10 Ways Herbal Remedies can help protect you against Colds and Flu

Best Syndication

October 28, 2009

The typical signs of the common cold are a runny or blocked nose, a sore throat, sneezing, cough, headache and mild fever.

Symptoms of the Flu are similar, however the fever is usually higher, and alternates with chills and is accompanied by sweating, aches and pain and fatigue.

Why do we get the cold and flu ?

There are many different viruses that can cause colds and flu. They are passed from person to person by inhaling infected droplets that have been sneezed or coughed into the air or by touching an area with live infection.

Infection is most likely to occur when the immune function is low because of tiredness, stress, poor diet and digestion function, lack of exercise or smoking.

What are the different treatments for cold and flu ?

People spend billions of dollars every year trying to fight off the misery of the common cold.

Want to try something different?

Here are 10 natural ways to help protect yourself against colds or flu using herbal remedies.

1. Eat plenty of leeks and green onions.

These herbs and foods have powerful cold fighting properties. Leeks provide a good source of fiber, folic acid, vitamins B6 and C, manganese, and iron.

Onions are a very good source of vitamins B6 and C, chromium, biotin, and fiber. They are also a good source of folic acid and vitamins B1 and K. The health benefits provided by onions are also due to their content of several organic sulfur compounds. You can eat healthy vegetable soup with leeks or green onions in it.

2.Take a large clove of Garlic, peel and keep it in your mouth.

Bite down every so often to release the natural juices. Replace with a new clove every four or five hours. Cold symptoms are usually gone in twenty four, to forty eight hours.

Garlic provides an excellent source of vitamin B6. It has vitamin C, manganese, and selenium. Garlic also contains sulfur-containing compounds such as allicin. Allicin has been shown to be effective against common infections such as colds, flu, stomach viruses, and candida yeast.

3.Your nose all stuffed up?

Try eating some hot or spicy foods which should open up those blocked nasal passages and you won’t have to take too many nose drops!

4. Lemon Balm

Lemon Balm tea promotes sweating. This is good for feverish colds as it helps to eliminate the toxins from the body.

5. Chest congestion can be effectively cleared up by breathing a mixture of hot vinegar, or white wine. Breathe in the vapors for a few minutes, and you should get relief

6. Coughs and sore throats can be controlled with several home remedies.

A classic remedy requires a large lemon. Start by slowing roasting it until it just splits open. Now take up to half a teaspoon of honey with the juice from the lemon. Repeat at hourly intervals until the cough is under control.

7. Feel better with elderberry or elderberry tea to treat respiratory infections. Now scientific evidence suggests that taking a standardized elderberry extract can shorten the length of time you’re sick by 50 percent.

8. Soothe a sore throat – Drink a tea made of mucilaginous herbs such as marshmallow or slippery elm, which coat the throat.

9. Stop the cough – When you can’t quit coughing, drink hot ginger tea. Ginger stimulates circulation and helps clear your sinuses and lungs of mucus. You may also get some relief with the natural cough suppressant, bromelain, which is an enzyme that comes from pineapple.

10. Breathe easier – One of the best ways to open clogged sinus and bronchial passages is to breathe warm steam to which you’ve added essential oil of eucalyptus. Full article here…

Stinging Nettles: So Many Cures that You Will Lose Count

Natural News
Barbi Trejo
Wednesday, October 21, 2009

If the world knew all the true healing benefits of stinging nettles, they would be rushing to store it by the tons in their basements and they would be growing it instead of grass in their back yards. Stinging nettles is a greatly misunderstood herb that has been put aside for way too long. The entire plant is of value including the leaves, roots, stems and flowers. Stinging nettles would have been eliminated years ago from the many insects and animals eating this marvelous plant, had it not been for the stings.

In ancient Greek times, the stinging nettle was used mainly as a diuretic and laxative. Now the plant is used for many cures; illnesses include cancer and diabetes.

By simply drinking one cup of stinging nettles tea a day, a mother of seven was relieved of her headaches and eczema. The stinging nettles are a blood purifier and thus clean eczema internally. It is the best blood purifier available and has an influence over the pancreas. Stinging nettles also assist in lowering blood sugar.

Stinging Nettles has anti-inflammatory properties and treats illness of the urinary track. The best way to take nettles is early in the morning before breakfast. Make a habit of purifying your blood at lease twice a year by drinking this tea every day for one month. You will feel revived with tons of energy and able to work like never before.

