Head Colds | Nature's remedies to boost your immunity

It's easy to think that you should never get sick when you have a healthy immune system. In fact, the opposite is true; a person with a healthy, responsive immune system will typically get sick 1-2 times per year. The important thing to remember is that when you choose to support your body with the right nutrients to heal, you strengthen your immune system and train it so that the next time it encounters that pathogen, it can more effectively fight it off. 

Here are some things that I so to snuff out head colds quickly:

• Drink Hot Detox bone broth. If you're vegetarian, make the vegan version using seaweed instead of bones for the minerals.
• Eat plenty of fermented veggies, coconut yogurt & kefir made with probiotic capsules.
• Eliminate ALL sugar intake (remember to look for hidden sugar in things like ketchup, sauces and beverages).
• Epsom salt baths or a short infrared sauna (NOT if you have a fever).
• Eat plenty of low carb vegetables in soup (i.e. onions, celery, spinach, kale, arugula) and load up heavy on garlic!
• Rest. Rest, REST. Have trouble sleeping? Check out my tips and video on my sleep blog.
• Drink half your body weight in ounces of water daily to help flush toxins, and add a pinch of high-quality sea salt for proper electrolyte balance. 
• Enjoy Organic Sumbucus liquid because it is proven to reduce cold duration.
• Goldenseal and echinacea is a classic combo to boost immunity. Goldenseal is also a natural antibiotic!

Of course, there are some sicknesses that can be extremely dangerous if left untreated, so, it’s important to consult a holistically-minded healthcare professional at the first sign of an illness that has unusual symptoms. Last week I had just such a scary experience.

After battling back my head cold, I was feeling better. It was a sunny Sunday and I was quick to jump on my bike and head out for ride when a low-hanging tree branch scratched my eye. Because I still had a little bit of that cold in my sinus, it jumped to the tissue around my eye…YIKES!

This is where I had to eat a huge piece of humble pie. I pride myself on knowing what natural remedies to take that help prevent and deal with infection; in this case I had to get very strong antibiotic eye drops. 

While I don’t like to take antibiotics, I didn’t get disempowered around it. I did some research online, though a health professional can make all the difference, so don’t be tempted to self-diagnose with Dr. Google! I chose to use a natural antibiotic orally (eg. Goldenseal) and visit my Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) doctor who confirmed that it was best to avoid conventional oral antibiotics. She gave me a very strong treatment to drain the puffiness from my face. 

The moral of the story?

It’s as important to know when you have to go to conventional medicine as it is to stay empowered around your own health. You can choose the level you really need. In my case, oral antibiotics could have flared my IBS and anxiety after having worked so long and hard to re-instate my gut microflora. I did not want to carpet-bomb my gut when it was the skin around my eye that needed the powerful meds.

Keep in mind that I am not telling you what to do – please don’t feel I am advocating for avoiding antibiotics when you need them. I just wanted to share my choice and encourage you to make your own empowered decision when the time comes.