My Guide to Natural Remedies for the Common Cold

 Originally Posted on my blog: http://thepaulohana.wordpress.com/2010/12/23/fml-this-soup-tastes-like-a-booger-guide-to-natural-remedies-for-the-cold/

Symptoms of the common cold:

• sore/itchy throat
• congestion
• runny nose/stuffy nose
• sneezing
• coughing
• headache
• I am too hot/I am too cold chills
• aches and pains all over
• fatigue
• fever

Don't worry; you're not alone. In fact, there are many poor souls out there that feel the way because the common cold is highly contagious. Exposure to touching things on a airplane or airport or store that someone has touched without washing their "sick hands", lack of sleep, stress, depression, temperature changes, and dusty attack boxes all help distract your immune system so that the common cold can come in for the proberbial kill.

Fight back; don't cower under your nice soft comforter hugging a box of tissues. Just wishing for the apocalypse inside your body to go away won't make it end. A common cold can last up to ten to fourteen days. That's a long time to act like a baby. It is also not the time to go running to your doctor; taking antibiotics for a common cold isn't a very good idea unless you have an ear infection or something infection-like. Your body can build up a tolerance and will make that little wonder pill worthless if your body really needs it in the future. Just a disclaimer, I am no doctor. If you feel that you need a doctor...please go, you could be doing yourself a favor because sometimes something worse lurks behind the guise of common cold symptoms.

Here is my guide to living as comfortable as possible while suffering from the evil common cold:

1. Sleep. Sleep as long and as restfully as you can. Getting enough time in the REM zone can help reduce your sentence under the common colds reign and can help prevent you from getting the cold in the first place. The best excuse to take a nap...ever.

2. Get some cough drops and over-the-counter pills for when you can't sleep. My go-to for cough drops includes HALLS naturals the honey, lemon chamomile flavor and fisherman's friend in mint flavor. My over-the-counter must-have cold suppressants are the Vicks Dayquil/Nightquil gel pill duo packs and Benadryl cold and flu gel pills.

3. Drink lots of tea w/ honey and lemon, juice and as much water as you can stand. Drinking an obscene amount of water, juice, clear broth or warm lemon flavored tea with honey helps loosen congestion and prevents dehydration. What's worse than being dehydrated...being dehydrated while you have a cold. I'd rather have a hangover. I also heard warming up home-made lemonade and sweetening it with honey works just as well.

4. Gargle salt water for sore throat relief. Tastes horrible but it works. Grab a glass of warm water and stir in about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of salt until it is dissolved. Make yourself gargle for at least 30 seconds, if you can handle it for longer then do it. It will help.

5. Become a GNC customer. Pick up some Vitiam C, Echinacea, and Zinc. Take the dosage recommendation on the bottle daily.

6. Eat as much garlic as you can get your hands on. Garlic contains antiseptic and antispasmodic properties. Here is my favorite garlic soup recipe by Emerils:

You will need:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups sliced onions
• 1/3 cup peeled garlic cloves (about 12 to 14)
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ground black pepper
• 2 quarts chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon fresh chopped basil
• 1 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme
• 2 cups diced day-old French or Italian bread
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/3 cup coarsely grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup Creole Croutons

Directions:

Heat the oil in a soup pot over high heat. Add the onions, garlic cloves, bay leaves, salt, and pepper (as desired). Stir. You want to caramelize the onions.  Stir in the stock, minced garlic, basil, and thyme, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 40 minutes. Turn the heat back up to high and whisk in the bread and the cream, and continue whisking until the bread has disintegrated into the soup, for about 10 minutes. Whisk in the Parmesan and remove from the heat. Purée the soup in a food processor or blender. Top with the croutons.

7. Get your nose one of those Vicks vapor inhalers. Your sinus will thank you.

8. Take a steam bath or shower complete with aromatherapy. My aromatherapy guide for the common cold is tea tree oil, lavender, peppermint, rosemary and lemon.

9.  Don't leave the house if you can help it. Confine yourself to one room of the house and wash your hands ALL the time.  Keep Germ-X next to the tissues. Use it whenever you have to blow your nose or touch something. The last thing I want to do when I am sick is take care of sick babies or a sick husband. The kids come first in the world of me so I don't get the privilege of dying in comfortable peace. Then if your husband or significant other gets sick there will be no one around to baby you. The cold is very contagious.

10. Have fruit throughout the day. Eat lots of vetables, preferably in chicken noodle soup. My favorite chicken noodle soup recipe is:

Lemon Chicken and Spinach Noodle Soup

I found this recipe at: The Canadian Living Test Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 onion diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 carrot diced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 1 tsp ground cumin or 1tsp of chili powder
• 1 red bell pepper
• ¼ tsp ground black pepper
• 2 quarts chicken stock
• 4 cups spinach
• 1 ½ cups small pasta uncooked noodles
• 2 cups shredded chicken
• 2 tsp grated lemon rind
• 1/3 cup lemon juice

Directions:

In a large pot pour put your oil, onion, garlic, celery, red bell pepper, carrot, cumin, pepper. Sautee over medium heat for 5-8 minutes. Pour in your chicken stock and let come to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes or until your vegetables soften. Stir in your spinach, lemon rind, lemon juice, and pasta. Let cook until pasta is ready. Let cool, serve and enjoy.

Hope this helps all you sick folks out there in internet land. I know it helps me a little. Get well soon...hopefully I will too.