6 Things You Can Do to Prevent a Cold or Flu from Taking You Down

Sheleana Aiyana

Catching a cold usually happens at the worst time. Maybe this is the body’s way of forcing us to slow down and rest. Maybe rest is something we’ve been putting off, or have been avoiding all together due to a busy schedule. When things get busy or stressful, there can be a tendency to put off self-care, resulting in being run down and leaving the immune system vulnerable and exposed. Here are a few ways you can either prevent or curb a cold quickly through herbal remedies and nutrition.

1. Reduce or eliminate conventional dairy from your meals, especially if you feel your immune system taking a dive. Some people find that raw dairy suits their constitution and can even be healing, though pasteurized dairy is often a problem for people who may not even know it. It can be inflammatory, cause mucous build up, and some milks now even contain added sugar.

2. Take medicinal mushrooms in tea or capsules to boost your immune system. Reishi and Chaga are wonderful additions to any diet and boast a wide array of healing powers. You can check out Host Defense for high quality mushroom formulas.

3. Elderberry syrup is a nourishing and delicious herbal remedy for a cold. You can brew elderberry tea, take an elderberry tincture or make a honey elderberry syrup yourself. Try a recipe like this one from herbalist, Yarrow Willard.

4. Feeling mucousy or stuffed up? Instead of taking an over the counter medication, try some Echinacea Goldenseal instead. This combo works beautifully together to support the immune system, fight bad bacteria in the gut and manage your inflammatory response.

5. Find an immunity tincture from a reputable herbal medicine provider. You’ll find ingredients like medicinal mushrooms, adrenal restorative herbs and astragalus. I like to take these types of herbs regularly, and have a special love for reishi, Chaga and Astragalus on a continual basis.

6. Sleep. Yea, you’re hearing this again. The truth is, without proper sleep the body simply doesn’t have time to recover and this leaves the immune system weak and the hormones in chaos. You’re not only restoring your body, but detoxing your liver and kidneys, and strengthening your immune system while your body rests. Take time for at least 8 hours, or more if you’re a woman in certain parts of your hormonal cycle.

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Sheleana Aiyana

Sheleana is passionate about getting back to nature through real food and empowering women to walk the feminine path of self-care and deep self-awareness. She's a birth doula in Vancouver, BC She's an avid reader, intuitive culinary goddess and cat lady in the making.