Nose feeling stuffy, throat sore?

If you’re coming down with a cold or flu, knock it on its head – fast!

Our Naturopath Diane shares her cold and flu fighting strategy.

The key to using natural remedies to fight and prevent infections is to get onto it quickly!

Targeting where the infection begins can work really well at knocking it on the head fast!
As soon as you have a stuffy nose or congested sinuses, put two sprays of a sodium chloride + essential oil nasal spray formulation into each nostril every two hours. With any sign of a sore throat, use a herbal throat spray every few hours. This should help fight the infection, and provide relief from any irritation, pain or discomfort.

At the start of the cold and flu season, it is always a good idea to use preventative measures: whether that be a good quality  liquid or tablet Echinacea.
Another option is a small dose of a combination of the Cordyceps, Coriolus, Shitake and Reishi mushrooms. These have a powerful impact on the immune system, plus the fact they are essentially a food makes them a very safe remedy to use long-term (as there isn’t any risk of causing nutritional imbalance or creating a lot of work for the liver).

Once the cold or flu starts to take hold, this is the time to pull out the ‘big gun’: a combination of the herbs Andrographis, Sambucus (also known as Elderberry) and Hu-Huang-Lian, as well as Zinc.

The above remedies should be prescribed by a naturopathic practitioner, as they are very powerful, and might not suit everyone (especially those suffering from particular conditions, or on certain medications).

From a nutritional point of view, it is beneficial to have a diet rich in whole, natural foods while combating a cold or flu: fruit, vegetables and whole grains.
For those following a high-protein diet, it’s advisable to lay off the protein and increase GOOD QUALITY CARBOHYDRATES instead.
Steer clear of JUNK FOOD while unwell. You can take all of the tablets and herbs under the sun, but if your diet is poor, the remedies just won’t be effective. Placing the body in the right conditions needs to be a holistic approach.

If you’re surrounded by colds and flus, and could do with a preventative prescription, make an appointment with Diane today!