 Nature's
Way
with Alan Hayes
Don't let the winter nasties get you down
There are numerous viruses, identified and unidentified, which are given the name 'flu'. Most viral attacks which involve coughs, colds, fever, muscular aches and pains, tiredness, exhaustion and fever are usually given this label, but are usually no more than just a common winter cold.
Treatment needs to be immediate so as to raise immunity levels as well as combating any virus attack. Include plenty of vitamin C (500 to1000 milligrams daily are sufficient), carrots, spinach, oranges, grapefruit, guavas, horseradish (the freshly grated root on bread is best), onions, chives, green peppers, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, tomatoes and turnips in your diet.
Preferably use fresh garlic in your food, or, if this is not always possible, take a garlic supplement available from your health store. Garlic helps to prevent colds, expel catarrh from the chest, acts as an antiseptic, helps to soothe a nagging cough, and aids in the relief of sinusitis.
Sprinkle Cayenne pepper on your food, as it induces perspiration, which helps to bring down a fever and eliminates poisons and bacteria from your body, and also mix it into the following 'cold brew' herbal tea. To make your 'cold brew' blend equal parts of dried peppermint, elder flower and yarrow (available from most health food shops) and brew one teaspoon of the mixed herbs in a covered ceramic cup for five minutes. Strain, reheat if necessary, add a tablespoon of lemon juice and honey to taste, and sip slowly. Drink a cup of the tea three to four times daily, or as needed.
If you are shivery and cold, and feel that you have the onset of something more sinister than a cold, take a warm bath to which the following essential oils have been added: six drops each of pine, eucalyptus and cypress.
Sit with your knees up and your head between them so that you can fully inhale the restorative vapours. As the water cools, slosh it all over your body.
Get out, vigorously dry yourself with a warm towel and then wrap yourself in a warm towel for a few minutes. Finish off by massaging your entire body with the following oil: dissolve two drops of tea tree oil and three drops of eucalyptus oil in one teaspoon of sunflower or almond oil. Then go to bed.
Bedrooms should be sprayed with thyme or lavender oil to help combat airborne nasties.
Dissolve 30 drops of either oil in five millilitres of methylated spirits and add this to a pump-spray bottle containing half a litre of distilled water. Use on a fine mist setting.
A few drops of lavender oil in a bowl of warm water, placed on a table away from windows, will also provide protection against bacteria.
At the first sign of cold, add one drop of eucalyptus or tea tree oil to a glass of warm water and then gargle. For a chest rub, eucalyptus oil is very penetrating because it opens up the air passages as well as fighting infection. Dilute ten drops of the oil in one dessert spoon of sunflower or almond oil and apply to your chest just prior to going to bed.
|
