeteners or colors added. One brand that I use a lot is Lakewood organic. The other is Lily of the Desert (especially the preservative-free one).
BALANCE YOUR PROTEIN
If you’ve already read my article about the best sources of protein, then you know that amino acids are what you really want to focus on. Two amino acids that are at odds when it comes to a strong immune system are lysine and arginine. When fighting off an illness, especially a virus, you want your lysine intake to far outweigh your arginine intake. High arginine reduces your immune system’s ability to fight off infection. You don’t have to worry about not getting enough arginine. It’s very available in most foods, and your body can make its own. We can’t make lysine. We must get it from food, and arginine gets in the way of the body’s ability to use lysine.
So, part of the fight against colds and the flu entails avoiding foods that are severely high in arginine and lacking sufficient lysine. These include:
–seeds and nuts, including coconut, chia, flax and all other nuts and seeds. The least problematic are the brazil nut. Almonds, sesame seeds, and walnuts are some of the worst.
–grains, including quinoa, buckwheat, rice, corn, wheat, spelt, oats, teff, and barley. Rye is the least problematic of them all, but should still be avoided.
–certain legumes/beans such as soy, chickpeas, black-eyed peas,
–various fruits like the coveted elderberry, grapes, plantains (not bananas), jackfruit, all citrus except lemons and limes, and all berries except strawberries.
EAT HEARTY SOUP WITH THE SECRET INGREDIENT
Soup made with bone broth will be something that your body will sing for. Not only will it be an excellent source of lysine, but it provides additional glutamine and glycine, which are both anti-inflammatory, and glutamine is beneficial for several health-promoting gut bacteria. This stuff can even put you in a better mood, which is a plus for helping you to feel better sooner. If you want more info about bone broth, including how to make it, click here.
When bulking up your soup, skip the noodles and rice and be heavy-handed with the veggies and mushrooms. Add any meat you desire, but make sure your beef is grass-fed and your chicken/turkey is free-range and preferably grain-free. I would avoid pork. Pasta (even gluten-free or grain-free pasta) and rice in your soup are not only going to provide the high amounts of the arginine we discussed earlier, but will also reduce nutrients available to you. Grains, nuts and seeds (beans and legumes also) all contain phytic acid, an anti-nutrient that prevents your gut from absorbing important nutrients like magnesium, iron, and zinc. These are very important to your recovery.
Try making this soup with your meat(s) of choice, spinach, lots of mushrooms (white button or baby bellas), zucchini, celery, and bell pepper (orange, yellow, or red). Season with sea salt (make sure it’s not white), black pepper, onion powder, parsley, paprika, and a bit of turmeric. Oysters will make a nice addition to any soup used for viral infection. If you can’t stand them, try making a puree and adding them to the soup stock. These will provide excellent amounts of zinc.
GET PLENTY OF REST
While you may feel great right away, and you will be able to continue to care for your children or other loved ones, and go to school or work, you will want to refrain from strenuous activity. Running, dancing, martial arts, repeated heavy lifting, jogging, swimming, should all be avoided while your body recovers and continues to fight off the invader. If it isn’t something that you absolutely need to do, don’t do it. If you go to hard, too soon, you can find yourself right back at square one really fast.
TAKE L-LYSINE
I’m not one for promoting supplements like these, but this is the one and only kind that you will ever see me suggest. If you can’t or don’t want to augment your diet in the ways suggested, or you feel that you want to give yourself an added advantage, you can take 4000-6000 mg of L-lysine for the first 3 days of your regimen. These pills are typically large and hard. They can be crushed or chewed for ease of use. Avoid supplements with added fillers, especially magnesium stearate. A good brand that works very well is Solgar, which I purchase here.
The information below contains suggestions to give your body additional natural support
DRINK LIME OR LEMON WATER
Drinking a strong lime/lemon water, tea with lots of lemon/lime, or strong homemade lemonade (especially with honey or even maple syrup). Lime and/or lemon will help to prevent or get rid of a sore throat. It will help you to break up, and expel mucus that often causes sore throats.
If you choose to do tea with lemon, I suggest using 50% lime/lemon and 50% water. Also, it’s important that you avoid all caffeinated and true teas. This means no green tea, white tea, black tea, sencha, earl grey, or oolong. Caffeine is no good for you right now, regardless of any slight benefit of other aspects of the tea. Caffeine will cause you to loose precious magnesium, which would deliver a major blow to your immune system. I suggest chamomile, rooibos, and/or peppermint herbal teas. Making a tea or infusion of thyme can also be very beneficial, although not very tasty.
EAT THESE FRUITS
As you read earlier, in the section about balancing protein, oranges won’t make the cut. Sure they’re a source of vitamin C, but there are several better choices. In this category, a fruit that you can most likely only find dried is the champ. Camu Camu is very high in vitamin C and several antioxidants. 1/2 tsp 2-3 times a day will provide more vitamin C than any other fruit, and give the body this important nutrient in a more bioavailable form than synthetic supplements can provide. Pineapples are also good choice as they can reduce mucus and coughing, and have higher vitamin C content than oranges.
DRINK MORINGA TEA
Moringa is a great herb for providing magnesium. When a body is under stress, it will dump magnesium through the kidneys. Viral infections are very stressful events. I suggest drinking moringa tea 2-3 times a day when a virus is trying to take you over.
NATURALLY REDUCE FEVER
First, you need to know a bit about certain over-the-counter drugs, especially fever reducing NSAIDs. These can impair the immune system and interfere with natural remedies. If you happen to develop a fever, especially if you waited too long to begin your herbal therapy, a tea blend of thyme and chamomile can be of great help for fever reduction. I never recommend trying to completely break a fever, as it is part of the body’s immune system and helpful in the fight against microbes. It slows down a virus, limiting the amount of times it can replicate. You may feel worse while its happening, but it’s part of the process. However, the immune system can get a bit out of control at times, and you need a means to keep things at safe levels. I typically give my child thyme and chamomile tea and/or osha root extract if her fever reaches 102.5 degrees and has been climbing quickly in the last 30 minutes. I closely monitor every 30 minutes to know if I need to intervene with herbs. Fevers above 104 degrees are very dangerous.
ELECTRICAL APPLIANCE TOOLS
Being able to make fresh juice or smoothies is of great benefit to your household, especially when fighting off a virus. Here are some appliances that are great for this purpose:
Hamilton Beach Big Mouth Juicer (click the link to view)
Nutri Bullet (click the link to view)
If you have been experiencing symptoms for more than 48 hours before trying the suggestions given here, then you’re entering into the point of no return and the best you can likely hope for is a slightly milder and somewhat shortened period of illness. Viruses replicate quickly, and they can establish themselves very well 48-72 hours after the initial assault. However, the wellness tools in this article will still be very worthwhile.
Rebel Well!
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