Benefits of the stinging nettle plant:

The benefits of stinging nettle are so many that you too will lose count. It is a diuretic; it is used to treat anemia, and it is used for arthritis and rheumatism. Stinging nettles is used for respiratory and urinary problems. It aids in the recovery of eczema, asthma, sinusitis and rhinitis. It protects against skin disorders and aides in the treatment of benign prostate. It diminishes susceptibility to colds. It is also a good deterrent for pests in the gardens.

Stinging nettles protects against hair loss, kidney stones, allergies, hay fever, osteoarthritis, internal bleeding, uterine bleeding, nosebleeds and bowel bleeding. Stinging nettles protects against enlarged spleen, diabetes, endocrine disorders, stomach acid, diarrhea, dysentery, lung congestion, cancer and anti-aging, and it is used as a general tonic. It is a blood purifier and it is useful with wound healing. Stinging nettles is used for muscle aches and pains also.

Benefits of the stinging nettle root:

1. Urination problems related to prostate problems include nighttime urination, going to the bathroom too often, pain when urinating, not being able to urinate and bladder infection.
2. Joint problems
3. Diuretic and astringent

David Wolfe`s advice on making tea with stinging nettle:

During an interview with Kevin Gianni and David Wolfe, the values of stinging nettles were discussed. David said, “Stinging nettles have been eaten by the druids in the U.K. for thousands of years and it`s one of the most important foods to eat, if you know how to do it or if you juice it or you can just dry it and make a tea out of it, which is what I`m recommending; horse tail, nettle, oat straw. The oat seed of the oat grass has a little straw around it. It has a little coating. It`s the seed capsule. That oat straw is one of the richest sources of silicon. You can buy it in health food stores. You can get it as extracts in health food stores.”

David suggests a cocktail of herbs to make a tea with. They are horse tail, oat straw, alfalfa and of course stringing nettle. From the days you start drinking this tea, your bones will increase in density. He states that it is the silicon in stinging nettles that increase the bone density. Sounds like a good idea for sure. French researcher Louis Curvan, who was nominated for the Nobel Prize, wrote 5 books on the subject of calcium and silicon and how they are related to each other. Because Louis Curvan spoke French, the books and the research never reached the nations who spoke English.

How do you make nettle tea:

Take one half liter of water and bring to boil. Remove from the stove and add in 1 tablespoon of each herb. Cover the tea pot and let it steep for 30 minutes. Note: It is not necessary to add all four herbs to the tea if they are unavailable to you. You can get many health benefits from the nettle tea alone. It is necessary to drink the tea without any sweetener.

Hives and allergy remedy:

What exactly is nettle rash? It is a patch of red and itchy weals or swellings in the skin. It is similar to the same type of weals which may result from contact with the stinging nettle. Stinging nettles grows wild in fields and may cause allergic reactions when a person comes in contact with the bush.

Nettle`s Rash may be caused by:

1. Food, eggs, wheat, strawberries and seafood, just to name a few of the culprits.

2. Pollen and fungal spores.

3. Medicines, antibiotics and NSAID`s.

4. Bites by insects.

5. Virus, bacteria or infections.

6. Contact with the stinging nettle plant.

But amazingly the same plant which causes hives can also cure hives. Dr. Andrew Weil, Natural Doctor and Herbalist, suggests, “Using freeze-dried nettle leaf extract to treat hives and allergies. This might sound illogical, but the plant apparently doesn`t contain enough histamine to be a problem when it`s taken orally, and it does contain substances that help heal hives.”

Amazing, there is a difference in touching the plant and ingesting it. There is news also that the root is more potent than the leaves. If you can get some fresh nettles, handling it carefully, dry the roots and then make the dried roots into a tea.

Recipes:

Infusion: Place 1/2 liter of boiling water on the stove and add in 1 tablespoon of dried stinging nettles. Cover the pot and let set for 30 minutes. This is a glorified tea recipe.

Baths: This is good for sciatica. Place a large amount of the herbs including the roots in cold water over night. The next morning boil the concoction and place in the bathtub. Soak in the herbs for as long as you feel comfortable. This may also be used as a foot soak.

Shampoo wash: Place one half cup of the dried herbs in a huge 5 liter pot. Bring the herbs to boil slowly. Remove from the stove and keep covered for an additional 10 minutes. Add in some shaved olive oil soap and bring to boil. Cool to a warm mixture and wash your hair with this.  Full article here…