Far too many people have become dependent on over the counter cough syrups, hot medicinal drinks, and capsules designed to supposedly fight the common cold.
If you walk by the cold remedy section of your local pharmacy, you will discover shelves groaning from the weight of a myriad of rainbow colored bottles of modern-day snake oil that promises to relieve every cold symptom known to man.
Many of them are formulated to make us drowsy when taken before we go to bed, and some will help us doze a bit through the night but really do little to prevent a cold from running it’s methodical, diabolical course. Often users mistake the drug induced snooze as the remedy fighting the cold, but unfortunately it’s a smoke screen that only serves to hide the symptoms for a short time.
Realistically, you will have a better chance of arming your overwhelmed immune system with more powerful and effective anti-bodies by shuffling over to the fridge and opening the door to an army of nutritional, antibacterial agents ready to repel the attack of the common cold or at the least shorten it’s severity.
Chomp down on one of those Chile peppers that make your eyes water on a regular basis. They are loaded with a chemical called Capaiscin, that acts as a pain reliever and decongestant at the same time. The heat from that pepper will break down the mucus building up in your head and help you clear your sinuses. Keep in mind that one Jalapeno pepper packs in as much vitamin C as four oranges.
How about that sore throat? Head for the spice cabinet and reach for the Thyme. Put four cups of water in a pan on the stove add 2 tablespoons of Thyme, bring to a boil. Let boil for two minutes then cover and steep for another two minutes. Pour through a coffee filter put in a sive. Add a little honey and lemon if desired. Sip as needed to heal the throat and stop the coughing. Sound scary? Sure, but it works.
What about giving Grandma’s chicken soup recipe a try? This is an old wives tale that works. It really does make people feel better. Plus, it sure sounds a whole lot more appetizing then the famous cough syrup that makes you do an ugly “pucker” face, but not much more.
Imagine a steaming bowl of chicken, diced carrots, chopped celery, sweet parsnips, and a zesty onion, all beautifully blended and so much easier to take than the cough syrup from Hell.
Painstaking research has proved without doubt that there is a main component in Grandma’s chicken soup that takes up the battle against that stubborn cold. It’s the chicken stock itself that puts a halt to mucus production, and thus relieving congestion and helping the breathing process. In test after test, even store-bought chicken soup products produced the same result, but don’t waste your time with the vegetarian version. The main ingredient is obviously missing.
To make the best chicken soup for a cold you need a whole chicken because most of the nutrition comes from stewing the chicken bones. Clean a whole chicken, preferably an organic free range chicken, put it in a pot and cover with water. Add celery, onions, and a few cloves of garlic and stew for 6 hours or more. The longer it cooks the more nutrition you will get out of the bones. Let cool and bone and cut the chicken to bite size pieces. Add the chicken back to the stock along with brown rice, carrots, and onions. Season to taste. Cook until the vegetables and rice are done and serve.
Now we are all familiar with the benefits of vitamin C in the battle against colds. Especially Vitamin C from fruit. It has been clinically proven that as little as 1000mg per day of vitamin C will shorten suffering from a cold by a day or so.
As far back as the mid-1970′s, there were many published articles proclaiming that “mega doses” of Vitamin C (up to 4 times the recommended daily amount) would work miracles. However, in recent years that line of reasoning has been claimed to be false by the drug companies. But ask someone that takes 5000mg of Vitamin C along with L-Lysine and you will find someone that has a cold for only a few days. Like most vitamins and minerals that work well, more is not better unless it is Vitamin C and the sicker you are the more your body can use.
In fact, North America produces some of the world’s most expensive urine, as the body will eliminate excess vitamins that go above and beyond what our system can realistically absorb. So when you get over the cold back off the Vitamin C.
If you happen to be on a holiday in China and come down with a head-pounding case of congestion due to cold, you might possibly be served a hot cup of ginger tea by a sympathetic local.
This cold fighter goes back centuries and is believed to have several miraculous qualities that will ease nausea and headaches caused by sinus congestion. So even if you are at home, try some form of ginger tea, or come up with your own “hot ginger drink” recipe. Perhaps fresh ginger crushed into a glass of hot water along with a bit of lemon juice and a tablespoon of honey.
The absolute best for sinus congestion is Pau d’Arco. I brew about six cups, put it into a thermos and sip about two ounces and hour. Cold remedies don’t have to taste bad in order to be effective.
So the next time your first instinct is to head to the pharmacy as soon as the sniffles begin, remember that the “real” cure might only be a short, inexpensive walk into your kitchen.
Pau d’Arco is available from: http://www.herbaladvantage.com/
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