10 Most Effective Home Remedies for Cold and Flu

Previously I wrote about why some people never got sick and how you could be one of them.  But what if you are not part of this fortunate group and your immune system has not got strong yet? How do you cope if you do catch the flu or a cold?

As we all know, there are no medicines to fight viral infections, only to relieve the discomfort – paracetamol is one of them. Even most doctors abstain from prescribing medications when a patient is down with a cold or the flu.

An effective anti-viral remedy hasn’t been invented yet and may take a long time to come  – if indeed it ever does. So what can we do to help ourselves when we do come down with a seasonal infection?

In this article, I have listed the 10 most effective home remedies for cold and flu which I use for myself and my family when we get ill.

1. Drink lots of warm drinks. One old and the tested recipe includes freshly grated ginger, lemon and raw honey.
2. Drink water – lots of it. It helps the lymphatic system to move the virus and toxins away from the cells, and filter the blood. Drinking water means that the fluids in the body keep moving, and the body keeps cleansing itself.
3. Take Echinacea. Research has shown it to be effective at strengthening immunity, and it does work.
4. Gargle. Use Himalayan salt 1 tsp per 200ml of warm water to gargle as often as possible to relieve a sore throat.
5. Use the same salty water you have prepared for the throat to irrigate your nose – just drip a few drops into both nostrils and blow. It helps clear the nasal passages, and draw congestion out of the sinuses to prevent sinusitis.
6. Epsom salt bath – it is relaxing, warming and soothing, plus will help to top up magnesium levels in the body and help with recovery.  If you have a temperature you may not want to have a bath, but if you feel the chill, it will help you to warm up and relax.
7. Grapefruit Seed extract – a powerful antibacterial and antiviral remedy. Take 2 drops of the extract mixed in 100ml of water, add some lemon juice, drink 3 times a day. I hope you find the article helpful.
8. Sodium bicarbonate. Research has shown that an acidic body is much more vulnerable to infection.  Take 1/2 tsp 3 times a day (put it on the tongue, and drink water quickly to let it go down since the taste is not very nice).
9. Supplement your diet with vitamins and minerals, especially Vitamins C, D, B, zinc, selenium, magnesium and calcium.
10. Sleep. It’s impossible to over-estimate the importance of sleep. Be a couch potato for a while, forget about all the tasks, chores and work for a while. The body starts healing itself when it’s resting since it is in the most relaxed state then. The more sleep the better.

If you have your own home recipes to share, please do so in the comments box below. If you feel that others might benefit from what I have written, please spread the word – share the post.