Back when I was a middle and high school teacher, I feel like I constantly had a cold or flu or something ailing me. It could be because I was surrounded by kids, many which may have had questionable hand-washing habits, or it could be because I personally did not take the greatest care of myself. I ate terribly, drank a lot, and got little sleep! That coupled with increased exposure to germs made me an easy target! Since quitting teaching, I both started taking much better care of myself, and became exposed to far fewer germs, so it’s only natural I’d get sick far less! In fact, I think this is the first cold I’ve had in about six years! But now that I know more about nutrition and general health and wellness, I feel much better armed on How to Kill A Cold Quickly - Natural Cold Remedies!
I guess it’s only natural that when being engaged to a physical therapist who sees 60 patients a week and works with 15 other therapists with the same schedule, that we would see more germs. Plus, to be honest, for the past few weeks, I have been a bit lax on drinking my Shakeology (and yes, I seriously do think that plays a big role). So last week, when I found myself feeling terrible, I was only a little surprised. I was much more surprised when Tommy, who is generally much more diligent with his nutritional choices, got sick too! In this blog, I am going to not only show you how to kill your cold quickly using natural remedies, but also how to maintain health so that the cold stays gone, and if you’re reading this during a time of health, how you can avoid getting sick in the first place! I’ll start with the easier things to add!
1. Probiotics: One of the most important things that you can give your body when you’re sick is Probiotics. One of my favorite, natural ways to get a lot at once is through either a BioK* (we usually get the unflavored dairy version), which has about 50 billion culture forming units. We also recently discovered a grass-fed organic version that’s less expensive called “Aliv” that’s in the photo below! If you want something tasty and carbonated, I am a big fan of Kombucha, and if that flavor is too strong for you, KeVita makes a good sparkling probiotic drink that has four billion culture forming units. I will cover this in more detail in the “maintenance” section of this post, but I actually don’t save probiotics only for when I’m sick!
Sick Day Supplies! Hydration and Probiotics here!
2. Garlic: In addition to eating more garlic-y food, we have been taking some garlic capsules*. Tommy’s patients share more than germs - they share knowledge! After talking to one of his patients about it, he did a little research and found that garlic can shorten the length of time you feel synonyms, and has a lot of other wonderful health benefits, too! Fortunately since we are both taking it and eating lots of garlicky food, we both have garlic breath, so it has not negatively impacted our romance! 😜
3. Stay hydrated! This one might not be as surprising as the second one, but it makes a huge difference, since you may be blowing your nose a lot! I drink a lot of water in general, and yeah, the KeVita mentioned above works, but because it is cold out, I’ve also had a lot of tea. And coconut water - Harmless Harvest* and Invo are my two favorite brands, because they aren’t pasteurized and don’t taste so weird to me! I have been drinking a few of my favorite teas, too! Rishi Green Mint tea* (Rishi is from Milwaukee, so I love supporting them) or Lemon Lift Tea* in the morning, Throat Coat* all day, and Chocolate Mint Indulgence* or Mint Sleepytime* at night! Now is where for some, it gets a little more difficult!
Skip the muffin, drink the tea! This is what I look like all the time, even in the morning and when I’m sick! JK. Photo by Mike Brouwer in mid 2000s!
4. SLEEP! - I know you’re busy. Most of us are! But right now is the most important time to take excellent care of yourself! If you don’t want to be sick until 2017 (or whatever the next year is, if you’re reading it after December 2016), take a nap! Go to bed early! Give your body time to recover and build its strength to fight off the bad guys inside! Do NOT work out. Do NOT pass GO. Do not collect $200 (unless you’re gonna share). Go directly to bed! You can rest assured (see what I did there?) that even though I am feeling 99% better, I took a nap in the middle of writing this post. I won’t be offended if you take a nap in the middle of reading it! 😂
5. Eat WELL - There will be temptation to eat foods that aren’t great for you because you don’t feel well. Resist it! Your body needs healthy protein, vegetables. It does not need ice cream. If you eat processed foods, foods heavy in sugar or carbs, that will promote inflammation, which will do the opposite of what you’re looking for! Veggies and meat are what you need here! As you can see, one of the things that I armed myself with was home made chicken soup (not chicken NOODLE soup)!
This, by the way, was the recipe I used for the Chicken Soup. I added even more celery, carrots, garlic, and onion than it asked for, and it was extremely hearty! Also, for the recipe, I used our instant pot*, which was one of the best Black Friday purchases we’ve made (last year), and if you don’t have one, I highly recommend purchasing one!
As for maintaining… I usually try to eat a non-inflammatory diet and get enough sleep anyway, so numbers four and five. Number three is pretty natural for me, which I am lucky for! But #1 is one that I think I may do a little differently than most. Tommy and I usually share one BioK a week, and I drink a KeVita or some type of Kombucha most days. If I am not getting enough sleep, or I am going to be on an airplane (or just get back from a trip on an airplane) or I’m around someone who is very obviously sick, I will have an extra BioK. And, as I mentioned before, I am usually more diligent about getting anything my diet lacks through my Shakeology!
I hope you found my advice on How to Kill A Cold Quickly - Natural Cold Remedies! helpful! What tips do you have to stay healthy or to make a cold go away faster?
xoxo,
Mandie
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