I don’t know about you but I know loads of people who have terrible colds at the moment. It can be expensive having a cold all those remedies in the shops can be pricey. Here are some suggestions for natural remedies form Maria Ranier (but do call a doctor instead if its not just your standard snuffles!)
You can catch a cold year-round, but many ailments like cold-chapped hands and nosebleeds caused by dry, indoor air are marked signs of winter. You can opt to treat these inconveniences with traditional medicine, but not only can that be expensive, many pills come with undesired side effects like drowsiness or worse. Try these natural remedies for you and your family this winter, instead—you can grow many of the ingredients in your own garden!
Cough Syrup Substitute
Add 3 tablespoons of dried thyme to a pint of boiling water, let it cool, and then add a cup of honey. Take 1 teaspoon hourly and store in the fridge for up to three months.
Immune System Booster
No amount of vitamins or vitamin C can cure your cold, but it can boost your immune system to prevent one. Go to your local farmers market to get organic foods high in vitamin C (since you probably don’t want your vitamins with a side of pesticides). The following are the highest-ranking: green peppers is number one (not oranges!), guava, bell peppers, fresh thyme and parsley, dark leafy greens like kale, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kiwis, papayas, clementines, and strawberries.
For Pesky Nosebleeds
A cup of leafy greens like kale, collards, spinach, turnip and beet greens, broccoli, and scallions provide vitamin K to help out the capillaries in your nose and help the blood there clot quickly.
For Sore Throats
Grandma wasn’t kidding when she told you to take honey with your tea. Tea has caffeine which will boost your energy, and its warmth will comfort your throat as will the honey. Honey is also a miracle food that has tremendous healing properties.
In Lieu of Lotion
Winter means dry, cracked skin. Fix it from the inside out by eating 1 ounce of walnuts a day—they’re loaded with omega-3 oils that will boost your energy and improve the moisture in your skin. To treat dry skin immediately, couple walnut-eating with the following remedy:
2 tbsp honey
½ cup plain organic yogurt
1 tsp grapefruit zest
1 cup iced black tea
Mix the first three ingredients and apply it to your skin. Leave it on for 15 minutes and use the tea to rinse it off.
The wonder of natural remedies is that most households already have the ingredients to make them and they work surprisingly well. If you see using honey as a skin lotion and rinsing it off as a waste, think of it this way: when you buy store-bought lotion, you’re buying the plastic with it—plastics that have leached chemicals into the air and earth in the making of it and that will do the same when you’ve finished using the lotion and you throw it away and it ends up in a landfill. By using natural remedies, you’re helping the planet and being kinder to your body—no harmful chemicals or side-effects included in these recipes!
It is so refreshing to see an article that emphasises natural ingredients and remedies that are created at home. It is so easy to buy medicines and pills over the counter with all sorts of other ingredients added in to them with a variety of unknown side effects. Not only is is greener and more cost effective but it also encourages us to be more creative in our approach and more considered about what our bodies consume. With more home cooking and home remedies like these, we can encourage healthier, more wholesome children rather than a rushed lifestyle full of convenient ready made products. Thanks for these recipes!