The first thing most people do when they fall sick or feel under the weather is look for quick-fix medications, such as Advil, Tylenol and the likes. These over-the-counter drugs and most prescription drugs are loaded with harmful chemicals and can provoke numerous negative side-effects.

Yet, nobody likes to be sick and nobody wants to be stuck in bed with a high fever, runny nose, headache or cough for days- I can understand that. My only disagreement lies in the type of “medicine” that people rely on to heal their body and get back to their normal level of vibrancy. I was never a big fan of medications growing up as I saw firsthand (with some of my family members and myself) how negatively it always ended up impacting our overall health in the long run. Plus, there are numerous studies out there that link many popular brand and generic medications to various diseases and ailments. As a matter of fact, you do not even need to look at the research papers specifically to find out about those correlations, just look at the side-effects listed on the back or inside pamphlet of each one of your prescription or over-the-counter drugs. Most of them create the very same condition they are supposed to heal (i.e. headache, insomnia, bloating, bleeding, inflammation, irritation,…). I mean I could go on and on about this, but that is not the purpose of this post.

Today, I wanted to share with you 5 natural remedies to fight the common cold and other seasons viruses. These are 5 clean natural and proven effective remedies that you can count on to accelerate your healing process or better yet, prevent yourself from catching the common cold or other viruses out there. I use these natural remedies ALL the time and twice this year, I managed to avoid being bedridden for days by just following these simple steps and home remedies.

Keep in mind that there is no “quick” fix to an illness stemming from a virus. Your body needs time to get rid of it. Prevention is key but once you’ve caught the bug, you have to give your body time to get rid of it. Often times, a dis-ease is your body’s way of telling you something or drawing your attention to an imbalance that may stem from your diet, lifestyle or psychological state. So trust the wisdom of your body when you fall sick: take this time to rest and slow down.

So without further ado, here are my 5 natural remedies to fight the common cold and other seasonal viruses: 

1. REST

Rest and sleep are crucial components of any healing process. Your body needs time to activate your natural defences so they may get rid of the unwanted intruders. Your body possesses a whole array of natural mechanisms that will automatically get activated once something is off or a virus or bacteria has invaded your precious inner terrain. These mechanisms involve but are not limited to: mucus production, rise of temperature, fever, sweat, cough, runny nose, etc.

In order for your body to activate all of these mechanisms and successfully get rid of unwanted toxins and intruders, sleep and rest are very important. Indeed, your body needs adequate amount of sleep to properly detoxify and rejuvenate. At night, since you are inactive, the body uses that time to detoxify, clean up and rejuvenate your cells. During the day, with digestion and other daily activities requiring a lot of energy, the body does not have much time to detox. This is why when you fall sick, you feel so tired. Your body is now in a state of emergency, in which it NEEDS to fight off the virus and can no longer spare too much energy on other activities. So, next time you fall sick, don’t try to fight it…let your body do its job, stay in bed, rest or do very relaxing activities, such as meditation, reading, etc.

2. LIQUIDS

Let The Food Be Your Medicine- Hippocrates | Deliciously Vibrant

Keep yourself hydrated to the max at all times, especially when you are sick. It allows your body to hydrate your cells, carry all of the necessary nutrients to respective body parts and, bonus, it allows your body to get rid of any unwanted toxins, bacteria and other foreign particles via elimination channels (i.e. urine, sweat, tears, mucous…). Drinking water is a must. But I also recommend adding herbal teas with lemon, ginger and honey for an extra immune system boost and of course soups, which keep you warm and nourished.

The other reason for loading up on liquids, such as water, herbal teas, smoothies & soups, is that it gives your body a much deserved break from having to spend so much energy on digestion. Now is NOT the time to overwhelm your digestive system with processed foods and sugars that require a LOT of energy to be digested by your body. Remember, most of your energy will be spent towards healing and detoxifying (i.e. getting rid of unwanted toxins and foreign invaders). So drinking your foods is a nice way to give your body the necessary nutrients to fight off the virus, while not overwhelming it with complex digestive processes.

3. NUTRIENTS-DENSE FOODS – FRUITS & VEGETABLES (ESPECIALLY LEAFY GREENS)

For all of your body natural defences to properly function in times of illness, your body needs nutrient-rich foods that are loaded with beneficial enzymes, vitamins and minerals. These micronutrients can only be found in fresh fruits and vegetables (raw is preferable as well to get the added benefits of digestive enzymes). There are numerous fruits and vegetables that you could add to your diet when you are sick, but I wanted to draw your attention to dark leafy green vegetables.

Dark leafy greens, such as spinach, kale, chards or collars greens are loaded with vitamins (i.e. vitamins C, A, K, E and B vitamins), minerals (i.e. calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, manganese, etc) and fibers, which are crucial for your body’s metabolism, especially during an illness. For an easier absorption and digestion, include them in your smoothies or juices. These powerful veggies will also naturally boost your immune system so you can get back to vibrant health faster.

4. RAW UNPASTEURIZED HONEY & GARLIC

Raw honey is another great food that you should be consumed whenever you are fighting off a virus. Honey in its purest form is a powerful anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal substance. It also contains essential vitamins and minerals, such as iron, manganese and B vitamins. It is the perfect addition to your teas or smoothies, in times of sickness ;).

Raw garlic is just as powerful as raw honey. This plant has been proven to be extremely therapeutic for its many health benefits. Raw garlic has powerful anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, which is extremely beneficial to your body in times of sickness. Moreover, garlic is also loaded with beneficial vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin C, B vitamins, copper, calcium, manganese and selenium.

A great cough or sore throat natural remedy would be to soak up 2 or 3 crushed garlic cloves in 1.5- 2 cups of raw unpasteurized honey (Prepare the mixture in advance and allow it to infuse for a couple of days in a glass container, before using. Then refrigerate it). At the first signs of a cold, sore throat or illness, just ingest 1 Tbsp of the mixture or add it to your favourite herbal tea.

5. HEALING SPICES- TURMERIC & CINNAMON

There are numerous healing spices out there, but I chose to focus on these two today.

Thanks to its main active component Curcumin, turmeric is a powerful anti-inflammatory spice. Because of its powerful anti-inflammatory properties, turmeric has been proven to reduce risks of cardiovascular diseases, cancers, and inflammatory bowel diseases. When you are sick, it is the perfect addition to your teas, soups, smoothies and stews.

Cinnamon is another powerful anti-inflammatory spice. This will help bring down any inflammatory responses that may have been caused by a viral or bacterial infection. It has also been shown to be anti-clotting and anti-viral, which helps with your blood circulation and the elimination of toxins and viruses that may have invaded your body. And for those of you with blood sugar imbalances, cinnamon has been proven very effective to regulate and help control blood sugar levels.

Finally, remember that when you are sick, your body will dump any unwanted particles/toxins into your main channels of elimination (first in your blood, then they will be filtered out by your kidneys and liver) to get them out of your body. Therefore, it is important to make sure you go to the bathroom regularly.

The skin is another very important organ of elimination. Taking a steam bath, dry skin brushing or going to the sauna are all excellent practices to help your body further eliminate unwanted toxins and foreign particles.

Of course there are a ton of other holistic health tips that I could share with you. But for the purpose of this post, I wanted to focus on these 5 natural remedies that can assist and support your body in fighting the common cold or other seasonal viruses. Remember two things:

1. There are no quick-fix, your body will need some time to fully and thoroughly heal.

2. “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” – Hippocrates.

Natural whole foods is the best medicine you will ever need to prevent sickness or gain back vibrant health.

Please let me know what are YOUR favourite natural health tips when you are sick in the comments below.

Stay in great health,

– Sarah.